The NFL's best team every decade: 1920s to today

While the NFL has certainly changed since its inception in 1920, one thing has remained constant: great teams.

The NFL has never gone through a period without at least one great team. That remains true today, although one could argue there has never been more parity in the league when you consider that the two teams that played in the 2024 Super Bowl -- the Eagles and Chiefs -- combined to win zero playoff games in 2025.

If history has taught us anything about the NFL, it's that another great team is just around the corner. If the Chiefs and Eagles are unable to rebound from last year's struggles, that could lead to more good news for the Seahawks, the defending champions who won it all after missing the playoffs the previous season. It's also worth noting that the Rams , Bills , Ravens and Bengals are viable contenders this season given what they have at quarterback.

Before the 2026 season begins, we decided to take a trip down memory lane by naming the NFL's best teams by decade, starting with the 1920s. And while trying to decipher which team was the best is largely an arbitrary task, each team's lasting impact on the game can't be argued or debated.

1920s: Canton/Cleveland Bulldogs

The NFL did not hold a championship game until 1933, so from 1920-32, the league's champion was determined by which team had the best winning percentage during the season, with ties omitted from the equation.

In 1920, the Akron Pros became the first NFL champion by virtue of their 8-0-3 record. Two years later, the NFL's first dynasty, the Canton Bulldogs, became the first team to win 10 games in a season (they went 10-0-2) while joining the Pros as the only other franchise to finish undefeated. A truly dominant team, the Bulldogs allowed just three scores the entire season.

Canton was even better in 1923, posting an 11-0-1 record while outscoring opponents 246-19. After moving to Cleveland in 1924, the Bulldogs won a third straight NFL title with a 7-1-1 record.

> On December 10, 1922, the Canton Bulldogs became the first champion of what was then the newly renamed National Football League (NFL), finishing the season undefeated. pic.twitter.com/TpOLtNkze7 — Wire Falls Sports (@wirefallssports) December 10, 2025

The Bulldogs' best player was Guy Chamberlin, a Pro Football Hall of Fame end who also served as the team's coach and part owner. In 1921, while playing for George Halas' Chicago Staleys, Chamberlin returned an interception 90 yards for a score in a win over Buffalo in a game billed as the unofficial championship game.

"Chamberlin was the best two-way end I've ever seen," Halas once said . "He was a tremendous tackler on defense and a triple-threat performer on offense."

1930s: Green Bay Packers

- Runner-up: New York Giants - Honorable mention: Chicago Bears

Curly Lambeau, the Packers co-founder, capped his Hall of Fame playing career by leading the 1929 Packers to a 12-0-1 record and the franchise's first title. Lambeau, who continued to serve as the Packers' coach, helped Green Bay successfully defend its title in 1930 and 1931. The Packers won two more championships during the 1930s (1936 and 1939) while becoming pro football's second dynasty.

Halas' Bears, who captured their first championship in 1932, became the first winner of an official NFL Championship Game when they posted a 23-21 win over the Giants at Wrigley Field. The game-winning score was a touchdown pass from Bronko Nagurski, who shared a backfield with fellow Hall of Famer Red Grange.

The Giants got revenge in 1934 when they posted a 30-13 win over the Bears in a championship nicknamed "The Sneakers Game" after Giants end Ray Flaherty told coach Steve Owen during the first half that sneakers would provide better traction after freezing rain from the previous night froze the Polo Grounds field. Owen quickly enlisted his friend Abe Cohen -- a tailor who also assisted on the Giants sideline -- to retrieve sneakers from Manhattan College's basketball team.

Decades before they upset the previously undefeated Patriots , the Giants upset a Bears team that -- like the 2007 Patriots -- had won its previous 18 games. New York's upset was fueled by a 27-point fourth quarter that remains an NFL championship game record. It's safe to say the Giants' sneakers played a big role in Big Blue's fourth-quarter outburst.

> Flashback to "The Sneakers Game" in 1934 ⏪ #Giants100 pic.twitter.com/0wjjUFrp3p — New York Giants (@Giants) December 20, 2024

New York won its second title in 1938 after posting a 23-17 win over Lambeau's Packers at the Polo Grounds. One of the Giants' best players during those years was Hall of Fame halfback Tuffy Leemans, who won the NFL rushing title as a rookie in 1936.

1940s: Chicago Bears

- Runner-up: Philadelphia Eagles - Honorable mention: Washington

Chicago's decade of dominance started with a 73-0 shellacking of Washington in the 1940 title game that remains the largest margin of victory in NFL title game history. The Bears' 73 points remain the most scored in a championship game.

Ironically, the only title Chicago didn't win from 1940-43 went to Washington in 1942. Washington's second championship run was spearheaded by Hall of Fame quarterback Sammy Baugh, who led the NFL in completion percentage eight times during the decade while also leading the league in passing yards and touchdown passes twice.

Speaking of quarterbacks, the Bears' dynasty was anchored by Hall of Famer Sid Luckman, who also played safety in addition to being one of the era's best quarterbacks. In a win over the Giants in 1943, Luckman became the first quarterback to throw seven touchdown passes in a game.

> November 14, 1943 #NFL History's First 400-Yard Passing Game and First Seven-Touchdown Passing Performance #Bears legend Sid Luckman throws for 433 yards and seven touchdowns as Chicago shreds the Giants at the Polo Grounds in New York, 56-7. pic.twitter.com/W8tQyWYrSK — Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) November 14, 2025

The Eagles closed out the decade with consecutive NFL title game shutout wins over the Cardinals and Rams, respectively. Philadelphia was led by Hall of Fame halfback Steve Van Buren, who won four rushing titles over a five-year span.

