In a matter of 60 minutes the Patriots went from being discussed among the Greatest Teams in NFL history to being discussed among the Greatest Teams to not win a Super Bowl ring.  It is amazing that we are now having this discussion about a team that has known nothing but post season success the last 7 seasons.  This is a discussion we would expect to have about Dan Marino’s Dolphins or Peyton Manning’s Colts, not Tom Brady and the invincible Patriots. 

I have charted the Patriots the entire season.  I ranked their 6-0 start and there 12-0 start.  Both were in the top 5 since 1960.  I saw no reason to talk about their 16-0 start as it was obviously the best in NFL history.  Now we get to rank their historic demise and not their historic achievement.  Where do the 2007 Patriots rank among the best single season teams not to win a title?

I decided to use the same criteria in determining the best teams not to win the Super Bowl as I do the best teams to win one.  My test for whether a team is an all time dominant team is pretty simple. 1) Were they the best team in their conference for the Regular Season and win at least .750 of their games? 2) Did they win the Super Bowl? 3) Did they finish first in either scoring offense or defense? 4) They were in the top 5 in the other category?  If the answer is yes to all four questions then they were an All Time Dominant Team.  The 1962 Packers, 1972 Dolphins, 1978 Steelers, 1984 49ers, 1985 Bears, 1989 49ers, 1991 Redskins, 1996 Packers, and 1999 Rams all accomplished this feat.  Furthermore the 1994 49ers were 1st in scoring offense and 6th in scoring defense finishing out of the top 5 by less than 10 points

I didn’t select multiple teams from a dynasty, but rather took the best one.  I put the 1984 49ers, 1989 49ers, and 1994 49ers in the discussion seeing that even though it was the same franchise many of the key players were different.  Those were my 10 best single season teams since 1960 heading into this weekend, but not necessarily in that order. 

I think it is a strong set of criteria when differentiating the various Super Bowl winning clubs.  While you can argue about the 1998 Broncos, 1993 Cowboys, and 2004 Patriots it takes a lot of the subjectivity out of the debate and includes most of the teams that everyone always talks about. 

Therefore I did the same thing for the teams that almost made it.  I took into account the regular season.  While the 1994 Cowboys had a great team, they were the second seed in the NFC and lost to the favored 49ers at San Fran.  That doesn’t make them a top 10 disappointment.  To make this list you had to have the best record in your conference that season and win more than .750 of the regular season games.  I also looked at scoring offense, scoring defense, margin of victory.  All of the teams on this list had point differentials of over 10.0 points per game.  All had scoring offenses and defenses that were both in the top 10 for that season.  Here is my list of the top 10 teams that almost made history:

5 Honorable Mentions:  1967 Oakland Raiders, 1973 LA Rams, 1984 Miami Dolphins, 1990 Buffalo Bills, 2006 San Diego Chargers

10) 1999 Jacksonville Jaguars

W-L: 14-2
Points Scored: 24.8 ppg (6th of 31)
Points Allowed:  13.6 ppg (1st of 31)
Point Differential:  11.2 (2nd of 31)

Summary:  They could beat everyone but Tennessee that season.  If you take out the two regular season losses to Tennessee they beat their other opponents by 14.8 points per game.  They featured a dangerous running game, solid QB, strong receivers, and the best defense in terms of points allowed.  They had previous experience having played in the AFC Championship Game in the 1996 season.  They had suffered setbacks in the 1997 and 1998 playoffs.  This was their best team and this was their time.  When they beat Miami 62-7 in the divisional round a Super Bowl appearance seemed to be a formality, especially seeing the Titans needed a Music City Miracle to escape with a home win over Buffalo in the Wild Card Round.  That was until the Jags lost to the Titans 33-14 in the AFC Championship Game for the 3rd time that season.  The Jags would not win another playoff game until they beat Pittsburgh in 2007.  The Titans would go on to lose a very close game to the Rams in the Super Bowl leaving some unfinished business at the 1 yard line.

9) 1967 LA Rams: 
W-L: 11-1-2
Points Scored: 28.4 ppg (1st of 16)
Points Allowed:  14.4 ppg (1st of 16)
Point Differential: 14.4 ppg (1st of 16)

Summary:  This is a forgotten almost great team in NFL history.  They finished the season first in points scored, first in points allowed, and first in point differential.  That is a very hard feat to accomplish even if there were only 16 teams in the league.  After suffering a loss to San Fran in Week 4 and tying Baltimore and Washington in consecutive weeks after that they went on an 8 game winning streak.  This team featured the Fearsome Foursome, 3 of which were named All Pro.  Roman Gabriel was a Pro Bowl QB.  The offense featured 5 Pro Bowlers and Charley Cowan who was named All Pro, but was not selected to the Pro Bowl.  Due to no Wild Cards the Rams didn’t even have to go up against the second best team in the NFL which was the Baltimore Colts.  The Colts were 11-1-2 as well and finished second in Points Scored, Points Allowed, and Point Differential.  Due to the NFL’s playoff rules the Rams had to travel to Green Bay for the first round of the playoffs.  In the Lombardi era that was a death sentence.  Despite losing only one game by a field goal and having beaten the Packers by 3 points just 14 days prior, the Rams were smoked by the 9-4-1 Packers 28-7 in the first round of the playoffs.  The Packers would go on to win the Ice Bowl and Super Bowl II.  While the Rams had some solid squads after 1967 they would not make the Super Bowl until the 1979 season years after these players were a distant memory.

