The Greatest Seasons for All 32 NFL Teams

For NFL fans everywhere, nothing compares to the feeling you get when living through the best season in the history of your favorite team.

For fans of teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, the memory is still quite vivid. Conversely, you can forgive Detroit Lions supporters for forgetting the last time cheering for the pride of Michigan was a pleasant experience. And we won’t even get started on the Texans.

So, as we gear up for another wild and wacky NFL season, here’s a look at the greatest seasons in the Super Bowl Era for every active franchise:

Arizona Cardinals

Greatest season: 2008 (9-7, 1st in NFC West, lost in Super Bowl)

Despite reaching the postseason as the best of a very bad bunch in the NFC West, the 2008 Cardinals caught fire at just the right time, outdueling Atlanta 30-24 in the Wild Card round before trouncing Carolina 33-13 in the divisional round. A 32-25 win over Philadelphia set the stage for the team’s first appearance in the Super Bowl, where it staged a furious fourth-quarter rally but ultimately fell short 27-23. 

Atlanta Falcons

Greatest Season: 1998 (14-2, 1st in NFC West, lost in Super Bowl)

 Led by Coach of the Year Dan Reeves, the 1998 Falcons were the class of the NFC, rolling to a perfect home record and the conference’s top seed. Narrow victories over San Francisco and Minnesota sent the Falcons to their first Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos. And unfortunately that’s where Atlanta’s luck ran out, as it fell behind by double digits in the first half and couldn’t recover in a 34-19 defeat.

Baltimore Ravens

Greatest Season: 2000 (12-4, 2nd in AFC Central, won Super Bowl)

One of the most consistently good franchises this century, the Ravens put it all together in a 2000 performance in which they boasted the top defense and football – then turned that D up to 11 in the playoffs. The Ravens allowed 23 total points in four postseason games, highlighted by a 34-7 drubbing of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV that gave them their first-ever NFL championship.

Buffalo Bills

Greatest Season: 1990 (13-3, 1st in AFC East, lost in Super Bowl)

What is arguably the greatest season in Bills franchise history is also the one that causes its fans the greatest angst. The Bills were the real deal in 1990 with 13 victories and a whopping 95 points scored in their opening two playoff games, and gave themselves a chance to win Super Bowl XXV. One Scott Norwood “wide right” later, the Bills were crestfallen – a feeling they’d get quite used to over the next three years.

Carolina Panthers

Greatest Season: 2015 (15-1, 1st in NFC South, lost in Super Bowl)

From being called the “worst unbeaten team” – even at 14-0 – to getting panned for a lack of quality wide receivers, the Panthers took an awful lot of heat as the No. 1 team in the league. They managed to shut out the noise en route to a pair of impressive postseason wins (including a 49-15 drubbing of Arizona in the NFC Championship Game), but came out flat in a 24-10 Super Bowl loss to the Broncos.

Chicago Bears

Greatest Season: 1985 (15-1, 1st in NFC Central, won Super Bowl)

This isn’t just the greatest Bears season in Super Bowl play – it’s easily one of the best NFL seasons of all-time. While we shouldn’t discount an offense that produced 456 points on the season, Chicago’s menacing defense generated all the headlines, limiting opponents to a meager 198 points in 16 regular-season games. That carried over into the playoffs, as Chicago outscored its opponents 91-10 en route to a Super Bowl win.

Cincinnati Bengals

Greatest Season: 1988 (12-4, 1st in AFC Central, lost Super Bowl)

While there might be some temptation to anoint the 2021 Bengals as the greatest team in franchise history, we can’t overlook a pair of Cincinnati teams that had stronger regular season showings. And the 1988 version gets the slight nod over the 1981 edition by virtue of having the league MVP in QB Boomer Esiason, who led the Bengals to a second Super Bowl near-miss in eight years as Cinci fell 20-16 to San Francisco.

