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Super Bowl power rankings: Which winner is the greatest?

By Cody Williams

St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner looks to make pass in a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV on January 30, 2000 at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Allen Kee/Getty Images)
St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner looks to make pass in a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV on January 30, 2000 at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Allen Kee/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 14: Head Coach Don Shula and Nick Bouniconti #85 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates defeating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, January 14, 1973. The Dolphins won the Super Bowl 14-7. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Don Shula; Nick Buoniconti
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 14: Head Coach Don Shula and Nick Bouniconti #85 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates defeating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, January 14, 1973. The Dolphins won the Super Bowl 14-7. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Don Shula; Nick Buoniconti /

3. 1972 Miami Dolphins (SB VII)

You would think that deciding where to rank the only team to ever win a Super Bowl with an undefeated record would be quite easy, but that’s not the case. Despite still standing in the history books with a zero in the loss column, the 1972 Miami Dolphins were one of the most difficult teams to rank in comparison to all of the great champions in NFL history.

Make no mistake, there’s a reason that the Dolphins under Don Shula went 14-0 in the regular season and 17-0 overall. They had the best offense and the best defense in the league in terms of scoring and finished the regular season with a 15.3 points per game point differential. Mercury Morris and Larry Csonka carried the offense for most of the year out of the backfield while Dick Anderson, Nick Buoniconti, and Jake Scott anchored the defense and carried the team to their historic heights.

However, what makes this Dolphins team so hard to rank is that they actually struggled quite mightily in the postseason under the weight of potential perfection. In their Divisional Round game against the Cleveland Browns, they only won by six points. Then they fell behind the Steelers twice in the AFC Championship game before overcoming that trial before only beating Washington by a touchdown in the Super Bowl. There’s no denying their greatness, but the Dolphins’ lack of dominance in the playoffs ultimately keeps an undefeated team from being the greatest champions ever.

Next: No. 2

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