The NFL has seen many powerful forces sustain greatness for a period of time. What exactly defines a NFL franchise reign of greatness? I think at the very least there has to be multiple Super Bowl appearances or one Super Bowl victory. Most of these teams make the playoffs year after year and have deep runs in the playoffs, but what team had the greatest reign of greatness in the Super Bowl era? Read the list and debate.
Just Missed the Cut
1984-1990 Chicago Bears- "The Payton Era"- Highlighted by possibly the greatest single season of all time, the Bears remained consistent in those years with legendary players such as Walter Payton and Mike Singletary, but with only one Super Bowl appearance, the 1980's Bears miss the cut.
1988-1996 Buffalo Bills- "The Levy Era"- The Bills appeared in four straight Super Bowls, the only team in NFL history to do so. That should have them locked into one of the top ten reigns, right? Well, you kind of have to win a Super Bowl to be in that club.
2001-Present Pittsburgh Steelers- "The Porter/Polamalu Era"- Since 2001, the Steelers have appeared in three Super Bowls, won two of them and were one game away from going to the Super Bowl twice. The Steelers are perennial contenders, but without any particular stand out season, these Steeler's teams just miss the cut.
2000-2009 Philadelphia Eagles- "The McNabb/Reid Era"- Four straight NFC title game appearances, five in total, but no Super Bowls to show for it keep the 2000's Eagles out of the top 10.
1992-Present Green Bay Packers- "The Favre/Rodgers Era"- Time will tell as to whether Aaron Rodgers achieves greater things than Brett Favre. Yes, the longevity is their, but a few seasons of mediocrity keep the recent Packers teams out of the top ten.
10 1999-2010 Indianapolis Colts- "The Manning Era"
If you want to take about consistent excellence, the Colts define that term with seven consecutive seasons of 12 wins or more from 2003 to 2009. The Colts offense in those days operated like a machine, with playmakers all over the field who were expertly run by Peyton Manning. However, the Colts did not have the same success in the postseason, only going 9-10 since 1999. All of the postseason disappointments aside, these Colts teams should be remembered for their consistent dominance and their record breaking offensive juggernauts that were so fun to watch every Sunday in the 2000's.
9 1982-1992 Washington Redskins- "The Gibbs Era"
Three Super Bowls over the course of ten seasons all under Joe Gibbs and all occurring with three different quarterbacks at the helm is quite impressive. The Redskins had stiff competition as well with the likes of the 49ers, Bears and Giants all battling for supremacy in the NFC. What keeps the Redskins at nine is the fact that two of their Super Bowl wins, one in particular occurred in strike shortened seasons.
8 1967-1985 Oakland/L.A. Raiders- "The Madden/Flores Era"
19 seasons and 12 division titles. Oh yeah, and three Super Bowls in that time period. The impressive quality about these Raiders teams is how they did it with multiple coaches and different personal over the course of 19 seasons. The Raiders were dynamic on the offensive side of the ball with playmakers such as Marcus Allen, Kenny Stabler and Fred Biletnikoff while being feared defensively with studs such as Lester Hayes, Howie Long and Jack Tatum.
7 1970-1974 Miami Dolphins- "The Shula Era"
65-16 over the course of five seasons where the Dolphins were the NFL's marquee team. Two of those seasons include possibly the two greatest back to back seasons in NFL history where the Dolphins came back after the only undefeated season in league history only to go 15-2 on route to a dominating victory in Super Bowl VIII. The early 70's Dolphins will of course always be defined by their 14-0 undefeated season.
6 1966-1983 Dallas Cowboys- "The Staubach/Landry Era"
In at number six, the Tom Landry led Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys were a perennial contender for the better half of two decades, setting the expectations high for the great franchise. Not only did they appear in five Super Bowls and win two of them, they also were on the short end of seven penultimate games, a few of those losses included the Ice Bowl in Green Bay and Dwight Clarks famous catch game, easily two games that could've gone the Cowboys way. The only thing holding the Cowboys back is the fact they were never quite the dominant team of their era, with the Packers, Steelers, Dolphins and Raiders all having slightly greater success at certain times.
5 1991-1996 Dallas Cowboys- "The Aikman/Smith Era"
The Cowboys quite possibly could have been the first and only team to capture four Super Bowls in a row. In a league featuring elite opponents such as the 49ers, Giants and Packers, the Cowboys ran off three Super Bowl victories in four seasons, becoming the first team in NFL history to do so in the Super Bowl era.
4 1961-1967 Green Bay Packers- "The Lombardi Era"
The Packers became the NFL's model franchise with their success in the 1960's. Yes, five championships in seven years is more impressive than any of the top three teams on this list, but in a league with fewer teams and no free agency, the Packers benefitted from the times to create a dynasty. Nonetheless, Lombardi's Packers are one of the most dominant teams in sports history.
3 2001-Present New England Patriots- "The Brady/Bellichick Era"
Given the fact that the NFL and other pro sports leagues have become a business where the player has most of the power, it is harder to sustain excellence given the constant shifting of players and management. With that in mind, the fact that the New England Patriots have appeared in five Super Bowls in eleven seasons is quite the feat. The Patriots have done it with strong defense and they have done it with prolific offense. Most of that credit goes to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady as the duo has continued to be the captains of the strongest organization in football, compiling a career playoff record of 16-6 along with the only 16-0 season in NFL history and the longest win streak of 23 wins in a row.
2 1972-1979 Pittsburgh Steelers- "The Steel Curtain Era"
The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970's had the greatest, highly concentrated run of over five years in NFL history. Eight seasons, eight playoff appearances. Eight seasons, four Super Bowls. Two of those Super Bowls came back to back as well. The Steelers had arguably the league's greatest defense and a powerful offense that fit the mold as the typical NFL offense back in the 1970's where you could run the ball and throw deep when you wanted too. With Chuck Noll at the helm and lead by some of the game's greatest in Joe Greene, Jack Lambert and Terry Bradshaw, the Steelers come in at number two in the league's greatest reigns of greatness.
1 1981-1998 San Francisco 49ers- "The Montana/Young Era"
Five Super Bowls in thirteen seasons. That is the benchmark for all NFL teams. It speaks of dominance, it speaks of consistency, everything those 49ers teams were about. It didn't matter who was coaching, it didn't matter who was at quarterback, all that mattered was that the 49ers could win 11 or 12 games and it was a down season. Will we see another reign of greatness like the 49ers? Only time will tell.
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