Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

You can't necessarily call either a 10-3-1 team and especially a 8-4 team as 'best', but the '32 and '35 Packers should at least get mere mention.

There should have never even been a 'playoff game' anyway in '32. The Pack should have, simply, been crowned the Champs!

And in '35, again 'just' 8-4 but I feel were the best in the league. They won 8 games to Detroit's 7 as well as beating them in the season-series, 2-1. They swept the Bears in their (only) two games against them. Their (triple) 'black-eye', however, was they getting thrept by the Cardinals. The Cards - and Bears - both tied for last in their division, but both were tied at...6-4-2! Super-tough division!

Not to call this Steve Owen team a...'paper tiger' (yes, can only play who's on your schedule), but in the Giants' Eastern division, they were the ONLY winning team. In their four games against teams from the Western, they were 1-3, one of those losses was at Green Bay, 16-7. The Bears were the only Western team they beat, but they lost to them as well. G-men were undefeated against their divisional foes.

Had the Pack been in that division instead, sure-enough a double-digit wins campaign. Sure-enough they defeat the Giants in the LCG no matter where it would have been played. Wins, in my opinion, should always count before ties thus GB should have represented. But, damn, simply beat the Cards just ONCE, at least, and...

Again, neither at all a 'best' team here. But what's Curly's legacy had he won eight, instead of six, League Championships - being the only one ever to...FOUR-peat, mind you?? Most of us place Halas above Lambeau if only due to he still HC-ing contenders into the '50s and beyond ('63) whereas Curly fell off a cliff by the late-'40s and then retired soon after. But sure-enough the gap between both would maybe be slimmer with many of us.

Or just maybe...enough would see Curly (again, Eight World Titles) as better!

EDIT -
Of course Paul Brown four-peated! My mistake.

1962 Lions (11-3 record)

Fifth in points scored (out of 14 teams), second in points allowed, and first in yards allowed. Their defense also had 24 INT's and 49 QB sacks.

Seven Pro Bowlers (two on offense, five on defense).

Came close to sweeping the Packers that year (didn't they give away their Week 4 game away at Lambeau Field due to a dumb late INT?) and playing the Giants for the NFL Title (they played them in Week 6 and lost 17-14 at Yankee Stadium).

7DnBrnc53 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 26, 2026 3:35 pm 1962 Lions (11-3 record)

Fifth in points scored (out of 14 teams), second in points allowed, and first in yards allowed. Their defense also had 24 INT's and 49 QB sacks.

Seven Pro Bowlers (two on offense, five on defense).

Came close to sweeping the Packers that year (didn't they give away their Week 4 game away at Lambeau Field due to a dumb late INT?) and playing the Giants for the NFL Title (they played them in Week 6 and lost 17-14 at Yankee Stadium).

Yes, the Lions were leading the Packers 7-6 late in the Week 4 game at Green Bay. Milt Plum, who was traded that year to the lions, who hoped he would be the QB to take them to a championship, threw a bad pass intercepted by Herb Adderley, who ran it into good FG range. Paul Hornung kicked the FG giving the Packers a 9-7 win.

The game was the centerpiece of the Vince Lombardi book "Run to Daylight." It was said Alex Karras threw his helmet at Milt Plum in the locker room after the game.

7DnBrnc53 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 26, 2026 3:35 pm 1962 Lions (11-3 record)

Fifth in points scored (out of 14 teams), second in points allowed, and first in yards allowed. Their defense also had 24 INT's and 49 QB sacks.

Seven Pro Bowlers (two on offense, five on defense).

Came close to sweeping the Packers that year (didn't they give away their Week 4 game away at Lambeau Field due to a dumb late INT?) and playing the Giants for the NFL Title (they played them in Week 6 and lost 17-14 at Yankee Stadium).

Well, if they'd won that game against the Packers that would've left the two teams tied for first at 12-2, so they would've had to beat Green Bay a third time to get to the championship game. Granted, they would've had two wins already, but that would've been a very tough trifecta to pull off.

7DnBrnc53 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 25, 2026 9:45 am

Sonny9 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 25, 2026 5:58 am 1963 Raiders. 10-4 beat the eventual Champion Chargers twice.
Started 2-4. Davidson was replaced at QB by Flores after they went 2-3

Clem Daniels led the league in rushing yards and avg per catch
Art Powell led the league in receiving yards and receiving TDs
Punt Returner Gibson led the leagues in Punt returns, yards, average, and TDs
Flores led the league in TD%, yds per att, yds per catch
15 TD passes of 38 yards or more. (Chargers had 8)

Wasn't this Al Davis's first year with the team and as HC?

Yes. First of 3 seasons

Bob Gill wrote: ↑Sun Jul 26, 2026 8:14 pm

7DnBrnc53 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 26, 2026 3:35 pm 1962 Lions (11-3 record)

Fifth in points scored (out of 14 teams), second in points allowed, and first in yards allowed. Their defense also had 24 INT's and 49 QB sacks.

Seven Pro Bowlers (two on offense, five on defense).

Came close to sweeping the Packers that year (didn't they give away their Week 4 game away at Lambeau Field due to a dumb late INT?) and playing the Giants for the NFL Title (they played them in Week 6 and lost 17-14 at Yankee Stadium).

Well, if they'd won that game against the Packers that would've left the two teams tied for first at 12-2, so they would've had to beat Green Bay a third time to get to the championship game. Granted, they would've had two wins already, but that would've been a very tough trifecta to pull off.

This happened in 1965 when the Packers beat the Colts twice and they tied. And the Packers barely won the third at home.

readjack wrote: ↑Fri Jul 24, 2026 4:20 pm The '67 Colts missed out behind the Rams, and the next year, the Rams missed out behind the Colts. Not as much of a miss because the '68 Rams were 10-3-1, and they lost both of their games against the Colts. But they were also 5th in points and 3rd in points allowed, and #1 for fewest yards allowed.

That last game, in Los Angeles, meant nothing. But the week before, the Rams lost by one point, 17-16, to the Bears. There was an officiating error and the Rams were only given three downs on a late possession. So if the Rams win that disputed game, they are 11-1-1 against the 12-1 Colts in that last game. If the Rams win that last game, they win the division and the Colts go home again.

Jay Z wrote: ↑Tue Jul 28, 2026 10:51 am

readjack wrote: ↑Fri Jul 24, 2026 4:20 pm The '67 Colts missed out behind the Rams, and the next year, the Rams missed out behind the Colts. Not as much of a miss because the '68 Rams were 10-3-1, and they lost both of their games against the Colts. But they were also 5th in points and 3rd in points allowed, and #1 for fewest yards allowed.

That last game, in Los Angeles, meant nothing. But the week before, the Rams lost by one point, 17-16, to the Bears. There was an officiating error and the Rams were only given three downs on a late possession. So if the Rams win that disputed game, they are 11-1-1 against the 12-1 Colts in that last game. If the Rams win that last game, they win the division and the Colts go home again.

I did not know about the stolen down game. Thank you!