The 2021 NFL season will mark the end of an era as the league transitions to a 17-game season this upcoming fall. The NFL agreed this offseason to add games to the schedule for the first time since 1978; positioning the league for more revenue and more action courtesy of ticket sales and television deals like. And with the end of the 16-game era, the Miami Dolphins are hoping to leave some of their shortcomings behind along with them.
Yes, we saw the entirety of the Dan Marino tenure come while the league played 16 games. We saw the entire careers of Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas and other prominent defenders too. But the Dolphins never won a Super Bowl during the 16-game era and the team struggled over the last 15 years to even keep their head above .500; undermining much of the team’s successes from 1978 to the early 2000’s.
And yet despite the hardship of the last 15 years and the lack of hardware during the 16-game era, when you stack the Dolphins up agains the rest of the NFL you’ll find that Miami was still one of the most accomplished and winningest franchises of the timeframe.
Miami’s 0.543 win percentage from 1978 to 2020 ranks as the NFL’s 9th-best over that timeframe.
Best win % during the 16-game era (1978-2020)…#Steelers – 60.9%#Patriots – 60.3%#Broncos – 58.0%#Packers – 56.6%#Ravens – 56.4%#Cowboys – 55.4%#49ers – 55.3%#Eagles – 54.8%#Dolphins – 54.3%#Seahawks – 53.0%#Vikings – 53.0%
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) April 11, 2021
That win percentage is almost identical to the team’s all-time win percentage (0.553) — a mark that is still the 6th-best in the history of the NFL. The teams the Dolphins trail on the all-time win percentage list?
- Green Bay Packers – 0.569
- Dallas Cowboys – 0.569
- Baltimore Ravens – 0.564
- Chicago Bears – 0.563
- New England Patriots. – 0.562
- Miami Dolphins – 0.553
The Dolphins are also closer to the Patriots at No. 5 in the rankings than the No. 7 team (Minnesota) is to the Dolphins. So with the team aligned for sustained success, perhaps the Dolphins can push back up the ranks with a new era of the NFL upon us. And hopefully the team’s championship success in the 17-game era will mirror that of the 14-game era from the early 1970’s, too.