The 5 Best NFL Teams of the Super Bowl Era + Every Winner Ever!

Ryan Berenz February 11, 10:00 pm

Super Bowl XX, Chicago Bears — Mike Powell/Getty Images

The 59th Super Bowl championship just wrapped up with an exciting OT edge of your seat game! Many Vegas odds were broken as the Kansas City Chiefs took it for the second year in a row!

While we round up if this should be in the top five, take a look at what we did count.

Of all the great teams that have championship rings, some of them stand above others in football lore. We picked five teams from the Super Bowl era that can boast being the best of the best.

1985 Chicago Bears

Regular Season Record: 15-1

Beat New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX

Memorable Players: Jim McMahon, Walter Payton, William “The Refrigerator” Perry, Steve McMichael, Richard Dent, Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton, Leslie Frazier, Wilber Marshall, Otis Wilson

Head Coach: Mike Ditka

Why They’re On The List: The ’85 Bears didn’t just dominate opponents — they intimidated them. Singletary, Dent, Hampton, Frazier and Perry starred on their legendary “46” defense, and characters like McMahon, Payton and Ditka added to their “Super Bowl Shuffle” mystique. The Bears stomped through the playoffs and then blew apart the overmatched Patriots — even “The Fridge” scored a touchdown — in Super Bowl XX. It’s hard to think of any team in NFL history beating the Bears on that day.

1972 Miami Dolphins

Regular Season Record: 14-0

Beat Washington Redskins 14-7 in Super Bowl VII

Memorable Players: Bob Griese, Earl Morrall, Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris, Paul Warfield, Nick Buoniconti, Larry Little, Jim Langer, Norm Evans

Head Coach: Don Shula

Why They’re On The List: The ’72 Dolphins are still the only team in NFL history to have an undefeated regular season and win the Super Bowl (the 2007 Patriots were 16-0 but lost the Super Bowl). Critics point to the Dolphins’ soft schedule that year, but this was still a dominant team that had two 1,000-yard rushers in Csonka and Morris, and overcame an injury to Griese, to run the table. They scored 385 points and gave up only 171, thanks to a tough “No Name Defense” that stood in the shadows of a stellar offense.

1991 Washington Redskins

Regular Season Record: 14-2

Beat Buffalo Bills 37-24 in Super Bowl XXVI

Memorable Players: Mark Rypien, Ernest Byner, Art Monk, Gary Clark, Ricky Sanders, Mark Schlereth, Charles Mann, Wilber Marshall, Matt Millen, Darrell Green, Brian Mitchell

Head Coach: Joe Gibbs

Why They’re On The List: Statistically, this might be the greatest team of all time. The ’91 Skins started 11-0, and they lost their two games by a mere five points combined. They scored 485 points and only gave up 224. Rypien threw for 3,564 yards and 28 touchdowns. Byner, Monk and Clark each gained over 1,000 yards on the season. The Redskins blasted the Bills 37-24 in a Super Bowl that was more lopsided than the score indicates.

1992 Dallas Cowboys

Regular Season Record: 13-3

Beat Buffalo Bills 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII

Memorable Players: Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Daryl Johnston, Nate Newton, Charles Haley, Jay Novacek, Jim Jeffcoat, Leon Lett, Ken Norton Jr., Alvin Harper

Head Coach: Jimmy Johnson

Why They’re On The List: The Cowboys were 1-15 in 1989, but with future Hall of Famers in Aikman, Smith and Irvin, they quickly became one of the most dominant teams of the 1990s. In 1992, Aikman threw for 3,445 yards and 23 touchdowns, Smith ran for 1,713 yards and 18 touchdowns, and Irvin had 1,396 yards receiving. The defense was No. 1 in yards allowed, yet no Cowboys defender went to the Pro Bowl that year. The snub didn’t matter: The defense forced nine turnovers in a 52-17 rout of the Bills in Super Bowl XXVII, the first of three Super Bowl championships for Dallas in the 1990s.

