Throughout NFL History, there have been some truly dominant teams. Some of these teams were dominant for more than one year. This is what we call a dynasty. Today, we will be ranking the top 10 best dynasties in NFL History. To count as a dynasty, a team must have won at least two Super Bowls in recent succession of one another. They also need to be consistently great in non-winning years. We will only cover teams from the Super Bowl era(1966-present).
1. New England Patriots(2001-Present)
Super Bowls - 5
Super Bowl appearances - 8
Total Record - 244-77
This is not even close. No team has been this dominant, for this long. The amount of consistency Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have produced is second to none. They have reached the AFC Title game 8 straight years. They haven't had a losing record yet. Perhaps the most impressive thing is that they achieved all of this in the free agency era. This means that new players come and go, and the talented leave for greener pastures. Almost all other dynasties had the luxury of keeping the team that they first won with.
2. San Francisco 49ers(1981-1995)
Super Bowls - 5
Super Bowl appearances - 5
Record - 207-72-1
The 49ers were extremely dominant in the 1980s, winning four times that decade. Behind Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, and Jerry Rice, the 49ers terrorized defenders in the West Coast offense. The 49ers also extended their dynasty longer as they were given another star quarterback in Vince Young. However, they did not play as well in the 1990s as they only won one Super Bowl.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers(1973-1980)
Super Bowls - 4
Super Bowl appearances - 4
Record - 88-27-1
Led by the Steel Curtain defense, Pittsburgh won four titles in eight years. Jack Lambert and Mean Joe Greene were part of arguably the best defense in history. Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, and Franco Harris also were excellent under Chuck Nolls' offense. This team might have won a lot more if it were not for the emergence of other teams.
4. Green Bay Packers(1960-1967)
Super Bowls - 2(3 NFL Championships)
Appearances - 6(2, 4)
Record - 82-24-4
While the beginning of this dynasty was just before the Super Bowl era, these Packer teams were too good to leave out. They lost only one postseason game in this span, and won the first two Super Bowls. Vince Lombardi also established himself as among the greatest coaches of all time, and even got the Super Bowl trophy named after him.
5. Dallas Cowboys(1991-1998)
Super Bowls - 3
Appearances - 3
Record - 94-50
The Cowboys won in back-to-back year(1993,1994) and then won again in 1996. They were nearly invincible with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin. They could have been much better if Jimmy Johnson had not left in 1993, but they still were one of the best teams ever, and ended the 49ers run.
6. Washington Redskins(1982-1992)
Super Bowls - 3
Appearances - 3
Record - 116-52
What makes these Redskins teams so unique is that they won three super bowls with three different quarterbacks in the span of ten years. In fact, Washington coach Joe Gibbs is the only coach to ever to that. The Redskins also lacked a true superstar on these teams, other than receiver Art Monk, and played incredible team football to win.
7. Miami Dolphins(1970-1974)
Super Bowls - 2
Appearances - 3
Record - 57-12-1
This team barely makes the cut as a dynasty, but deserves to be on this last as they are still the only team to have a perfect season. Don Shula became the winningest coach in NFL History during this span. The Dolphins almost certainly would have won many more times if it were not for the emergence of the Steelers.
8. Oakland Raiders(1977-1985)
Super Bowls - 3
Appearances - 3
Record - 95-42-1
The Raiders of this time had great success under John Madden, but only won once. Ken Stabler established himself as a good quarterback during this time. The next two Super Bowls were won by Tom Flores with Jim Plunkett under center. The Raiders had Hall of Fame receiver Fred Biletnikoff throughout these years too.
9. Denver Broncos(1996-1998)
Super Bowls - 2
Appearances - 2
Record - 39-9
With John Elway and Terrell Davis leading the charge, the Broncos won two Super Bowls in two years. They had a great coach in Mike Shanahan too. However, this dynasty ended somewhat abruptly as Elway retired after the 1998 season and Davis suffered career-ending knee injury in early 1999.
10. New York Giants(1986-1990)
Super Bowls - 2
Appearances - 2
Record - 47-24
This was a slightly weird dynasty. The Giants won the title in 1986 with Bill Parcells as head coach. Then, they went 6-9 the following year. After two divisional appearances the Giants won it again in 1990. That Super Bowl is remembered as the Scott Norwood game.
Honorable Mention - Cleveland Browns(1950-55)
That's right, the Browns were once good. Once. A very long time ago. They had Jim Brown on their team and actually won three times. They are not featured on our list as they were only good before the Super Bowl era.
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