Being the best team in the NFL regular season is a great accomplishment. However, that does not guarantee a championship, as these juggernauts discovered. This is my list of the ten best teams that failed to win the Super Bowl.
10. 2006 San Diego Chargers
The 14-2 Chargers were powered by the NFL’s 7th-best scoring defense and a magnificent 31-touchdown season from running back LaDanian Tomlinson. However, their dream season had a nightmare finish, as the Bolts lost their first playoff game at home to the New England Patriots by a score of 24-21.
9. 2011 Green Bay Packers
Following their Super Bowl win the year prior, Aaron Rodgers emerged as one of the league’s top quarterbacks. He won NFL MVP as the Packers scored a whopping 35.0 points per game, first in the league, and went 15-1, the best record in the league. But a 37-20 demolition at home against the Giants in the Divisional Round ended their season in disappointing fashion.
8. 1992 San Francisco 49ers
QB Steve Young, RB Ricky Watters and wide receiver Jerry Rice led the league’s best offense, while pass rushers Tim Harris and Pierce Holt helped the Niners allow the 3rd-fewest points on defense. However, the 14-2 49ers wilted in the face of a dominant Dallas team; the Cowboys took them down in the NFC Championship and won their first of three Super Bowls in the decade.
7. 1968 Baltimore Colts
The AFL’s biggest-ever victory was only possible due to the presence of this NFL Goliath. The 13-1 Colts were led by MVP QB Earl Morrall, had a top-two NFL offense and defense, and breezed through the NFL playoffs, winning both games by double digits. That made their 16-7 loss to Joe Namath and the Jets in Super Bowl III all the more unbelievable.
6. 1983 Washington Redskins
A special Redskins squad accomplished a lot in ‘83: the NFL’s best record (14-2), the most single-season points in league history at the time (541), the best turnover margin in league history at the time (+43) and the best point differential (+209). The ‘Skins stormed through the NFC to make Super Bowl XVIII, but could not stop RB Marcus Allen and the Los Angeles Raiders in a 38-9 blowout loss.
5. 2013 Denver Broncos
The 2013 Broncos are, in short, the best offense in NFL history. They scored an outrageous 37.9 points per game. Peyton Manning threw for more yards (5,477) and TDs (55) than anyone in history. And an absurd FIVE players scored at least 10 TDs. But against the league’s best defense in the Legion of Boom Seahawks, the Broncos collapsed, losing 43-8 in one of the biggest blowouts in Super Bowl history.
4. 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers
This Steelers team suffered injuries to several key players throughout the season, including QB Terry Bradshaw and RBs Rocky Bleier and Franco Harris, causing them to lose in the AFC Championship. However, this was arguably the best incarnation of the vaunted Steel Curtain defense; they allowed a minuscule 9.9 points per game and forced 46 turnovers in a masterful regular season.
3. 1990 Buffalo Bills
The Bills made four straight Super Bowls in the early ‘90s and lost them all. But this team was the best of the bunch. QB Jim Kelly, RB Thurman Thomas, WR Andre Reed and DE Bruce Smith were all among the best in the NFL at their positions. The Bills went 13-3 and won the AFC Championship 51-3 over the Raiders. If not for that Scott Norwood missed kick to give the Giants the Super Bowl victory, we could be talking about this Bills team as one of the all-time greatest.
2. 1998 Minnesota Vikings
These Vikes were one of the most exciting teams in NFL history – who wouldn’t want to watch QB Randall Cunningham throw bombs to WRs Cris Carter and Randy Moss? They went 15-1 behind the NFL’s No. 1 offense and No. 6 defense. But a stunning loss to Atlanta in the NFC Championship had the football world wondering what could have been.
1. 2007 New England Patriots
Perfection in the NFL has never been done before, but no team came closer than this one. The Pats’ supercharged modern offense scored more points than any team before them, and their defense was No. 4 in the league in scoring. Their cumulative 18-0 record going into the Super Bowl had never been done before. But the Patriots had their perfect season ruined by the Giants, losing 17-14 in the biggest upset in Super Bowl history.
