The Greatest Team of the Super Bowl Era: A Roundtable
By Erik Lambert
It’s a debate that rages on longer than any other. The Super Bowl era is about to complete it’s 50th year of existence and once again the question must be raised. Who is the greatest team to have hoisted the Lombardi trophy? We posed this daunting challenge to the Mocks crew and predictably got some diverse answers.
Eric Robinson:
Whew. When it comes to style, athleticism, and all the metrics the game, the 72 Dolphins can’t compare. However, 17-0 is 17-0. Difficult to argue against a team that won every game of the regular season and playoffs.
Brady Lunt:
It’s hard to argue against the undefeated ’72 Dolphins, but I think the greatest team award has to be given to the ’85 Bears. With a defense that ranks as one of the best all-time and an offense led by Walter Payton, they could dominate in every phase of the game. Although they went 15-1 in the regular season, they showed their dominant with a 46-10 stomping in Super Bowl XX.
Sayre Bedinger:
The best team of the Super Bowl era is the 1998-99 Denver Broncos. They won with John Elway, they won without him. Terrell Davis was an x-factor and MVP on a team that proved it was an all time great by winning back to back, and making it look pretty easy against the over matched Atlanta Falcons. Phenomenal team.
Erik Lambert:
Being a Bears fan, it would be easy to choose that unforgettable 1985 team. It was without question among the most talented and dominant of all-time. However, I can’t overlook the fact that they were weak where it mattered most: at quarterback. I have mad respect for Jim McMahon and his leadership, but he was never a superstar and had injury problems throughout his career. Even during that ’85 season he missed time with health issues.
It’s for that reason I can’t choose them and instead will go with the 1989 San Francisco 49ers. This team was absolutely loaded everywhere on the roster. They had Jerry Rice at wide receiver, Roger Craig at running back, Brent Jones at tight end and a defense headlined by Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley. Most importantly though they had Joe Montana at quarterback with Steve Young sitting on the bench behind him. So even if one Hall of Famer went down, another was waiting in the wings to replace him.
They went 14-2 in the regular season with their two losses being by a combined five points, they didn’t lose a single game on the road and their average margin of victory in the playoffs was 33 points including the still-record 55-10 crushing of Denver in the Super Bowl.