32. Despite the memorable moments, this game was a bit of a letdown with two Hall of Fame quarterbacks not putting on the offensive show we expected. Wait, Dilfer isn't iconic. The aforementioned Dilfer-led passing game ranked only 23rd in the regular season (in fairness to Dilfer, he did replace Tony Banks midway through the year), and the only time the chains seemed to move was when rookie Jamal Lewis barreled forward for three or four yards. So, which teams have won it all, but look inferior to their championship brethren in retrospect? Let's dive into the 2021 FPI projections with the 10 biggest takeaways. Ron Jaworski, Harold Carmichael, and Wilbert Montgomery all had a part in this offense. FPI is able to reconcile that issue to determine a more accurate SOS. Osi Umenyiora was the team's only starting Pro Bowler and the Giants trailed in every postseason game they played. This team is just two years removed from the AFC Championship Game and is in position to "win now." Aaron Rodgers capped off a brilliant playoff run with a masterful performance against one of the leagues best defenses. It truly is a remarkable tale, but the Patriots were nothing special on the way there. Brown (+1800) Miles Sanders, RB, Eagles (+2200) DeVonta Smith, WR, Eagles (+3000) Haason Reddick, LB, Eagles (+3000) Chris Jones, DT, Chiefs (+4000) Article. 51. A fullback even if it was Hall of Famer Larry Csonka winning MVP tells you just how entertaining this one was. (Hey, at least it worked out for them with Trevor Lawrence being available.). This 97 Cardinals team scored 78. Arizona was on its way to the playoffs before Kyler Murray's shoulder injury limited him late in the season, hurting a potential All-Pro campaign. They had one of the league's best defenses that year. ), or the second-half Seahawks (only topped 30 points once in the final seven games, and it was vs the hapless Jets)?, Seattle has lost three of its past four playoff games and not made the NFC title game since 2014., 11. The most interesting thing about this Super Bowl remains Hank Strams micd up footage. Seattle came in with the leagues best defense. Those first three are the Broncos' first three games of the season, an easy slate right off the bat. And no one has it rougher than the Bears in 2021. The 1970s Steelers gave us one last entertaining Super Bowl before its dynasty ended. Denver got out to a 10-0 lead before Washington dropped a Super Bowl-record 35 points in the second quarter on the Broncos defense. An 11-win team with only 20.3 points per game. The Jaguars are going to be better than the 1-15 team that played last year, and could actually contend for eight or nine wins if the defense becomes a top 20 unit (ranked 31st in points and yards allowed in 2020). Forget about Super Bowl history, this was one of the best games in the history of American sports. Twelve franchises have never captured a Super Bowl title. The Panthers and Patriots gave us the most exciting fourth quarter in Super Bowl history, combining for five scores, including an 85-yard pass by Jake Delhomme, which remains a Super Bowl record, and Adam Vinatieris game-winning kick as time expired. That being said, wait until they lose the opener to Tampa, and then get them at possibly better odds. The New York team that was crowned champion was far from elite. 10 wins in a 14-game season, and this was easily the least impressive of Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys to reach the Super Bowl. A 97 team that wasn't top 10 in anything really. Cole Beasley is also a reliable target for Allen, who does as much damage from the outside as well as the slot. The Los Angeles Rams won in Super Bowl LVI versus the Bengals on February 13, 2022. There are quite a few contenders to win their first Super Bowl in 2021, and the two favorites reside in the loaded AFC. They're the fifth-best team in football and have the fourth-best chance to win it all with a 6% shot, according to FPI. The AFL just wasn't ready yet, but they were still very good for AFL standards with an 11-2-1 record. Kam Chancellor should have been MVP. Well, they blew their lead in the big game, but they also weren't a great defensive team. Top draft picks Gregory Rousseau and Carlos Basham Jr. should help, but did Buffalo do enough to shore up the biggest hole on its roster? So much needs to go right for the Broncos to get into the playoffs, much less the Super Bowl. Stefon Diggs is one of the game's best wide receivers and Gabriel Davis is one of the underrated young wideouts in the league. Same goes for this one. With the best defense in the game, this 124 Steelers team could not stop a hot road team in the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers. Buffalo is in position to make another deep playoff run this season. And that's embodied by an extreme result: The NFC East is the only division that recorded a simulation with a five-win champion. Craving even more NFL coverage focusing on previews, recaps, news and analysis? And Chicago finds itself with eight games against FPI's top 10 teams: at Rams, at Browns, at Bucs, vs. 49ers, vs. Ravens, at Seahawks and then a home-and-home with the Packers. 