Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Here are my, honestly unbiased (but JMHO just the same), Top 20 of a decade we can ALL get into discussing...

1) '75 Steelers
2) '78 Steelers
3) '72 Dolphins
4) '73 Dolphins
5) '76 Raiders
6) '79 Steelers
7) '77 Cowboys
8) '78 Cowboys
9) '71 Cowboys
10) '74 Steelers
11) '75 Cowboys
12) '73 Vikings
13) '72 Redskins
14) '76 Vikings
15) '77 Broncos
16) '70 Colts
17) '71 Dolphins
18) '74 Vikings
19) '70 Cowboys
20) '79 Rams

What are yours?

75 Steelers
76 Raiders
78 Steelers
73 Dolphins
77 Cowboys
71 Cowboys
72 Dolphins
74 Steelers
70 Colts
78 Cowboys
79 Steelers
71 Dolphins
73 Vikings
75 Cowboys
70 Cowboys
74 Vikings
77 Broncos
72 Redskins
76 Vikings
79 Rams

Yes, I ranked the 79 Steelers lower because they were sloppy that year and won more on intimidation than dominance. Still, the Rams and Oilers blew their games and the Steelers took advantage going back-to-back.

The Broncos had a great season in 1977 but a pedestrian offense.
The Raiders and Steelers werent the same after the 74-76 seasons, though the Steelers opened up their offense for their great 78 season.

Despite an undefeated season in 1972, the Dolphins went most of their campaign with Morrall at QB, who nearly lost to the Browns. Had Bradshaw not gotten hurt, the game would have been much closer in the championship at Pitts but Griese excelled in both the second half of that game and the SB.

At first, I thought 75 Steelers over 78 sounded a little wild. But then I dug a little deeper and can see 74_75's point

The 75 team scored 17 more points and allowed 33 fewer points in 2 less games

The AFC Central was tougher (1978 had 1 10-win team while 75 had 2 such teams 1 that literally went undefeated outside of their own division)

Playoff opponents: I think the 75 Colts were better than 78 Denver, 75 OAK was definitely better than 78 HOU. While I would take the 78 Cowboys over 1975's Dirty Dozen (their best non-SB winning team ever IMO), SB 10 for whatever reason doesn't seem to have the same aura and reputation that SB 13 does despite being closer.

Heck, even that week 2 BUF home loss- it should be noted those Bills were the highest scoring team in not just 75 but literally the entire decade (even the meaningless week 14 vs LA that meant nothing for other team they only allowed 10 points.)

CSKreager wrote: ↑Wed Apr 09, 2025 3:00 pm At first, I thought 75 Steelers over 78 sounded a little wild. But then I dug a little deeper and can see 74_75's point

The 75 team scored 17 more points and allowed 33 fewer points in 2 less games

The AFC Central was tougher (1978 had 1 10-win team while 75 had 2 such teams 1 that literally went undefeated outside of their own division)

Playoff opponents: I think the 75 Colts were better than 78 Denver, 75 OAK was definitely better than 78 HOU. While I would take the 78 Cowboys over 1975's Dirty Dozen (their best non-SB winning team ever IMO), SB 10 for whatever reason doesn't seem to have the same aura and reputation that SB 13 does despite being closer.

Heck, even that week 2 BUF home loss- it should be noted those Bills were the highest scoring team in not just 75 but literally the entire decade (even the meaningless week 14 vs LA that meant nothing for other team they only allowed 10 points.)

Yeah, the 75 Steelers probably sound worse at first glance because people tend to think Terry Bradshaw's early career wasn't as good. They have their points, but in 1975, he threw 18 touchdowns to nine picks and had a passer rating of 88.0, which was fifth best that season, and the highest in any full season of his career (albeit on lower volume than years later obviously).

Moreover, not only did the 1975 team score more points, but they did so in two fewer games and didn't have the Mel Blount rule unlike 78. 75 admittedly had two fewer games to play to allow points in, but they also allowed slightly fewer points per game than 78.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, but form a Seahawks fan, the 1975 Steelers get overlooked.

1976 gets a lot of praise for rebounding after the injuries they had (and they did play excellent that regular season), and 1978 is often labeled one of the few best teams ever by NFL Films (as you stated winning one of the most iconic Super Bowls there is lifts 78 in people's minds, and there's also the fact that all the Hall of Fame players as of 2025 were starting), but if you look at the entire performance, I think the 75 Steelers are the best Steelers team, and one of the best seasons ever played.

I probably have the Raiders ranked too low while, maybe, having the '79 Steelers too high.

Maybe I should have Oakland at #3. The blemish(es) of that '76 Raider team that can anchor them from being even higher up on an 'all-time' list is their one loss being a blowout at New England; and then in the rematch at home in the divisional round, they win by a controversial play - and then Franco & Rocky not playing the following week doesn't help though, as I said before a few times, I a Steeler-fan doesn't put it in stone that Pittsburgh automatically wins had both RBs played. I consider it a 50/50 chance in such a hypothetical.

'79 Steelers? I guess I should mix in those two eggs they laid at Cincy & SD when factoring them as a whole. At their very best, they were better than they were in '78; had more 'bite'. But they were not at their best all season long. '78 only lost two games with neither one being lopsided and whereas they beat Houston lopsided in the AFCCG and were up on Big D, 35-17, late in SBXIII, the '79 version didn't win their division until the final week and in the playoffs they won close against Houston and the Rams. But then I still keep looking at their Wk#8-thru-#11 performance which I think could very well be the most compact/dominant stretch of that Dynasty! Of course da '85 Bears should be ahead of the '79 Steelers on an 'all-time' list. But in a highest-stakes-possible game between the two, I like Terry's chances to make the difference with that key long bomb play, or two, to either Swann, Stallworth, or both!

I used to think that the '78 Cowboys may have been better than they were the year before. But now I see them as beneath them even if still by a little. Perhaps once that 6-4 start, that prompted THIS article - https://vault.si.com/vault/1978/11/13/i ... e-playoffs - was out of the way, they very well may have been better than they ever were in '77. But they DID lose those four games as opposed to just two the season before, '77 had the #1 offense and #1 defense, and they WON their Super Bowl and did so decisively, so they get the nod over '78 just like '92/'93 should get the nod over '94.

I hate putting the Rams at #20. Once that 5-6 start was out the way, that Ferragamo/Tyler squad may be better/more-dynamic than the Rams ever were the entire decade! But six losses going into a meaningless finale is still six losses going into a meaningless finale. Which then leads back to me, perhaps, placing the very team who beat them in SBXIV a few spots lower because of those four defeats, two of them convincers.

Yes, I treat the '75 Steelers as a one-loss team. I think they are the best team of the modern era. Just imagine if their special teams was just a bit better? Just imagine if their special teams was MORE THAN just a bit better?? I haven't said it yet, but comparing both "for their era, adjusting inflation", I may have to place the 1941 Chicago Bears as better than them. I just may. But that, IMHO, would be the only team in the history of the pro game that I'd place over the '75 Steelers. At the very least, they're tied for first. That, or...da Bears being better.