The Death of NFL Dynasties

[Oszuscik]

I saw this question on Reddit and wanted to explore it here. What would you consider to be the "death" of every NFL dynasty during the Super Bowl era? I'd personally consider the following as Super Bowl era dynasties:

'60s Green Bay Packers
'70s Miami Dolphins
'70s Dallas Cowboys
'70s Pittsburgh Steelers
'60s-'80s Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
'80s Washington Redskins
'80s San Francisco 49ers
'90s Dallas Cowboys
2000's New England Patriots

Feel free to add any additional dynasties you'd consider. What was the "death" moment for each of these?

To get started...

I obviously consider that the '60s Packers dynasty ended the moment Vince Lombardi announced in a press conference "Let me introduce to you the new head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Mr. Phil Bengtson." Sure, the team was old and the talent was eroding, but Lombardi still managed to will that aging team to an NFL Championship and Super Bowl victory in 1967. I think all the air went out of the balloon the moment he retired.

For the '70s Dolphins, to me the dynasty ended with Super Bowl 8-and-a-half, a.k.a. "The Sea of Hands" game. The buzz and expectations surrounding this game, five lead changes, the last-second manner in which they lost, and the fact that they had been to the previous three Super Bowls all added up to a crushing defeat and the end of the Dolphins' historic run.

[Bryan]

I saw this question on Reddit and wanted to explore it here. What would you consider to be the "death" of every NFL dynasty during the Super Bowl era? I'd personally consider the following as Super Bowl era dynasties:

'60s Green Bay Packers
'70s Miami Dolphins
'70s Dallas Cowboys
'70s Pittsburgh Steelers
'60s-'80s Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders


I obviously consider that the '60s Packers dynasty ended the moment Vince Lombardi announced in a press conference "Let me introduce to you the new head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Mr. Phil Bengtson." Sure, the team was old and the talent was eroding, but Lombardi still managed to will that aging team to an NFL Championship and Super Bowl victory in 1967. I think all the air went out of the balloon the moment he retired.

For the '70s Dolphins, to me the dynasty ended with Super Bowl 8-and-a-half, a.k.a. "The Sea of Hands" game. The buzz and expectations surrounding this game, five lead changes, the last-second manner in which they lost, and the fact that they had been to the previous three Super Bowls all added up to a crushing defeat and the end of the Dolphins' historic run.

In terms of the 1960's Packers, I've read that Lombardi was acutely aware that his core of players was getting to be past-their-prime, and that Lombardi's stepping back (up?) in 1968 was a calculated move on his part. Looking specifically at the 1968 season, you can argue that the Packers dynasty died when Don Chandler retired (for good).

I think the loss of Warfield/Kiick/Csonka for the 1975 season is what ended the Miami dynasty. They were still very good in 1975, and perhaps Csonka/Warfield would have pushed them over the top? Maybe the Steelers beat Miami even with those players. Hard to say. Looking at this specifically, I think you can say injuries to Jake Scott and Curtis Johnson in that Sea of Hands game is what ended the Dolphins dynasty. Missing those two players allowed Oakland to win the game, IMO.

Steelers dynasty ended in the 1979 offseason when Chuck Noll elected to cut Dwaine Board and instead retain Dwight White. Too much reliance on aging vets kind of ended things rather abruptly in 1980.

1986 was a watershed year in which the Dolphins, Raiders & Cowboys became mediocre all at the same time.

[ehaight]

The death of the Raiders dynasty can be traced to a single play. After a slow start to the 1986 season, they rebounded to post an 8-4 record going into a November 30 game against the Eagles at the Coliseum. The Eagles, who weren't very good that year, had played the Raiders tough, forcing overtime. Still, in the extra stanza, the Raiders had driven to just outside the Eagle 20, and Chris Bahr was on the sideline warming up for a potential game-winning field goal, when Marcus Allen bobbled a handoff from Jim Plunkett and fumbled the ball into the line. Andre Waters scooped it up and brought it back inside the Raider 5. The Eagles quickly scored a touchdown to end it in shocking fashion. The Raiders got blown out 37-0 by the Seahawks the following week and ended the season on a four-game losing streak, missing the playoffs. They went 5-10 the next season, hired Mike Shanahan as head coach the year after that and the franchise was proven mortal after all. Before the fumble, they were the RAIDERS in all their mystique and swagger. Afterward, they were just another team and sometimes barely even that.

[Brian wolf]

I agree about the Raiders ... Allen's fumbling drove Al Davis crazy and once they obtained Bo Jackson, Allen wanted out. Wilson just wasnt the answer at QB and though Marinovich later had potential, he just couldnt handle being a professional.

I believe the Steelers still had enough talent in 1980 and 81 but lost too many big games down the stretch to get it done ...

