No.1 in our hearts, but what about on the all-time list?
USATODAY published a ranking of the Top 100 NFL Teams of All Time, putting the Saints on the list just twice. Can you guess where?
No. 82 – 2011 Saints (Lost Divisional Round)
The Super Bowl Saints will be remembered as the best team in New Orleans history for obvious reasons, but two seasons later the Saints put together an offensive juggernaut that almost took them back to the championship.
Brees threw for 46 touchdowns and 5,476 yards. The team scored a franchise-best 547 points and had a 208-point differential.
Unfortunately, their post-season run ended in the divisional round against the San Francisco 49ers with Alex Smith and Vernon Davis scoring a game-winning touchdown with just seconds left in the game.
No. 28 – Super Bowl Saints
Brees, Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, Jahri Evans, Jermon Bushrod, Will Smith, Jonathan Vilma, Tracy Porter, Roman Harper, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas, Zach Strief…. That’s barely scratching the roster’s surface.
Anybody who says the Super Bowl Saints aren’t the best team in Saints history is either A: On this year’s roster, or B: Just being difficult.
“They started 13-0, but a three-game slide to end the regular season suggested another chapter of playoff futility. Coach Sean Payton and QB Drew Brees, however, wound up throwing a Lombardi Gras party four years after the city suffered Hurricane Katrina, beating teams quarterbacked by Warner, Favre and Peyton Manning in postseason,” USA TODAY said.
Who out-ranked the Saints?
The 1985 Bears are at the top of the list. Anyone who was watching football in ’85 will remember why.
The undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins came in at No. 5, losing some respect for their soft schedule.
As for the Bellichick-Brady Patriots dynasty, their highest ranked team comes in at No. 17: The nearly-undefeated 2007 Patriots who lost to the underdog Giants led by New Orleans’ own Eli Manning.