Cleveland Browns

Greatest Season: 1969 (10-3-1, 1st in Eastern Century, lost NFL Championship)

Yeah, it’s been this long. The Browns were in the driver’s seat in the final season prior to the NFL-AFL merger, rolling to a dominant NFL Century Division title before stomping Dallas 38-14 in the conference championship. But sitting one win away from a Super Bowl encounter with Kansas City  – and looking to rebound from a 34-0 in the previous NFL Championship – the Browns were trounced 27-7 by Minnesota.

Dallas Cowboys

Greatest Season: 1977 (12-2, 1st in NFC East, won Super Bowl)

With respect to the turbo-charged Cowboys teams that won three Super Bowl titles in a four-year span in the early-1990s, none were as superior as the 1977 iteration. In addition to rolling to a 12-2 record, Dallas boasted the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in Tony Dorsett and the Defensive Player of the Year in Harvey Martin. The playoffs were a mere formality, with the ‘Boys outscoring the opposition 87-23.

Denver Broncos

Greatest Season: 1998 (14-2, 1st in AFC West, won Super Bowl)

Long before Peyton Manning and Von Miller led the Broncos to a win in Super Bowl L, the Broncos put together back-to-back NFL championships and looked good doing so. We’re going with the second title win as the superior season, given that the Broncos posted a league-best 14-2 mark and needed just two playoff wins to reach the Super Bowl, where it breezed past the Atlanta Falcons 34-19.

Detroit Lions

Greatest Season: 1991 (12-4, 1st in NFC Central, lost NFC Championship)

Year 3 of the Barry Sanders experience has proven to be the best in Lions history to date, as Detroit posted an impressive 12-win campaign to capture the NFC Central title. A 38-6 thumping of the Cowboys in the divisional round marks the only playoff win in franchise history; unfortunately, the Lions found themselves on the other end of a rout the following week, losing 41-10 to Washington in the conference championship game.

Green Bay Packers

Greatest Season: 1966 (12-2, 1st in NFL Western, won Super Bowl

Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre stans might not like this choice, but you never forget your first. And the Packers’ maiden championship holds special significance because it came in the first-ever Super Bowl – a 35-10 drubbing of the Kansas City Chiefs that capped an incredible season in which the Packers won 12 of 14 games. Bart Starr took home both league and Super Bowl MVP honors that season.

Houston Texans

Greatest Season: 2012 (12-4, 1st in AFC South, lost in Divisional Round)

Winning seasons were once en vogue for the Texans, who finished above .500 in all but two of two seasons in the 2010s. The 2012 edition was the most polished, cruising to the AFC South Division title and reaching the Divisional Round for the second straight year with a narrow win over Cincinnati. But a 41-28 loss to the powerhouse Patriots put an end to the run; Houston would go on to finish 2-14 the following season.

Indianapolis Colts

Greatest Season: 1970 (11-2-1, 1st in AFC East, won Super Bowl)

This one might keep some Colts fans awake at night – but hear us out. The Peyton Manning-led Colts who won in 2006 still had to get through a Wild Card game, while the 1970 Baltimore team was the class of the league and opened its postseason with a pair of emphatic double-digit victories. That set the stage for a thrilling come-from-behind 16-13 win over Dallas in Super Bowl V – and a 14-2-1 combined record on the year.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Greatest Season: 1999 (14-2, 1st in AFC Central, lost in AFC Championship)

Were it not for the Tennessee Titans, we might be celebrating another unbeaten team alongside the 1972 Dolphins. The Jaguars took advantage of one of the easiest regular season schedules of any team in a 40-year stretch, racking up 14 wins before throttling Miami 62-7 in the Divisional Round. Alas, the Titans – who handed Jacksonville both regular-season losses – defeated the Jaguars 33-14 in the AFC Championship.

Kansas City Chiefs

Greatest Season: 2019 (12-4, 1st in AFC West, won Super Bowl)

This was closer than you might think, with the 1969 (and Super Bowl III-winning) roster just missing out. The difference is in just how dominant the Chiefs’ offense was in 2019; in addition to finishing second in the AFC in regular-season scoring, Kansas City blew the doors off opposing defenses in the playoffs. The Chiefs averaged 39 points in their three playoff wins, highlighted by a 31-20 Super Bowl victory over the 49ers.

