However, judging offensive prowess based solely on stats like total yards and points scored didn't seem entirely fair. Both statistics were NFL records until being broken by the 2013 Broncos. The 1998 offense hitched its wagon to the back of NFL MVP Terrell Davis, who devastated opponents behind the best zone blocking line in football. If your quarterback's nickname is "The Mad Bomber," your team likely had a prolific offense. The Patriots acquired wide receiver Randy Moss before the season, and he went on to have perhaps the best receiving campaign in NFL history. The 2007 Patriots scored 589 points thanks in part to Tom Brady's 50 touchdown passes. This year, strong safety Steve Atwater became the fifth player from this class to make it to Canton. As such, it gets the nod here as the best offense in NFL history. Opponents knew the Packers were going to throw the ball, and there was nothing they could do about it. The 1994 49ers were one of the few powerhouse offenses that managed to bring home a championship. The trash-talking Randle backed up his words with nine seasons of 10-plus sacks as a disruptive interior presence. Rodgers didn't set a record for passing yards or touchdowns, but he did throw for 4,643 yards and a career-high 45 touchdowns with only six interceptions. As such, these rankings are dominated by teams from the past two decades. OLD TIMERS WILL SAY: The 1950 Los Angeles Rams rank #1 in ponts per game in any season, at 38.8. While it didn't get the Bills a championship, it was still effective, although having Hall of Famers like Kelly, Thomas, Reed and James Lofton running it certainly helped. The more memorable number is 18-1, as the Patriots were unable to overcome the New York Giants in the Super Bowl to complete the undefeated campaign. But they didn't need to be. Quarterback Randall Cunningham turned back the clock to produce one of the best seasons of his career, finishing with 3,704 passing yards, 34 scores and only 10 interceptions. Its impact is still being felt in the league almost 30 years later. The 1999 Rams were constant barrage of controlled aggression. Their 33.8 points per game are tied for the eighth-most in NFL history. 1983 Washington Redskins. 1 defense of the Seattle Seahawks. Ray Mansfield was a dominant run blocker, while John Kolb and Sam Davis were named to … Ask 10 people for a list of the top 10 NFL offenses of all time and you'll get 10 different lists and 10 migraines. 3 wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim combined for 14 touchdowns. In just his second season, Mahomes did what only one other quarterback has even done in the NFL: throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in the same season on the way to being named MVP. Following yesterday’s season-ending win over the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta finished the year with 540 total points scored. In the 21st-century NFL, offense is king. In St. Louis, Pace protected Kurt Warner’s blind side for “The Greatest Show on Turf,” which also featured one of the most high powered offense in recent NFL history. It was revolutionary. 1 unit by a massive margin. And superstar wideout Julio Jones was his usual unstoppable self, finishing with 83 receptions for 1,409 yards and six touchdowns. Team Offense League Averages Per Team Season Table; Tot Yds & TO Passing Rushing Penalties Average Drive; Rk Year Tms PF Yds Ply Y/P TO FL 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A Led by Jordy Nelson's 68 receptions for 1,263 yards and 15 touchdowns, the Packers had four pass-catchers in 2011 with at least 600 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Center Mike Webster is in the Hall of Fame and is considered one of the best centers in NFL history (if not the best). Reserve tailback Tevin Coleman pitched in almost 950 combined yards of his own. In an age when the rules lean heavily in the favor of offenses, the 2013 Broncos fielded a unit that was head and shoulders above any other in the league. The Rams were stacked with skill-position talent. Brees set the (then) league record for passing yardage in 2011 with 5,476, adding career bests in touchdown passes (46) and passer rating (110.6). The first is quarterback Patrick Mahomes. It's nearly impossible to have one of the best offenses in NFL history without an great quarterback. 32. The Saints have long been known for their offense, but this iteration was the best of the lot. Dallas' Great Wall, the NFL's first line to average 300 pounds per player, paved the way for perhaps the greatest offense the NFL has ever seen. The 2018 Chiefs eventually came up short of the Super Bowl, but that had more to do with their abysmal defense than anything Mahomes and the offense did. The 2016 Atlanta Falcons will forever be known for blowing a 28-3 lead against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI. The conductor for that offense was offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who ran an aggressive scheme that both exploited opponents' weaknesses and kept defenses guessing. The Dallas Cowboys were second in scoring in 2007, and they averaged roughly 8.2 fewer points than the Pats did. The Denver Broncos’ passing offense made history against the New Orleans Saints in Week 12, just not in a good way. In fact, they are the only all-time top-10 offense that did. Manning bested it by a single yard. The NFL offenses ranked from No. The 1990 Bills didn't rank in the top five in total yards, passing yards or rushing yards. Go ahead and enjoy highlights from each team as you rank the best NFL offenses of all time, and when you are finished, head on over and vote on the best football players ever. NFL Nostalgia: Ranking the Best Offenses in NFL History 25. Here are the 10 best offensive linemen ever to play for the Steelers. Denver's 457.3 yards per game wasn't a record, but it was 40.1 more yards per game than the next-closest team. Add all of