Loading...
Thanks to elite quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and arguably the best collective unit of wide receivers we’ve ever seen in the NFL, offenses have been operating at a rate at which we’ve never seen. They have brought even more emphasis on the ability to score in today’s game, so it’s a perfect time to look back at the top five best NFL offenses of all time.
The Greatest Show on Turf. With a name like that, how could the 1999 St. Louis Rams not top our list of the five best NFL offenses of all time? Most fans have them listed in the top two, and it’s no surprise why. Their wide receiver duo of Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt helped lead them to a Super Bowl 34 victory.
It required the famous tackle at the one-yard line as time expired to defeat the Tennessee Titans, but their 49 points in their opening playoff game set the stage for the Rams’ Lombardi Trophy win. Throughout the season, they totaled over 400 yards of offense per game, and as you’d expect, their 272.1 passing yards per game were the best in the league. Even their running back – Marshall Faulk – caught over 1,000 yards and had nearly 90 receptions.
The team that some fans have above the 1999 Rams in terms of the top five best NFL offenses of all time is the 2013 Denver Broncos, and there are certainly plenty of reasons for that. If not for the 2013 Seattle Seahawks being among the best defenses of all time, Peyton Manning and the Broncos would have also hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
Although they faltered in Super Bowl 48, Manning set the NFL record with 55 passing touchdowns, which still stands today. This team also still holds the record with 606 total points in a season, and they’re 17 points above the next-closest team. To expand their list of records, Manning’s 5,477 passing yards and the team’s 76 total touchdowns are also incredible marks.
Alongside Peyton Manning, it was Tom Brady who brought us some of the best quarterback play and epic rivalries of the past two-plus decades. Therefore, it’s only fitting that the 2007 New England Patriots are next on our list of the top five best NFL offenses of all time. It’s even more fitting as Brady’s 50 passing touchdowns and the team’s 589 total points were both records before being broken by the 2013 Denver Broncos.
Of course, this season’s Patriots are still most known for nearly putting together the first-ever 19-0 season and the first perfect season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. However, they fell short thanks to the famous Helmet Catch in Super Bowl 42 by David Tyree of the New York Giants. Regardless, New England led the NFL in total yards, passing yards and points per game in 2007.
We mentioned Patrick Mahomes before even diving into our top five best NFL offenses of all time, and he’s put together multiple magical seasons. However, it’s the 2018 campaign that stands out above the rest. It can be argued that this season truly set the stage for the offensive explosions we see today.
For perspective, Mahomes and company averaged just a tick under 310 passing yards per game, and that wasn’t even their best statistic. Their 425.6 total yards per game is as remarkable as it gets, and Mahomes posting over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns made him just the second quarterback in NFL history to do so. However, their defense let them down when it comes to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, but their 565 total points are behind only the aforementioned Broncos and Patriots.
Following the first four on our list of the top five best NFL offenses of all time, there is plenty of room for debate. We’ll give an honorable mention to the 2011 Green Bay Packers, but the 1998 Minnesota Vikings deserve some love. The electric Randy Moss was a part of the 2007 Patriots team, but he originally made a name for himself with the Vikings.
Paired with the dynamic quarterback play of Randall Cunningham, the Vikes seemed unstoppable. However, their run was cut the shortest of any team on this list, as they lost in overtime in the NFC Championship Game to the Atlanta Falcons. Even still, times were different nearly three decades ago now, and much of the explosiveness of this offense can’t be defined in numbers. That said, their 556 total points are still the sixth-most in NFL history and they led the league in points and passing yards per game.
Mark has been a lifelong fan of all sports, and five years ago turned it into a profession, specializing in the NFL, NHL and MLB. He is a diehard Baltimore Ravens fan and has had his work published in sites such as Sports Illustrated, Pickswise and other top outlets.