Patriots the best big-game team in history
Cold, Hard Football Facts for January 26, 2008

When pigskin historians size up New England's place in the hierarchy of NFL dynasties, they'd be doing their craft, and football fans themselves, a disservice if they don't count the 21st-century Patriots as the greatest big-game team in history.

With a win over the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, for example, the 2007 Patriots will join the 2003 Patriots as the only two teams in history to post a perfect 10-0 mark vs. Quality Opponents.

In fact, the 2007 Patriots would become just the fourth team to beat 10 Quality Opponents in a single season: the others are the 1979 Steelers (10-3), 2003 Patriots (10-0) and 2004 Patriots (10-1). Remember, the Cold, Hard Football Facts define a Quality Opponent as any team with a winning record.

To put it another way, in the 81 seasons from 1920 to 2000, only one team, the dynastic 1979 Steelers, had bested 10 Quality Opponents in the same season. The Patriots are on the verge of accomplishing this feat three times in five years.

Quality Record, in other words, simply confirms what you already knew. The 2007 Patriots, entering Super Bowl XLII, are a team for the ages.

Quality Record is important for any historic discussion because it's a great way to measure the relative merits of teams from different seasons. For example, some great teams padded their stats against easy schedules. The two greatest examples of teams that tip-toed through flowery-soft schedules are the 1972 Dolphins and 1999 Rams.

The undefeated 1972 Dolphins faced two just Quality Opponents in the regular season. However, including playoffs, they went 5-0 vs. Quality Opponents, the third best mark ever vs. teams with winning records, behind only the 2003 Patriots (10-0) and 1981 49ers (6-0).

The "Greatest Show on Turf" 1999 Rams faced just one Quality Team during the regular season and they lost that game. Ironically, that one Quality Opponent they faced was the Titans, who the Rams edged by the narrowest of margins in Super Bowl XXXIV. Tennessee's last-second drive fell just inches short of what would have been a game-tying touchdown.

To put the 9-0 record of the 2007 Patriots into perspective, consider that only 11 teams boast a record of 7-1 or better vs. Quality Teams.

The 1979 Steelers don't make the cut among those teams with the best records vs. Quality Opponents. But they deserve some special recognition: a remarkable 13 of their 19 games came against teams with winning records. That's more games against Quality Teams than anyone in history.

Numerous Super Bowl teams have played 11 games against quality opponents in a single season. Only four have played more than 11:

* 1979 Steelers (10-3, .769)
* 1986 Broncos (7-5, .583)
* 1992 Bills (8-4, .667)
* 2005 Steelers (8-4, .667