In what has been an unprecedented downtime for sports across the world, The Athletic has spent the past week breaking down the most dominant teams of the last 50 years.
Previously, The Athletic had looked at NBA teams, MLB teams and college teams. On Friday, they finally switched gears and broke down the 25 most dominant NFL teams of the last 50 years.
Unsurprisingly for those who bleed blue, the 1986 New York Giants featured prominently on their list.
17. 1986 New York Giants (90.40)
Record: 14-2 (.875)
How they fared: Defeated Broncos 39-20 in Super Bowl XXIThe Giants outscored opponents by 23.3 points per game during the playoffs, including a 49-3 dismantling of the 49ers in the divisional round, a game that saw them knock out Joe Montana. League MVP Lawrence Taylor collected 20.5 sacks during the regular season. The Giants outscored opponents by only 8.43 points per game in the regular season, the worst mark among teams making the top 25, but their playoff dominance helped produce an impressive 103-point differential against winning teams, a figure that tied the 1984 Dolphins.
The Giants’ two losses that season came by a combined eight points — a 31-28 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 and a 17-12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7.
Once they reached the playoffs, the Giants’ dominance kicked into overdrive. They outscored the San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos by a combined score of 105-23.
And Super Bowl XXI wasn’t as close as the 39-20 score would indicate.
Oh, and in case you were wondering (of course you are), the 2007 New England Patriots checked in at No. 6 on The Athletic’s list.
6. 2007 New England Patriots (95.14)
Record: 16-0 (1.000)
How they fared: Lost 17-14 to Giants in Super Bowl XLIIThe Patriots averaged 36.8 points per game during the regular season and won by an average of 19.7 per game during that 16-0 run. They are the highest-ranked team on the list that did not win it all. New England averaged only 22.0 points per game during three postseason matchups. The Super Bowl defeat to the Giants left the Patriots with a 9-1 record against winning teams and a plus-152 scoring differential in those games, a margin topped since 1970 by only three teams: the 1985 Bears, the 1991 Redskins and the 1983 Redskins. All those teams appear on this list.
The 1985 Chicago Bears, not the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins (No. 5), topped the list as the most dominant NFL team of the last 50 years.
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