Las Vegas Raiders

Greatest Season: 1976 (13-1, 1st in AFC West, won Super Bowl)

Of the three Super Bowl titles Raider Nation has celebrated, this one might have been the most satisfying. Not only did the Raiders nearly run the regular-season table, they finally overcame their AFC Championship curse (losing six times in eight years) with a one-sided win over Pittsburgh. That set the stage for an anticlimactic Super Bowl XI in which Oakland scored 16 second-quarter points and didn’t look back.

Los Angeles Chargers

Greatest Season: 1994 (11-5, 1st in AFC West, lost Super Bowl)

That the Chargers even reached Super Bowl XXIX was a minor miracle. They finished the regular season 5-5 following a 6-0 start, then pulled out narrow wins over the Miami Dolphins and top-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers despite trailing at halftime of both games. Yet, for as magical as the Chargers’ run was, San Francisco was in no mood for fairy tales; it blasted San Diego 49-26 in one of the most one-sided title games ever.

Los Angeles Rams

Greatest Season: 1999 (13-3, 1st in NFC West, won Super Bowl)

It could only be “The Greatest Show on Turf”. Led by league MVP Kurt Warner and Offensive Player of the Year Marshall Faulk, the Rams put up an astonishing 526 points in the regular season and kept the chains moving in the Divisional Round with a 49-37 win over Minnesota. An 11-6 NFC title game win over Tampa Bay set up a thrilling Super Bowl XXXIV, which the Rams won 23-16 over the Tennessee Titans.

Miami Dolphins

Greatest Season: 1972 (14-0, 1st in AFC East, won Super Bowl)

This writeup is brought to you by Cristal. How else can we properly fete a team that has been popping champagne bottles for 50 years as the only NFL team to finish a season with an unbeaten record? The Dolphins were a preposterous +214 during the season, then escaped a few close calls in wins over Cleveland and Pittsburgh to set up a Super Bowl showdown with Washington. Miami prevailed 14-7 to complete its perfect run. 

Minnesota Vikings

Greatest Season: 1969 (14-2, 1st in AFC East, lost Super Bowl)

This might very well be the greatest team in NFL history to not win a title. The Vikings laid waste to the rest of the NFL, boasting a +246 point differential in 14 games before eking out a win over the Rams and trouncing the Browns. That left only the Kansas City Chiefs standing between Bud Grant and a Super Bowl championship; alas, the Vikings – who were favored by 13 points – didn’t score in the first half and fell 23-7.

New England Patriots

Greatest Season: 2016 (14-2, 1st in AFC East, won Super Bowl)

This was the most difficult team to narrow down – but the 2016 roster checks all the boxes, including the most wins in franchise history by a Super Bowl-winning team and the most impressive path to the Super Bowl, outscoring Houston and Pittsburgh 70-34. The Pats were even nice enough to spot Atlanta a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl before staging an incredible second-half comeback and pulling out a 34-28 OT win.

New Orleans Saints

Greatest Season: 2009 (13-3, 1st in NFC South, won Super Bowl)

The best season in Saints history is a slam dunk. Not only does 2009 mark New Orleans’ lone Super Bowl victory, it’s also the only time the team has reached the NFL championship. It did so on the heels of an impressive 13-3 regular-season showing and a combined 76 points in playoff wins over the Cardinals and Vikings. A 31-17 win over the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV capped a remarkable season in the Big Easy.

New York Giants

Greatest Season: 1986 (14-2, 1st in NFC East, won Super Bowl)

If you aren’t familiar with just how good this Giants team was, consider that it finished with a regular-season point margin of +135 while boasting the second-best defense in the league in both scoring and yardage. And then there was the playoff version of the G-Men, which left no survivors: the Giants outscored San Francisco and Washington by a combined 66-3 tally before crushing Denver 39-20 for its first Super Bowl.