1 pick. Its more fun to speculate on the Bears QB race than it is their actual Super Bowl chances., 24. 3. "Broadway Joe" completed just 49.2 percent of his passes during the season and threw two more interceptions (17) than he did touchdowns (15). A 124 record and a solid defense? 2023 NFL Draft odds: Will Georgia's Stetson Bennett get selected? Philadelphia Eagles +7500 (bet $10 to win $760 total), The biggest preseason long shot to win the Super Bowl was the 1999 St. Louis Rams behind unknown QB Kurt Warner; the Rams were 300-1. On the other end of the spectrum is Denver. Let's start in the 1980s, with a team led by Hall of Famers like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Steve Young For a franchise that was so consistently dominant in the 1980s, the 1988 version of the San Francisco 49ers sure seems mediocre. Reggie White was downright unblockable. And to help you out, we ranked all 32 teams ahead of this season by the value on the odds they'll win the Super Bowl.. Yes, they have the best QB, a fleet of skill players and a fantastic coach, but history is not on their side. Four NFL teams the Browns, Lions, Jaguars, and Texans have never appeared in the Super Bowl. and a dramatic finish. Super Bowl V. The game was a blowout but did give us one of the most iconic moments in Super Bowl history: Don Beebe chasing down a prematurely celebrating Leon Lett. The Lions are the next-most likely team to earn the No. Matt Stafford, on the other hand, is learning a new offense, albeit with a smart coach and talented skill players. 1 pick than the 2021 Houston Texans, at 24%. Peyton Manning was on another level this season, leading his offense to score a jarring 37.9 points per game, but the team around him was lacking. This was a great Super Bowl, but can we stop saying the Titans were one yard short of winning it? There were 11 total turnovers in the game and the Cowboys took it one step further with a Super Bowl-record 10 penalties. Top 5 in both points for and against, the Vikings 10-win record kept them from being higher on this list. The run offense needs to be stronger with Devin Singletary and Zack Moss as the offensive line has to create better holes up front to take the pressure off Allen. Winning close games and narrowly escaping the agony of defeat is one way to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, and while that path may not be the most exciting or exhilarating, it has been traveled on multiple occasions. Is the offensive line good enough to protect Burrow from getting hurt again? And yet it was Desmond Howard who took home the MVP award thanks to his game-clinching kickoff return. Not every team epitomizes greatness and dominance when it is victorious in the Super Bowl. Detroit Lions +12500 (bet $10 to win $1260 total), There is a universe in which the Lions ride an inspired Jared Goff and underrated defensive talent to seven or eight wins., But the schedule is brutal six road games against playoff teams from 2020! The Kansas City Chiefs might have lost Super Bowl LV, but they are still the NFL team to beat this season, according to the new ESPN Football Power Index (FPI) projections for 2021. Peyton Manning dragged him and the rest of the team there. Miamis three points is still the fewest points scored in a Super Bowl. Herbert will have more protection to connect with a talented cast of offensive weapons as the Chargers rebuilt their offensive line centered around All-Pro Corey Linsley and first-round pick Rashawn Slater. Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. FPI considers Houston more than a touchdown worse than an average NFL team on a neutral field and believes the Texans simultaneously have the worst offense and worst defense in the league. Complete team-by-team FPI projections FPI has created preseason projections every year since 2015, and the 2021 Chiefs rank third out of the seven favorites, behind the 2017 Patriots (32%) and 2020 Chiefs (22%). This game gave us one of the most iconic plays in Super Bowl history: John Riggins taking a 4th-and-one run to the house to help seal Joe Gibbs first Super Bowl win. Joe Namath may have guaranteed a Super Bowl III win over the Baltimore Colts, but he didn't say anything about being the best team of all time. