Don Shula needs to pass the champagne bottle to the Saints. (1 Viewer)

[black_floyd]

Sunday marked the fourth time the Saints have taken out the last undefeated team in the NFL since 1978 plus they also took out a 5-0 Falcons team in 2015. Here are the stats for those victories:

1978: Won 10-3 in L.A. against the 7-0 Rams. The 7-0 Steelers also lost at home that weekend 24-17 to the Oilers.

2001: Won 34-31 in St. Louis against the 6-0 Rams.

2012: Won 31-27 in the Dome against the 8-0 Falcons.

2015: Won 31-21 in the Dome against the 5-0 Falcons.

2018: Won 45-35 in the Dome against the 8-0 Rams.

 

[BreesIsMyFather]

Straight to the DOME!

 

[Bronson]

nice, where'd you get your stats? I'd love to see what teams lead that list

 

[black_floyd]

nice, where'd you get your stats? I'd love to see what teams lead that list

I already remembered the Saints ruining the Falcons' 2012 and 2015 starts but then I went to wikipedia for their list of last team standing for each year,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_undefeated_NFL_teams_by_season

...then hit ctrl+g to bring up the Chrome extension to search for the word "Saints" on that page and thumbed through the results.

The Giants have us beat by a mile with 11 wins of this type.

 

[Paul]

Your win streak are belong to us.

 

[ChaChingBaby]

That Dolphins team would never go undefeated in today's NFL. Their record largely was thanks to a weak schedule, though that don't take away from them beating up good teams in the playoffs.

It's funny to look up on them and see that Vegas didn't even believe in them for the SB. They favored Washington in that game and yet Miami went on to beat the brakes off them. 14-7, but it could've easily been 24-0. Washington's 1 TD came off a botched field goal ran back. They didn't score in the red zone and only crossed the 50 yard line twice all game.

 

[SaintsAreWinners]

That Dolphins team would never go undefeated in today's NFL. Their record largely was thanks to a weak schedule, though that don't take away from them beating up good teams in the playoffs.

It's funny to look up on them and see that Vegas didn't even believe in them for the SB. They favored Washington in that game and yet Miami went on to beat the brakes off them. 14-7, but it could've easily been 24-0. Washington's 1 TD came off a botched field goal ran back. They didn't score in the red zone and only crossed the 50 yard line twice all game.

I agree. Way too much media coverage and pressure nowadays.

 

[Saintman2884]

Ching, actually one thing most NFL fans and historians tend to overlook is that Washington ALMOST blocked a punt by Miami deep in Dolphins territory with a few minutes left in the game that if it had occurred, who knows maybe with a shorter field the Redskins could've tied the game. Despite having an aging immobile QB in Kilmer, they had the NFL reigning MVP, Larry Brown at RB, a decent WR corps, and a good defense with future NFL HC Jack Pardee at MLB. The score in SB VII could've easily been 24-0, 17-0, or tied at 14-14. Now if Miami were faced with suddenly a tied game, would they have turned up the tempo throwing the ball downfield to Warfield, who was Griese security blanket, or aggressively used Csonka or Kik more to set up maybe a last-second FG by Yereprien.

But the 1972 Washington Redskins were not and should be viewed as pushover by this generation of NFL fans who don't know or aren't familiar with the circumstances of those situations. Many Dolphins players, even HC Don Shula, praised the Skins level of preparation, from George Allen all the way down the organizational level, to the talent level that Vince Lombardi was HUGELY instrumental in bringing to the nation's capital for his sole season as Redskins in 1969. Many NFL historians his roster additions and encouraging, driving, infectious leadership was the start of Redskins becoming a playoff contender for most of the 1970s. Some even wonder despite how talented and successful a HC George Allen was in DC, if Lombardi doesn't get cancer and dies, or lives a decade and a half longer, maybe the result of SB VII is very different. Maybe Washington Redskins become a NFC powerhouse equal to Dallas or Minnesota during the 1970s as opposed to being a second-tier playoff team like the Rams were for most of the decade. Good enough to win their division or win 10-11 games every season, but always outclassed and beaten by a greater, more well-rounded team.

 

[the-commish]

That 34-31 game in Saint Louis in 2001 was a really strange one. The Rams led 24-3 at half time after passing all over the Saints' defense.

Rams' HC Mike Martz decided to continue passing in the second half, even though the Saints decided to play 6 (sometimes 7) DBs against them in the second half. He should have run the ball against that defense... after all, he had Marshall Faulk.

The Saints intercepted a couple of passes, and scored TDs to go ahead 31-24 in the fourth quarter. The Rams scored late TD to tie it at 31, but a late FG gave the Saints the victory in a game they should never have won. They won because of Mike Martz's abject stupidity.