The Redskins flopped in 1992, forcing Gibbs to decide to retire knowing his team was getting older like Parcells did with the Giants after 1990 ...

[SixtiesFan]

I saw this question on Reddit and wanted to explore it here. What would you consider to be the "death" of every NFL dynasty during the Super Bowl era? I'd personally consider the following as Super Bowl era dynasties:

'60s Green Bay Packers
'70s Miami Dolphins
'70s Dallas Cowboys
'70s Pittsburgh Steelers
'60s-'80s Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
'80s Washington Redskins
'80s San Francisco 49ers
'90s Dallas Cowboys
2000's New England Patriots

Feel free to add any additional dynasties you'd consider. What was the "death" moment for each of these?

To get started...

I obviously consider that the '60s Packers dynasty ended the moment Vince Lombardi announced in a press conference "Let me introduce to you the new head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Mr. Phil Bengtson." Sure, the team was old and the talent was eroding, but Lombardi still managed to will that aging team to an NFL Championship and Super Bowl victory in 1967. I think all the air went out of the balloon the moment he retired.

For the '70s Dolphins, to me the dynasty ended with Super Bowl 8-and-a-half, a.k.a. "The Sea of Hands" game. The buzz and expectations surrounding this game, five lead changes, the last-second manner in which they lost, and the fact that they had been to the previous three Super Bowls all added up to a crushing defeat and the end of the Dolphins' historic run.

The Packers dynasty ended because the players got old. Period. They would have faded if Lombardi had still coached in 1968.

[Terry Baldshaw]

The denouement of the Steeler dynasty occurred with Terry Bradshaw's last pass, a touchdown against the New York Jets in 1983. Bradshaw's elbow was shot and he retired after the season.

[Oszuscik]

The death of the Raiders dynasty can be traced to a single play. After a slow start to the 1986 season, they rebounded to post an 8-4 record going into a November 30 game against the Eagles at the Coliseum. The Eagles, who weren't very good that year, had played the Raiders tough, forcing overtime. Still, in the extra stanza, the Raiders had driven to just outside the Eagle 20, and Chris Bahr was on the sideline warming up for a potential game-winning field goal, when Marcus Allen bobbled a handoff from Jim Plunkett and fumbled the ball into the line. Andre Waters scooped it up and brought it back inside the Raider 5. The Eagles quickly scored a touchdown to end it in shocking fashion. The Raiders got blown out 37-0 by the Seahawks the following week and ended the season on a four-game losing streak, missing the playoffs. They went 5-10 the next season, hired Mike Shanahan as head coach the year after that and the franchise was proven mortal after all. Before the fumble, they were the RAIDERS in all their mystique and swagger. Afterward, they were just another team and sometimes barely even that.

Great post! I struggled to come up with an answer to this question for the Raiders, but I think your post nails it.

[74_75_78_79_]

I also think of that loss at home to Eagles in Buddy's first year when I think of the "end" of the Raiders' late-'60s-thru-'mid-'80s run. But though I don't completely remember for sure what I was actually feeling about them as that season went on, I'd lean on me possibly having the vibe that they weren't really "all that" anymore even before that fumble. I do remember the 0-3 start and seeing an interview with a now-retired Lyle Alzado; and he being asked if he wishes he was still there trying to help them out of their doldrums or even being there to prevent those losses in the first place. I think I vaguely remember not being too impressed when they were rallying from that bad start.

Even the year before, they earning top-seed, I didn't really see them as a "threat" to those very Super Bowl Shufflers. Something now seemed to be missing from shortly before. I actually did predict at the time that the Pats would eliminate them in LA. I think I remember seeing them as more 'solid' in '84. I also remember that 'Shuffle'-inspired "The Silver/Black Attack" video before that very '86 campaign began (it likely jinxed them).

There were numerous events in 1980 that I always pointed at, but if you force me to pick one, it'd be the Bengals completing their sweep over the 'Burgh in Week #6 that signaled the "end" of that Steel Dynasty. Losing twice already to a team who didn't beat anyone else thus far? Not the look of a (repeat) Champ-to-be! Especially if the Steelers vengefully belted the Bengals in their second meeting in '79! The 4-1 start, even with the 'cracks' being noticed, made the Dynasty still intact. And had they belted Cincy in the rematch (now 5-1), then the Dynasty would have still been seen as not being in any possible danger.

Packers? Yes, the team all got old. Maybe they still struggle in '68 had Vince stayed, but I wouldn't bet on it! You just never know. And, remember, he never suffered a losing or even non-winning season once in his career! Inheriting and then turning a 1-10-1 team with eleven non-winning seasons in a row into an instant winner in '59, and then doing the same to a 5-9 team he inherits ten years later, snapping 14-straight losing seasons with them...he simply having a team yet another year older? And a three-time-defending-Champ to boot? Yeah, I'd like Vince's chances and humbly opine that he retiring from the HC spot is what "ended" things in Title Town.