8) 1983 Washington Redskins
W-L: 14-2
Points Scored: 33.8 (1st of 28)
Points Allowed: 20.7 (11th of 28)
Point Differential: 13.1 (1st of 28)

Summary:  Expectations were sky high this season.  Even though 1982 was a strike shortened season the 1982 Redskins still brought home the Lombardi Trophy.  They had a very similar team in place for 1983.  They set a then NFL record for points with 541 points.  The offense featured Joe Theisman, John Riggins, Art Monk, and The Hogs.  Their defense was not spectacular but got the job done.  They lost 2 games by one point each and were riding an 11 game winning streak into the Super Bowl, which included a 51-7 destruction of the LA Rams.  However, someone forgot to tell the Raiders they didn’t have a chance and Marcus Allen’s famous 74 yard touchdown run helped lead the Raiders to a 38-9 victory over the heavily favored Redskins.  The 12-4 Raiders were a solid team, but no one expected the Redskins to crash and burn like this.  The Redskins would not return to the big stage until the 1987 season and by then Theisman and Riggins were no longer on the team.

7) 2001 St Louis Rams

W-L: 14-2
Points Scored: 31.4 ppg (1st of 31)
Points Allowed: 17.1 ppg (7th of 31)
Point Differential: 14.3 ppg (1st of 31)

Summary:  This wasn’t as good as the Greatest Show on Turf Team that exploded onto the scene in 1999.  While there offense still scored a lot of points they weren’t as good as 1999 mainly because they turned the ball over too much.  Warner had 22 interceptions or one pick every 24.8 attempts as opposed to the 13 interceptions or 1 interception every 38.4 attempts he had in 1999.  Marshall Faulk was still the most dangerous back in the league.  Bruce and Holt were fantastic receivers.  Lovie Smith had been brought in to improve the defense from the team that was among the worst in the league in 2000.  The result was a team that forced a lot of turnovers and made a lot of big plays on both sides of the ball.  No one gave the Patriots a chance to win the Super Bowl.  Tom Brady was not the All-Pro he is today.  The Rams lost the Super Bowl on a field goal 20-17.  The Rams were never the same.  Warner would throw only 4 touchdowns over the next two years before ushering in the Marc Bulger era.  They have not been in the playoffs consistently since.  The Patriots would begin their run of 3 Super Bowls in 4 years.

6) 1992 San Francisco 49ers
W-L: 14-2
Points Scored: 26.9 ppg (1st of 28)
Points Allowed: 14.7 ppg (3rd of 28)
Point Differential: 12.2 ppg (1st of 28)

Summary:  The 49ers were adjusting to life after Joe.  After finishing 28-4 in the regular season in 1989 and 1990 the 49ers had made the switch to Steve Young.  Joe Montana would miss the better part of 2 seasons with injuries.  Steve Young led the 1991 49ers to a 10-6 record, but they missed the playoffs.  However, they finished 1991 as one of the hottest teams in the NFL.  In 1992 they picked up where they left off in 1991.  Steve Young was the MVP of the league and led an offense that featured Jerry Rice, Ricky Waters, John Taylor, and Brent Jones.  The defense ranked 3rd in the league.  This looked like a team headed for the Super Bowl.  In the last game of the regular season the 49ers had everything wrapped up and decided to play Joe Montana in a meaningless second half.  It was his first game for Montana since the 1990 Championship Game loss to the NY Giants.  He went 15-21 for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns with 0 picks.  Suddenly the MVP of the league was in a local media QB controversy with arguably the greatest QB of all time.  The 49ers offense never really looked the same that season.  They struggled to beat the 9-7 Washington Redskins 20-13 before bowing out to 13-3 Dallas 30-20.  Steve Young played like a guy looking over his shoulder.  To Dallas’s credit they went on to crush the Buffalo Bills 52-17 in the Super Bowl.  It would propel Dallas to 3 Super Bowl titles in 4 seasons.  This 49ers team may have been the victim of running into a buzz saw that they simply weren’t capable of competing with.  Dallas was a great team.  Joe Montana was traded to Kansas City the next season and Steve Young would eventually escape The Shadow and win the Super Bowl 2 seasons later.  However this was a fantastic team that not only got caught up in the pressure of winning it all but with the pressure of having a legend sitting on the bench.  It would have been interesting to see how those playoffs would have gone had Montana just not played a meaningless second half against the Lions.      