New York Jets

Greatest Season: 1968 (11-3, 1st in AFL East, won Super Bowl)

Who knew when Joe Namath led the Jets to the championship in Super Bowl III that it would be the last one the franchise would win in more than 50 years? Or that it wouldn’t even return to the Big Game after that? But enough depressing factoids: Let’s instead focus on a Jets team that averaged nearly 30 points per game, owned the AFL’s top yardage defense and stifled the Colts 16-7 for a well-deserved Super Bowl title.

Philadelphia Eagles

Greatest Season: 2017 (13-3, 1st in NFC East, won Super Bowl)

After heart-wrenching Super Bowl losses in 1980 and 2004, the Eagles finally put it all together in 2017. The No. 3 offense and No. 4 defense helped lead the Eagles to a 13-3 record – and both sides helped get Philly to the Super Bowl, with a 15-10 Divisional Round win over Atlanta followed by a 38-7 NFC title game romp over Minnesota. The Eagles completed their dream season with a 41-33 triumph over the Patriots.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Greatest Season: 1978 (14-2, 1st in AFC Central, won Super Bowl)

Long before Ben Roethlisberger was slinging his way to Super Bowl immortality, another black-and-gold QB was doing it with even more flair. Terry Bradshaw aimed to bring the 1974-75 NFL champions back to the Super Bowl – and he did just that, leading the Steelers to 14 regular-season wins and one-sided playoff victories over Denver and Houston. He then added MVP honors in a 35-31 Super Bowl win over Dallas.

San Francisco 49ers

Greatest Season: 1984 (15-1, 1st in NFC West, won Super Bowl)

The 49ers know a thing or two about Super Bowl blowouts, with three of their five NFL title victories coming by 20+ points. The 1984 edition was the first to flex its muscle; three years after capturing its first Super Bowl title, San Francisco rolled through the regular season before outscoring the Giants and Bears 44-0 in the playoffs. That set the stage for a 38-16 drubbing of Miami in a dominant Super Bowl XIX performance.

Seattle Seahawks

Greatest Season: 2013 (13-3, 1st in NFC West, won Super Bowl)

The Seahawks have been one of the top NFL franchises of the 21st Century, but it’s the 2013 edition that stands out most. Fourth-year head coach Pete Carroll led Seattle to a 13-win regular-season – tied for the most in franchise history – and narrow wins over New Orleans and San Francisco sent the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl. They left no doubt once there, demolishing Denver 43-8 to cap an amazing season. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Greatest Season: 2002 (12-4, 1st in NFC South, won Super Bowl)

Oh ho! You thought we were going to list Tom Brady’s Tampa Super Bowl win here, didn’t you? Sure, that was impressive, but the 2002 Buccaneers were better. This team posted a then-franchise-record 12 victories, then saved its best work for the playoffs. Outscoring San Francisco and Philadelphia 58-16 was merely the appetizer for a truly dominant Super Bowl showing in which the Bucs humiliated Oakland 48-21.

Tennessee Titans

Greatest Season: 1999 (13-3, 2nd in AFC Central, lost Super Bowl)

You can’t help but feel for the Titans, whose Super Bowl-era high points both involve being second-best. Tennessee is the only team on this list whose best season actually resulted in a second-place finish in the division. That left a longer path to the Super Bowl, but Tennessee abided with wins over Buffalo, Indianapolis and Jacksonville. Then came a Super Bowl tilt with the Rams – and a now-infamous heart-wrenching result.

Washington Commanders

Greatest Season: 1991 (14-2, 1st in NFC East, won Super Bowl)

When you think about the most dominant seasons in the Super Bowl era, this one has to be near the top of the list. Not only did Washington post a ridiculous +261 point differential in the regular season, it cruised to its second Super Bowl appearance in five years thanks to a 17-point win over Atlanta and a 31-point rout of Detroit. Super Bowl XXVI was only slightly closer, as Washington outgunned Buffalo 37-24.