Curly Era? You can say defending-Champ he finishing 6-4 in '45. But he'd post winning seasons in '46 & '47 as well. I'd guess both 3-9 and 2-10 campaigns in '48 & '49 - just his second and third losing season ever (all other 23 seasons being winning ones)! He was out of GB after that.

'90s Big D? Although you can say it was actually ending before our very eyes as SBXXX wore on (Thank God, for them, for that 13-0 cushion), I'll simply say the 'new' Panthers eliminating them in '96! Yes, an un-pretty 10-6 finish, but after belting the Vikes (and '88 Forty Niners also finished 10-6) - and knowing that Holmgren/Favre/Reggie had yet to beat them - makes me see that week leading up to Carolina as the "last breath" of me still seeing them as very SB-win-capable. The following opener, 37-7 at Three Rivers (RIP Lady Di), I remember assuring my fellow-Steeler-fans/buddies not to worry, Not that I was sure that the Steelers would actually be a better team than Dallas in '97, but the lopsidedness of it all, I correctly thought, was an anomaly, Dallas simply, suddenly didn't "feel" like Champs anymore. Their identity was now quite different, even further removed, from '92/'93.

Landry Era Cowboys? As I said before - and many here agree on - that convincer at home to Washington in that 'battle of 12-2s' in late-'83.

The WFL and surging Steelers, together, stopped Shula's Dolphins.

And what about the '50s Browns? When Otto left, obviously! They returned to a winning season and League Championship Game in '57, but it just wasn't the same! That team reminds me of the '91 Lakers who made it to the NBA Finals. Just two years after being in their last Finals appearance, but it already didn't feel quite the same as 'Showtime'. And the following year, of course, another Dynasty ended with the Bobby Layne trade!

21st Century Patriots? Let's wait just another year, or maybe two, to see if it indeed is "over". It likely already is, and not an interruption. And if so, the reason would obviously be Brady leaving.

[ehaight]

I also think of that loss at home to Eagles in Buddy's first year when I think of the "end" of the Raiders' late-'60s-thru-'mid-'80s run. But though I don't completely remember for sure what I was actually feeling about them as that season went on, I'd lean on me possibly having the vibe that they weren't really "all that" anymore even before that fumble. I do remember the 0-3 start and seeing an interview with a now-retired Lyle Alzado; and he being asked if he wishes he was still there trying to help them out of their doldrums or even being there to prevent those losses in the first place. I think I vaguely remember not being too impressed when they were rallying from that bad start.

There's an argument to be made that peak Raiders ended with the loss to the Broncos in the 1977 AFC Championship. Two non-playoff seasons followed and there was that horrible stretch of three straight shutouts in 1981, but winning two more Super Bowls helped and adding iconic players like Marcus Allen and Howie Long helped maintain the sense of continuity. As a Raider fan, the one-and-done playoffs in '84 and '85 were disappointing, and the 0-3 start in '86 was worrisome, but when they stormed back to win 8 of 9 I could easily imagine them to be the same team I'd fallen in love with as a child in the 70s. But the Eagles game was a gut punch and the loss to the hated Seahawks (hated by me, at least, as a Spokane resident) was an unmitigated, humiliating disaster. I can still remember watching the season finale against the Colts on TV, knowing they'd already been eliminated from the playoffs and how foreign that experience felt. I mean, what was the point of watching a game with nothing on the line? I'd never really experienced that before, but I sure have since.

[Retro Rider]

The death of the Raiders dynasty can be traced to a single play. After a slow start to the 1986 season, they rebounded to post an 8-4 record going into a November 30 game against the Eagles at the Coliseum. The Eagles, who weren't very good that year, had played the Raiders tough, forcing overtime. Still, in the extra stanza, the Raiders had driven to just outside the Eagle 20, and Chris Bahr was on the sideline warming up for a potential game-winning field goal, when Marcus Allen bobbled a handoff from Jim Plunkett and fumbled the ball into the line. Andre Waters scooped it up and brought it back inside the Raider 5. The Eagles quickly scored a touchdown to end it in shocking fashion.

The 1986 season ended so poorly for the Raiders that they didn't even bother to produce a season highlight film. Personally I've always felt that the Raider dynasty came to a close after their unexpected loss to New England in the 1985 AFC Playoffs. The Sam Seale kickoff return fumble marked the turning point for me. I don't believe they were ever the same after that. The '86 Philly game is an excellent choice as well. I remember the late Rupert Patrick shared a similar opinion on the Eagles game and it's affect on the Raiders when this discussion came up a few years ago.