Super Bowl 50

The 1977 Cowboys I think are always looked over. They played possibly the greatest team ever twice to an almost dead heat and beat the shit out of Denver when the Steelers were not waiting for them in the Super Bowl. Doomsday, Roger, Pearson and Dorsett... That was a hell of a group.

 

Wonderful team. Second best of their era.

 

That might be a good list, too. Most underrated Super Bowl winners. A top five list, off the top of my head and in no particular order:
1) 1991 Redskins - Undoubtedly the best of Gibbs' three championship teams, but not a lot of superstars.
2) 1977 Cowboys - For all the reasons Devil listed
3) 1973 Dolphins - As the GOAT hype around the '72 team has withered a bit in recent years, the '73 team is all but forgotten. They went 12-2, only allowed more than 20 points twice (and 10 or less in nine of 17 games, including the playoffs) and almost had TWO three-game stretches without giving up a touchdown. They
4) 1986 Giants - For people who despise the Giants, I think this team is the main reason why. But damn if they weren't good. Would probably be remembered as an all-time great if they weren't sandwiched between three others ('84 and '89 Niners and '85 Bears) on that particular list.
5) 1976 Raiders - Not a GOAT team statistically (they were a middle of the road defensive team and the only major offensive category they led the NFL in was touchdown passes), but they did go 16-1 and finished on a 13-game winning streak. The one loss was at New England, which made the playoffs and was the third game of a five-game road trip early in the season. Much like the '77 Cowboys and '86 Giants, the 1970s Raiders were a great team that had the misfortune of playing alongside other all-time great teams -- the Dolphins and Steelers. Five straight conference championship games, and somehow 1976 was the only year everything came together for them.

 

How are they all underrated?

 

In terms of Super Bowl winners. People forget about how good they were for one reason or another, whether it was that they only won one championship while their contemporaries won multiple titles (1970s Raiders and Cowboys, 1980s Giants), or they didn't have the star power of other SB winners (1991 Redskins), or they were a one-year wonder that dominated that season but didn't win another title to become a dynasty (1999 Rams, 2002 Buccaneers, 1991 Redskins).

 

91 Skins. Both the best ever and also underrated.

 

I don't personally forget or underrate any of those teams. I guess I'm his awesome. I'm a little underrated, even.

 

1973 Dolphins are "underrated" in that in the lists of GOAT teams, 1972 is always mentioned. 1973 never is.

But just about any Dolphins fan will tell you the 1973 team was stronger. Tougher schedule. More dominant wins. More dominant in playoffs.

 

That's all true, BTE, but it's kind of like being the miler who broke Roger Bannister's record after he broke the four-minute barrier. The only undefeated team ever is bound to draw more attention.
For my money, the '84 49ers and '85 Bears were the best teams of the 49 champs -- if we're talking just one year. You couldn't stop the 49ers and watching those Bears, the question was whether the opposing offense would get back to the line of scrimmage.

 

Interesting thing about the Bears, the '84 defense was probably as fearsome as the '85 version. They had 72 sacks, although they allowed three points per game more than the '85 team.

The '84 offense, though, was a mess after McMahon and Fuller got hurt, with Bob Avellini, Rusty Lisch, Greg Landry and Walter Payton playing quarterback.

 

For my money the '89 49ers were better than the '84 group. Montana had the best season of his career and Rice was just entering his prime.

 

A defensible proposition to be sure.