NFL Teams

Last NFL Team To Go Undefeated In Regular Season

By Shraddha Rai / May 15, 2023 03:47 AM

New England Patriots won all the matches of the regular lost but lost the Super Bowl to New York Giants with 17-14
New England Patriots won all the matches of the regular lost but lost the Super Bowl to New York Giants with 17-14( Source : twitter )

Last NFL team to go undefeated in regular season is New England Patriots in 2007. Undefeated NFL team to win super bowl is Miami Dolphins.

With the joint efforts of Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and the whole team, Patriots wrote their name in history as undefeated and untied regular season winners despite losing the final playoff championship.

However, the Patriots have won 6 Super Bowl championships and share the title of NFL team with the most Super Bowl wins along with Pittsburgh Steelers.

Overall, the Patriots are one of the excellent NFL franchises. As of now, they have the most playoff wins as well, 37.

The National Football League was founded on 17 September 1920. During this period, there have been a lot of changes including the expansion of regular season games.

At the start, there were 12 games per team. In 1961, it was expanded to 14 games, and in 1978, it was increased to 16 games. Since 2021, one team plays 17 games in 18 weeks.


Undefeated Super Bowl Teams

Teams undefeated in the super bowl are 1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2. Baltimore Ravens and 3. New Orleans Saints. New York Jets is also on the list.

These are the only four teams that have never lost the Super Bowl Championship. None of these squads have appeared on the big game more than two times.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers are one of the two teams who have emerged victorious in multiple Super Bowls without ever losing. In 2002 and 2020, they won Super Bowl XXXVII and Super Bowl XXXVII respectively.

This NFL franchise was founded 49 years ago on 24 April 1974. The current owner is the Glazer family. Todd Bowles has been working as the head coach for the team since 2022.

Coach Jon Gruden of Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a history by becoming the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl which was held in 2003
Coach Jon Gruden of Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a history by becoming the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl which was held in 2003( Source : twitter )

Super Bowl XXXVII

To become the league champions, Buccaneers played against Oakland Raiders on 26 January 2003 and won with a score of 48-21.

The championship was held at Qualcomm Stadium. Dexter Jackson, who played as safety was titled the Most Valuable Player that year.

Some people even remember this big game as 'Gruden Bowl' and 'Pirate Bowl'. In the match attended by 67,603 audiences, Bill Carollo served as the referee.

Super Bowl LV

For the second time, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers participated in the Super Bowl LV and came out triumphant with a score of 31-9. The final game of the 2020 NFL season was held between the Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs.

It was held on 7 February 2021 at Raymond James Stadium. One of the key reasons for the Buccaneers' victory is the quarterback Tom Brady.

In 2020, Brady joined Tampa Bay Buccaneers after exiting from the New England Patriots. He also became the Super Bowl MVP that year.

Baltimore Ravens

The 27-year-old professional football team that plays under American Football Conference (AFC) took part in two championships of the NFL and gained victory in both of them.

It is the second team that is known for being the undefeated in Super Bowl. Looking at their history it seems if they appear at the big game, they will win it for sure.

Super Bowl XXXV

The Ravens won against New York Giants with a 34-7 score in the Super Bowl organized on 28 January 2001. The linebacker Ray Lewis became the MVP that season.

71,921 viewers attended the fun and entertaining event held at Raymond James Stadium. It was the first match played and subsequently won by the Ravens.

Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning against San Francisco @49ers( Source : twitter )

Super Bowl XLVII

During this match, they played against the San Francisco 49ers and emerged as the winner. It was a cut-throat competition because the Ravens won by only 3 points with a score of 34-31.

The 49ers were also one of the undefeated teams to win multiple Super Bowl appearances. But things changed for them after this match.

New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints got qualified for the Super Bowl XLIV in 2009 and won against Indianapolis Colts, 31-17. On the 7th of February 2010, they performed at Sun Life Stadium and made this new record for themselves.

Drew Brees, the quarterback who successfully led his team to victory became the Super Bowl MVP that year.

The Saints have been participating in the NFL since their inception 56 years ago. They are members of the National Football Conference (NFC).

New York Jets

New York Jets who play under AFC got qualified for Super Bowl III in 1968. They faced Baltimore Colts at the Miami Orange Bowl Stadium on 12 January 1969 with a score of 16-7.

