For my money, it’s the Patriots, Steelers, and 49ers.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the NFL is the ability to compare great teams, including dynasties. Putting together a Super Bowl contender in an ultra-competitive competition is a huge achievement, but being able to make a franchise competitive for years–especially without the benefit of early draft picks– represents the height of NFL success.
It is exciting to think that, as you check out the latest betting news, trade speculation, and NFL injury report, some of the teams playing today could join that august group. Could it be the Chiefs, Packers, Rams, or Bills? More than one or none of them? Time will tell. But we do know that some iconic teams are already dynastic. Here’s my list of the top three teams.
New England Patriots 2001-19
Courtesy: Jackson Progress-Argus
For the sheer weight of trophies and years of dominance, the success of the New England Patriots through the first two decades of the millennium has to be the greatest of all time. The most remarkable aspect of their success was that almost no one could have seen it coming. Heading to New England, Bill Belichick was a middle-of-the-pack head coach who’d achieved a modest 35-44 record at Cleveland Browns, while Tom Brady was an overlooked sixth-round pick.
The story of this dynasty really began in the second week of the 2001 season when Drew Bledsoe went down with an injury and Tom Brady stepped in. Between his genius, Belichick’s well-drilled defense, and the metronomic accuracy of Adam Vinatieri, the Patriots became an unstoppable winning machine, claiming three Super Bowls in four seasons.
That run of success would have been enough for most teams to be considered a sports dynasty, but the Patriots were just getting started. When Vinatieri left in 2005, the Patriots fell just short of their high standards, losing two Super Bowls in ten years, but they returned to the top with success at Super Bowl XLIX and won two more in the next four years. By the time Brady left for Tampa Bay, he’d won six rings, and he and Belichick had taken the Patriots to nine Super Bowls.
Pittsburgh Steelers 1972-79
Before the Brady-Belichick Patriots, the title of most dominant NFL franchise probably belonged to the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s. Coached by Chuck Noll and guided by the play calling and powerful arm of Terry Bradshaw, the running of Franco Harris, and the elite play of receiver Lynn Swann, the Steelers achieved a level of success that had never been seen before in the NFL.
“Steel Curtain” (photo, 247Sports)
Their offense was powerful without being flashy, but, like the later Patriots team, it always turned up when the big games were in the balance. The real foundation of their success lay in the famous ‘Steel Curtain,’ a defensive line that was unmatched for resilience and ferocity. Their finest achievement was in the 1976 season when, without Bradshaw and handicapped by a 1-4 start, the Steelers recorded five shutouts over the next nine games, conceding an astonishingly low 3.1 points per game.
Between 1972 and 1979, the Steelers reached the playoffs eight years in a row, reached the AFC Championship game in six of those years, and won four Super Bowls.
San Francisco 49ers 1981-94
The Epoch Times
If the Steelers dominated the 1970s, then the 1980s belonged to the San Francisco 49ers, under the leadership of one of the NFL’s greatest ever coaches, Bill Walsh. Walsh’s influence on the league goes beyond the dynasty that he created in California. His famous West Coast offense brought a new dimension to the game, and it is still used today. Walsh was also responsible for identifying and promoting some of the greatest players that the game has ever seen.
Joe Montana, Charles Haley, Ronnie Lott, and Jerry Rice were all drafted by Walsh, and he also traded for another great, Steve Young. With a cast of all-time great players, guided by Walsh’s genius, the 49ers laid down a challenge to the rest of the league throughout the 1980s. They won three Super Bowls between 1981 and 1988, and such was the strength of the dynasty that Walsh constructed their continued wins after he retired in 1988.
Under new coach George Seifert and with Young as the quarterback, the 49ers won two more Super Bowls and continued to be playoff regulars late into the 1990s.