that together and you get a mind-blowing passer rating of 122.5, the highest in NFL history. The Rams also became the first NFL team to rack up over 500 points in three consecutive seasons. Last season, the LSU Tigers offensive line was the best in the country — and quite possibly the best in program history. The Baltimore Ravens re-wrote some of the NFL record books during the 2019 season, and as a result, their offense is currently seen as one of the best to suit up in NFL history.. The Bills weren't the first team to implement no-huddle concepts—in the NFL, most credit Sam Wyche and the Cincinnati Bengals for that. The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more. 1998 Vikings (79 letters) Randy Moss and the 1998 Vikings were the highest-scoring offense in NFL history. Led by Peyton Manning and his NFL records of 55 touchdown passes and 5,477 passing yards, the 2013 Broncos also set NFL records with 606 total points and 76 touchdowns. Ryan had an embarrassment of skill-position talent at his disposal, Tailback Devonta Freeman topped 1,500 total yards and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Despite not having quarterback John Elway for a quarter of the season, the 1998 Broncos were third in the NFL in total offense, seventh in passing, second in rushing and led the AFC with 31.3 points per game. Kurt Warner went on to top 4,300 passing yards, throw 41 touchdowns and win league MVP honors. Led by an MVP quarterback in Steve Young and the best wide receiver in league history in Jerry Rice, the 49ers went 13-3 and ranked sixth in rushing, fourth in passing, second in total offense and first in scoring by nearly a touchdown per game. Fans and pundits will say plenty of offenses deserved inclusion here but didn't make the cut. July 21, 2020 6:05 am. You know it was a good year for offenses when you score over 34 points per game and don't even lead your own conference. Seems like a fine season, but 6th best in NFL history? A young quarterback threw for 50 touchdowns and 5,000-plus yards this past season, and he wasn't the first to accomplish that feat. Sproles also caught over 80 passes and topped 1,300  yards from scrimmage. Matt Ryan set career-best marks across the board that year, throwing for 4,944 yards and 38 touchdowns against only seven interceptions, averaging 9.3 yards per attempt and posting a passer rating of 117.1. It was almost impossible to whittle down all the great offenses in NFL history to only 10. These rankings start with a team that wasn't nearly as prolific as the others featured here, at least from a yardage perspective. But while the season ended in disappointing fashion, it was quite the ride. Although Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs overshadowed last year's Rams, they were still formidable in their own right. By almost any objective measure, the vast majority of the league's best offenses are from the last 20 years or so. Carter was flanked by a brash, young rookie from Marshall who proved to be all but uncoverable. Wideout Torry Holt also averaged over 15 yards per reception on his 52 grabs. Veteran receiver Mohamed Sanu gave the Falcons the complementary wideout they had lacked in previous years. However, when it came to chewing up yardage, the 13-3 Saints didn't take a back seat to anyone. 10 Greatest Defenses in NFL History By Aaron Tallent , 2/12/20, 10:00 AM EST A big reason the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50 was the play of the defense, which was led by MVP Von Miller *I don't think any football historian could have predicted the top rushing offense in NFL history being the 2000 Rams. If you were to ask a number of offensive skill players around the NFL just how important offensive guards are, you may get a selection of different answers. The 1990 Bills kicked off a four-year run of both dominance and heartbreak unlike any the league has seen before or since. They averaged 10.1 points per game more than the Chicago Bears, who ranked second that year. You'll find many of the best NFL offenses are led by some of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, such as Tom Brady, Steve Young, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Kurt Warner, and John Elway. Yards per... 2) 2007 New England Patriots. But what got those Falcons to the Super Bowl was one of the most potent and well-rounded offenses in league history. Recency bias may be at work here. They were all about the hard-charging running of tailback Terrell Davis, who paced the league with 2,008 rushing yards and helped lead Denver to a second straight Super Bowl win in Elway's final season. They made the first of four straight trips to the Super Bowl, all of which ended in losses. Former Tigers like Lloyd Cushenberry, Saadhiq Charles and Damien Lewis held their own up front to protect Joe Burrow in the pocket. That's reflected in these rankings—half of the top 10 is comprised of teams from the past decade. Helped by a passing game that included one of the league's most dangerous downfield threats in Tyreek Hill and arguably the NFL's best tight end in Travis Kelce, Mahomes had a year for the ages. They lost only one game during the regular season—a Week 15 defeat in Kansas City—despite having a run game that ranked toward the bottom of the NFL. Hall of Famers: 5 (Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, Deion Sanders, Steve Atwater) Pro Bowlers:26 Four Hall of Famers were taken with the first five picks and no other draft has ever kicked off with such an elite collection of talent. At left tackle, Pace was named to seven Pro Bowls and is a member of the 2000s All-Decade team. But one team from the way-back machine still ranks among the 10 highest-scoring offenses in NFL history. That, a great trilogy against the San Francisco 49ers and CRABTREE, plus Richard Sherman making himself famous literally overnight and holding the best offense in NFL history … Take a look