Where the 2025 Seattle Seahawks Rank Among Best Super Bowl Teams of All Time

The party is over at Levi's Stadium. Super Bowl LX is in the books, but it was only a party for one team.

Not only did the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 to win their second championship in franchise history, but they did so in convincing fashion. The game wasn't as close as the final score might suggest, largely because of one of the best defensive performances in recent memory.

Mind you, these Seahawks were no fluke. They were the NFC's top seed—a 14-win club with the NFL's best defense.

That begs a question. We know the Seahawks were great in 2025. But how does that season stack up against other Super Bowl winners and the championship campaigns they had?

It's admittedly a wildly subjective exercise—the Steelers and Raiders of the 70s played a different game than the Cowboys of the 90s, who played a different game from the one we watch today. And for the sake of said exercise, we are only considering Super Bowl winners. Sorry in advance, 2007 Patriots.

With those caveats in mind, here's where the 2025 Seahawks rank among the best single-season teams the NFL has ever seen.

It's higher than many might expect.

20. 2016 New England Patriots (Won Super Bowl LI 34-28 (OT))

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The 2016 season for the New England Patriots started and ended with two very different kinds of drama.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sat out the first four games of the season as punishment for the "Deflategate" scandal. The team weathered the storm, winning three of four. The Patriots finished the season with 14 wins, won yet another AFC East title, cruised through the Divisional Round, and dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC title game for the right to face the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

Then came more drama—and NFL history.

With just over two minutes left in the third quarter, the Patriots trailed the Falcons 28-3. What happened from there is the stuff of legend—25 unanswered points in overtime (including two two-point conversions) to force the first overtime in Super Bowl history and a touchdown drive on the first possession of extra time to complete the wildest comeback in Super Bowl history.

That kind of resilience and toughness gets the 2016 Patriots on this list.

You'll probably see them again.

19. 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Won Super Bowl XXXVII 48-21)

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Prior to the 2002 season, success was not a word associated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—at least not with regularity. Tony Dungy had gotten the Bucs as far as the NFC Championship Game, but after a 9-7 mark in 2001, Dungy was shown the door and replaced by Jon Gruden.

And then it all came together.

Tampa Bay's 12-4 mark that season isn't all that impressive, at least compared with some of the other teams featured in these rankings. But a defense that had Hall-of-Famers at all three levels most assuredly was.

That defense allowed just 12.3 points per game in the regular season. Among Super Bowl champions, only the 2000 Ravens were stingier in that regard.

Tampa rolled in that year's postseason and outscored its opponents 106-37 on the way to trouncing Gruden's old team (the Raiders) 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego.

18. 2019 Kansas City Chiefs (Won Super Bowl LIV 31-20)

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The Kansas City Chiefs were (are) a legitimate dynasty. Patrick Mahomes has already played in five Super Bowls. But the Chiefs have won their share of squeakers in the playoffs, and they've gotten waxed twice as well.

Still, we'd be remiss not to include at least one of those Chiefs teams here. The first one that won a Super Bowl gets the nod.

The 2019 Chiefs faced their fair share of adversity. In the Divisional Round against the Houston Texans, the Chiefs trailed 24-0 at Arrowhead before blasting Houston 51-7 the rest of the way. In Super Bowl LIV, the Chiefs trailed the San Francisco 49ers by 10 in the fourth quarter before peeling off three unanswered touchdowns.

That victory helped propel the Chiefs to four more Super Bowl appearances and two more wins. Now the question is whether Kansas City can get back on top after a miserable 2025 campaign which included an ACL tear for Mahomes.

17. 2025 Seattle Seahawks (Won Super Bowl LX 29-13)

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Sam Darnold is a Super Bowl champion. Let that roll around in your head for a second.

Not only is Darnold a champion, but historically speaking, the team he just won the Super Bowl with is much better than many will give it credit for.

The Seahawks were quietly third in the NFL in scoring offense, averaging 28.4 points per game. Seattle was also eighth in total offense and eighth in passing.

But the defense is what got the Pacific Northwest partying again. Seattle was sixth in total defense, including third against the run, and it led the league in scoring defense at 17.2 points per game.

That "Dark Side" defense was also the story of Super Bowl LX. New England's 335 yards of offense is a myth. The team had one good drive all game long. Seattle tied the Super Bowl record with seven sacks, turned the Patriots over three times (including a pick-six), and was simply dominant.

