1. Kansas City Chiefs, 1969, Lenny the Cool, and the Ring
It would be irresponsible not to place the lone Super Bowl winning team in franchise history as number one on the list. Statistically, it is difficult to compare this team to the 2018 and 2003 versions, but the NFL was simply different then.
Len Dawson finally led the team over the hump. After a no-show in Super Bowl I three years earlier and flat performance against the Raiders in the AFC title game a year before, Dawson finally helped the Chiefs put it all together and won the team’s first (and only) Super Bowl in franchise history.
Throughout the regular season Dawson and fellow quarterback Mike Livingston shared the duties, while the team also employed three running backs who each ran for over 500 yards (Mike Garrett, Robert Holmes and Warren McVea). Otis Taylor was (again) the team’s leading receiver.
But again, most of this team’s success as about the defense. The team employed such a deep roster on that side of the ball that it was suffocating. Emmitt Thomas, Jim Kearney, Willie Lanier, Jim Lynch, Bobby Bell and Jim Marsalis were all Pro Bowlers that year. Johnny Robinson was named first team All Pro (but not to the Pro Bowl – go figure) along with Bobby Bell. The defense allowed 16 touchdowns during the regular season.
They didn’t let up when they got in to the playoffs, as the defense allowed 20 points in three games once there. The Super Bowl was never close, and the Chiefs captured their lone title with a 23-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.