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Colts storm the castle of NFL history
Cold, Hard Football Facts for November 30, 2005
The Cold, Hard Football Facts put quite a bit of stock in history. Why? Well, usually it's easier for us to pull something from a stat book than it is for us to comprehend, amid a pork-fat-and-gin-induced stupor, what we just witnessed on the tube on Saturday or Sunday.
But, more importantly, history stands as a substantial bulwark against the medieval fusillade of longbow-powered hype from the "pundits" that routinely attempts to overwhelm the walls of context we hold so near and dear.
Today's "It Team" is often deflected harmlessly into the moat of NFL has-beens when it smashes up against the stone wall of history. Other teams, meanwhile, look all the more impressive when we place their accomplishments beside those of past NFL greats.
Take, for example, the 2005 Colts. They currently stand as the dominant force in the NFL, an 11-0 juggernaut that, after beating up weaklings in the early part of the season, has laid whippings on three quality opponents (and likely playoff teams) in the last four weeks. They're a threat to become just the second team in NFL history to run the table and the first to go 19-0 in a single season. They also have an opportunity to go 10-0 against quality opponents, which would tie the 2003 Patriots for the best mark in NFL history against teams with winning records.
As of Week 12, the Colts have scored 331 points and surrendered 159. In other words, they've outscored their opponents so far this season by better than a 2-to-1 margin. That puts them on pace to become one of the more dominant teams in modern NFL history – the eighth most dominant, to be exact.
We looked back upon the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to determine which teams had the most dominant seasons. How did teams make our list? Well, like the 2005 Colts, they needed to have a 2-to-1 scoring differential over the course of an entire season. Why not just total scoring differential? Well, using a 2-to-1 baseline means we looked at only those teams, like the 2005 Colts, that were great on both sides of the ball. It eliminated certain teams that, though dominant, were dominant on one side of the ball only – teams like the 1998 Vikings, who scored an NFL record 556 points but surrendered 296. A great team? For certain. But they failed to double the offensive output of their opponents.
We were left with a surprising number of teams: 22, in fact, have generated scoring margins of better than 2-to-1 in the Super Bowl era. But interestingly, regular-season dominance has typically not led to postseason success. Of the 22 most dominant teams in the Super Bowl era:
- All of them made the playoffs
- Only 11 made the Super Bowl
- Only eight won the Super Bowl
- Six failed to win a single playoff game
These 22 teams posted a combined 272-44-2 (.855) regular-season record and a combined 36-12 (.750) postseason record. (This parallels quite closely the performance of the top defenses of the Super Bowl era, which we looked at earlier this week. Of the 22 stingiest defenses of the Super Bowl era, only seven carried home the Lombardi Trophy.)
What does it tell us? Well, the Colts find themselves at the crossroads of history. With a Super Bowl victory, they'll be remembered as one of the all-time great NFL teams. If they fail to win the Super bowl, they'll simply be left for dead in the corpse-filled courtyard of NFL has-beens, along with the likes of the Vikings and L.A. Rams of the late 1960s and 1970s. Compare these teams to the Steelers of the 1970s:
The Steelers posted a 2-to-1 scoring margin just twice in the Super Bowl era (and won the Super Bowl only one of those two seasons). Yet they have four Super Bowl titles. Everyone remembers them as one of the dominant teams in NFL history.
Here's a look at the most dominant teams of the Super Bowl era, rated by those with the greatest scoring differentials. Interestingly, the 1968 Colts were the single most dominant team of the Super Bowl era, which only serves to emphasize the historic nature of their loss in Super Bowl III to the N.Y. Jets. Third on our list is the 1969 Vikings, who were also upset by an AFL upstart, the Chiefs, in Super Bowl IV. (The 1968 Colts get the nod over the 1999 Rams because, broken out to one-hundredth of a point, the Colts had a scoring differential of 18.42 to 18.37 for the Rams.)
The 2005 Colts, however, have recent history on their side. The last five teams to post a 2-to-1 scoring margin have all won the Super Bowl: 1984 49ers, 1985 Bears, 1991 Redskins, 1996 Packers and 1999 Rams.
|
Team |
Record |
PF-PA |
Difference |
Result |
|
1968 Balt. Colts |
13-1 |
28.7-10.3 |
18.4 |
Lost SB III |
|
1999 Rams |
13-3 |
33.5-15.1 |
18.4 |
Won SB XXXIV |
|
1969 Vikings |
12-2 |
27.1-9.5 |
17.6 |
Lost SB IV |
|
1968 Cowboys |
12-2 |
30.8-13.3 |
17.5 |
Lost div. round* |
|
1967 Raiders |
13-1 |
33.4-16.6 |
16.8 |
Lost SB II |
|
1991 Redskins |
14-2 |
30.3-14.0 |
16.3 |
Won SB XXVI |
|
1985 Bears |
15-1 |
28.5-12.4 |
16.1 |
Won SB XX |
|
2005 Colts |
11-0 |
30.1-14.5 |
15.6 |
TBD |
|
1984 49ers |
15-1 |
29.7-14.2 |
15.5 |
Won SB XIX |
|
1996 Packers |
13-3 |
28.5-13.1 |
15.4 |
Won SB XXXI |
|
1972 Dolphins |
14-0 |
27.5-12.2 |
15.3 |
Won SB VII |
|
1973 L.A. Rams |
12-2 |
27.7-12.7 |
15.0 |
Lost div. round |
|
1975 Steelers |
12-2 |
26.6-11.6 |
15.0 |
Won SB X |
|
1976 Steelers |
10-4 |
24.4-9.9 |
14.5 |
Lost AFC title |
|
1967 L.A. Rams |
11-1-2 |
28.4-14.0 |
14.4 |
Lost div. round* |
|
1968 Chiefs |
12-2 |
26.5-12.1 |
14.4 |
Lost div. round** |
|
1975 Vikings |
12-2 |
26.9-12.9 |
14.0 |
Lost div. round |
|
1973 Dolphins |
12-2 |
24.5-10.7 |
13.8 |
Won SB VIII |
|
1970 Vikings |
12-2 |
23.9-10.2 |
13.7 |
Lost div. round |
|
1969 Chiefs |
11-3 |
25.6-12.6 |
13.0 |
Won SB IV |
|
1975 L.A. Rams |
12-2 |
22.3-9.6 |
12.7 |
Lost NFC title |
|
1971 Balt. Colts |
10-4 |
22.4-10.0 |
12.4 |
Lost AFC title |
|
1966 Packers |
12-2 |
23.9-11.6 |
12.3 |
Won SB I |
* In the pre-merger NFL, these teams lost what were then called the conference championships. However, these games were the equivalent of today's divisional playoffs. The winners of the pre-merger "conference championships" would play for the NFL championship (the equivalent of today's conference championship) and then the Super Bowl.
** The 1968 Chiefs finished in a tie with the Raiders atop the AFL's Western Division. The two teams met in a one-game playoff to determine the division champion, who would then face the Eastern Division champion Jets for the AFL championship. The Raiders beat the Chiefs, 41-6.
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