1984 San Francisco 49ers

Regular Season Record: 15-1

Beat Miami Dolphins 38-16 in Super Bowl XIX

Memorable Players: Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott, Randy Cross, Roger Craig, Wendell Tyler, Eric Wright, Dwight Hicks, Freddie Solomon

Head Coach: Bill Walsh

Why They’re On The List: The ’84 Niners had a three-point loss to the Steelers as the only blemish on a steady, remarkable season. Montana was entering his prime, throwing for over 3,600 yards and 28 touchdowns. Tyler ran for over 1,200 yards, and Craig was a versatile running and receiving threat. Lott led an outstanding defense that blanked the Bears 23-0 in the NFC Championship. In Super Bowl XIX, the defense frustrated Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, and the Niners scored 21 points in the second quarter to win 38-16.

Every Super Bowl Ever!

I 1966 Packers 35, Chiefs 10
II 1967 Packers 33, Raiders 14
III 1968 Jets 16, Colts 7
IV 1969 Chiefs 23, Vikings 7
V 1970 Colts 16, Cowboys 13
VI 1971 Cowboys 24, Dolphins 3
VII 1972 Dolphins 14, Redskins 7
VIII 1973 Dolphins 24, Vikings 7
IX 1974 Steelers 16, Vikings 6
X 1975 Steelers 21, Cowboys 17
XI 1976 Raiders 32, Vikings 14
XII 1977 Cowboys 27, Broncos 10
XIII 1978 Steelers 35, Cowboys 31
XIV 1979 Steelers 31, Rams 19
XV 1980 Raiders 27, Eagles 10
XVI 1981 49ers 26, Bengals 21
XVII 1982 Redskins 27, Dolphins 17
XVIII 1983 Raiders 38, Redskins 9
XIX 1984 49ers 38, Dolphins 16
XX 1985 Bears 46, Patriots 10
XXI 1986 Giants 39, Broncos 20
XXII 1987 Redskins 42, Broncos 10
XXIII 1988 49ers 20, Bengals 16
XXIV 1989 49ers 55, Broncos 10
XXV 1990 Giants 20, Bills 19
XXVI 1991 Redskins 37, Bills 24
XXVII 1992 Cowboys 52, Bills 17
XXVIII 1993 Cowboys 30, Bills 13
XXIX 1994 49ers 49, Chargers 26
XXX 1995 Cowboys 27, Steelers 17
XXXI 1996 Packers 35, Patriots 21
XXXII 1997 Broncos 31, Packers 24
XXXIII 1998 Broncos 34, Falcons 19
XXXIV 1999 Rams 23, Titans 16
XXXV 2000 Ravens 34, Giants 7
XXXVI 2001 Patriots 20, Rams 17
XXXVII 2002 Buccaneers 48, Raiders 21
XXXVIII 2003 Patriots 32, Panthers 29
XXXIX 2004 Patriots 24, Eagles 21
XL 2005 Steelers 21, Seahawks 10
XLI 2006 Colts 29, Bears 17
XLII 2007 Giants 17, Patriots 14
XLIII 2008 Steelers 27, Cardinals 23
XLIV 2009 Saints 31, Colts 17
XLV 2010 Packers 31, Steelers 25
XLVI 2011 Giants 21, Patriots 17
XLVII 2012 Ravens 34, 49ers 31
XLVIII 2013 Seahawks 43, Broncos 8
XLIX 2014 Patriots 28, Seahawks 24
50 2015 Broncos 24, Panthers 10
LI 2016 Patriots 34, Falcons 28 (OT)
LII 2017 Eagles 41, Patriots 33
LIII 2018 Patriots 13, Rams 3
LIV 2019 Chiefs 31, 49ers 20
LV 2020 Buccaneers 31, Chiefs 9
LVI 2021 Rams 23, Bengals 20
LVII 2022 Chiefs 38, Eagles 35
LVIII 2023 Chiefs 25, 49ers 22 (OT)