Which is the best single-season team in NFL history?

7 sacks on Rypien. My bad.

 

The thread asked which was the best single-season team in the NFL, not who was the best Super Bowl winner. Sorry if I hijacked it and made it into a thread where people talk about great teams who are sometimes forgotten -- great point about the 1999 Jaguars -- but who needs another discussion about the 85 bears and the 72 Dolphins?

That Steelers defense -- again, five shutout and 28 points allowed in their last 9 regular-season games after starting 1-4 -- was totally dominant. Think about that stretch again -- 9 straight wins including 5 shutouts, a 40-14 drubbing of the Colts in the playoff opener in which they set an NFL record for OFFENSE -- and an if-only game against the Raiders in which they were missing two -- not one, two! -- 1000 yard rushers.

I think that Raiders team gets overlooked bc they only made one Super Bowl with Stabler/Madden and they reached it by beating a Steeler team that might have been the best team ever.

I'm just throwing out food for thought. I was too young to see that Steelers team in person, so I'd say the 2007 Pats are the most dominant team I've seen. But they had huge flaws, too, which were eventually exploited.

 

Never can have too many Steeler worshippers on these threads.

 

Or insecure Raiders fans who think the world is out to get them. Off topic, did you read Badasses by Peter Richmond about the 1970s Raiders? I just finished it recently, and it was very entertaining.

 

Yes . . . "insecure."

 

That was the first year after the Mel Blount rule was put in, among others designed to open up the passing game. Chuck Noll was simply smart enough to adapt and fortunate enough to have the quarterback and receivers to do it.

I think they are up there, but the '89 49ers and '85 Bears were probably better.

 

The '72 Dolphins weren't really even considered the best team in 1972. They were underdogs to the Skins in the Super Bowl.

 

Should've been 15-1. The Redskins pulled everyone in the second half, and had a 19-7 lead in the fourth quarter, before making like a week-four preseason game. It may or may not not be the best single-season team in NFL history, but it's definitely the most underrated.

 

I still have my '85 Bears blankie in a closet somewhere.

 

1994 49ers

 

They're almost overrated at this point. If they had managed to reach another Super Bowl, I doubt that group would have achieved such legendary, singular status. But since the Bears never broke through again, that group has a mythical quality.

 

Gibbs pulled everyone because the Eagles started headhunting and, IIRC, injured a couple of guys. I vividly remember the sideline reporter showing Jeff Rutledge's (the backup QB) facemask being bent up after he was sacked.
(Edited: Originally thought it was Rypien, but a little digging showed it was actually Rutledge whose facemask got bent: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/post/redskins-championships-1991-game-16-vs-philadelphia/2011/06/23/AGJUMOhH_blog.html)