Put some respect on Seattle's name. This could just be the beginning.

16. 1976 Oakland Raiders (Won Super Bowl XI 32-14)

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It can be argued that the 1983 Raiders team that smacked Washington in Super Bowl XVIII was the best in franchise history. That team won 12 games and scored at least 30 points in all three postseason games.

But after getting whacked by the New England Patriots 48-17 in Week 4, the 1976 Raiders wouldn't lose another game. And while they had a close call against the same Patriots in Round 1 of the playoffs, the Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and then the Minnesota Vikings (in Super Bowl XI) to capture their first NFL title.

This Raiders team was loaded with Hall of Famers and all-time talents. Ken Stabler at quarterback. Fred Biletnikoff and Cliff Branch at wide receiver. Gene Upshaw and Art Shell on the offensive line. Ted Hendricks and Jack Tatum on defense. And of course, John Madden as the head coach.

The '76 Raiders liked to have fun and may have bent the occasional rule. They were the epitome of "Just Win, Baby."

15. 2024 Philadelphia Eagles (Won Super Bowl LIX 40-22)

AP Photo/Chris Szagola

Some might accuse this writer of recency bias when it comes to the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles. But the argument that those Eagles are the best single-season team in modern franchise history isn't without merit.

The 2024 Eagles seemingly had it all. Jalen Hurts is a dual-threat quarterback who would eventually be named the most valuable player of Super Bowl LIX. Running back Saquon Barkley set an NFL record with 2,504 scrimmage yards between the regular-season and playoffs. Pass-catching talent. One of the NFL's best offensive lines. A stacked defense featuring one of the best pass-rushes in the league.

The Eagles won 16 of their final 17 games in 2024. They dropped 55 points on the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game. And then they battered Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in a game that wasn't as close as the final score—a game where Philly was the underdog.

Fly Eagles Fly.

14. 1986 New York Giants (Won Super Bowl XXI 39-20)

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The middle part of the 1980s produced some all-time great defenses that led their teams to championships. In 1985, it was the Chicago Bears. The following year, it was outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor, "The Big Blue Wrecking Crew" and the New York Giants.

The Giants were second in the NFL in both yards per game and points per game surrendered in 1986. Meanwhile, Taylor joined Alan Page of the Minnesota Vikings as the only defensive players ever to be named the NFL's Most Valuable Player.

The Giants weren't as loaded offensively as some of the all-time teams on this list, but it didn't matter. The defense was so smothering and made so many plays that the Giants won 14 games and earned the NFC's top seed.

Then came a postseason rampage that would make Godzilla blush. It featured a blowout win over the 49ers, a shutout win over Washington and then a 19-point dismantling of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI.

13. 1998 Denver Broncos (Won Super Bowl XXXIII 34-19)

AP Photo/Doug Mills

For most of their history, the Denver Broncos' trips to the Super Bowl had been misery and disappointment.

However, the Broncos entered the 1998 season in a position they had never been in before—the defending champions of the NFL.

It appears that's exactly how Broncos quarterback John Elway wanted to conclude his Hall of Fame career.

After going 12-4 the previous season on the way to a win in Super Bowl XXXII, the Broncos bettered that mark by two games in 1998. The Broncos won their first 13 games that season—the longest single-season unbeaten streak since the 1972 Dolphins went undefeated.

Elway was, of course, important to the team—he would win Super Bowl MVP honors in a 15-point win over the Atlanta Falcons in his final NFL game. But the MVP of these Broncos (and the entire NFL) was running back Terrell Davis, who became the fourth player in history at the time to run for 2,000 yards in a season.

12. 1996 Green Bay Packers (Won Super Bowl XXXI 35-21)

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Since the implementation of the salary cap, only one team in league history has led the league in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

That team is the 1996 Green Bay Packers.

They were led by quarterback Brett Favre, who would win his second consecutive MVP award that year and had a league-high 39 touchdown passes, and the great Reggie White on defense. The Packers gave up just 19 touchdowns over 16 games, which was an NFL record at the time.

The Pack were even more dominant in the postseason. They walloped the San Francisco 49ers 35-14 in the Divisional Round, stomped the Panthers 30-13 in the NFC Championship Game and then downed the New England Patriots by two touchdowns in Super Bowl XXXI—a game where White had three sacks.

