The Super Bowl has been played since the 1966 season, so while NFL championships before that are not irrelevant, many records are based on the “Super Bowl era.” And while some teams have a great track record in Super Bowls (49ers), there are others that have awful records (Vikings, Bills). Here is a list of the Top 10 teams record-wise (based primarily on wins) in the Super Bowl era…..

1. San Francisco 49ers (5-0)—The 49ers are undefeated in Super Bowl history, and when you have guys like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice and Steve Young leading the way, it’s easy to see how that happens. But these teams were deep on both offense and defense, and were coached by Bill Walsh and George Seifert. What might be even more remarkable is that the Niners have scored 188 points while giving up 89 in those five games, a 99-point differential. Truly, ahem, super.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-1)—The Steelers are looking to become the first team to win six Super Bowls this Sunday in Tampa against the Cardinals and the second one in the Ben Roethlisberger era. They are already one of the NFL’s premier franchises, but more is always better when it comes to championships.

3. Dallas Cowboys (5-3)—The Cowboys have a rich history of winning, but in today’s what-have-you-done-for-me-lately NFL, all anyone remembers is that they haven’t won a playoff game since 1996, and that dysfunction follows them around like tabloids following QB Tony Romo.

4. Green Bay Packers (3-1)—You might immediately think of Brett Favre, but he is only 1-1 in Super Bowls. The other two were Super Bowls I and II, when Bart Starr was the Packers’ QB and the coach was the legendary Vince Lombardi.

5. New York Giants (3-1)—The Giants climbed up a few notches with that improbable upset of the Patriots last season. Bill Parcells has two of the wins, one with Phil Simms at the helm and the other with Jeff Hostetler—and both with one of the greatest defensive players in history, Lawrence Taylor, terrorizing the other teams’ quarterbacks.

6. Oakland/LA Raiders (3-2)—It’s been about a quarter century since the Raiders won a Super Bowl, or around the same time Al Davis started to lose his marbles.

7. Washington Redskins (3-2)—The Redskins lost to Miami in Super Bowl 7, 14-7, to cap Miami’s (and the NFL’s only) perfect season, and have had mixed results since then, last appearing in 1991 when they beat Buffalo. Hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years since their last Super Bowl, but Dan Snyder makes Al Davis type decisions at times, so the drought could be long.

8. New England Patriots (3-3)—Have the Patriots have lost as many Super Bowls as they’ve won? Yes, when you realize the first two losses were to the mighty ’85 Bears, and to the unstoppable Favre/Holmgren Packers in ’96.

9. Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts (2-1)—You would think Peyton Manning should have more than one Super Bowl appearance, but that very fact was the big knock on him until he got his ring two years ago.

10. Miami Dolphins (2-3)—It’s been 25 years since the D-men have been in the big game, but mark my words…with Bill Parcells at the helm, this team will get back there within a few years, maybe even next year.

Source: Pro Football Reference

The Love of Sports recently ranked the top 20 NFL quarterback busts of all-time:

2. Ryan Leaf: (1998 San Diego Chargers 2nd Overall)
He was almost as bad with the media as he was on the field. He didn’t set himself up to become a fan favorite or media darling. After signing, at the time, the largest signing bonus ($11.25 million) for a rookie, his performance didn’t match the compensation. He stated soon after he was drafted that he was looking forward to eventually having a parade through downtown San Diego. Through nine games he threw two touchdowns and thirteen interceptions. In one game that season he was one for fifteen for four yards and three fumbles. In his rookie year he had to be restrained by teammates from going after a reporter. Another time he let a fan that was razzing him get to his head and again had to be restrained by teammates. When his career was finished his statistics were putrid. He had 14 touchdowns against 36 picks. His career passer rating was 50.0. It seemed that he had found some stability recently as a quarterbacks coach for West Texas A&M. However, that was short lived after Leaf was let go for allegedly asking a player for some pain medication.

1. Art Schlichter: (1982 Baltimore Colts 4th overall)
The former Ohio State Buckeye was the last starting quarterback under legendary coach, Woody Hayes. Even though he was a bust from a statistical standpoint his legacy is tarnished for another reason. Like Alex Karras, Paul Hornung, Pete Rose and now Tim Donaghy, he was a sports figure that had a severe gambling problem. By mid-season of his first year, he had blown his whole signing bonus on gambling losses. During the 1982 NFL strike, he amassed at least a $700,000 debt in gambling. He ratted on his bookies to the feds after they threatened to expose his problematic vice. His career passer rating was an embarrassing 42.6. In 1987, he was arrested in a huge sports gambling (multi-million dollar) ring. Pete Rozelle essentially banished him from the league.

Looking at some of these names from this list, it’s no wonder why so many people (myself included) are enamored with what Matt Ryan is doing in his first year. So many quarterbacks that were drafted high not only failed, but were so bad that teams had to cut bait after only two or three years. It’s amazing how bad teams can misjudge quarterbacks’ abilities but it just goes to show you that the draft is an art and not a science.