Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

What season would you choose as the greatest from each of these decades?

I haven’t decided on the ‘60s or ‘80s yet, but I like 1972 from the ‘70s. You had the Dolphins’ perfect season, the Immaculate Reception igniting the epic Steelers and Raiders rivalry, the Cowboys finally broke through and were reigning champs, and the Packers enjoyed their only good season of the ‘70s.

For the ‘90s I think 1998 is the standout. Elway retired on top with a Super Bowl trophy, Randy Moss took the league by storm as a rookie phenom, you had the draft debate of Manning vs. Leaf, and this was more or less the final season (or final quality season) for Steve Young, Reggie White, Barry Sanders, Michael Irvin, and Dan Marino.

What say you?

1969 to close a huge decade of growth before the merger of both leagues with great postseason games in KC-NY, Minn-LA and KC-Oak, with the Chiefs proving that the Jets SB Championship win was no fluke ...

1972 was a good choice with offenses going back to three yards and a cloud of dust but I also liked 1977 before rule changes opened offensive football considerably ...

1986 was finally a year where defenses started to catch up with prolific offenses again and players were truly going to war each week without worrying about hangnails keeping them out of games like today.

1998 was a good choice because dominant teams still ruled over parity but 1993 had alot of exciting football as well with Minn and Pitts challenging teams like Dallas, SF, Buff and Houston for top billing.

Mentioned each of the four before, and am mentioning each again...

1963, 1978, 1980, and 1998!


But...if the wind blows just right, maybe '75 could supplant that very first 16-game season! '79 has one hell of a claim inside me as well! And all of this not just because of the obvious (after all, '80 & '81 are two of my all-time favorites).

1980 was a great season, especially for pass lovin kids new to the NFL like myself. But turnovers and cheap receptions/touchdowns disappointed older traditional fans like guys my Dad's age ...
The postseason sold it over, possibly the best NFL postseason since divisional games were added in 1967 ...

My list is based a lot on "feel", "aesthetics", and what season was best in quality but also best represented the decade.

1960's: 1969. Seems weird to have it be so late but The level of play was so high by the end of the 60's it's tough to get away from it. The AFL had their feet fully under them, you had the last gasps of some great teams from the past and the teams that would go onto dominate the 70s started to move up.

1970's: 1977. Feels odd to have a season where the Steelers didn't win the SB chosen here, but 1978 with the rule changes was such a departure from the other 3/4's of the decade I couldn't do it. So I got as close as I could. You had all the 70s great teams still being great and still playing the 70s "brand"

1980's: 1988. A classic SB topped off a year where the team of the decade was amazing. The other powerful teams of the decade were still great, defenses had caught up to the offenses and a bit more, and this just felt like the 80s cresting. 89 was a close second, to be honest.

1990's: I couldn't choose anything later in the decade as the uniforms sucked. I lean heavily towards 1993. When I think of the 90s and the quality level of play I think about teams like the Bills, Cowboys, 49ers, the Marty Chiefs, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Dan Marino, Elway, Rison, Sharpe, Carter. etc. You had younger players who would dominate the decade just coming in or getting their feet wet(Favre, Bettis, Bledsoe, etc)

1993 just feels like the 90s to me

Hail Casares wrote:My list is based a lot on "feel", "aesthetics", and what season was best in quality but also best represented the decade.

1960's: 1969. Seems weird to have it be so late but The level of play was so high by the end of the 60's it's tough to get away from it. The AFL had their feet fully under them, you had the last gasps of some great teams from the past and the teams that would go onto dominate the 70s started to move up.

1970's: 1977. Feels odd to have a season where the Steelers didn't win the SB chosen here, but 1978 with the rule changes was such a departure from the other 3/4's of the decade I couldn't do it. So I got as close as I could. You had all the 70s great teams still being great and still playing the 70s "brand"

1980's: 1988. A classic SB topped off a year where the team of the decade was amazing. The other powerful teams of the decade were still great, defenses had caught up to the offenses and a bit more, and this just felt like the 80s cresting. 89 was a close second, to be honest.

1990's: I couldn't choose anything later in the decade as the uniforms sucked. I lean heavily towards 1993. When I think of the 90s and the quality level of play I think about teams like the Bills, Cowboys, 49ers, the Marty Chiefs, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Dan Marino, Elway, Rison, Sharpe, Carter. etc. You had younger players who would dominate the decade just coming in or getting their feet wet(Favre, Bettis, Bledsoe, etc)

1993 just feels like the 90s to me

Interesting choice for the 1990's. It seems like 1994 was a noticeable shift for the league. Free agency began the year before but it seems like it was really felt in '94, especially with guys moving around due to the new salary cap. Passing got another surge thanks to a few new rule changes. Also, I could be wrong, but I THINK 1994 was the first instance of selling naming rights to a stadium (booooo) with the Hoosier Dome being renamed the RCA Dome. In those ways 1993 was kind of the last year of "80's" football.

Oszuscik wrote:
Interesting choice for the 1990's. It seems like 1994 was a noticeable shift for the league. Free agency began the year before but it seems like it was really felt in '94, especially with guys moving around due to the new salary cap. Passing got another surge thanks to a few new rule changes. Also, I could be wrong, but I THINK 1994 was the first instance of selling naming rights to a stadium (booooo) with the Hoosier Dome being renamed the RCA Dome. In those ways 1993 was kind of the last year of "80's" football.

1994 I gave a brief thought to, but if I eliminated the late 90s for terrible uniforms......1994 never had a shot. I don't disagree with a lot of your post, but the aesthetics of 1994 really sucked...which I guess is VERY 90s, but I felt like 1993 was a better season.

'60's: 1963
'70's: 1979
'80's: 1981
'90's: 1990

For the 1960s, I concur about 1969. The Jets beat the Colts in SB3 to end the 1968 season. The 1969 season reaped the benefits of all the arguing about league equality. That generated a lot of newspaper copy.

The Jets generated a lot of interest, to the top TV market in the country tuned in to watch. The Rams won their first 11, so the second-biggest market was also tuned it.

Then the Chiefs capped the season with a tremendous win in SB4.

I agree with '69 being a great campaign, but why was '70 so bad?