Next Sunday’s game in Las Vegas will crown this season’s best team, but the very nature of the Super Bowl invites comparisons to champions past. Whether it’s Kansas City or San Francisco standing under the confetti shower at the end of Super Bowl LVIII, we’ll never truly know how they stack up against any of the 57 teams who have been there before.
Or can we?
ESPN recently took on the task of ranking every previous Super Bowl-winning squad to determine the best of the best. To do it, Aaron Schatz used his own proprietary DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) ratings that look at a team’s efficiency on a play-by-play basis when adjusted for each situation and opponent. For teams that played before 1981 (when that metric was invented), estimates were calculated using stats from those years.
What results is a comprehensive ranking of Super Bowl winners, from the weakest team to hoist the Lombardi Trophy (sorry, Colts fans) to the greatest of all time (Cowboys fans, hide your eyes).
Here’s how Dallas’s five Super Bowl-winning rosters placed, plus how the three teams that beat the ‘Boys in a Super Bowl went on to finish.
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57. 1970 Colts (defeated Dallas 16-13 in Super Bowl V)
By all accounts, Super Bowl V was a total dud. The 10-4 Cowboys met the 11-2-1 Baltimore Colts in Miami in the first championship played between NFC and AFC. (The four prior Super Bowls had pitted NFL versus AFL; this was the first to be played after the completion of the leagues’ merger.)
The Colts missed a field goal, the Cowboys committed 10 penalties, and the two teams combined for 11 turnovers in a game that came to be known as “The Blunder Bowl.” It was a fitting end to the Colts’ season; they had the second-easiest schedule of the 1970 season, yet outscored their opponents by just 6.2 points per game.
The Colts were victorious thanks to a last-minute field goal, but they place on this countdown as the worst Super Bowl champions ever. How bad was Baltimore that day? The game’s MVP, Chuck Howley, came from the losing side.
29. 1978 Steelers (defeated Dallas 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII)
The first Super Bowl rematch saw the 12-4 Cowboys trying to repeat as world champs against Pittsburgh and their vaunted Steel Curtain defense. The Steelers had rolled over the Broncos and Oilers in the playoffs (by 33-10 and 34-5 scores, respectively).
They had Dallas on the ropes, too, holding a 35-17 lead with under seven minutes to play. Roger Staubach led back-to-back touchdown drives (with a recovered onside kick in between) in a furious comeback effort, but lost by a 35-31 final.
Cowboys fans surely recall the third-quarter end zone drop by wide-open tight end Jackie Smith, but Pittsburgh fans remember the day as the one when their team became the first to ever win a third Lombardi Trophy. The Cowboys lost to the 29th-best Super Bowl champs in history.
28. 1977 Cowboys (defeated Denver 27-10 in Super Bowl XII)
Behind Staubach and electrifying rookie running back Tony Dorsett, the 1977 Cowboys finished the season as the league’s second-highest-scoring offense. They racked up three of their 12 regular-season wins by 17 or more points, and then steamrolled through the postseason, doing it three more times.
But it was the Doomsday defense that stole the show in New Orleans in the NFL’s first domed Super Bowl. Co-MVPs Harvey Martin and Randy White led a Cowboys defense that recorded eight takeaways, allowed only eight Denver pass completions, and gave up no play longer than 21 yards.
Ranked as the “weakest” of the Cowboys’ five championship teams, the 1977 group is still the 28th-best Super Bowl-winning squad ever.
25. 1993 Cowboys (defeated Buffalo 30-13 in Super Bowl XXVIII)
The Cowboys got off to a similarly rough start in Atlanta against the Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII and even trailed at halftime. But it was once again Smith to the rescue after intermission, eventually ending up with 30 carries for 132 yards, two scores, and the game’s MVP award.
Dallas took over the second half of the game defensively, too, holding Buffalo scoreless, sacking Jim Kelly three times, notching two takeaways, and returning one of them for a touchdown. It was enough to finish on this list as the 25th-best Super Bowl-winning team of all time.
21. 1971 Cowboys (defeated Miami 24-3 in Super Bowl VI)
Cowboys coach Tom Landry was so unsure about his 1971 squad that he began the season alternating starting quarterbacks. But once he handed the reins to Staubach for good, the team led the league in scoring and ripped off seven straight wins to close out the regular schedule… and then three more in the playoffs.
