Who is the all-time most successful NFL team?
Let’s continue to find out who is the all-time most successful NFL team!
Click here to start at part 1. Part 1 discusses teams #32-#11 as well as the MPK-methodology
#10 – Minnesota Vikings
MKPs = 778, Playoff hit rate = 55.6%
The Vikings make the playoffs more than all but one team in the league. They just can’t do anything with it.
In the 1960s and 1970s the Vikings lost four Super Bowls in only seven years. Since the 1976 Super Bowl loss, and despite having strong teams and generational players like Adrian Peterson and Randy Moss, they haven’t even been able to get out of the NFC.
Vikings fans are cursed. That’s not my opinion, that’s numerical science!
#9 – Las Vegas Raiders
MKPs = 800, Playoff hit rate = 38%
The Raiders are one of the more iconic teams in the NFL and have always been one of the NFL’s most competitive franchises.
Sadly, they are on a long, slow slide into mediocrity.
Charting the Raiders playoff appearances by decade illustrates this decline pretty well:
The Raiders have a lifetime 3-2 Super Bowl record and a proud history of that includes Hall of Fame players like Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson and Howie Long. Oh, Antonio Brown was there for a preseason as well.
If we awarded bonus points for having badass-looking fans, Oakland would jump up a few spots.
#8 – Miami Dolphins
MKPs = 840, Playoff hit rate = 46%
Although the Marino years are looked upon fondly, the Bob Griese era is the high-point of the Dolphins franchise.
Griese led the Dolphins to three consecutive Super Bowls between 1971-73), winning two of them. The most incredible aspect of those games is that Griese threw for a combined 295 yards and one TD in all three Super Bowls!
Is there a more successful game manager in league history? I would argue not.
The Dolphins have a 2-3 lifetime Super Bowl record, but unfortunately the last 20 years have been a disaster. They haven’t managed to get out of their division since 1985 and only have a single playoff win in the last 20 years.
#7 – Green Bay Packers
MKPs = 870, Playoff hit rate = 44.4%
From the moment the Super Bowl era kicked off, Bart Starr and the Packers were in full control. They convincingly won Super Bowls I and II…
…and then they fell completely off the map.
The Packers experienced a statistically unique mid-franchise slump that lasted for 26 years. During that time they only had two short-lived playoff appearances.
This slump vanished the moment they handed the ball to Brett Favre.
Since then, and continuing unabated with Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have been one of the league’s top teams. They have made the playoffs 20 times in the last 27 years and competed in three Super Bowls, winning two of them.
With a 4-1 Super Bowl record, the Packers are tied with the Giants for the second place in terms of Super Bowl win percentage.
The top Super Bowl win percentage belongs to:
#6 – Baltimore Ravens
MKPs = 917, Playoff hit rate = 50%
The Ravens are the only team in the NFL to have competed in more than one Super Bowl without losing.
They opened their doors for business in 1996 and won their first Super Bowl in 2000, murdering the Giants in the process. Ray Lewis danced.
Their second Super Bowl win in 2012 saw Joe Flacco put together one of the all-time great postseasons runs NFL history, throwing for 11 touchdowns and no interceptions over four games.
#5 – San Francisco 49ers
MKPs = 1037, Playoff hit rate = 46.3%
The 49ers are the first team to break the 1000 Mario Kart Point threshold!
They were really only a footnote in the NFL until the 1980s, but since then they have become one of the leagues best.
In the 80s and 90s, Joe Montana and Steve Young kept the 49ers at the top of the league with a combined 16 playoff appearances and absurd 5-0 Super Bowl record.
That said, it’s more accurate to call this the Jerry Rice era.
Rice was the go-to WR for both Montana and Young. Rice leads all NFL players in career receptions, reception yards, reception touchdowns, total touchdowns and all-purpose yards. He is in any conversation for best NFL player of all time.
Since Rice retired, the 49ers have fallen to a knee, going 0-2 in Super Bowls. They remain a top-tier contender in the NFL.
#4 – Denver Broncos
MKPs = 1040, Playoff hit rate = 44%
The Broncos’ first playoff berth in 1977 led to their first Super Bowl appearance, which they lost.
In 1986, 87 and 89, Elway got them to the big game three times but sadly lost them all. The combined score in those games was a soul-crushing 40-136.
Despite being outscored by nearly 100 points in the biggest games of his life, Elway was undeterred. It took him another eight years, but he returned to the Super Bowl in 1997 and 1998, winning both and securing his legacy.
In 2013 and 2015, Peyton Manning went 1-1 in the Super Bowl with the Broncos bringing the franchise record to 3-5.
#3 – Pittsburg Steelers
MKPs = 1222, Playoff hit rate = 55.6%
The Steelers claim the third spot thanks to their impressive 6-2 Super Bowl record.
Behind the impenetrable Steel Curtain, they won all four of their appearances in the 1970s. That defense was as good as it gets. The 1976 season may not have resulted in a Super Bowl, but the Steel Curtain had an incredible nine-game stretch that included five shutouts.
Terrible towels cost $12? That’s highway robbery!
The Steelers contended in the 80s and 90s but managed only a Super Bowl loss in 1995.
The Big Ben era reignited the franchise, adding three more Super Bowl appearances in 2005, 2008 and 2010, winning twice.
#2 – Dallas Cowboys
MKPs = 1241, Playoff hit rate = 61.1%
America’s Team!
The Dallas Cowboys have won 57.3 percent of their lifetime games, which ranks best in the NFL.
Recently, the franchise has been stuck in a rut with only three playoff wins since 1997. Before that, however, they were the best franchise in the league.
The Cowboys split the 70s with the Steelers. Talented players like Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett took them to five Super Bowls, winning two of them.
They stayed competitive in the 1980s, but were unable the make it to the big game. The 90s were another story. Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith went nuts, winning three Super Bowls in five years. The early 90s Cowboys are a team for the ages.
If not for one unassuming quarterback taken in the sixth-round of the NFL Draft, the Cowboys would be crowned the most successful NFL franchise in league history.
#1 – New England Patriots
MKPs = 1420, Playoff hit rate = 52%
According to our Mario Kart Points methodology, the New England Patriots are the all-time most successful NFL team.
We already know how great the Patriots are. Instead of rehashing the details of their lifetime 6-5 Super Bowl record, let’s further manipulate the data and run it back into the equation.
The No-Brady Patriots
MKPs = 484, Playoff hit rate = 29%
In 31 years, the No-Brady Patriots have an 0-2 Super Bowl record. Outside of those two Super Bowl seasons, they only recorded one playoff win!
That’s good for 19th on this list, distantly trailing the Bills.
And then, on Sept 30th, 2001, Brady took his first start and threw for 168 yards on 23 attempts for 0 touchdowns. It changed everything!
The Brady Patriots
MKPs = 3111, Playoff hit rate = 94.4%
You read that correctly. That’s a jaw-dropping 120 percent increase over his own team’s number one spot on this list. Those numbers are way off the chart.
Let’s see the chart anyway:
The Brady Patriots have a 6-3 Super Bowl record, have won the AFC East 17 out of 18 times. They managed to rack up 30 playoff wins in only 18 years.
What more can you say? Someone toss Brady another Mountain Dew, he’s earned it!
