Could any AFL team have beaten GB in Super Bowl 1 or 2?

[sheajets]

They did end up facing two pretty formidable teams in the 13-1 Raiders and 11-2-1 Chiefs. Both teams were #1 in offense and #2 in defense in the AFL. Both teams won the AFL title in routs. And they both did hang in with Green Bay at the half. KC trailed 14-10 and Oakland 16-7 before Green Bay decided to end things.

Could the AFL runners up have matched up better and perhaps one of them beaten GB? It's like the old adage in boxing, just because A beats B and B beats C does not mean A will beat C. Any other teams?

Also what would it do to Lombardi's legacy to lose one of those first two Super Bowls?

[conace21]

No. The 1966 Bills and 1967 Oilers didn't have the talent (or coaching) to compete with Green Bay. The Bills had lost a step, especially on offense. The 1964 Bills may have been a better matchup for Green Bay, as they focused on defense and running the ball, though they did throw deep...if not always accurately.

[BD Sullivan]

Also what would it do to Lombardi's legacy to lose one of those first two Super Bowls?

I recall a reported comment from Rozelle about the Super Bowl III loss that took a shot at Shula by saying, "Lombardi wouldn't have lost it."

[lastcat3]

To be honest I think the only year you could say that the AFL legitimately had the best team in the league was 1969. Even though the Jets did win in '68 I still think they just caught the Colts on an extremely bad day and Baltimore indeed would have won 7-9 matchups out of 10 against that Jets team.


Then the Colts win in '70 (a former NFL team), the Cowboys win in '71. A Don Shula lead team won in '72 and '73 and then another former NFL team won four Super Bowls in the decade of the '70's.

[sheajets]

Also what would it do to Lombardi's legacy to lose one of those first two Super Bowls?

I recall a reported comment from Rozelle about the Super Bowl III loss that took a shot at Shula by saying, "Lombardi wouldn't have lost it."

Outstanding line. Lombardi was in attendance too.

A lot has been said about that game, but one thing you can't say is that the Colts came out lethargic, tentative, or unprepared. They were ready to play. And so were the Jets. Lou Michaels missed a few field goals which helped things. You had the Jimmy Orr play where he blended in with the band behind him (also in blue) and was just not visible to Morrall. The Jets played outstanding pass defense in the red zone

[Saban1]

The team with the best chance, IMO, would have been the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl II. They had already played the Packers in Super Bowl I and might have learned from that game. Anyway, they were the best team in the AFL, outside of Oakland, in 1967.

Not saying here that they would have beaten Green Bay in Super Bowl II. Just saying that they were the AFL team with the best chance to beat the Pack in one of the first 2 Super Bowls.

[rhickok1109]

Also what would it do to Lombardi's legacy to lose one of those first two Super Bowls?

I recall a reported comment from Rozelle about the Super Bowl III loss that took a shot at Shula by saying, "Lombardi wouldn't have lost it."

Outstanding line. Lombardi was in attendance too.

A lot has been said about that game, but one thing you can't say is that the Colts came out lethargic, tentative, or unprepared. They were ready to play. And so were the Jets. Lou Michaels missed a few field goals which helped things. You had the Jimmy Orr play where he blended in with the band behind him (also in blue) and was just not visible to Morrall. The Jets played outstanding pass defense in the red zone

The amazing thing about that game to me was that Weeb Ewbank completely changed his team's basic philosophy on both offense and defense in the short period leading up to the Super Bowl and the Colts, not surprisingly, weren't prepared for it.

[sheajets]

They also had a very banged up Maynard who likely would've been held out under normal regular season circumstances. He really couldn't do much at all on the field and was nothing more than a decoy

[conace21]

They also had a very banged up Maynard who likely would've been held out under normal regular season circumstances. He really couldn't do much at all on the field and was nothing more than a decoy

IIRC he still got behind the Colts defense on one play, but Namath overthrew him. That convinced the Colts that Maynard was healthy enough to be dangerous and they rolled their coverage to him. Sauer took full advantage.

[Saban1]

As far as Lombardi's legacy, it would have hurt if Green Bay had lost one of the first two Super Bowls, especially the first one.