I'm sure we'll prepare a little bit different." But they won’t be remembered for any of those achievements.Their claim to infamy is to losing to the Jets in Super Bowl III, though Baltimore was heavily favored, after Joe Namath bragged the Colts would go down.Joe Namath first made history in 1965, signing with the Jets for a record $400,000 salary, and his boisterous personality kept him in the news. Chicago Bears, 1985. Philadelphia finished 10-6 despite having the fourth-least productive offense in the league.Four Pittsburgh teams won Super Bowls over a six-year span from 1974-79, and the 1976 squad wasn't one. The Statistically, this was the best overall defense of the team’s dominant run, but the season would end in disappointment. Jerry Rice was unstoppable with 82 catches, averaging 18.1 yards a catch, and 17 touchdowns, while John Taylor had 60 receptions and 10 touchdowns. He is not only one of the best receivers ever, but he is one of the best men in all of sports. Then they got serious. The full-season sample favors Minnesota.No NFL team surrendered fewer yards per snap (3.4) than Minnesota, which collected 30 interceptions and ceded only eight passing scores.Throwing on the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense was borderline impossible.Led by lockdown corner Ronde Barber, Tampa allowed 427 fewer yards than the NFL's No. For the remainder of the regular season, six more opponents would fail to reach 10 points. Yes, all the rules and tactics in that era were slanted toward offense, but Brady and Randy Moss were a spectacular pitch-and-catch combo, with Moss catching 23 of Brady’s 50 touchdown passes.Everything culminated in a Super Bowl loss to a Giants team that had lost six games during the season, giving credence to the old football adage: "The only game that matters is the last one. They faced the New York Giants in Christopher Feery is a freelance writer located in New Jersey. "Without [Ryan] we don't have much," Singletary said at the time, Chicago allowed an NFL-low 12.4 points per game and surrendered just 10 total points during three playoff wins, including a 46-10 beatdown of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. The List: Best NFL defense of all-time From the Page 2 mailbag: Last week, Page 2 put up some points with its list of the 10 best offenses in NFL history. Before facing the Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII, Vikings QB Fran Tarkenton oozed confidence, saying he'd solved the 53. They were practically impossible to run against, limiting opponents to 2.7 yards per carry. However, this was the best defensive unit the franchise put together through its run of success in the 70s.
A lot of observers openly expressed their doubts about the team, but led by "Air McNair," they made it to the Super Bowl and lost to a powerhouse Rams team by only a touchdown.Miami was 14-2, losing in overtime to the San Diego Chargers and falling 45-34 to the Los Angeles Raiders in their only bad performance.In the playoffs, the Dolphins beat Seattle 31-10 and the Pittsburgh Steelers 45-28 in the AFC title game. After all, there have been some historically great defenses that couldn’t get the job done. Kansas City led the AFL with 32 picks. The Vikings, who went 11-3 before losing to the Cowboys in the divisional playoffs, shut out three opponents, and only one team scored more than 20 points against them. In the NFC divisional playoff, they shut out the Giants 21-0. During the AFL championship, the Chiefs outlasted their division rival with a 17-7 triumph.To cap off the brilliant season, Kansas City forced five turnovers in a matchup Emmitt Thomas grabbed nine interceptions, and Johnny Robinson snatched eight. Bart Starr, perhaps the best big game quarterback in pro football history, was masterful. Pro football turned into a game of passing and pass defense, a game of specialists.That’s why the modern era of pro football featured the best NFL teams ever.The Cowboys only got stronger on their way to the Super Bowl, outscoring their three playoff opponents 87-23.The 1999 season was the first year for the team to be called the Titans after the Houston Oilers relocated to Nashville and put a new name on an old franchise. Defensive endThat’s a mistake. They also had William "The Refrigerator" Perry (we’re still not sure what position he played, but he sure was hard to move out of the middle on third and short).And they will always be remembered for the infamous "First and most important, Joe Montana was at near peak level.Two, they were coached by Bill Walsh, probably the greatest and certainly the most innovative coach of the decade.And three, one of their three Pro Bowlers on defense was defensive back Ronnie Lott, who vies, with the Giants' Lawrence Taylor, for the unofficial title of best all-around player of the 1980s.There’s also a fourth reason: They had a superb running game, with Wendell Tyler and Roger Craig rushing for 1,911 yards and 14 touchdowns.Montana had 26 touchdown passes. The '76 Steelers didn't have it easy -- their opponents had a .528 winning percentage. That 9-0 stretch included five shutouts and two contests with three points allowed.