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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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NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 28: Jerry Rice #80 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with teammates after he scored a touchdown against the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl XXIV on January 28, 1990 at the Super Dome in New Orleans, LA. The 49ers won the Super Bowl 55-10. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 28: Jerry Rice #80 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with teammates after he scored a touchdown against the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl XXIV on January 28, 1990 at the Super Dome in New Orleans, LA. The 49ers won the Super Bowl 55-10. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

1. 1989 San Francisco 49ers (SB XXIV)

The 49ers obviously make numerous appearances on this list, but there’s also no doubt that their peak was in the 1990 season as they went 14-2 in the regular season and then ran through the entirety of the postseason with dominance that’s never been seen before in the NFL. Of course, considering that this team featured both Joe Montana and Steve Young in addition to the incomparable Jerry Rice, that shouldn’t be that surprising.

Despite having two losses on the year—though it was by a combined five points that they accrued the two defeats—the 49ers were the best offense in the NFL in the 1989 season and the third-ranked defense in the league, posting a differential of 11.8 points per game. However, even that doesn’t compare to how dominant the Niners were once they got into the playoffs.

Next: Top 25 Super Bowl performances of all-time

Montana and company won their divisional matchup with the Vikings 41-13 and then followed that up in the NFC Championship Game with a 30-3 victory. That all led to the Super Bowl against the then 13-5 Broncos who they disposed of in the most dominant championship game performance of all time, a 55-10 victory. With how powerfully they ran through the competition in the postseason, it’s hard to say that the 1989 49ers aren’t the greatest Super Bowl champs of all time.

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