5) 2005 Indianapolis Colts

W-L: 14-2
Points Scored: 27.4 ppg (1st of 32)
Points Allowed: 15.4 ppg (2nd of 32)
Point Differential: 12.0 ppg (1st of 32)

Summary:  This is the strangest team on the list.  It was a team with two identities.  Indy was coming off a season in which Peyton Manning had 49 touchdown passes.  When the defense held 4 of their first 5 opponents to less than 10 points this team looked poised for greatness.  However, the offense struggled in those games.  Then the defense slipped but the offense kicked into high gear.  They would start the season 13-0.  Peyton Manning and the offense were still explosive.  The defense looked better than any previous Manning team.  The team had been battled tested in the playoffs having lost to New England in the AFC Championship Game 2 years prior.  New England and Pittsburgh were both down this year.  It appeared to be the Colt’s time.  A couple things happened toward the end of the season.  After losing to the Chargers 26-17 the Colts rested a lot of their players.  It becomes the old debate.  What is better, Momentum or Rest?  They didn’t look very sharp in the Divisional Round against Pittsburgh.  The scored only 3 points in the first 3 quarter of the game and lost 21-18 to a team they had beaten 26-7 just 5 games prior.  The other thing that happened is that Tony Dungy’s son tragically committed suicide at the end of the season.  This really put a damper on what should have been a terrific season.  To the Colts credit the Steelers would go on to capture the Super Bowl.  The Colts also bounced back in 2006 and were able to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Indianapolis.  This was arguably the best team of the Peyton Manning era to date and unlike the 2007 version it was clearly the best team in the NFL.  The fact that the 05 Colts didn’t even get a playoff win to show for this season was a very disappointing turn of events.

4) 1998 Minnesota Vikings
W-L: 15-1
Points Scored: 34.7 ppg (1st of 30)
Points Allowed: 18.5 ppg (6th of 30)
Point Differential: 16.2 ppg (1st of 30)

Summary:  This is where the list starts to get to be easy.  You can argue about where a lot of the other teams rank.  You can say that I should have put this team on the list or left this one off of it.  To me these four are clearly the top ones on the list.  I started with the 1998 Vikings because they had the worst defense of the top 4 teams, had the lowest point differential of the top 4 teams, and were the only one that didn’t qualify for the Super Bowl.  The Cowboys, 49ers, and Packers had been the class of the NFC since 1992.  While the Vikings had been good, they were never able to do anything in the playoffs.  However one first round pick changed everything.  The Vikings were probably the most feared offense prior to the 2007 Patriots.  People will look at the Greatest Show on Turf.  Others will look at the 83 Redskins.  While those teams were great, they didn’t score 556 points in a season nor did they have Randy Moss at receiver.  The rookie came in and turned the league into his own playground.  He had a Thanksgiving game where he had only 3 catches but they went for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Chris Carter and Jake Reed were excellent receivers.  Randall Cunningham enjoyed an unexpected rebirth.  Robert Smith and Leroy Hoard combined for 1666 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns.  Even though the Patriots scored more points, I believe this offense was much more balanced.  On defense they were led by John Randle, Ed McDaniel, Dwayne Rudd, and Robert Griffin.  While the defense did give up yards, they forced a lot of turnovers and were always playing with a 2 touchdown lead.  The kicker was perfect on the season.  It seemed this team had no weaknesses.   The Vikings lost only one game on the season which was a 28-24 game at Tampa Bay.  When the playoffs started the Vikings trashed the Cardinals 41-21.  A Vikings vs. Broncos Super Bowl appeared to be in the works.  However, the Falcons managed to keep the game close and when Gary Anderson missed his first field goal of the season the Falcons capitalized.  They forced the game into overtime by scoring a touchdown and the Falcons would go on to beat the Vikings 30-27 in OT.  While the Vikings would make the NFC Championship Game in 2000 they never got as close as they did in 1998.  The Falcons would go on to be destroyed by the Broncos in the Super Bowl.  They would not be relevant again until 2002 when they became the first road team to win a playoff game in Green Bay.  That was with Michael Vick and mostly different players than the 1998 Falcons. 

3) 1969 Minnesota Vikings
W-L: 12-2
Points Scored: 27.1 ppg (1st of 16)
Points Allowed: 9.5 ppg (1st of 16)
Point Differential: 17.6 ppg (1st of 16)

Summary:  This was hard.  I couldn’t decide which team to put where.  While the Colts had a slightly better record, the 1969 Vikings were 1st in scoring offense, defense, and point differential.  They had scored 50 points on 3 different occasions in 1969, but also managed to hold their opponents under 10 points a game.  The started and ended the season with a loss, but won 12 straight games in the middle.  While Fran Tarkenton is the famous Viking QB from this era he had been traded to the NY Giants a few years earlier and had not yet returned to the Vikings.  While they were 12th in passing yards they ranked 2nd in passing touchdowns.  They were in the top 5 in rushing offense.  The Purple People Eaters were as ferocious of a defensive front four as the league has ever seen.  Alan Page and Carl Eller are both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Jim Marshall started 270 consecutive games for the Vikings.  Bud Grant was the Head Coach.  While the Vikings only beat the Rams 23-20 in the opening round of the playoffs they destroyed Cleveland 27-7.  Then they played their worst game of the season and for the second straight year the NFL was upset in the Super Bowl by the AFL.  The game was never close and the Chiefs dominated with a 23-7 victory.  I think because the Vikings went on to be dominated in 3 more Super Bowls this team gets looked at a another Minnesota disappointment.  While the Vikings also had a better QB and some great teams from 1973-76 when they lost those other 3 Super Bowls none of them were quite as statistically dominant as the 1969 team.   This team had everything in place to be among the greatest champions in NFL history.  Unfortunately for them they were not able to capitalize on the moment and turned the ball over too much to compete with the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

2) 1968 Baltimore Colts
W-L: 13-1
Points Scored: 28.7 ppg (2nd of 16)
Points Allowed: 10.3 ppg (1st of 16)
Point Differential: 18.4 ppg (1st of 16)