1950s: Cleveland Browns

- Runner-up: Detroit Lions - Honorable mention: Baltimore Colts

Before joining the NFL, the Browns dominated the short-lived All-America Football Conference. During their four years in the league, Cleveland won the championship each season while posting an overall record of 47-4-3. Still, not many expected the Browns' dominance to continue once they joined the NFL.

The Browns kept winning, though, starting with a 35-10 win over the defending champion Eagles in their first NFL game. Cleveland won the NFL title that season after recording a 30-28 win over the Rams in the championship game. Per usual, the Browns were led by Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham, who threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for 99 yards on 12 carries.

A consummate winner, Graham led the Browns back to the NFL title game in each of the next five seasons before retiring after the 1955 season. After falling short against the Rams in 1951 and Bobby Layne's Lions in 1952 and 1953, Graham capped his career with title game wins over Detroit and Los Angeles in 1954 and 1955. Including his time in the AAFC, Graham played for a title in each of his 10 seasons, winning seven.

> December 26, 1954 ° 1954 NFL CHAMPIONSHIP ° For the third straight season, the #Browns and #Lions meet in the NFL title game. Browns field general Otto Graham — playing in his ninth consecutive league championship game — is SUPERB. Otto throws three touchdown passes and runs… pic.twitter.com/waRiXY0jVl — Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) December 26, 2025

The Giants and Colts largely dominated the second half of the 1950s, and the two franchises met in the 1958 NFL Championship Game, the first overtime contest in NFL history. In what has been hailed as the greatest game in NFL history, the Colts prevailed 23-17 on the strength of Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry, who connected 12 times for 178 yards.

> Colts vs Giants NFL Championship, 1958. "The Greatest game ever played" pic.twitter.com/BaokZunup1 — Football Classics (@ClassicsNFL) April 18, 2026

1960s: Green Bay Packers

- Runner-up: Kansas City Chiefs - Honorable mention: Dallas Cowboys

The growing popularity of the NFL -- largely attributed to the 1958 title game -- motivated the creation of the American Football League in 1960. In an effort to differentiate itself from the more established NFL, the AFL featured teams with creative names, colorful uniforms and rules that encouraged more passing and higher-scoring games.

While the AFL developed a niche following, the NFL was still king of professional football. Its best team, the Green Bay Packers, dominated the decade by winning five titles, including three straight championships from 1965-67.

The Packers, led by Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, also won the first two Super Bowls in convincing fashion. Green Bay's two Super Bowl wins came after close, hard-fought wins over Tom Landry's Cowboys in NFL championship games, with the second coming in the legendary "Ice Bowl."

> The temperature was -15°F when the game started, with a wind chill of -48°F. Although 56 years to the day later, the Ice Bowl remains a warm memory in the history of the @Packers , who defeated the Dallas Cowboys on 12/31/1967 to win the NFL Championship Game. 📹 @NFL pic.twitter.com/JP33OK4Pod — Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) December 31, 2023

The Oilers and Bills won a combined four of the first six AFL titles. The Chiefs, who won the 1962 AFL title as the Dallas Texans before moving to Kansas City, faced the Packers in the first Super Bowl after defeating the Bills in the 1966 AFL title game. Kansas City was outmatched that day, but it made history three years later by upsetting the Vikings in Super Bowl IV, the final game played before the AFL-NFL merger.

You can't talk about pro football in the 1960s without mentioning Super Bowl III, the game that changed pro football forever. After the first two Super Bowls went as expected with Packers blowouts, the AFL champion Jets made good on quarterback Joe Namath's stunning guarantee by upsetting the NFL champion Colts, who entered as 18.5-point favorites. The Jets' win further elevated both the Super Bowl and pro football.

1970s: Pittsburgh Steelers

- Runner-up: Dallas Cowboys - Honorable mention: Miami Dolphins

The NFL experienced another decade of incredible growth during the 1970s, unofficially passing baseball as America's pastime. Dynasties largely dominated the era, especially the Steelers , who won a record four Super Bowls in a six-year span.

Those Steelers teams were built through successful drafts, especially the 1974 rookie class that included five future Hall of Famers: receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, center Mike Webster, linebacker Jack Lambert and safety Donnie Shell.

Pittsburgh's loaded rosters also featured three Defensive Player of the Year winners in Joe Greene, Lambert and Mel Blount, along with Super Bowl IX MVP Franco Harris and two-time Super Bowl MVP Terry Bradshaw, who became the first and only Steeler to win league MVP in 1978.

> OTD in 1979…. Steelers defeat Cowboys in battle to decide the 1st franchise to win 3 Super Bowls Game-to-Go: Super Bowl XIII pic.twitter.com/IWFt02mfNl — Steel City Star (@steelcitystar) January 21, 2025

Pittsburgh dominated during an era that also included Tom Landry's Cowboys, Don Shula's Dolphins, John Madden's Raiders and Bud Grant's Vikings.

The Cowboys won two Super Bowls during the decade but also lost two to Pittsburgh, including Super Bowl XIII, the first Super Bowl played between two franchises that had already won multiple titles. Miami lost to Dallas in Super Bowl VI before responding with back-to-back Super Bowl wins while

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/greatest-nfl-teams-by-decade/)._