Top 8 NFL regular season Power Rankings, 1975

[74_75_78_79_]

Pretty obvious who #1 should be, but could #2 be the very SB-runner-up-to-be itself? Despite wild-card status, Dallas has a few quality-wins on their side. More to say than either Vikes or Rams who each had just one win vs an above-500 team to their credit over Bills and Colts respectively (Rams' finale over Pitt don't count). Raiders got themselves quite a claim for the 2-spot along with 9-0-finish Colts and also the Cards who could still get nod over Dallas considering their win vs them being later in the season (and, yes, they winning div at 11-3 as opposed to Dallas being a WC 10-4). And last but not least...the Bengals! Four wins vs above-500s, one of them vs Raiders! Getting swept by Steelers nothing to be ashamed of.

As for honorable-mention/'#9', Oilers with their win over Miami should give them that distinction. With Mia sweeping Buf (as '70s usual), this finally leaves us with a conclusive: '75 Bills vs '75 Redskins. Three quality-wins apiece. Bills beating Steelers, Colts, Cardinals all on the road; and Redskins beating Dallas, Cardinals, Vikings but all at home.

[74_75_78_79_]

1) Steelers
2) Bengals
3) Raiders
4) Colts
5) Cardinals
6) Cowboys
7) Rams
8) Vikings

'75 has to go down as Paul Brown's best Bengals team though some may argue '73 (at least splitting with the 'Burgh along with the 6-0 finish beating three winners in that very stretch, 27-0 trouncing of Vikings amongst them). Beating Raiders in '75 regular season and Raiders beating Colts dictates spots #2 thru #4 with me; Balt's 9-0 finish places them above all else. I'll give Cards nod over Dallas for reason that I offered OP. Rams & Vikes? If any of my top-6 were less spectacular, I'd place both higher out of respect for them being regular contenders last so many years, but weak schedules hurt them here; especially Minn.

Buffalo or Washington? I'll take Bills! Beating the three winners they beat and all on the road, OJ's Magnus Opus (all-purpose at least) season...

[BD Sullivan]

Buffalo or Washington? I'll take Bills! Beating the three winners they beat and all on the road, OJ's Magnus Opus (all-purpose at least) season...

Ironically, both teams lost a controversial division game: Skins lost the Mel Gray game and the Bills lost in Miami on the Morris fumble that wasn't--causing Lou Saban to go ballistic.

[Bryan]

1) Steelers
2) Bengals
3) Raiders
4) Colts
5) Cardinals
6) Cowboys
7) Rams
8) Vikings

I think the Raiders would be #2...they were always Pittsburgh's toughest competition. I would move the Vikings from #8 to #3...those Viking players and Bud Grant have always claimed their 1975 team was their 'best' team of that era. The Bengals, Colts and Cards are all kind of similar overachieving teams but not ever winning in the postseason. Rams are hard to rank because they seemingly never played anyone good. Not sure if they could have beaten Dallas in the NFC Championship game, but Chuck Knox's mystifying decision to bench Ron Jaworski and start an injured James Harris ranks up there on the 'dumbest decisions' list.

[Citizen]

Many old-time Vikings fan labor under the delusion that 1975 was Grant's best team, and that Minnesota would have gone the distance if not for the Hail Mary pass in the division round. The average winning percentage of the 12 teams they beat was an appalling .298, which tells me they wouldn't have gone anywhere had they managed to sneak past the Cowboys.

[Bryan]

Many old-time Vikings fan labor under the delusion that 1975 was Grant's best team, and that Minnesota would have gone the distance if not for the Hail Mary pass in the division round. The average winning percentage of the 12 teams they beat was an appalling .298, which tells me they wouldn't have gone anywhere had they managed to sneak past the Cowboys.

The Vikings of that era usually beat the Rams in the postseason, so if they got past the Cowboys I would guess they would have beaten the Rams as well (not sure if that game would have been in Minnesota or LA). I highly doubt they beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl, though. And its not like the Vikings 'outplayed' the Cowboys in the Hail Mary game, either.

I think that 1975 team has a nice overlap of Foreman's career year, Tarkenton's all-pro year, and guys like Page/Eller/John Gilliam still being effective. I think the Vikings (and the Rams) always played the easiest schedules every year, but its hard to say if the 1975 team was really 'better' or if, as you mentioned, their competition was just non-existent.

[ChrisBabcock]

1) Steelers
2) Bengals
3) Raiders
4) Colts
5) Cardinals
6) Cowboys
7) Rams
8) Vikings

Interesting that your 1-4 are the AFC playoff teams and your 5-8 are the NFC playoff teams.

Here goes...
1. Steelers
2. Raiders... yes, lost head to head to the Bengals early on but had the 8-1 finish.
3. Bengals
4. Vikings
5. Colts
6. Cowboys... 5-1 finish
7. Rams... really weird putting a 12-2 team who finished the year on a six game winning streak but lots of strong playoff teams this year!
8. Cardinals
---
9. Bills

I so wanted to sneak the Bills in as my #8 over the Cardinals based on all those quality wins but I just couldn't do it. Their D was pretty weak. Despite 14 picks from Harrison/Greene.

[BD Sullivan]

I so wanted to sneak the Bills in as my #8 over the Cardinals based on all those quality wins but I just couldn't do it. Their D was pretty weak. Despite 14 picks from Harrison/Greene.

After four weeks of the 1975 season, the 4-0 Bills would have been (presumably) ranked as the top team in the AFC. They had taken care of the Steelers at Three Rivers and were averaging 37 points per game, and while Cincy also had a 4-0 mark, three of their wins came against the Browns, Saints and Pats, who had a collective record of 1-11 at the time. Buffalo then inexplicably stumbled AT HOME on MNF to the 1-3 Giants, which started a four-losses-in-five-games-stretch. They seemed to get back on track with two wins, the latter a domination of St. Louis on Thanksgiving, but the loss at Miami effectively killed their hopes and sent them into a wasteland for the next four or five years.

[JohnH19]

It seems to have been ignored by some here that Minnesota went to the SB in 73, 74 and 76 so it isn't at all a stretch to think that they would have done so again if not for the Hail Mary and the questionable 4th down and 16 sideline push-out completion to Drew Pearson a couple of plays earlier.

[74_75_78_79_]

I know that early/mid-'70s scheduling formulas have been discussed here before, but what was the reason for Steelers not playing Raiders (and Dolphins) during the '75 regular season being that they were division-winners the year prior? Cards, Vikes & Rams ('74 div-winners) didn't play each other at all!