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, at The Browns also have a good defense that improved with the additions of John Johnson III at safety, Anthony Walker and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah at linebacker, Jadeveon Clowney at edge rusher, and Greg Newsome II at cornerback. They had an outstanding defense, and thats what won them the 3 overall pick Trey Lance entering the season. Adding Patrick Peterson, Xavier Woods, Sheldon Richardsonand Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency improves this unit -- which also gets Danielle Hunter back from a neck injury. A 14-win team with a top 10 offense and defense. Trent Dilfer. Yes, the New York Giants knocked off the 18-0 New England Patriots. Along with quarterback Earl Morrall, the Colts defense was the best in the league, only giving up 10.3 points per game. The market is super high on Buffalo theyre only underdogs in two games, vs Tampa and KC but there likely will be some form of regression. Buffalo also addedEmmanuel Sanders to the mix, making the passing game even more formidable. FIFA World Cup - Best Goals from Every Angle, Draw for the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, C.J. But it wasn't always so certain that FPI would give Green Bay the love. The Philadelphia Eagles were the most recent team to leave the "never won a Super Bowl" club, but the league only has three first-time Super Bowl winners since the start of the 2009 season. The Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos have been involved in some of the worst Super Bowls, but so have the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys. Rookie head coaches and rookie quarterbacks don't typically generate Super Bowl contenders. Bettis got his ring before retirement andthe Steelersgreatly overachieved in the process. This is the first game on this list that was actually competitive going into the fourth quarter, but it was a sloppy affair featuring seven fumbles and a pair of interceptions. The team had a 142 record and the best offense in the league averaging about 34 points per game, Joe Theismann and Jon Riggins were stars. Sure, but it did not make for an entertaining game up until the end. A 4.47 shuttle is extremely rare. The eventual champion Colts committed seven, count them, seven turnovers. On the other side of the ball, Tom Brady & Co. are projected to be the No. There were great pieces, but the team was not performing at its peak. 5. What Allen accomplished in 2020 was MVP-caliber, even if he didn't take home the league's highest individual honor. WebTechnically the truth. Peyton Manning winning his second ring bumps this one up a few spots. Nobody has a tougher September schedule: vs Seattle, vs the Rams, at Tennessee, at Miami, at Baltimore. Boomer Esiason and the Bengals were the most productive offense in 1988. Fran Tarkenton is one of many players on this list that deserved a Super Bowl ring. Malcolm Butlers game-winning interception remains the best ending in Super Bowl history. Cam Newton had an MVP season to remember and ran an offense that produced 31.3 points per game. You can make a case that every team that endured the best shots from every one of their opponents throughout the season, found a way to win enough This isn't just about winning the closely contested division, though. Peyton Mannings struggles reinforced the notion that he could be great in the regular season but collapsed in the playoffs. A great passing defense helped elevate this Vikings team to a 122 record. ONCE. A step up from the traditional method is to look at the mean win total for every team's opponents, but this too has an issue; for instance, every Chiefs opponent's win total is depressed because it has to play the Chiefs (division opponents doubly so! Even if Kevin Dyson had pulled a Michael Jordan in Space Jam and reached the ball over the goal line, the game would have gone to overtime. Despite the strength of the division, the 49ers play one of the easiest strength of schedules in the league (SOS rank: 29th). Cincinnatis late onside kick attempt failed and deprived us of what could have been a classic ending. Again, FPI doesn't think the division is much-improved. While Kansas City's 19% chance to win the Super Bowl might be more than any other team's, FPI is also saying that there's a 4-in-5 chance that a team other than the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl. New York didnt want Buffalos explosive offense on the field, so it grinded out the clock on the ground and ended up winning the time of possession battle by about 20 minutes. The "Greatest Show On Turf" was the potential dynasty derailed by New England Patriots. The defense ranked just 24th in the league that year, and a questionable call known as the "Tuck Rule" against the Oakland Raiders