Summary:  The Baltimore Colts had some very good teams in the Unitas era.  They won back to back NFL Championships in 1958 and 1959.  Their 1967 team may have been the best team in the history of the NFL to not qualify for the playoffs.  However, this was by far their best product.  I think people get too caught up in that the NFL had this false perception that they were better than the AFL.  This team should have been favored to destroy the Jets whether that power struggle were present or not.  They had a 7 game stretch where they posted 3 shutouts and allowed only 32 points.  They scored 27 or more points in 10 of their 14 games.  They also had 10 games where they allowed fewer than 10 points.  11 of their 13 regular season wins were by double digits.  This was as dominant of a team as the NFL ever saw.  After defeating Minnesota 24-14 in the opening playoff round they avenged their only loss to Cleveland in the NFL Championship game by defeating them 34-0.  This team was ridiculously good.  Although Johnny U is the quarterback people think of from the 60s Colts, Earl Morrall was playing most of the season for the injured Johnny Unitas.  Morrall was an All-Pro.  Tom Matte was the Pro Bowl running back.  John Mackey and Willie Richardson were both All Pro Targets.  The defense was littered with All Pros, most notably Billy Ray Smith Sr. and Mike Curits.  Yet when the heavily favored Colts played the Jets they threw 4 interceptions and turned the ball over 5 times.  The result was a Joe Namath guarantee, equality for the conferences, and a 16-7 loss.  It is still arguably the greatest upset in Super Bowl history.  The Colts switched conferences in 1970 and won the Super Bowl for the AFL.  Many of these players were still on that team.  However, nothing was as disappointing as losing the game that prevented them from joining the immortal.      

1) 2007 New England Patriots
W-L: 16-0
Points Scored: 36.8 ppg (1st of 32)
Points Allowed: 17.1 ppg (4th of 32)
Point Differential: 19.7 ppg (1st of 32)

Summary:  I know that I talk about allowing things to shake out and not getting caught up in the moment.  By putting them number one I am not saying that Super Bowl XLII was the greatest upset in the Super Bowl era.  I still believe Super Bowl III was the biggest upset.  I think the gap between the 1968 Jets and Colts heading into that game was greater than the gap between the 07 Giants and Patriots heading into their game.  That is a different discussion.  What I am saying is that I think the 2007 New England Patriots are the best team to not win a Super Bowl.  I think you could put the 1968 Colts, 1969 Vikings, or the 1998 Vikings higher than the Patriots.  There could be legitimate arguments for doing so.  But considering everything that is in play I think the 2007 Patriots are the best team to not finish off their season with a title.  Here are 8 reasons why:

1) Tom Brady – Nobody considers Joe Theisman, Randall Cunningham, Joe Kapp, or Earl Morrall to be among the greatest QBs of all time.  Tom Brady is not only a First Ballot Hall of Fame QB, but enjoyed arguably had the best statistical season in the history of the NFL.  398 completions,  578 attempts, 68.9 completion percentage, 4806 yards, 50 touchdowns, and only 8 interceptions.  His interception total of 8 was lower than his yards per attempt of 8.3.  He was ridiculously good this season.  The quarterback is the face of the franchise and none of 10 teams on this list had a better QB.

2) Randy Moss – Randy Moss had arguably the best receiving season of the Super Bowl era.  He had 98 catches for 1493 yards and an NFL record 23 touchdowns.  No one since Jerry Rice’s 1987 season had had more than 18 touchdowns in a single season.

3) Bill Belichick – You are talking about a guy who had a 14-2 record as the coach of the Patriots in the playoffs since 2001.  He has 3 Super Bowl rings.  He was looking to join Chuck Noll as the only Head Coach to go 4-0 in the Super Bowl.  He is in the discussion for best Head Coaches ever.

4) 3 previous Super Bowl Titles – No one on the list had more than 1 previous title other than the 1992 49ers.  Joe Montana was not the 49ers QB that season nor were a lot of the key players from the previous Super Bowl teams still with the 49ers.  While some of the 2007 Patriots were not present for the other 3 titles the Head Coach, QB, and many of the other core players were on some if not all of those previous Patriots teams.

5) 589 points scored – It was an NFL record for points scored in a single season.  The Patriots averaged 41.1 points in their first 10 games of the 2007 season.  Only 5 teams (Chargers, Colts, Cowboys, Jaguars, and Packers had 411 or more points over the entire 16 game season).

6) 274 points allowed – On paper it was the 4th best defense in the NFL.  274 points allowed in 16 games is not All Time Great, but it was still pretty good.  The defense saved them in the Chargers game and almost saved them in the Super Bowl. 

7) 18-0 – The closest anyone had come to the 1972 Dolphins were the 1985 Bears who went 12-0 before losing their first game.  They finished that season 18-1.  The 1998 Broncos and 2005 Colts started 13-0 and finished 14-2.  No one had come as close as the Patriots did this season.

8) The Super Bowl was competitive – While the 2007 Giants will not go down as an all time great team, unlike the 1968 Colts and 1969 Vikings who were manhandled in the Super Bowl, the Patriots had the Giants down to their last play.  The Patriots were for all intents and purposes beaten on a 32 yard circus catch that will go down as one of the greatest in the history of the Super Bowl.

