All 32 NFL Franchises Statistically Ranked In Order Of All-Time Greatness
By Daniel
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
20. (TIE) Seattle Seahawks: 202 Points
Established 1976 – The defending NFC champs have added a lot of points to their ‘greatness ranking’ over the past two seasons, obviously. The Seahawks came up short in Super Bowl 49 this past season, but won Super Bowl 48. Because of that, there are now only 13 teams left that haven’t won a Super Bowl. They’re a young and talented team led by an exciting quarterback — Russell Wilson.
So they, like the Ravens, have major potential to climb this list significantly over the next decade. Don’t be surprised if the ‘Legion of Boom’ adds to their three all-time NFC Championship banners. There are three Seahawks in the Hall of Fame and they’ve seen the playoffs 14 times as a franchise.
Points added in 2014 season: 20
Icons: Steve Largent, Walter Jones, Cortez Kennedy, Shawn Alexander
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
19. Kansas City Chiefs: 220 Points
Established 1970 – The franchise that plays at notorious Arrowhead Stadium played in the first ever Super Bowl, but came up short. The Chiefs do have a Super Bowl Championship to their credit and have put 11 people in the Hall of Fame. They haven’t had incredible success since their early days. Although, they boast one of the leagues most boisterous and proud fan bases which translates into an intimidating home crowd on Sundays.
Good news for Chiefs fans is that Andy Reid seems to have the franchise headed in the right direction at the moment. They may be on the upswing as they look to add to their 13 all-time playoff appearances.
Points added in 2014 season: 8
Icons: Hank Stram, Derrick Thomas, Bobby Bell, Len Dawson
Buffalo Bills helmet: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
18. Buffalo Bills: 246 Points
Established 1970 – Just imagine where the Bills would be on this list if they had won two or three of their four consecutive Super Bowl appearances in the early 90s. Unfortunately, they lost all four and their history is drastically different based on the outcome of those games.
Although they’ve retained a loyal fan base and seem to have put together a talented young squad. The future may be bright in Buffalo. They have had two AP MVPs and ten names inducted into the Hall of Fame. They’ve also been to the playoffs 13 times, but not once in this millennium — yikes.
Points added in 2014 season: 8
Icons: Bruce Smith, O.J. Simpson, Jim Kelly, Andre Reed
Detroit Lions helmet: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
17. Detroit Lions: 302 Points
Established 1930 – Detroit’s professional football team is another example that the age of a franchise doesn’t guarantee a high ranking of ‘greatness’ in this system. The Lions did have tremendous success in the 1950s; winning all four of their World Championships in that decade. But since then…it’s been rough. Really rough.
Despite being in the NFL for the entirety of the Super Bowl Era, they’ve never made it to the big game. But they have been to the playoffs 17 times and boast a respectable 14 players in the Hall of Fame (with Calvin Johnson on the way, someday). But the Lions have had almost no, truly, successful seasons in the days of color TV.
For such a proud city, that’s a tough pill to swallow. At least they had the immaculate Barry Sanders in the 90s. 2014 was a better year as the Lions made the playoffs. Could this be sign of great things to come for Detroit?
Points added in 2014 season: 4
Icons: Barry Sanders, Alex Karras, Bobby Layne, Calvin Johnson
Next: Tom Terrific and Super Bowl Bill