How the Patriots of 2008 did not get honorable mention, baffles me. I know they lost in the Super Bowl, but some can argue that what they did all the way up to the SuperBowl was as good of an achievement as what the Dolphins did. They shattered records in passing, receiving, etc. Oh well, I'm just glad they elaborated on that Phins team showing truly how good they were.
The article did state this as the number one criteria - First and foremost win a championship that season.
72 Dolphins are the best, period. Good write up... the Super Bowl that year was total domination, should have been the first and only Super Bowl shutout. Other honorable mentions... 66 Packers, 76 Raiders, 84 San Fran, 91 Redskins, 92 Cowboys, 96 Packers, 98 Broncos, 03 Patriots, 04 Patriots
I would actually argue the 85 bears had the best season ever. The 72 phins will forever be enshrined in NFL history as the only team to never lose a game. They were hard workers. Nothing was flashy, nothing was pretty. They just never gave up on a dream and they got it. But that 85 bears team? They were magical, and it took a magical performance by the greatest QB of all time to beat them.
I think the only passing and receiving records they obtained was the passing TD's with 50...next best was 49 and 48 and receiving TD's by a WR 23, the next best was 22TD's put up by Jerry Rice in a strike shortened season. I'm not sure what records they "shattered".
Another thing people forget about the 72 team,inspite of going undefeated they still had to go on the road during the playoffs to even get to the superbowl.Home field advantage was not guaranteed in those days.
The 85 Bears are a bit overhyped in my humble opinion because of the personalities on that team... Ditka, McMahon, Singletary. Look at how similar the 84 San Francisco team performed just the year before. 85 Bears: 15-1 record, Super Bowl champions 456 points scored 198 points allowed +23 turnover ratio Only loss 38-24 against Miami Combined record of division opponents: 24-40 84 49ers: 15-1 record, Super Bowl champions 475 points scored 227 points allowed +16 turnover ratio Only loss 20-17 against Pittsburgh Combined record of division opponents: 21-27 San Francisco was arguably a more balanced/complimentary team offensively and defensively, played in a tougher division, and was never dominated in any game like the Bears were against Miami. And remember, this was before Jerry Rice was in San Fran... this was Joe Montana throwing to Freddie Solomon and Dwight Clark. They faced the greatest passer of all time who was having the greatest season a QB has ever had, and they shut him down to win the championship. I'm not necessarily saying the 84 49ers were better than the 85 Bears, but what I'm saying is the difference is not that far. The 84 San Fran team was definitely better than the 94 counterparts given honorable mention in the article.
Like you, I wouldn't say that the 1984 49ers were "better" than the 1985 Bears, and agree that the '85 Bears players kind of overshadowed that 49er team. They were both 1st in defense and 2nd in offense. I do think that the '84 49ers were better than the '94 team. The reason that the 49ers dominated the Dolphins was because our defense gave up over 200yds rushing and our offense produced only 25 yards rushing.
Of course it's the greatest single season. Until someone matches it, it's inarguable. In addition, to the poster that said the 2008 Pats should have gotten an honrable mention.... FALSE! For what? Performing the single greatest choke in NFL History? Bears of 85 better? No, they didn't go undefeated. Plus many people don't realize what the Dolphins of 72 really accomplished. They played the majority of the season with their BACKUP QB and had to go on the road for the AFC Championship game even though they were the higher seed.