While all of the other teams have some compelling story lines no one brings that body of work to the table.  There is nothing the Patriots or anyone else in the NFL can do going forward to diminish that body of work.  It will be interesting to see how history remembers these 2007 Patriots.  The standard for excellence is winning the Lombardi Trophy.  The 2007 Patriots came up short in that regard. 

Clearly there are Super Bowl winners that are not as good as the 2007 Patriots.  The same can be said for a lot of the other teams on my list.  Some years the bar is higher than others.  Some will say that how the Patriots are viewed will be determined by how long their accomplishments stand the test of time.  If 18-0 to start a season, 50 touchdown passes, 23 touchdown receptions, and 589 points still stand in 50 years that will speak volumes about the 2007 Patriots.  I disagree.  No one had ever done what the Patriots did prior to this season.  They will have either a) Changed the way the game was played forever or, b) Done something that happens once in a lifetime.  Either way that it was an impressive season.   

The fact of the matter is that all of the teams on this list had some shortcomings.  For the 83 Redskins, 98 Vikings, and 05 Colts the defense wasn’t quite good enough even if the scoring numbers suggested otherwise.  For the 2001 Rams they turned the ball over too much.  For as dominant as the Patriots were in 2007 they still had 2 short comings: 1) They were too slow on defense.  While the Patriots were very strong on the defensive line and the corners, but they were very slow in the middle of the defense.  In particular Bruscki, Harrison, and Seau.  While that translated into good redzone defense because the field was shorter people were able to figure out how to move the ball downfield and keep the Patriots offense on the sideline in the second half of the season.  2) They just didn’t have enough offensive scoring balance.  While the Brady and Moss show was fun to watch, they just didn’t get enough scoring out of the other offensive players.  Almost half of Brady’s TD passes were to Moss.  Their starting tailbacks only accounted for 9 rushing touchdowns.  Stallworth was for the most part nonexistent.  Wes Welker had a fantastic season, but from Week 11 to Week 17 he had 1 touchdown catch.  Once teams figured out how to limit Moss and contain the other players it was possible to keep up with the Patriots.  People weren’t afraid of the Patriots in the second half of the season like they were in the first half of the season.

In the first 10 games the Patriots averaged an unbelievable 41.1 points per game.  They started off the season on fire, peaked from Week 6 to Week 11 when they scored over 48 points in 4 out of 5 games.  Everyone was in the endzone.  The average score those weeks was 45.8 to 18.4.  The only reason it was that close is the 24-20 game against the then undefeated Indianapolis Colts is averaged into that total. 
 
After Week 11 they never really were the same dominant team.  Sure they won all of their games, but the competition wasn’t as good either.  They won by an average of 29.6 to 19.5.  That was a far cry from the beginning of the season.  As people started to figure out some things about the Patriot’s offense the games got a lot closer.  They beat the Eagles without McNabb by only 3 points.  They beat the Ravens by only 3 points without McNair.  They beat the Giants by only 3 points and trailed in that game by 12 points.  The once victorious Dolphins shutout the Patriots in the second half in New England.  The Patriots only beat the Jets 20-10 in New England.  The Patriots won their 2 playoff games by a combined score of 52-32.  They just didn’t progress very well over the course of the season.

The only good games they played after Week 11 considering the competition was the regular season game against the Steelers and the wildcard game against the Jaguars.  The Steelers game was close at the half and the Jaguars game was competitive well into the 4th quarter. 

Had they won the Super Bowl, I would have struggled to put them over the other gigantic single season teams because of how the Patriots finished the season combined with how ordinary they had looked in the playoffs.  While those teams did not have the same beginning to the regular season the Patriots did they were much better in the postseason.  Those teams got better as their seasons progressed. 

The media and Patriots fans did a very good job of protecting this team.  If you dared say the Patriots weren’t playing that well people would remind you that they were undefeated and in the midst of a historic season.  You were labeled a Patriot hater.  With the Patriots not losing it was pretty hard to argue against that.

I think history will remember the 2007 Patriots as arguably the best passing offense in the history of the NFL along with the 1984 Dolphins and 2004 Colts.  Seeing they put up 50 touchdown passes and 589 points it is hard to argue with that.  I think people will remember them as the greatest team not to win the Super Bowl.  Finally, I think history will remember them in the conversation of top 25 single season all time great NFL teams.  Similar to how history regards the 1991 UNLV Running Rebels in college basketball; too good in the regular season to overlook, but not good enough to be among the very elite without a title.

Just as Vegas losing by 2 points in the Final Four doesn’t prevent them from being a historic team; it seems hard for me to believe that the 2007 Patriots won’t be either.  People aren’t going to forget about the 2007 Patriots because they didn’t win a ring.  The Patriots were a handful of plays from completing a perfect season.  I don’t think 3 or 4 plays take a team from being a in the discussion of Greatest Teams of All Time to absolutely nothing.  I don’t believe history can hinge that much on just a few plays. 

That said I think the Patriots failed miserably in joining the debate for the very Best Teams in NFL History.  That standard is much different.  The 2007 Patriots are not the Best of the Best.  They are not on par with the other dominant teams of the last 50 years.  While the 1962 Packers, 1972 Dolphins, 1978 Steelers, 1984 49ers, 1985 Bears, 1989 49ers, 1991 Redskins, 1994 49ers, 1996 Packers, and 1999 Rams might not have had a strength as good as Brady and Moss they didn’t have the weaknesses in the middle of the defense that limited the Patriots over the second half of the season.  They weren’t as reliant on one offensive weapon in Randy Moss.  These teams were more unstoppable because they had better overall balance on both sides of the football.  While that better balance may not have translated into as many regular season wins it translated into the more important achievement, postseason dominance and the Lombardi Trophy.

