Greatest Team Tournie: Round 1, Day 1

[RazorStar 4,025]

Let the polling begin! Which team is truly the greatest of all time? 96 Super Bowl Era teams enter, only one can prevail.

The matches today are:

64. 1992 San Francisco 49ers
vs.
65. 1980 Philadelphia Eagles

33. 2017 Philadelphia Eagles
vs.
96. 2016 Atlanta Falcons

49. 1971 Dallas Cowboys
vs.
80. 1988 Cincinnati Bengals

48. 2012 Baltimore Ravens
vs.
79. 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers

Edited March 29, 2020 by RazorStar

[RazorStar 4,025]

and a little info on the teams in question:

64. 1992 San Francisco 49ers
Record 14-2 (15-3 Postseason)
Number 1 Scoring Offense, Number 3 Scoring Defense
Lost in the Conference Championship to the Dallas Cowboys 30-20
Pro Bowlers: Steve Young, Ricky Watters, Jerry Rice, Brent Jones, Steve wallace, Guy McIntyre, Pierce Holt
First Team All Pros: Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Harris Barton
MVP: Steve Young

65. 1980 Philadelphia Eagles
Record 12-4 (14-5 Postseason)
Number 6 Scoring Offense, Number 1 Scoring Defense
Lost in the Super Bowl to the L.A. Raiders 27-10
Pro Bowlers: Ron Jaworski, Harold Carmichael, Charlie Johnson
First Team All Pros: Charlie Johnson

33. 2017 Philadelphia Eagles
Record 13-3 (16-3 Postseason)
Number 3 Scoring Offense, Number 4 Scoring Defense
Won the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots 41-33
Pro Bowlers: Carson Wentz, Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Fletcher Cox, Malcolm Jenkins
First Team All Pros: Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce

96. 2016 Atlanta Falcons
Record 11-5 (13-6 Postseason)
Number 1 Scoring Offense, Number 27 Scoring Defense
Lost the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots 34-28
Pro Bowlers: Matt Ryan, Devonta Freeman, Julio Jones, Alex Mack, Vic Beasley, Matt Bryant
First Team All Pros: Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Vic Beasley
MVP: Matt Ryan

49. 1971 Dallas Cowboys
Record 11-3 (14-3 Postseason)
Number 1 Scoring Offense, Number 7 Scoring Defense
Won in the Super Bowl against the Miami Dolphins 24-3
Pro Bowlers: Roger Staubach, John Niland, Rayfield Wright, Bob Lilly, Chuck Howley, Mel Renfro, Cornell Green, Ron Widby
First Team All Pros: John Niland, Rayfield Wright, Bob Lilly

80. 1988 Cincinnati Bengals
Record 12-4 (14-5 Postseason)
Number 1 Scoring Offense, Number 16 Scoring Defense
Lost in the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers 20-16
Pro Bowlers: Boomer Esiason, James Brooks, Eddie Brown, Rodney Holman, Anthony Munoz, Max Montoya, Tim Krumrie, Eric Thomas, David Fulcher
First Team All Pros: Boomer Esiason, Anthony Munoz, Tim Krumrie
MVP: Boomer Esiason

48. 2012 Baltimore Ravens
Record 10-6 (14-6 Postseason)
Number 10 Scoring Offense, Number 12 Scoring Defense
Won in the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers 34-31
Pro Bowlers: Ray Rice, Vonta Leach, Marshal Yanda, Haloti Ngata, Ed Reed, Jacoby Jones (KR)
First Team All Pros: Vonta Leach, Jacoby Jones (KR)

79. 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers
Record 15-1 (16-2 Postseason)
Number 11 Scoring offense, Number 1 Scoring Defense
Lost in the Conference Championship against the New England Patriots 41-27
Pro Bowlers: Jerome Bettis, Hines Ward, Alan Faneca, Jeff Hartings, Marvel Smith, Aaron Smith, James Farrior, Joey Porter, Troy Polamalu
First Team All Pros: Alan Faneca, Jeff Hartings, James Farrior

[RazorStar 4,025]

My thoughts:

The 92 49ers had a case to be the best team in football the year they played, they just came up against a stronger team in the 92 Cowboys. Their offensive output was insane, and I think it puts them over a team that while having a great defense, definitely overachieved to make it to the super bowl.