Established on 14 August 1959, the Jets have appeared in 14 playoffs. 2010 was the last time they were seen at the NFL playoff.

Undefeated NFL Teams In History

NFL teams to go undefeated in regular season are Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, and New England Patriots. The Bears and Patriots lost the NFL championship.

The Bears achieved continuous success in the regular season of 1934 and 1942. During that time, the final playoff was called the NFL Championship Game.

The Bears lost both times to New York Giants and Washington Redskins. Only in 1966, the final game was renamed the Super Bowl.

Talking about the New England Patriots, they had a perfect score in the regular season games of 2007. But losing the Super Bowl XLII to New York Giants stopped them from having a perfect season.

Undefeated Team To Win Super Bowl

Undefeated NFL team to win Super Bowl is Miami Dolphins. The NFL franchise set this historical record in the 1972 season of the National Football League by winning Super Bowl VII.

In the annual final playoff, the Dolphins faced Washington Redskins at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and won by a 14-7 score.

During the early 1970s, there used to be only 12 regular season games along with four playoffs and the Super Bowl per Marca. In the present time, teams have to win 18 games before qualifying for the league championship.

50 years have already passed since their success but no other teams have been able to accomplish this feat until now.

In 1973, they became the league champions once again by winning against Minnesota Vikings but it was not a perfect season. Don Shula was the coach of the team in 1972 as well as 1973.

As their victory is unprecedented, the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama honored them by inviting them to the White House in 2013.

Dolphins Perfect Season Quarterback

Dolphins undefeated season quarterback includes Bob Griese and Earl Morrall. Morrall had to take over the role of QB in 11 games as Griese got injured per NFL.

Bob Griese was positioned as the starting quarterback during the 1972 NFL season. He had been leading his team to victories but as they reached Week 5, he broke his ankle.

It was inevitable for the Head coach Don Shula to replace Bob with Morrall and he did not disappoint. Griese recovered before the Super Bowl, rejoined the team, and brought the Vince Lombardi Trophy home.

Both Bob's and Earl's contributions were equally important for the Dolphins to achieve an entire perfect season in the history of American football.

Griese helped the Dolphins in winning the final annual play offs of NFL consecutively for the third time( Source : twitter )

Bob Griese

In total, Griese has won 2 Super Bowls, VII and VIII. He served as the quarterback for Miami Dolphins from 1967 to 1980 after getting drafted in the 1st round as the 4th overall pick.

Fox Sports listed Bob in an article titled Top 10 NFL quarterbacks of the 1970s. He played in 6 Pro Bowls and became First-team All-Pro two times in 1971 and 1977.

The 78-year-old former athlete gained passing yards of 25092 during his 13-year NFL journey. He is an inductee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame as well.

Earl Morrall

Earl Morrall served as the QB during the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Dolphins were the AFC Champions, and Redskins were the NFC Champions.

Among the 7 rounds of the drafting process, Morrall was recruited in the first round as the second pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 1956.

As time progressed, he joined other teams like Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Baltimore Colts, and Miami Dolphins.

Earl associated with the Dolphins in 1972 and played for the NFL franchise until 1976. He also received the title of the NFL Comeback Player of the Year and the NFL passer rating leader in 1972.

The 1955 All-American passed away on 25 April 2014 at the age of 79. After the player's demise, Coach Shula remembered him fondly referring to him as an outstanding leader.

Morrall is the quarterback who helped Miami Dolphins in achieving the perfect season by stepping up in the field after Bob got injured in 1972 NFL season
Morrall is the quarterback who helped Miami Dolphins in achieving the perfect season by stepping up in the field after Bob got injured in 1972 NFL season( Source : twitter )

Roster

Dolphins perfect season roster consisted of 53 active players including Dick Anderson, Larry Ball, Al Jenkins, and Howard Twilley among others. Many of the members have already passed away.