That probably would have been the case had the 2007 Patriots won the Super Bowl.  While they would have had the best record of any of the all time great teams they also would have had the least balance.  The only difference is that it would have created a screaming match with Patriots fans about how 19-0 made them the best ever.  The Patriots losing the Super Bowl makes that debate a slam dunk.  While history doesn’t hinge on one or two plays there still is a very thin line between mortality and immortality.

What are your thoughts?  Did I get it right that the Patriots are still a historic team, just not an All Time Great Team?   Does their failure to win the Super Bowl make them a distant memory next season?  Are they the Greatest Team to not finish their season with a Super Bowl Trophy?  Let me know your thoughts.

In the wake of Brett Favre breaking the NFL record for career touchdown passes, I decided to discuss one of my favorite topics, NFL history.  While it is fun to watch games, it is just as fun to compare different players, teams, and eras.  The NFL has many prestigious records.  To name the top 10 unbreakable records is not an easy task.  Here are the criteria I used in compiling my list:

01. Keep it positive – Yes, the Tampa Bay Bucs hold the record for 26 consecutive losses.  It is probably an unbreakable record.  Who cares?  Keep it positive. 

02. Staying power – I’m not going to rank LT’s 2006 touchdown record.  He just set it last season.  Emmitt Smith, Marshall Faulk, Priest Holmes, Shaun Alexander, and now LT have all held that record in the last 12 years.  Therefore, even though it is a great record, it hasn’t been around enough to be deemed unbreakable. 

03. Keep the NFL Schedule in mind – You have to remember that in the 1950s the NFL played only 12 games.  In the 1961 the NFL went to 14 games.  In 1978 the league went to the present day total of 16 games.  I tried to keep that in mind when looking at the records. 

04. Keep it practical – Paul Hornung had 176 points in 12 games in 1960 because he kicked field goals and extra points.  The 1933 Bears gave up 82 points in 14 games.  Unbreakable, absolutely.  Practical in today’s NFL.  No.  While the game is always evolving, I tried to pick records that are unbreakable because the player or team set the bar too high, not because the style of the game has changed to such a degree that the current style of play will not allow the record to be broken.

05 Sidenote - This article was originally written in October 2007.  I have since revised it.  Many of you will notice that I took #10 off, because the Patriots were able to break it.  I did not think at the time the Patriots would be able to keep up their record scoring pace and I was wrong.  If you want to put comments on here telling me what an #### I was feel free. 

Also, keep in mind that while the title of the piece is Unbreakable Records that it doesn't mean these records will never ever ever fall.  If I had wanted to choose records like that I could have.  The 1934 Reds scoring 12 points in a season.  The 1934 Bears giving up less than 100 points in a season.  I get that.  These aren't those types of records.  These records are achievable by the rules and style of play today, but are going to take a historic game, season, or career to break.  In theory they are breakable, but because of how high the bar is set they will be very difficult.  If these records fall people will be amazed.  That is what happened with the Minnesota 556 point record falling. 

I'm probably going to revise this in the next year or two.  There is a certain #4 playing in Green Bay that I haven't included on here yet, because his records and streaks are being broke every week, because he is still active.  If he does ever decide to retire I will address those records at that time.  I hope you enjoyed the piece and the debate that transpired because of it.

Without further delay, here is my list of the top 10 unbreakable NFL records: 

10. Ernie Nevers scored 40 points in a single game – To tell you the truth, I feel pretty foolish I didn't put this one on here the first time I did this.  I got caught up in whether the Patriots would make history and probably let my emotions get in the way of my judgment.  This is an incredibly tough record to break and I probably should have it higher on my list.  The reason I don't is because players don't kick extra points and field goals anymore and he had four extra points in the game.  Still his record of 6 rushing touchdowns in a game still stands.  ####le Sayers and Dub Jones are the only two other players to score 6 total touchdowns in a game.  ####le Sayers did that in 1965.  History says this record is pretty secure.  I don't feel too bad i didn't mention it the first time around.  There were a lot of knowledgable people debating this and it never came up.  It has been around since 1929 meaning it has some staying power.  While on any one day a player can rise up and do the unthinkable, it seems pretty safe that Ernie Nevers will be part of the history books for a very long time.

09. Jerry Rice 22 receiving touchdowns in 12 games – Despite the evolution of the West Coast Offense, Greatest Show on Turf, and Manning’s Colts, this record has remained relatively safe.  Randy Moss is the only one that has more in a single season, but it took him 4 extra games to get there.  Sterling Sharpe is the next closest with 18 touchdowns in the 1994 season.  Randy Moss has had a couple 17-touchdown seasons.   The problem is that they played an entire season.  Jerry Rice had 22 touchdowns, despite only playing in 12 games, due to the player strike.  When you consider that only one receiver has surpassed the mark in 20 years and it took him 4 extra games it is truly an amazing accomplishment; one that quite probably will never be broken.

