ESPN ranks all 57 Super Bowl championship teams in order

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In less than two weeks, either the Kansas City Chiefs or the San Francisco 49ers will win Super Bowl LVIII. There have been 57 Super Bowls since the NFL champion first took on the AFL champion after the 1966 season, which means we have 57 teams in this exclusive club. One more is coming soon.

Some of these teams were dominant from start to finish. Other teams slipped into the playoffs after a mediocre regular season and then went on a shocking postseason run to a title. We've done our best to rank all 57 Super Bowl champions here from worst to best, looking at both the regular season and the playoffs to find the most powerful teams in NFL history.

To rank these teams, I used my proprietary DVOA ratings (explained further here) which look at efficiency on a play-by-play basis adjusted for situation and opponent. For teams prior to the start of DVOA in 1981, I estimated DVOA ratings based on Pro Football Reference's Simple Rating System plus the average margin of victory during the postseason. There's also an adjustment for the first four Super Bowl champions to reflect that the NFL was stronger than the AFL before the merger.



Here are the top 10

10. 1998 Broncos
9. 1995 Cowboys
8. 1975 Steelers
7. 2004 Patriots
6. 1973 Dolphins
5. 1992 Cowboys
4. 1996 Packers
3. 1989 49ers
2. 1985 Bears
1. 1991 Redskins
 

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Yes. Football analytics have been saying that for years. The 1991 Slurs are the best team of all time.
They weren’t flashy but they were the best. Elite in all 3 phrases dominated a historically tough schedule, had one of the highest point differentials ever etc.


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1. 1991 Washington (17-2, 53.9%)​


Here's the team that DVOA says is the greatest of all time. Washington led the NFL in points scored and was second in points allowed. They lost by a field goal to the Cowboys after an 11-0 start, then sat their starters in the second half of the final week and lost to the Eagles by two points. That was it for losses.
For the 1991 season, Washington was second in offensive DVOA behind San Francisco, third on defense behind Philadelphia and New Orleans and first on special teams. But what's more impressive is where Washington ranks in DVOA out of 1,309 teams going all the way back to 1981. Out of those hundreds of teams, only 1991 Washington ranks in the top 50 for all three phases. (Specifically, they are 50th in offense, 36th in defense and 19th in special teams.)
Washington won games during the regular season by scores like 45-0 (Detroit), 34-0 (Phoenix) and 23-0 (Philadelphia). They beat the Falcons 56-17 and the Rams 27-6.

Then came the playoffs. A rematch with the No. 8 Falcons ended with a score of 24-7. The Lions made it to the NFC championship despite ranking only 13th in DVOA, only to be pummeled by Washington, 41-10. Washington had a 37-10 lead over the No. 4 Bills with half of the fourth quarter left in Super Bowl XXVI, eventually winning the Lombardi Trophy 37-24 after two late Bills touchdowns sandwiched around a successful onside kick.”
 
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