The Packers have a long and storied history. But with all due respect to the likes of Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr and Aaron Rodgers, the '96 Packers are the best single-season team in franchise history.

11. 1994 San Francisco 49ers (Won Super Bowl XXIX 49-26)

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This is the first time that the San Francisco 49ers have made an appearance in these rankings.

It will not be the last.

By the 1994 season, Joe Montana was long gone. But by then, Steve Young was arguably playing as well as Montana ever did.

Young won his second MVP award in 1994 largely because, like Montana before him, he had the benefit of playing with the greatest wide receiver in NFL history.

Jerry Rice caught 112 passes that season and led the league in receiving for the second of what would be a three-year run. Cornerback Deion Sanders, who joined the team in free agency, intercepted six passes and was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year.

The Niners set a franchise record for points scored with 505, set an NFL record postseason scoring with 131 and boatraced the San Diego Chargers in a Super Bowl where Young threw for 325 yards and six touchdowns.

You read that right. Six.

10. 1999 St. Louis Rams (Won Super Bowl XXXIV 23-16)

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The 1999 St. Louis Rams are one of the most surprising teams in these rankings.

In 1998, the Rams won only four games. When quarterback Trent Green tore his ACL in the preseason, an unknown signal-caller named Kurt Warner was thrust into action.

So was born "The Greatest Show on Turf."

Employing a wildly aggressive vertical offense loaded with skill-position talent, the Rams were the first team in NFL history to go from last place in their division to Super Bowl champions.

The Rams were first in total offense, passing offense and points scored. Warner won MVP honors in both the regular season and Super Bowl. Running back Marshall Faulk was named Offensive Player of the Year. The Rams' point differential of plus-284 is the highest in NFL history for any Super Bowl champion.

St. Louis admittedly survived a squeaker in Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans, but survive they did. In doing so, the Rams became one of the 10 best single-season teams the league has ever seen.

9. 2013 Seattle Seahawks (Won Super Bowl XLVIII 43-8)

AP Photo/Paul Sancya

The 2025 Seattle Seahawks were a great team. But the first Seahawks team to win a Super Bowl was even better.

The 2013 Seahawks were led by the infamous "Legion of Boom" unit, one of the best single-season defenses in league history. That year, the Seahawks led the NFL in points allowed (231), yards allowed (4,378) and takeaways (39), the first team to lead all three categories since the 1985 Chicago Bears.

Being mentioned in the same breath as those '85 Bears is high praise indeed.

Facing the AFC's No. 1 seed in Super XLVIII, the Seahawks put on one of the great defensive performances in Super Bowl history. The Broncos had rewritten the single-season record books offensively that year, but Denver could do nothing against the LOB.

The Seahawks raced out to a 36-0 lead in one of the most lopsided Super Bowls ever.

8. 2004 New England Patriots (Won Super Bowl XXXIX 24-21)

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The 2004 New England Patriots didn't win the franchise's first Super Bowl, or its second. But what the Patriots did in '04 was cement the franchise's status as the first dynasty of the 21st century.

The Patriots set an NFL record with 18 consecutive regular-season victories from 2003-04—a record they would go on to break a few years later. Led by a career-high 1,635 rushing yards from running back Corey Dillon and some quarterback named Tom Brady, the Patriots went 14-2 and downed NFL MVP Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in the Divisional Round and the AFC's top-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC title game for the right to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.

In that game, despite being outgained by the Eagles and fielding a patchwork secondary, the Patriots emerged with a three-point win. It was the sort of gutsy performance on the game's biggest stage that came to define arguably the greatest dynasty the league has ever known.

7. 1989 San Francisco 49ers (Won Super Bowl XXIV 55-10)

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An argument can be made that the 1989 49ers should be ranked higher than this. After all, this was the year that Niners quarterback Joe Montana won his fourth Super Bowl in as many tries.

San Francisco's immolation of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV remains the most lopsided contest in the game's history. San Francisco lost just two games that season by a combined five points.

The superlatives keep coming. Montana was outstanding (as usual) in 1989, setting then-records for completion percentage and passer rating. Jerry Rice was at the apex of his prowess at wide receiver.

In the playoffs, Montana was essentially perfect. He finished with 800 passing yards, 11 scores, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 146.4.

In that postseason, the 49ers faced the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams before blasting Denver in New Orleans. They outscored those three opponents by a combined 100 points.