08. Dan Marino passes for 5,084 yards in 1984 – Marino’s most celebrated statistic in 1984 was his 48-touchdown passes.  However, this is his record that will probably stand the test of time.  Kurt Warner came the closest, falling 254 yards shy.  Culpepper came within 367 yards in 2004.  Neil Lomax, Warren Moon, Trent Green and Rich Gannon are the only ones that have come within 500 yards of the record, and Lomax’s season was also in 1984.  With this record having stood for 23 years with no serious challengers, it seems safe to say that Dan Marino will hold this record for many more years to come. 

07. The San Francisco 49ers 18 game road winning streak – From 1988 to the opening game of 1991 the San Francisco 49ers were able to win 18 consecutive road games, which spanned 2 Super Bowl seasons.  When you consider that the closest team to that mark is the 2004-2005 Steelers with 11 consecutive games, it shows how impossible this streak will be to match.  What makes the 49ers streak even more remarkable is that 1991 season featured a quarterback change in San Fran.  Steve Young took over for Joe Montana, because of the injury Montana suffered in the 1990 championship game.  While Young went on to have a Hall of Fame career, the 49ers did go through a rough early season transition.  They started 2-4, before winning their last six games to miss the playoffs at 10-6.  Had Montana been healthy to start the season, this streak may have gone even longer. 

06. Norm Van Brocklin’s 554 yards passing in on September 28, 1951 – The Rams were the explosive offense of their day.  The 38.8 points per game they scored in 1950 is still an NFL record.   In 1951 in a game against the New York Yanks, Van Brocklin had a performance for the ages.  His 554 yards passing is still a record 56 years later.  It is amazing that with the evolution of the passing offenses since 1951 that no one has ever made a serious run at this record.  Warren Moon had a 527-yard effort against the Chiefs in 1990.  Boomer Esiason threw for 522 yards in a game against the Redskins in 1996.  Other than that, no one has ever really approached this record.   While it is possible for a quarterback to get hot, most teams try to establish the run for at least a couple series.  When the Lions, Bills, and Falcons were utilizing the run and shoot offense, I would have thought this record might have fallen.  However, with the exception of Mike Martz, few teams try to throw the ball non- stop.  Even if someone set out to break the record, it would be quite a feat.  I would expect this record to stay safe for many years to come. 

05. Jerry Rice’s 207 career touchdowns – This record is so off the charts, I can’t think of anyone other than LT that can even think about catching this record.  Emmitt Smith came closest with 175 touchdowns.  The next closest total is Marcus Allen with 144.  To put that difference in perspective, the difference between Marcus Allen and Jerry Rice is 63 touchdowns.  Frank Gifford ranks 50th on the all time NFL list with 77 career touchdowns.  Marvin Harrison doesn’t have a prayer, as he has 123 touchdowns, but is 35 years old.  He would need to average 10 touchdowns over the next 8.5 seasons to break the record.  Same goes for TO and Randy Moss.  At 28 years old, LT probably has the best chance, as he has 112 touchdowns for his career.   However, consider that Emmitt Smith had 115 touchdowns in his first 108 games.  While running backs will have more 20 touchdown seasons, the pounding that running backs take makes it almost impossible for them to play for as long as a wide receiver.  It will be interesting to see if LT will have a long enough shelf life to make a serious challenge for this record. 

04. The 1976 Steelers give up 28 points in their final 9 games – Part of this record is due to the Dead Ball Era, which ended in 1978 when the NFL implemented rule changes to improve scoring.  Three of the top four defensive teams in terms of points per game allowed in a season played from 1975-1977.  However, the 1976 Steelers were arguably the best of any of the Steelers’ impressive teams, despite the fact that this team did not win a Super Bowl.  The Steelers allowed 9 total points in 5 consecutive games, including 3 consecutive shutouts.  They posted a total of 5 shutouts on the season.  The 1985 Bears, 1991 Eagles, 1996 Packers, 2000 Baltimore Ravens, 2002 Bucs, and 2005 Bears (the best defenses I have ever seen) combined to pitch 9 shutouts (only the 1985 Bears and 2000 Ravens pitched consecutive shutouts).  Furthermore, the 2000 Ravens allowed 90 points in their last 9 games and the 1985 Bears allowed 93 points, or over 3 times as many as the 76 Steelers.  The 1976 season was the pinnacle for the Steel Curtain.  The 4 Super Bowls in 6 years and the 1976 season are a big reason why people still talk about the Steel Curtain 30 years later.

03. Johnny Unitas passes for 47 consecutive touchdown passes – Consider how hard it is to just start 47 consecutive games; much less throw a pass in 47 consecutive games.   The only QBs in the NFL that have currently started 47 or more consecutive games in the NFL are Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady.  Carson Palmer and Eli Manning have streaks in the 30s.  Even though Peyton Manning has a 49 touchdown pass season, his best streak is 27 consecutive games with a TD Pass.  Marino got to 30.  Favre was the most serious challenger.  He had his streak snapped at 36 touchdowns, which is still over half a season short.  Manning, Palmer, and Brady are probably the most likely current challengers.  This record will be as hard to break as Joe DiMaggio’s consecutive hit streak in Major League Baseball.   I wouldn’t expect this record to leave the record books anytime soon. 