in the divisional round helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl when many believed they did not belong. Their defense only gave up 9.5 points per game in a 14-game season. The Chiefs win Buffalo actually led going into halftime before being outscored 21-0 in the second half. One team (Patriots) in the last 25 years has been to three straight.. The 1991 Redskins might be the greatest team in NFL history, which bumps this game up a few spots. The AFC is considerably tougher than the NFC. This might be controversial among Bills fans, but this team was just as good as the year before. If not for the dramatic ending, this game may have finished last on this list. The NFC, with two of the top six teams in FPI rating, is a little less threatening than the AFC. Brett Favre had 35 passing touchdowns and Dorsey Levens ran for 1,435 yards. Now, by most accounts, the Steelers were great in 1974. Take note: This isn't technically a ranking of the teams from very worst to very best, although the worse teams tend to be toward the bottom and the better teams toward the top. Kind of pains me to say it, but it was the 2011 Giants. They shipped 400 points that year in the regular season and normally that leads to a losing Will this be the first time for everything?. One could argue the Steelers have the worst QB in the division in 39-year old Ben Roethlisberger, who had 10 interceptions in the teams final seven games. Is this a bad thing?No, but it does not exactly make for one of the most dominant championship teams of all time. So its only fitting that the winner of Super Bowl 53 will have a defense that finished the regular season below the league average. ET (Rams, Seahawks, Chargers). Ken Anderson led his team to 124. The Bucs finished the season, including playoffs, with the sixth-most efficient defense under coordinator Todd Bowles. Yes, the Chiefs -- not the Super Bowl-champion Buccaneers -- are projected to be the best team and also have the best chances to hoist the Lombardi trophy next February. Green Bay looked as if it would blow the Steelers out but Ben Roethlisberger led a rally that cut the lead from 18 to three before Mason Crosby put the game away with a field goal. 6. 23. And while the effect isn't dramatic, they would each be a little better off if the other weren't around. Both halves of this one were capped off by remarkable plays. This game will be remembered for two plays: The surprise onside kick to start the second half and Tracy Porters game-sealing pick-6 of Manning. 29. It remains the worst run defense in NFL history. And in these two cases, both quarterbacks will have below-average pass protection in front of them, and both will be trying to compensate for their teams' defenses, which both rank in FPI's bottom six. By Jason McIntyreFOX Sports Betting Analyst. What puts Baltimore on this list is the lack of offensive prowess. Ryan Tannehill has been a top five quarterback over the last two seasons and it hasn't been talked about enough. Drafting Ja'Marr Chase over Penei Sewell was a questionable move, especially since Cincinnati's atrocious offensive line led to franchise quarterback Joe Burrow tearing his ACL in his rookie season. He saved the team from the clutches of defeat and led a game-winning fourth-quarter drive. Burrow should be ready by Week 1, and has an impressive cast of receivers that will make the Bengals passing game even more lethal in 2021. Michael Strahan and Keith Hamilton combined for 19.5 sacks, and the team had 44 total. A smart strategy? Green Bay Packers +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total), The Packers are tied for the second-best odds to win the NFC, but their arduous schedule includes a league-high 10 games against teams that made the playoffs last year. The AFC North features two major Super Bowl threats in Baltimore and Cleveland. New Orleans Saints +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total), The most puzzling number on the board, as Im much lower on the Saints than this.. Use of this website (including any and all parts and components) constitutes your acceptance of these, place your futures bets on who is going to win, Every NFL team's 2021 win totals, ranked from worst to best bet. W. 23-20. Unfortunately for them, that stopped in the playoffs and in the Super Bowl. Not having Wentz is certainly a downgrade: FPI's predictive quarterback rating system believes backup Jacob Eason's mean projected season is roughly on par with Wentz's (poor) 2020 campaign. Detroit has a young and talented offensive line (average age 24 years old) to protect new quarterback Jared Goffwho is looking to resurrect his career after getting traded by the Los Angeles Rams. This Baltimore Colts was coached by Don Shula