The  2016 Falcons had an incredible offense led by an MVP caliber player, but ultimately fell just short in the last game of the season when their defense gave up a 25 point lead with a quarter and a bit to go. The 2017 Eagles had an incredible offense led by an MVP caliber player... but he got hurt, the rest of the team stepped up, and Nick Foles decided to play like an MVP in the finale. This one isn't a contest to me.

I think the 71 Cowboys and 88 Bengals are actually pretty closely matched. The Bengals were 30 seconds away from winning a super bowl with their high powered offense, while the Cowboys had an all time great at QB and a swarming defense. I leaned toward the Bengals because that offense was so impressive, but that may just be me.

Lastly the 12 Ravens and the 04 Steelers. The Ravens actually went 9-2 to start their season, before taking a 1-4 slide in December. Fortunately for them, the AFC was fairly top heavy that year so they settled into the 4th seed without incident, and then Joe Flacco went god mode on Ray Lewis' retirement tour. The 04 Steelers came out of nowhere, going 15-1 thanks to a smothering defense and a healthy load of Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley in the backfield. Unfortunately, they met their match in the Patriots who easily confused the rookie Big Ben and gave him the first loss of his career. This one is also a close match for me, but I feel like the Steelers defense would harass Flacco far more than that Ravens squad would harass Roethlisberger.

[seanbrock 1,684]

Voted for the '80 Eagles. Jaworski is a legend despite what Razor's "qb rankings" might suggest. I say it's all just Russian propaganda.

Of course i voted for the '17 Eagles. They beat the Pats with half their team, includong their QB on IR. The Falcons played the Pats too but blew the biggest lead in super bowl history. Lol

As much as I hate Dallas, Staubach, Landry and Dallas' defense is just too much. If you have an all-time great QB, defense and HC, you're going to win a lot of football games.

I think everyone who was here in 2012 knows how i feel about the Ravens that year. Worst super bowl winning team of my lifetime. The 2004 Steelers on the other hand had a bunch of hall of famers in their prime while the Ravens had hall of famers who were just past their primes (except Yanda).

Edited March 29, 2020 by seanbrock

[SteVo+ 3,702]

I went chalk without much thought except for the 49ers/Eagles matchup. That is an absolute coin flip to me, and I found it within myself to counter my own bias and vote for the Niners. *waits for Sean to roast me*

[seanbrock 1,684]

2 hours ago, SteVo said:

I went chalk without much thought except for the 49ers/Eagles matchup. That is an absolute coin flip to me, and I found it within myself to counter my own bias and vote for the Niners. *waits for Sean to roast me*

And you voted for Baltimore? You're a disgrace, bro. 

[Thanatos 2,847]

7 minutes ago, seanbrock said:

And you voted for Baltimore? You're a disgrace, bro. 

So did I. Ben's a rookie in this hypothetical matchup and Joe Flacco transcended the mortal coil during that run. In fact, I might be voting for 2012 Baltimore all the way through this. The 2012 Baltimore Ravens are the greatest postseason team in history, change my mind.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Thanatos

[RazorStar 4,025]

27 ish hours before polls close, get those votes in.

[RazorStar 4,025]

The polls are closed.

The 92 49ers, 2017 Eagles, 1971 Cowboys, and the 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers move on to the second round.

[Thanatos 2,847]

On 3/31/2020 at 2:27 PM, RazorStar said:

The polls are closed.

The 92 49ers, 2017 Eagles, 1971 Cowboys, and the 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers move on to the second round.

This vote is hereby declared a fraud.