The Best NFL Team of All Time

A website called TenMojo.com has published a list of the 10 best NFL teams of the Super Bowl Era. The criteria are a bit whacked in that there's no duplication of franchises allowed. That means that because the 1989 San Francisco 49ers make the list, there's no room for the other great 49ers teams. Still, it's hard to argue with the team at the top of the list: The 1985 Chicago Bears. For my money, the debate about which team is the best ever is short and sweet-- the 1985 Bears are simply in a different category than everybody else.

Sure, there are people who will advocate the 1972 Dolphins, and nothing can ever take away from their incredible feat of going 17-0, but no team ever dominated both sides of the ball the way the '85 Bears did. The '85 Bears are the only team in NFL history to allow less than 200 points, while at the same time scoring more than 400 points. In the playoffs and Super Bowl, they outscored their opponents 91-10.

What about the one loss to Miami? In a funny way, that only adds to the legend. Is Ali's legend diminished because he lost the first of his three classic bouts with Joe Frazier? What about "wrestling's Babe Ruth," Dan Gable of Iowa State, who was undefeated in high school and college career, until he lost his final NCAA match to Washington's Larry Owings? I lump the Bears' loss to the Dolphins in with defeats like these. It took place on a big stage: The game was on Monday Night Football, and it is still the highest rated game in NFL regular season history. It had a classic story line: The Dolphins were fighting for their legacy as football's only undefeated team, while the Bears were trying to add that to their rapidly growing legend as a juggernaut. The game was seen as a Super Bowl preview, and but for the 17 points that the Patriots scored off Dolphin turnovers in the AFC Championship, it would have been.

The Bears were never able to establish themselves as a dynasty--Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan were like oil and water, Walter Payton retired, the Fridge ate himself out of football, Jim McMahon was never able to duplicate his 1985 performance, and Willie Gault headed for the Raiders. Still, for one season, nobody was ever better than the 1985 Chicago Bears.