at Atlanta’s place among the best offenses of all time to see why this Falcons team is something special. The 1969 Vikings earned an NFL-best 12-2 regular season record and also led the NFL (this was the last year the NFL and AFL were separate) with 379 total points … After crunching the numbers, taking trips down memory lane, sprinkling in some honorable mentions and taking a bunch of Advil, here's one writer's take on the 10 best offenses in NFL history. Even then, this is an objectively subjective exercise. Unfortunately, as the adage goes, defense wins championships. The most important man on offense is the quarterback, but the offensive coordinator is moving quickly up the list, and the offensive lines are often overlooked but important. The 2012 Patriots didn't make it to the Super Bowl, but they put on quite the offensive show. Bruiser John Riggins averaged only 3.6 yards per carry, but thanks to an eye-popping 375 carries, Riggins ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing yards and led the league with 24 rushing touchdowns. Tom Brady's record of 50 touchdown passes? Despite losing the Super Bowl to the Patriots, this Rams team still goes down as one of the best NFL offenses of all time. All-time best offenses: '99 Rams, '07 Patriots, '13 Broncos reign 1) 1999 St. Louis Rams. Ranking the Top 10 Offenses in NFL History 10. Add in Charlie Brown's 1,225 receiving yards and eight scores, and you have the eighth-highest-scoring team in league history. His 1,011 receiving yards in 1998 gave him six straight seasons in which he topped the 1,000-yard mark. Led by the first 5,000-yard quarterback in league history in Dan Marino, the 'Fins led the league in passing, total offense and scoring on the way to a berth in Super Bowl XIX. But a coordinator is only as good as the quarterback running his scheme, and Shanahan had an elite one at his disposal in 2016. 1990 Buffalo Bills. Passing yards per game: 272.1. That’s good enough for the seventh most in NFL history. Therein lies the difficulty of trying to rank the greatest offenses in NFL history. Then there was the maestro of the attack—a little-known former Arena League player and grocery bagger pressed into action when Trent Green was injured in the preseason. You’d expect a team like Alabama, who lost star offensive players such as Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III to this year’s NFL Draft, would suffer a drop-off in production. The Arizona Cardinals find themselves currently on a two-game losing streak and have lost three of four games. While the Raiders' skill-position players didn't have gaudy individual numbers, Oakland ranked inside the top five in total offense, passing and rushing and led all teams in scoring by a wide margin. Oh, and Manning won MVP honors, because of course he did. As NFL.com's Gil Brandt noted, the Falcons ran 78 fewer plays in 2016 than they did the year before but scored 201 more points. This Denver offense might not have had the balance of the 1999 Rams, but it did have a 1,000-yard rusher in Knowshon Moreno. Visit ESPN to view 2020 NFL team stats. Left tackle Anthony Munoz is regarded by many as the best offensive lineman in the history of the sport, and right guard Max Montoya was a 4x … The Vikings had a 1,000-yard tailback in Robert Smith who is one of the most underappreciated runners of his generation, largely because he retired after only eight seasons. Webster was named to both the NFL 1970s and 1980s All-Decade Team. Given that gaudy number, it's no surprise that Drew Brees had a monster year in 2011. That was the case for the New Orleans Saints in 2011, who came up short of the Green Bay Packers. Only the 2007 Patriots and 2013 Broncos have ever scored more. But the Bills were the first team to go no-huddle every play of every game. Most of the credit for that run goes to Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and the "K-Gun.". Theismann's 29 touchdown passes trailed only Lynn Dickey of the Green Bay Packers, and he was named MVP. This might be the case, but the adage goes out the window when you field one of the best NFL offenses of all time. The 7,474 yards the 2011 Saints gained still stands as the NFL's best-ever mark. 3. The engine for this offensive juggernaut? One of the NFL’s all-time most colorful linemen was also one of the best. Holt and No. But the '99 Rams did something that those other Rams teams did not: They downed the Tennessee Titans to win Super Bowl XXXIV. So, what makes them one of the top 10 offenses in NFL history? No other NFL team that year averaged 400 total yards, 300 passing yards or 30 points per game. As a professional, he went first overall to the Rams in the NFL Draft 1997. With a pair of 1,200-yard wide receivers at his disposal in Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas and two more pass-catchers in Wes Welker and Julius Thomas who each tallied 10-plus touchdowns, Manning laid waste to the single-season records at his position. This won't be the last time you'll see the Rams featured here (Greatest Show on What?). Vote up the best, most electric, and highest scoring offenses in NFL history. The "K-Gun" isn't hard to describe: You just take the concept of huddling in between plays and toss it in a dumpster. In no particular order, the following offenses barely missed out. In fact, this wasn't even the most prolific Rams offense of the era, as both the 2000 and 2001 teams chewed up more yardage. They can thank Aaron Rodgers for keeping them afloat. In 1967, Daryle Lamonica topped 3,200 passing yards with 30 scores. Take a nostalgic trip down memory lane as you rank some of the most electric NFL offenses ever, featuring teams from all different eras of football. New Orleans didn't have a 1,000-yard rusher, but four backs—Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Chris Ivory—carried the ball at least 75 times. 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