They simply steamrolled Miami on an unseasonably cold afternoon at Tulane Stadium, setting new Super Bowl records for most rushing yards, most first downs, and fewest points allowed. (It would be be 47 years before another Super Bowl team held its opponent out of the end zone.)
The Cowboys held Miami to under 200 total yards of offense and gave the Dolphins the last defeat the franchise would suffer for 616 days. The 1972 Fins went undefeated and won the next Super Bowl, but they finished behind the 1971 Cowboys- the 21st-best Super Bowl-winning team ever- in this countdown.
9. 1995 Cowboys (defeated Pittsburgh 27-17 in Super Bowl XXX)
The 12-4 Cowboys were making their NFL-best eighth Super Bowl appearance, trying to win their fifth ring against a franchise they had faced in the big game two previous times. It’s no wonder Super Bowl XXX broke the then-record for the most-watched sporting event in American television history and finished second only to the 1983 series finale of M*A*S*H in ratings.
Dallas’s 1995 roster featured the league’s top offense, no small feat considering they played a top-10 schedule. True to form, Troy Aikman & Co. scored on their very first drive of the night and never relinquished the lead. Larry Brown became the first cornerback to be named Super Bowl MVP after his two interceptions helped seal the Cowboys’ 27-17 victory.
In hindsight, the franchise’s last title win marked the unofficial end of the Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s, even though they won the NFC East the following year and made it as far as the divisional round of the playoffs. But on this night in Tempe, they showed they still had enough to be crowned the 9th-best Super Bowl champs in league history.
8. 1975 Steelers (defeated Dallas 21-17 in Super Bowl X)
In 1975, the Steelers were the defending champs of the league. And they played like it. Considered one of the greatest teams in NFL history and maybe the best Pittsburgh squad ever, that roster outscored their opponents by 211 total points en route to a 12-2 regular-season record.
Super Bowl X proved to be a clash of titans, though, with the surprising 12-4 Cowboys riding a wild-card berth all the way to the Miami Orange Bowl. Dallas even carried a 10-7 lead into the fourth quarter before the Steelers roared to life, turning a blocked-punt safety into 12 unanswered points over the next eight minutes of play.
Staubach needed two touchdowns for a rally; he got only one, and an interception with 18 seconds left gave Pittsburgh the win. Lynn Swann’s acrobatic catch still stands as a signature Super Bowl moment, helping make that year’s Steelers squad the 8th-best winners of the big game.
5. 1992 Cowboys (defeated Buffalo 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII)
The Cowboys team that started the dynasty is still considered the cream of the franchise’s crop and one of the five best Super Bowl champions of all time. Just three years removed from a dismal 1-15 campaign, owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson were suddenly helming a team that ranked second in offensive DVOA, fifth in defensive DVOA, and ninth in special teams DVOA on their way to the franchise’s first 13-win season.
Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena was the team’s magnum opus. Offensively, they topped 400 yards, and Aikman threw for four touchdowns to claim the MVP award. On defense, Dallas produced nine takeaways and scored two touchdowns of their own on fumble returns. (It would have been three if not for Leon Lett’s infamous showboating gaffe.)
The greatest squad the Cowboys ever put on the field is ranked the 5th-best Super Bowl-winning team in NFL history.
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Super Bowl and Team Rankings
The article discusses the nature of the Super Bowl and compares the champions of the past. It mentions ESPN's ranking of every previous Super Bowl-winning squad to determine the best of the best. The rankings are based on Aaron Schatz's proprietary DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) ratings, which assess a team's efficiency on a play-by-play basis when adjusted for each situation and opponent. For teams that played before 1981, estimates were calculated using stats from those years.
The article provides insights into specific Super Bowl-winning teams, including the 1970 Colts, 1978 Steelers, 1977 Cowboys, 1993 Cowboys, 1971 Cowboys, 1995 Cowboys, 1975 Steelers, and 1992 Cowboys. It highlights key moments, performances, and rankings of these teams in the context of Super Bowl history.
The rankings range from the "worst" Super Bowl champions to the "greatest of all time," offering a comprehensive assessment of each team's performance and impact on the history of the Super Bowl.
The analysis considers various factors such as game outcomes, team statistics, memorable moments, and the overall legacy of each championship team. It provides a fascinating look at how these teams stack up against each other in the history of the Super Bowl.
For more detailed information on specific teams and their rankings, feel free to ask for additional insights.
