In an ideal world, raising the Lombardi to the sky should always be the best team overall, the one that has distinguished itself during the championship for consistency in performance and a roster well above average, but let's not kid ourselves; not all Super Bowl winners are the same.
All editions of the Super Bowl are excellent, but some stand out for leaving a mark in the sport's history, which is why we bring a list of the three best editions in the history of the Super Bowl.
1) The 2013 Seattle Seahawks (Super Bowl XLVIII)
Super Bowl result: 43 to 8 against the Denver Broncos
Regular season record: 13-3.
This team is so iconic that we need the nickname to identify it.
This Seattle Seahawks of the Legion of Boom team are the only ones who made it all the way; putting points on the board was not possible against these Seahawks, who, on average, conceded 14.4 per game: the average passer rating allowed on the season is 63.4, a number that, when dropped into the individual statistics of any quarterback returns us a player who has no business being on the field.
The iconicity of this version of the Seahawks is three-dimensional; we are looking at a generational defense and Marshawn Lynch in his prime, the true heartbeat of a healthy, functional offense.
The Denver Broncos offense, in 2013, shattered every record imaginable for aerial prolificacy and NFL point spread, and, come Super Bowl time, raising Lombardi to the sky was the only appropriate outcome for such a team. Their fate crossed that of the Seahawks. Against Denver, Seattle pulled one of the most dominant defensive performances we can remember out of its hat, a veritable massacre punctuated by four turnovers from which they even got points with Malcolm Smith's pick six, one game wonder if there is one.
Seattle scored by land, air, defense, and exceptional team, giving almost anyone an unforgettable moment of glory that, a scant ten years later, would allow a jaded me to declare them the best team ever to have won the Super Bowl in the 21st century.
2) The 2004 New England Patriots (Super Bowl XXXIX)
Super Bowl result: 24 to 21 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Regular season record: 14-2.
Sports Team History We owe the use of the term dynasty primarily to this team that not only won its third title in four years but was also the last one able to complete a back-to-back. Here, try to focus on a back-to-back at the end of a 14-win season in which the offense finished in the top five for points scored, and the defense barely allowed 16 per set.
If they ask you to scan the word "dominance," you may as well repeat the line you just finished reading.
Starting with a peremptory 6-0 run, they responded to the surprising loss to rookie Roethlisberger's Steelers with six more consecutive wins that came by scoring an average of 32.8 points against 15.5 conceded: they were pretty touchy these Patriots.
The driving force in the offensive department was the best Corey Dillon ever, who, with 1635 rushing yards, redeemed himself from the putrid 2003 that convinced Cincinnati to accept the second-round pick that was enough for Belichick to secure the player around whom to build a Super Bowl offense.
3) The 2009 New Orleans Saints (Super Bowl XLIV)
Super Bowl result: 31-17 against the Indianapolis Colts.
Regular season record: 13-3.
First in points scored and total offense, the 2009 Saints were a front-wheel-drive team - a locution that makes no sense in this sport, but so be it - scoring nearly 32 points per game thanks to an offense that ran on autopilot.
A general relaxation toward the end of the regular season cost them the opportunity to end the season undefeated. In fact, before the surprising slip at home against the Cowboys, they had come into Week 15 with a sensational 13-0 run that quickly turned into an excellent but far more ordinary 13-3.
The importance of this Super Bowl transcends the sports aspect since we are still talking about New Orleans in the years immediately following Katrina. If Brees has risen to half godhood in Louisiana, it is mainly thanks to Lombardi, made infinitely sweeter by an entire city and region's desire for redemption.
The Saints, up to that point, the quintessential losers in the NFL, not only restored their reputation with a victory but also gave the city of New Orleans the impetus to get back on its feet and regain the serenity essential to living a decent life.
It is not an accident that Payton and Brees managed to win the Super Bowl in the year the defense was at least competent. It is disheartening that the consistency of perennially dominant offenses has been thwarted by incurable defensive ineptitude, especially since the defense began to pick up the slack when Brees' right arm was crumbling before our dazed eyes.
In his prime, Brees added to an at least functional defense that led to a Lombardi Trophy-who knew that would happen?
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