According to the positions they were assigned, these are the lists of all the rosters from the perfect season:

Quarterback

  1. Bob Griese
  2. Earl Morrall
  3. Jim Del Gaizo

Running backs

  1. Jim Kiick
  2. Mercury Morris
  3. Charles Leigh FB
  4. Ed Jenkins
  5. Hubert Ginn
  6. Larry Csonka FB

Wide Receiver

  1. Paul Warfield
  2. Howard Twilley
  3. Otto Stowe
  4. Marlin Briscoe

Offensive linemen

  1. Howard Kindig T/C/LS
  2. Al Jenkins G
  3. Jim Langer C
  4. Larry Little G
  5. Bob Kuechenberg G
  6. Norm Evans T
  7. Wayne Moore T

Defensive Linemen

  1. Bob Heinz DT
  2. Manny Fernandez DT
  3. Jim Dunaway DT
  4. Vern Den Herder DE
  5. Bill Stanfill DE
  6. Maulty Moore

Linebacker

  1. Larry Ball
  2. Bob Matheson
  3. Jesse Powell
  4. Mike Kolen
  5. Doug Swift
  6. Nick Buoniconti

Tight End

  1. Marv Fleming
  2. Jim Mandich

Defensive backs

  1. Curtis Johnson CB
  2. Dick Anderson SS
  3. Mike Howell FS
  4. Lloyd Mumphord CB
  5. Tim Foley CB
  6. Jake Scott FS
  7. Dick Anderson
  8. Charlie Babb

Reserve List

  1. Jim Riley DE
  2. Karl Noonan WR
  3. Tom Curtis FS

Special Teams

  1. Larry Seiple P
  2. Garo Yepremian K
  3. Billy Lothridge P

Taxi Squad

  1. Mike Kadish DT
  2. Henry Stuckey DB

Has Any NFL Team Gone 0-16?

Yes, two teams have gone 0-16 in the history of the NFL. Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns lost 16 games each in 2008 and 2017 respectively.

The Lions and the Browns did not win a single match the entire regular season. Since 1978, there was the provision of playing 16 games in the regular season.

Cleveland Browns had a poor result the previous season as well, 1-15. They were coached by Hue Jackson.

Talking about Detroit Lions, they are the pioneer in scoring 0-16. Rod Marinelli coached the Lions that season.

16 and 0 NFL teams

16-0 NFL teams include New England Patriots only. Patriots recorded 16 wins and zero losses in the 2007 NFL season.

The Patriots played in two playoff matches and won both. However, during the Super Bowl, they could not beat the New York Giants.

The Patriots have the most wins in the history of the NFL despite losing the Super Bowl with 16-0 but Miami Dolphins completed the regular season with 14-0 in 1972.

In 2007, Tom Brady became the only QB in National Football League to gain victory in 16 regular season games
In 2007, Tom Brady became the only QB in National Football League to gain victory in 16 regular season games( Source : twitter )

15 and 1 NFL teams

15-1 NFL teams are six in number. In 2015, Carolina Panthers became the latest squad to achieve this feat.

Here is the list of teams with 15-1 scores in chronological order:

  1. San Francisco 49ers (1984)
  2. Pittsburgh Steelers (2004)
  3. Minnesota Vikings (1998)
  4. Green Bay Packers (2011)
  5. Chicago Bears (1985)
  6. Carolina Panthers (2015)

Among these franchises, only the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears were able to bring home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

17 and 0 NFL teams

17-0 NFL teams consist of Miami Dolphins only. The Dolphins beat all of their opposite teams in both season and playoffs.

During that time, there were only 14 regular season games. After emerging victorious in all of them, they played three more post-seasons and were able to be the league champions.

Best NFL Season Of All Time

Best season in NFL history was the 88th regular season held in 2007. New England Patriots won all 16 games to become the only team to have a 16-0 record.

Among the 32 teams of the league, none has topped this record. According to winning percentage, and most wins, Patriots have had the best NFL Regular Season Records.

They marked their name as the 4th one to be undefeated in the regular season of the American gridiron. Before the Patriots, Chicago Bears went undefeated two times with 13-0 and 11-0.

Thanks to Tom Brady, the quarterback for leading the team to such a historical achievement. He became the Most Valuable Player for other first time ever that year.

Wide receiver Randy Moss recorded the most receiving touchdowns in an NFL season with 23 TD and became the NFL receiving touchdowns leader.

Other important players that year were:

  • Kevin Faulk - Running back
  • Wes Welker - Wide receiever
  • Kyle Brady - Tight end
  • Ben Watson - Tight end
  • Ty Warren - Left Defensive end
  • Jarvis Green - Right Defensive end

Established on 16 November 1959, Patriots are the members of the AFC. In 2007, Head coach Bill Belichick guided the team.


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