NFL Titles

Counting only Super Bowl trophies as a way of tallying titles is what most in the media and nearly all fans do these days. They skip over the 46 NFL titles that came before the first Super Bowl. That's just lazy. It's as if the league started with that first Super Bowl. That first Super Bowl wasn't even called the Super Bowl when it was played. Neither was the second. But that's beside the point. All titles count. Despite what comedian Bill Burr seems to think, the NFL does count all titles. The teams that won titles that don't include Roman numerals sure count them. You can bet that the Arizona Cardinals count the two titles that they won while they were in Chicago. With the 124th NFL title set to be contested in just over a week, here's the tally of which team has won each of the previous 123 NFL titles.

1.   Green Bay Packers: 13: 1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1944, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966(I),
       1967(II), 1996(XXXI), 2010(XLV)
2.   Chicago Bears: 9: 1921, 1932, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1963, 1985(XX)
3.   New York Giants: 8: 1927, 1934. 1938, 1956, 1986(XXI), 1990(XXV), 2007(XXXII),  
       2011(XLVI)
4.   New England Patriots: 6: 2001(XXXVI), 2003(XXXVIII), 2004(XXXIX), 2014(XLIX),
       2016(LI), 2018(LIII).
4.   Pittsburgh Steelers: 6: 1974(IX), 1975(X), 1978(XIII), 1979(XIV), 2005(XL), 2008(XLIII)
6.   Washington Redskins: 5: 1937, 1942, 1982(XVII), 1987(XXII), 1991(XXVI)
6.   Dallas Cowboys: 5: 1971(VI), 1977(XII), 1992(XXVII), 1993(XXVIII), 1995(XXX)
6.   San Francisco 49ers: 5: 1981(XVI), 1984(XIX), 1988(XXIII), 1989(XXIV), 1994(XXIX)

9.   Kansas City Chiefs: 4: 1969 (IV), 2019(LIV), 2022(LVII), 2023(LVIII)

9.   Detroit Lions: 4: 1935, 1952, 1953, 1957
9.   Philadelphia Eagles: 4: 1948, 1949, 1960, 2017(LII)
9.   Cleveland Browns: 4: 1950, 1954, 1955, 1964
9.   Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts: 4: 1958, 1959, 1970(V), 2006(XXXI)
14. Cleveland/LA/St. Louis Rams: 4: 1945, 1951, 1999(XXXIV), 2021(LVI)
14. Oakland/LA Raiders: 3: 1976(XI), 1980(XV), 1983(XVIII)
14. Denver Broncos: 3: 1997(XXXII), 1998(XXXIII), 2015(L)

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2:  2002 (XXXVII), 2020(LV)
17. Canton Bulldogs: 2: 1922, 1923
17. Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals: 2: 1925, 1947
17. Miami Dolphins: 2: 1972(VII), 1973(VIII)
17. Baltimore Ravens: 2: 2000(XXXV), 2012(XLVII)
22. Akron Pros: 1: 1920
22. Cleveland Bulldogs: 1: 1924
22. Frankford Yellow Jackets: 1: 1926
22. Providence Steam Roller: 1: 1928
22. New York Jets: 1: 1968(III)
22. New Orleans Saints: 1: 2009(XLIV)
22. Seattle Seahawks: 1: 2013(XLVIII)

Other Leagues:

All-America Football Conference
1. Cleveland Browns: 4: 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949

American Football League
1. Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs: 3: 1962, 1966, 1969
2. Houston Oilers: 2: 1960, 1961
2. Buffalo Bills: 2: 1964, 1965
4. San Diego Chargers: 1: 1963
4. Oakland Raider: 1: 1967
4. New York Jets: 1: 1968

Technically, the Minnesota Vikings have won an NFL title (1969). Unfortunately, they went on to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV. So, it doesn't really count for much and it's easily forgotten. A consolation is that the Vikings will forever have claim to the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy. The traveling trophy that was supposed to go to the league champion from 1933-69 had been missing for about six decades. It was recently discovered. The important piece of NFL history was found disassembled in some damn closet in the Green Bay Packers facilities. For some reason, the Packers feel that they have claim to the trophy. They reassembled the trophy they broke and lost and put it on display in their museum. As the final winners of the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, the Vikings should finally hold the trophy they won but never held. As the final winners of the Thorp, it should be in the Vikings museum. If nothing else, the trophy should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One place it should not be is with the team that broke and lost it. 

Like the Vikings, the Baltimore Colts won an NFL title but lost the Super Bowl that followed. The Colts beat the Cleveland Browns in the 1968 NFL Championship but were upset by the New York Jets in Super Bowl III.