As the NFL hits its 50th Super Bowl, the sports world has been taking a look back at the history of America’s biggest, and greatest, game. FTW got in on the fun by going back and evaluating each Super Bowl-winning team and ranking them from best to worst. There are a few surprises, a lot of potential debate but no argument for which team should rank No. 49.
1. 1991 WASHINGTON REDSKINS (14-2)
Yes, the 1991 Washington Redskins are the greatest team to win a Super Bowl. They’re also the poster children for how numbers always lie. Criminally underrated, the ’91 Skins were one halftime Hail Mary and a lineman-eligible drop in the end zone during a meaningless Week 17 game from being undefeated. They have the second-highest point differential of any Super Bowl champion. They had 50 sacks and Mark Rypien, who started all 16 games, was sacked just seven times. (Tom Brady was sacked four times on Sunday alone.) They played a tougher schedule than any team in the top 10 of this list (they’re the only team whose opponents had a collective record of .500 or better). They ran through the NFC playoffs by a score of 65-17 and were whupping up on Buffalo 37-10 in the Super Bowl when they took the foot off the gas and allowed Buffalo two garbage-time TDs. (At the same pint the ‘Skins were doing that, the ’85 Bears were running it up by giving The Fridge a Super Bowl touchdown.) Don Beebe, who played on four straight Super Bowl teams with the Bills, said this Redskins team was the best he’d ever seen. Paul Zimmermann, the great Sports Illustrated writer, once wrote this Washington team was as good as any. But because Mark Rypien was the quarterback, Earnest Byner was the running back and the defense was led up front by Charles Mann, people automatically assume Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders were better. Maybe, but it all starts up front and The Hogs were the best ever. Either way, give me the ’91 Redskins and you take the field — I’ll win 25 or more.
2. 1984 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (15-1)
3. 1985 CHICAGO BEARS (15-1)
4. 1989 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (14-2)
5. 1978 PITTSBURGH STEELERS (14-2)
6. 1998 DENVER BRONCOS (14-2)
7. 1992 DALLAS COWBOYS (13-3)
8. 2004 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (14-2)
9. 1996 GREEN BAY PACKERS (13-3)
10. 1973 MIAMI DOLPHINS (12-2)
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49. 2011 NEW YORK GIANTS (9-7)
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/01/best-su ... s-patriots