From the Nation's Tears III thread....
You have to win three Super Bowls in a row to be the greatest team ever? I'm going to steal this: Q. Who is the greatest basketball player ever? A. They haven't been born yet.
Anyway the Patriots came closest to that feat 2016-2018, probably followed by the Patriots 2014-2016 or the 49ers 1988-90 and then maybe the Cowboys 1992-1995
Got me thinking. What's the best 3-year stretches in NFL history (SB era)? Given that teams have won back-to-back titles, I'd say that a requirement to be on the short list is that any given 3-year span has to have included two titles. So here we go. The years in this exercise represent the years in which the seasons occurred, not the seasons in which the Super Bowls were played.
Green Bay: 1966, 1967, 1968
1966 - Won SB
1967 - Won SB
1968 - 6-7-1, missed playoffs
Miami: 1971, 1972, 1973
1971 - Lost SB (24-3, to Dallas)
1972 - Won SB
1973 - Won SB
Miami: 1972, 1973, 1974
1972 - Won SB
1973 - Won SB
1974 - 11-3, lost in the divisional round
Pittsburgh: 1973, 1974, 1975
1973 - 10-4, lost in the divisional round
1974 - Won SB
1975 - Won SB
Pittsburgh: 1974, 1975, 1976
1974 - Won SB
1975 - Won SB
1976 - 10-4, lost in the AFCCG
Pittsburgh: 1977, 1978, 1979
1977 - 9-4, lost in the divisional round
1978 - Won SB
1979 - Won SB
Pittsburgh: 1978, 1979, 1980
1978 - Won SB
1979 - Won SB
1980 - 9-7, missed playoffs
San Francisco: 1987, 1988, 1989
1987 - 13-2, lost in the divisional round
1988 - Won SB
1989 - Won SB
San Francisco: 1988, 1989, 1990
1988 - Won SB
1989 - Won SB
1990 - 14-2, lost in the NFCCG
Dallas: 1991, 1992, 1993
1991 - 11-5, lost in the divisional round
1992 - Won SB
1993 - Won SB
Dallas: 1992, 1993, 1994
1992 - Won SB
1993 - Won SB
1994 - 12-4, lost in NFCCG
Dallas: 1993, 1994, 1995
1993 - Won SB
1994 - 12-4, lost in NFCCG
1995 - Won SB
Denver: 1996, 1997, 1998
1996 - 13-3, lost in the divisional round
1997 - Won SB
1998 - Won SB
Denver: 1997, 1998, 1999
1997 - Won SB
1998 - Won SB
1999 - 6-10, missed playoffs
New England: 2001, 2002, 2003
2001 - Won SB
2002 - 9-7, missed playoffs
2003 - Won SB
New England: 2002, 2003, 2004
2002 - 9-7, missed playoffs
2003 - Won SB
2004 - Won SB
New England: 2003, 2004, 2005
2003 - Won SB
2004 - Won SB
2005 - 10-6, lost in the divisional round
New England: 2014, 2015, 2016
2014 - Won SB
2015 - 12-4, lost in the AFCCG
2016 - Won SB
New England: 2016, 2017, 2018
2016 - Won SB
2017 - Lost SB (41-33, to Phi)
2018 - Won SB
Ok, so that's the complete list. Of that list (19 instances), here's the breakdown:
2 SB titles, one SB loss
- NE (2016-2018)
- Mia (1971-1973)
2 SB titles, one loss in the conf. championship
- NE (2014-2016)
- Dal (1993-1995)
- Dal (1992-1994)
- SF (1988-1990)
- Pit (1974-1976)
2 SB titles, one loss in the divisional round
- NE (2003-2005)
- Den (1996-1998)
- Dal (1991-1993)
- SF (1987-1989)
- Pit (1977-1979)
- Pit (1973-1975)
- Mia (1972-1974)
2 SB titles, one missed playoffs (winning record)
- NE (2001-2003)
- NE (2002-2004)
- Pit (1978-1980)
2 SB titles, one missed playoffs (losing record)
- Den (1997-1999)
- GB (1966-1968)
So clearly, since you are closer to winning a SB the further you advance, we can rule out everyone but the 2016-18 Patriots and 1971-73 Dolphins as contenders for the mythical "Jim Irsay best team ever because you have to win three in a row in order to become the best team ever" title.
Now let's compare the 2016-18 Pats with the 1971-73 Dolphins. And really, we just have to look at their one season where they did NOT win the SB (since, obviously, they DID win it the other two times). And really, we don't even need to look at the whole seasons, because whatever MAY have happened, both the 1971 Dolphins and 2017 Patriots made it to the Super Bowl.
So what happened in SBs 6 and 52?
In SB 6, the Dolphins got pancaked by the Cowboys, 24-3. In that game, the Cowboys took a 3-0 lead, went up 10-3, and never were challenged. The Cowboys out-gained the Dolphins 352-185. Miami committed 3 turnovers and gained only 10 first downs. It was complete, utter domination by Dallas over Miami.
In SB 52, the Patriots fell behind early but made a nice comeback to take a 33-32 lead midway through the fourth quarter. They got the ball back down 38-33, with two and a half minutes remaining. We all know what happened from there, but they had the lead in the fourth quarter and were poised for a game-winning drive at the end. They out-gained Philly 613-538, racked up 29 first downs (to 25 for Phi), and in some ways actually outplayed them (never once punting). And even at the end they had a hail mary play that very nearly worked.
In Super Bowl 52, the Patriots were MUCH MUCH MUCH closer to winning than Miami was in Super Bowl 6. Like, not even close.
So when all is said and done, the Patriots were a half a quarter away from winning SB 52, while the Dolphins were never remotely close to winning SB 6.
Therefore, the all-time 3-year best team ever title - as close as we can get to Irsay's definition - are your very own, current New England Patriots of 2016-2018.