NFL: The Top 30 teams of the modern era

Jan 31, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; General view of the golden NFL shield logo at the entrance to the 4th annual NFL Honors at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; General view of the golden NFL shield logo at the entrance to the 4th annual NFL Honors at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 31
Next
Jan 31, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; General view of the golden NFL shield logo at the entrance to the 4th annual NFL Honors at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; General view of the golden NFL shield logo at the entrance to the 4th annual NFL Honors at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

The 1960 season represents the start of the modern era in professional football. That’s the year that Lamar Hunt founded the American Football League, and that led to the AFL-NFL World Championship game that soon became known as the Super Bowl.

While there have been champions every year, we endeavor to rank the best teams of the modern era. We include some of the greatest teams from the old AFL, and we also include two teams — the 1967 Dallas Cowboys and 2007 New England Patriots — that did not win championships.

We don’t think we have ended the argument, but we hope we have added to the debate.

Next: Powerhouse in San Diego