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Worst Teams to Make the Super Bowl


Jotun_Fan

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What do you guys think are some of the worst teams to have played in the super bowl? I think we have a pretty good mix of older/younger posters and also people who watch a lot of games so I'm curious to see what people think. This list will probably have some recency bias as I think it's harder to make this list from times when fewer teams made the playoffs.

As a Giants fan, I think at least one of the following three of our super bowl teams would qualify for top ten worst out of a possible 108 teams: 2000, 2007, 2011. (do I have some reverse homerism or something?)

Edited by Jotun_Fan
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That '08 Cardinals team looked like it was sleepwalking through the second half of the season. They lost by 40 points in week 16 to a Matt Cassel-led Patriots team in a game in which Warner was benched after going 6 for his first 18. 

Then Larry Fitzgerald went Super Saiyan.

I would rank them ahead of the 2011 Giants simply because the Giants had an absolutely brutal schedule that year and had some key injuries.

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1979 Rams spring to mind. 9-7, and didn't really dominate anyone. There wasn't a bully in the entire NFC that year. Some good teams, but no one seemingly insurmountable. They gave the Steelers a fight though into the 4th. Others have said the 2008 Cardinals, 2003 Panthers, 2000 Giants, and 1985 Patriots which I'd agree with. I'd add the 2001 Patriots and 1994 San Diego Chargers to the list. 

Edited by PapaShogun
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1 hour ago, PapaShogun said:

1979 Rams spring to mind. 9-7, and didn't really dominate anyone. There wasn't a bully in the entire NFC that year. Some good teams, but no one seemingly insurmountable. They gave the Steelers a fight though into the 4th. Others have said the 2008 Cardinals, 2003 Panthers, 2000 Giants, and 1985 Patriots which I'd agree with. I'd add the 2001 Patriots and 1994 San Diego Chargers to the list. 

The 79 Rams were much better than those other teams you mentioned. That was a team that had some injuries (especially at QB, with Haden going down and being replaced by Ferragamo, which was an upgrade in my opinion), but they had talent and good depth. They also played seven games against teams that would finish above .500, including @Dallas and the Chargers (who looked awesome that year before their meltdown against the Oilers).

Looking back, I don't think it was that big of a surprise that they gave the Steelers a run for their money. If they would have played the Oilers instead, they would have defeated them. I even think that they would have given the Chargers a good game (at least). They were playing much better at the end of the year than they were when they got blown out 40-16 by the Bolts in mid-season.

Edited by 7DnBrnc53
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19 hours ago, Vladimir L said:

Panthers with Jake Delhome

Giants 2000

 

Giants Vs Ravens horrible sb

It was a horrible game because the Ravens absolutely dominated the Giants. Both were good teams though, neither of whom belongs in this thread IMO

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1 hour ago, 7DnBrnc53 said:

The 79 Rams were much better than those other teams you mentioned. That was a team that had some injuries (especially at QB, with Haden going down and being replaced by Ferragamo, which was an upgrade in my opinion), but they had talent and good depth. They also played seven games against teams that would finish above .500, including @Dallas and the Chargers (who looked awesome that year before their meltdown against the Oilers).

Looking back, I don't think it was that big of a surprise that they gave the Steelers a run for their money. If they would have played the Oilers instead, they would have defeated them. I even think that they would have given the Chargers a good game (at least). They were playing much better at the end of the year than they were when they got blown out 40-16 by the Bolts in mid-season.

Did they not finish 2-5 against teams with a winning record though? And both of the QBs they fielded seemed dreadful even for 1979 standards. Why did you think Ferragamo was better than Haden? They also finished with a -8 turnover differential. They made the Super Bowl, but didn't dominate Dallas or Tampa, and the entire NFC seemed fairly tame that year. No team even won more than 11 games. I don't know. You probably watched the games at the time, but just looking into it, and watching what little I did from that era the Rams seem pretty far down the list on quality clubs to play in the big show. 

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22 hours ago, August4th said:

since I've been watching

11 Giants

12 Ravens

08 Cards

Meh. People keep bringing them up for what I assume was their 10-6 regular season record.

They rested their starters in week 17 at 10-5 because they were already locked into the division title but were out of reach of a first round bye. Could have easily been 11-5 if they cared.

They also won games against Andrew Luck, @Peyton Manning, and @Tom Brady in the playoffs to even get to the Super Bowl. Not to mention beat a 49ers team in the Super Bowl that many people bring up in the reverse version of this thread - "Best teams to not win a Super Bowl in the past x years". I've seen that 9er team mentioned a lot in those types of threads.

The previous year - 2011 - they were in the AFC Championship, and lost @NE 23-20 with the infamous Lee Evans/Cundiff fiasco.

They weren't some 1-off team that magically found success one random year with a hot post-season streak. The previous 4 years before the Superbowl win they were 44-20, 4 for 4 in playoff trips, made 2 AFC Championship games, and had won 5 playoff games in that span. That team was the last iteration of a team that was one of the most successful of that era. It just happened to be the team that finally got over the hump and won it all.

They don't belong in this thread IMO

Edited by Ray Reed
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