History isn't on Chiefs or Lions side despite Super Bowl favorite status
The advent of the 17-game schedule for each of the NFL teams in 2021 opened the door for some new league records and milestones. Case in point are both the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions, each sporting a shiny 15-2 win-loss record this season. Logically, both are the top playoff seeds in their respective conferences. They also become the eighth and ninth instances of a team winning at least 15 regular-season contests.
That’s the good news.
Recent NFL results don’t favor the Lions or Chiefs
Here’s a look at the seven clubs to win at least 15 regular-season contests. What began as a positive trend has evolved into somewhat of a jinx.
1984 San Francisco 49ers (15-1)
Won Super Bowl XIX
The league’s move to a 16-game schedule for each team came in 1978. In ‘84, Bill Walsh’s 49ers won their first six contests, stubbed their cleats at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and then ran the table all the way to a 38-16 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX.
Led by Joe Montana, versatile fullback Roger Craig, and an unsung defense, they humbled second-year star Dan Marino on Super Sunday. Montana was the game’s MVP, and Craig became the first player in Super Bowl history to score three touchdowns. Walsh’s offense rolled up 537 total yards, and the defense sacked Marino four times.
1985 Chicago Bears (15-1)
Won Super Bowl XX
It’s a legendary team that won its first 12 games, most in resounding fashion. Mike Ditka’s club was then humbled by the then-defending AFC champion Dolphins on a Monday night at the Orange Bowl, 38-24. That was the Chicago Bears’ lone loss of ’85. The club closed the season with two more wins, then ran roughshod through the playoffs.
They bested the Giants (21-0), Rams (24-0), and Patriots (46-10), the latter in Super Bowl XX, by a combined 91-10 score. Buddy Ryan’s aggressive defense was relentless. It limited New England’s attack to 123 total yards, and defensive end Richard Dent was the game’s MVP.
1998 Minnesota Vikings (15-1)
Lost to Falcons in NFC Championship Game
Rookie wide receiver Randy Moss gave Dennis Green’s club a new big-play dimension, and a team that finished 9-7 a year earlier and reached the playoffs would finish with the league’s best record. Dennis Green’s squad set a new NFL record for points scored (556), and that total remains the seventh-highest figure in league annals.
Randall Cunningham had a career year, and the Vikings got off to a 7-0 start. After losing at Tampa, Green’s club took a nine-game overall winning streak into their NFC title game clash with the Falcons. Atlanta scored a late TD to force overtime, and the Vikings’ season ended with a 30-27 loss.
2004 Pittsburgh Steelers (15-1)
Lost to Patriots in AFC Championship Game
The Black and Gold was coming off a 6-10 showing in 2003, and used the 11th overall pick in April’s draft on Miami of Ohio signal-caller Beb Roethlisberger. He made his first start in Week 3 on a Sunday night at Miami, and the club would embark on an overall 15-game winning streak. That included a narrow win over the Jets in the divisional round.
Pittsburgh hosted reigning Super Bowl champion New England in the conference title game. Earlier in the year, Pittsburgh had snapped the Patriots 21-game overall winning streak. This time, the Steelers were dominated in all phases as the Pats came away with a 41-27 victory.
2007 New England Patriots (16-0)
Lost to Giants in Super Bowl XLII
They remain the only 16-0 regular-season team in NFL annals. Quarterback Tom Brady threw 50 TD passes, 23 scores to Randy Moss. The latter remains an NFL record. The Patriots scored 589 points, still the second-highest single-season total in league annals, and their point differential for the season (plus-315) remains the best in NFL history.
In Week 17 at East Rutherford, the Pats rallied to beat the Giants to cap off a 16-0 campaign. Playoff wins over the Jaguars and Chargers followed, but Tom Coughlin’s sprung the huge upset in Arizona, holding New England to a season-low 14 points in a stunning 17-14 triumph.
2011 Green Bay Packers (15-1)
Lost to Giants in Divisional Playoffs
The Pack was back in the 2010, winning Super Bowl XLV as a sixth seed. A year later, Aaron Rodgers and company appeared determined to show their wild-card Super Sunday win was no fluke. Mike McCarthy’s team won its first 13 games, and scored 30 or more points in nine of those wins. Rodgers threw 45 TD passes and only six interceptions in his 15 outings.
Green Bay finished with 560 points, currently fifth on the all-time list. But not all the news was good. These Packers still own the league record for most passing yards allowed in a season. McCarthy’s club welcomed the NFC East champion Giants to Lambeau Field, and a somewhat distracted club was not on its game as the Pack committed four turnovers in a 37-20 loss.
2015 Carolina Panthers (15-1)
Lost to Broncos in Super Bowl 50
Ron Rivera’s club was a 7-8-1 division champion in 2014, but a year later, the Carolina Panthers took the league by storm. Eventual NFL MVP Cam Newton got off to a shaky start, but settled in and amassed quite the resume. He threw for 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns, plus ran for 636 yards and 10 scores.
Rivera’s team led the NFL in scoring with exactly 500 points, and opened the season with 14 consecutive victories. They held off the Seahawks in the divisional round, then blasted the Cardinals in the NFC title game. But Newton and company had no answers for the Broncos’ defense on Super Sunday via a 24-10 setback.