and averaged 28.7 points per game in the '60s. The Jaguars and Jets are back-to-back in FPI's rankings -- at Nos. Theyve won 35 regular-season games in the last three seasons for a reason., When narratives build for example, that Lamar Jackson cant win in the playoffs you can find an edge fading them., 1. There are no arguments to be made: This is the greatest Super Bowl of all-time. From Devin Hester to an elite defense led by Brian Urlacher, this team earned their spot on the biggest stage. If Atlanta can create holes up front for free agent signing Mike Davis, the Falcons offense may be good enough to carry a defense that needs some work. Kansas City will be this team's measuring stick, as the Chiefs are the only roster more talented than Buffalo's in the AFC. This Super Bowl gave us a bunch of memorable performances. 19. Dolphins fullback Larry Csonka plows between Vikings LB Jeff Siemon (50) and safety Paul Krause for one of his two touchdowns in the Dolphins 24-7 Super Bowl VIII win. The 10 Worst NFL Teams to Ever Win a Super Bowl - Sportscasting At 133, this New England Patriots offense was extraordinary, but their defense was lacking and kept them out of the top 20. 113 career TDs compared to 129 interceptions says that he doesn't deserve that victory. The game was won with Ben Roethlisbergers perfect pass to Santonio Holmes, who somehow got two feet down in the back of the end zone. That tops the 2020 Jaguars, who entered last season at 23% and ended up earning that No. In the end, FPI's projections for the Colts are not all that bad; they have a 44% chance to win the AFC South (second to the Titans) and a 59% shot to make the postseason. The Colts have the third worst odds at +15000, while the Texans have the worst overall odds at +30000. They stole all-pro center Corey Linsley from the Packers and drafted Rashawn Slater in the first round.. WebThe Los Angeles Rams won in Super Bowl LVI versus the Bengals on February 13, 2022. Cleveland already has one of the game's best pass rushers in Myles Garrett and cornerbacks in Denzel Ward. Tannehill is second in the league in passer rating (110.6), second in touchdown percentage (7.2) and first in yards per attempt (8.55). This 1969 Minnesota Vikings team was elite and ranked first for both points scored and points against. I'd argue their offense was a little more productive, but that being said, the 1990 team still beat them out. 1) How is coach Zac Taylor going to go from 6-25-1 to the Super Bowl? Although they have one less win, there stats still propel them ahead of the '86 team. Don't sleep on the rest of the league, of course. The Ravens and Browns rank fourth and sixth in FPI rating -- basically true talent level -- but are fifth and seventh in chances to reach the playoffs and win the Super Bowl, respectively. Throw in Trent Dilfer leading the other offense and a game that was never competitive, and this is easily the worst Super Bowl of all-time. Kansas City's middling defense (No. This time, he didnt need a miracle catch to beat New England thanks to his sublime pass to Mario Manningham on the game-winning drive. Tom Brady also led a top offense in his MVP season, finishing with a 133 regular-season record. 14. By contrast, FPI is bullish on Cleveland's offense -- which ranks third in the league behind the Chiefs and Packers but ahead of the Bills -- but gives the Browns the 18th-best defense. ELEVEN! Replying to @GoBirds___ and @FanDuel. Keep in mind, those numbers assume there is some chance Wentz plays in each of these games, particularly the later ones. But even with all that, its not even the best Super Bowl of the last two years. They had a top 5 offense and defense. This game mightve been higher on the list if the Jets hadnt pulled off the AFL-NFL upset the prior season. Pittsburgh was just 7-5 through 12 games. Jaguars won't spend big, but here are five players they could target in free agency, The most memorable pre-NFL draft workouts ever: Coaches, scouts, execs make their picks, 2023 NFL franchise tag tracker: Raiders tag Josh Jacobs, the NFL's rushing leader. So why are they lower value-wise? Matt Rhule is building something in Carolina as he enters his second year, taking a chance he can resurrect Sam Darnold's career. This isn't entirely a reflection on them, though FPI is never particularly bullish on rookie quarterbacks. But the outputs are all the same: We're still talking football -- and about the chances of each team's success -- which now includes 17 regular-season games and an expanded playoff field. San Francisco 49ers +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total), Tricky to put San Francisco here given the uncertainty at QB, but theres no way they actually start 21-year-old Trey Lance, right?.