Only one team has played a flawless season (including regular season and playoffs) since the National Football League's inception in 1920: the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who won all fourteen regular season games and three postseason games, including Super Bowl VII, to conclude the season 17-0-0. The 1972 Dolphins are the only team to complete the feat of winning every game during a single season while also winning the Super Bowl.
Prior to this season, no team had gone through an entire campaign without losing a single game. The last time this happened was by the 1998 Denver Broncos, who finished the regular season 14-0. However, they did lose at home to the New York Jets in the first round of the playoffs.
The closest any team has come to achieving such a feat is with the 2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers who finished the regular season 12-1 before losing at home to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.
In addition, two other teams have finished the regular season with 11 wins: the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 2010 New Orleans Saints. Both of these teams failed to win their opening playoff game before being eliminated from the tournament.
Finally, there were two seasons where four 10-win teams made the playoffs: 1969 and 1973. In both cases, the team that finished first in its division took part in the postseason.
Only one NFL team has gone undefeated in both the regular season and following postseason games. The 1972 Miami Dolphins went undefeated in 14 regular season games and three postseason playoff games, including Super Bowl VII against the Washington Redskins.
The first NFL club to record 15 or more defeats in successive seasons, going 1-31 in two seasons with their single win coming in week 16 of the 2016 season. Since World War II, Detroit was the only non-expansion club to lose every game in a complete season.
Aside from the 1972 Miami Dolphins, three NFL teams have gone undefeated and unbeaten in regular season: the 1934 Chicago Bears, the 1942 Chicago Bears, and the 2007 New England Patriots. The '34 and '42 Bears lost their first game before going on to win the NFL championship.
The 2007 Patriots were the first team to go 16-0 since the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They won their last game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers 37-21 to claim the title.
There have been a total of nine teams that have gone 16-0. Here are they all: 1914 Chicago Cubs, 1930s Detroit Tigers, 1942 Chicago Bears, 1964 Dallas Cowboys, 1997 Denver Broncos, 1998 Minnesota Vikings, 2007 New England Patriots, and 2017 Los Angeles Rams.
The 2014 Houston Texans were one game away from becoming the tenth 16-0 team when they lost at home to the Colts 24-14 on December 29th. They would have been the first team not to win at least one game during the playoffs era (1970).
In fact, only two teams have gone 17-0 and won the Super Bowl: the 1973 Washington Redskins and the 2017 Los Angeles Rams. The '73 Redskins lost to the NFL champion Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl XVII.
Only five NFL teams have gone winless since 1944: the 1960 Dallas Cowboys (0-11-1), the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14), the 1982 Baltimore Colts (0-8-1), the 2008 Detroit Lions (0-16), and the 2017 Cleveland Browns (0-16). The Patriots are currently trying to become the sixth 0-16 team.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have won at least one title every year since 1990, including four in a row from 2004 to 2007. The Chicago Bears are second with three wins in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. Both cities have had multiple teams play in each of these championships.
Joe Montana is first with 190 wins. Peyton Manning is second with 178 victories. Neither player has ever lost more than 14 games in a career; thus, they have not yet been held back by injury.
Manning was also responsible for more losses than wins during his career (143-60). He only played in 52 games, which means he had 91 games left on his schedule when he announced his retirement in February 2015 after winning his third championship (second with the Indianapolis Colts).
The New England Patriots (6-4) and Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) have each won six Super Bowls, while the Dallas Cowboys (5-2) and San Francisco 49ers (5-2) have each won five. With their victory in Super Bowl VII, the 1972 Miami Dolphins completed the only flawless season in NFL history. They are the only team to win 100 games in a single season.
In fact, no other team has even come close. The Indianapolis Colts had a perfect 12-0 record before being defeated by Denver 40-7 in Super Bowl XEII. The 2007 New York Giants were one game away from reaching the Super Bowl before losing to New England 24-14 in the NFC Championship Game.
So, yes, the New England Patriots have won the most Super Bowls with eight victories. However, it is very unlikely that they will be able to win another one since they are currently facing a four-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers are still looking for their first title in six attempts.
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