02. #### Night Train Lane intercepts 14 passes in 1952 – This is a record that has been fairly safe for 55 years.  The only player that came close was Lester Hayes in 1980.  He had 13 interceptions for the Oakland Raiders.  Only 9 players have had 12 interceptions.  When you consider the evolution of the running back as a receiver, the rules that favor the wide receiver, and teams choosing not to throw at elite corners, a/k/a Deion Sanders and Champ Bailey, this is a record that has a good chance to stand for years to come.  Considering he was a rookie when he set the record and played in a 12 game schedule, #### Night Train Lane should have a place in the NFL record book for as long the NFL fields a league.   

01. Don Hutson NFL record of 8 seasons leading the league in touchdowns – Don Hutson is to the NFL what Babe Ruth is to baseball.  He was so far ahead of his era that it just wasn’t fair.  The closest player to this record has just 3 such seasons.  Since 1994 only twice has someone led the league in touchdowns with less than 20 touchdowns.  The average leader over that span scored an average of 23.15 per season.  That would mean that in order to equal this record one would probably have to score around 185 touchdowns in an 8-year period.  Jerry Rice is the only player to have more than that amount for a career and he played over 20 seasons.  Rice led the league in touchdowns twice.  This record is pretty safe.  This record is partially the result of the time frame that Hutson played.  However, Hutson wasn’t leading the league with 5 touchdowns.  When you consider that Hutson is still 16th on the NFL’s all time touchdown list, he was a great scorer in any era.  His most impressive season was 1942 when he had 17 touchdown receptions in 11 games.   That would be the equivalent of scoring 24.7 touchdowns in a 16 game schedule.  17 receiving touchdowns in a season still ranks tied for 4th in the history of the NFL.  Pretty impressive, when you consider that there was no offensive or defensive pass interference.  Hutson played in the passing offenses of the1930s and 1940s, not the present day NFL.  Hutson will be a relevant part of the NFL history books forever.     

Top 5 Honorable Mentions

01. Favre’s 239 consecutive game streak – Couple reasons I didn’t list this streak.  1) Jim Marshall actually holds the record for consecutive starts by an NFL non-punter or kicker at 270 consecutive games.  2) Favre’s streak is still active.  He breaks it every time he starts another game.  3) Peyton Manning has put himself in position to have a chance to break the streak.  If Manning misses a game, this streak moves on to the list and would be as unbreakable as any record in professional sports.  When you consider that for the first 200 games of Favre’s streak, 178 different QBs started an NFL game, it is truly one of the major accomplishments in professional sports.  Once Favre has retired, we will see how Peyton Manning fairs in the chase for Favre’s records.  This will be the toughest of them all to beat.  Once we see where Manning ends up, it will be easier to evaluate not only this record, but most of the major passing records in the NFL.  The fact Peyton Manning has positioned himself to break these records limits the staying power and is the sole reason this streak and the major career passing records were not on my top 10 list.      

02. Derrick Thomas’s 7 sacks in a game on November 11, 1990 – Until last Sunday this record appeared pretty safe.  I still don’t know what is more amazing; that he had 7 sacks in a game, or that he missed his eight sack of the contest on the game’s final play, a play that gave the Seahawks a 17-16 victory. Regardless, he not only holds the record for sacks in a game with 7, but he also ranks second with 6 sacks in a game against Oakland in 1998.  Until Sunday, no one had more than 5 sacks in a game since 1990, other than Thomas.  Even though Osi Umenyiora came close on Sunday, if anyone could break this record, I think it would be Shaun Merriman.  It will take a special effort from a special player to break this record. 

03. Miami’s 17-0 1972 season – We have had a couple teams tease us.  The 1985 Bears were probably the closest, going 15-1.  They lost a week 13 game at Miami 38-24.  The 1998 Vikings and Broncos challenged.  The Vikings went 15-1, and lost their only game by 4 points.  However, they weren’t even the last team to go undefeated that season and failed to even qualify for the Super Bowl.  The 1998 Broncos went 13-0, but lost 2 of their last 3 games.  Same went for the 2005 Colts.  While it doesn’t seem impossible, no one has been able to do it in 35 years.  That is saying something.  After four weeks have been played in 2007, only Dallas, Green Bay, Indy, and New England are still in the running.  Of those four New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts would appear to have the best shot.  Week 4 is still way to early.  We’ll see if either of these teams is able to accomplish the feat. 

04. Green Bay’s 3 consecutive titles (1965-1967) – Again, several teams have come close.  The 1971-1973 Dolphins played in 3 consecutive Super Bowls.  However, they lost the 1971 Super Bowl to Dallas and lost to the Raiders on a last second pass in the 1974 playoffs.  The 1974-1976 Steelers, the 1988-1990 49ers and the 1992-1994 Cowboys were probably the closest to accomplishing the feat, with each losing in the conference championship game while attempting to win their third consecutive title.  The 1992-1995 Cowboys and 2001-2004 Patriots have won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years.  While it is possible that a team will break through and accomplishes the feat, the era of free agency makes it a difficult challenge. 

05. Eric Dickerson’s 2105 yards in 1984 – A very impressive record, but probably not unbreakable.  Three players have rushed for over 2000 yards since 1997.  Jamal Lewis came within 39 yards in 2003.  Jim Brown and O.J. Simpson actually averaged more yards per game.  Still, this record has now stood for 23 years.  This record has come close to falling and will probably eventually be broken in our lifetime. Still, it will take a season for the ages.