6. 1992 Dallas Cowboys (Won Super Bowl XXVII 52-17)

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The 1992 season was the beginning of the "triplets" dynasty that saw quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin lead the Cowboys to championships in three of four seasons.

That year, the Cowboys won a franchise-record 13 games, and Smith captured his second rushing title. But it was the Dallas defense that was the real story.

In 1992, the Cowboys were first in the NFL in total defense and run defense and fifth against the pass despite not sending a single player to that year's Pro Bowl. Over 16 regular-season games, Dallas gave up fewer than 4,000 yards total.

That defense took things to an entirely new level in Super Bowl XXVII against the Buffalo Bills. After falling behind 7-0 early, the Cowboys obliterated Buffalo, forcing a staggering nine turnovers and outscoring the Bills 52-10 the rest of the way.

Had Leon Lett not fumbled one of those turnovers out of the end zone, the Cowboys would have set a Super Bowl scoring record.

5. 1991 Washington (Won Super Bowl XXVI 37-24)

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It's been a long time since Washington played in the Super Bowl. But the last time they did, that team was outstanding.

The 1991 Washington squad won 14 games—tied for the most in franchise history. The team's two losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles came by a combined five points. Washington scored an NFL-high 485 points, allowed just 224 (second-fewest in the NFL) and posted a plus-18 turnover differential.

After storming through the NFC playoffs with two wins by a combined score of 65-17, Washington faced the Buffalo Bills in Minnesota. Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns, and Washington raced out to a 24-0 lead in a game where the team's defense picked off Jim Kelly four times and forced a staggering six fumbles.

This Washington team doesn't get the run it should among the NFL's all-time greats.

4. 1984 San Francisco 49ers (Won Super Bowl XIX 38-16)

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The San Francisco 49ers ruled the 1980s, but it can be difficult to pick which of those Niners teams were the "best."

The 1984 iteration of the squad has a strong case.

That year, the 49ers won 15 games in the regular season by almost 17 points per game. They remain just one of two teams to win 18 games and a Super Bowl—a feat accomplished the following season again by a Chicago Bears team that will likely be making an appearance higher up in these rankings.

The Niners mollywhopped Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins in the Super Bowl in Stanford that year, but what they did in the NFC playoffs may be even more impressive. Joe Montana and Co. beat the New York Giants and Bears by a combined score of 44-10. Those teams won the next two Super Bowls.

And that was without Jerry Rice.

3. 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers (Won Super Bowl XIII 35-31)

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The 1978 Steelers cemented Pittsburgh as an NFL dynasty. Their victory over the Dallas Cowboys in a shootout in Miami made the Steelers the first team in league history to win three Super Bowls.

A whopping 15 players on that roster are now enshrined in Canton. The Steelers were 14-2 that year and outscored two postseason opponents 67-15 on the way to a showdown with the rival Cowboys.

This Steelers team wasn't the best defensively of their four titles in five years in the 1970s. The Steelers allowed 330 yards of offense and over 150 yards on the ground against Dallas. But it was arguably the most balanced.

Terry Bradshaw threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns on the way to his first Super Bowl MVP award.

2. 1972 Miami Dolphins (Won Super Bowl VII 14-7)

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The football played in the early 1970s is incredibly different from the game we see today. These Dolphins didn't exactly rampage through the playoffs, either. They won three postseason contests by a combined 17 points.

Miami's regular-season slate was soft, too. It played only two games against teams with winning records, and they were 8-6.

But in 1972, the Dolphins did something no team had ever done or has ever done since. They ran the table, winning all 17 of their games.

Spurred by the "No-Name Defense," six Pro Football Hall of Famers and the winningest head coach in league history in Don Shula, the Dolphins snuck past Washington for the only perfect season in the history of the NFL.

That should matter in rankings like these.

1. 1985 Chicago Bears (Won Super Bowl XX 46-10)

AP Photo/Phil Sandlin

The 1985 Chicago Bears are hands-down the most dominant single-season team of all time.

The Bears didn't have a superstar quarterback. But the team's "46" defense terrorized opponents.

The Bears allowed fewer than 12.5 points per game, recorded over 60 sacks and won 15 regular-season games by an average of over 18 points per game. Only a loss to the Dan Marino-led Dolphins prevented the Bears from having a perfect regular season.

The team was that much more unstoppable in the playoffs, shutting out the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams before destroying the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.