NFL Films

Vincent Thomas Lombardi knew how to make a good first impression. One hour into Lombardi's first mini-camp as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, quarterback Bart Starr took a break, ran to the nearest pay phone in the team office, and called his wife. "Honey, we're going to begin to win," Starr said excitedly. That was in 1959. Eight seasons later, Lombardi had transformed the Packers into four-time NFL champions. Still, in January of 1967, there was one more team to play after the NFL title...

By 1967, Green Bay was already considered "Titletown U.S.A." Throughout the decade, the Packers had won four NFL Championships and Super Bowl I. Better still; they were coached by Vince Lombardi, who was relentless in his pursuit of perfection. But that season, Lombardi faced his greatest challenge yet: winning back-to-back Super Bowls -- one of Pro Football's toughest feats -- in a town that expected nothing less. The old master was up to the task. Lombardi had a core of veteran players in...

Prior to the 1968 season, the AFL was considered a minor league compared to the more established NFL. The league had already lost Super Bowls I and II. So the success of the New York Jets, and their quarterback, Joe Namath, could not have come at a better moment. Namath, who had a quick release and charisma to burn, piloted a Jets offense that set a franchise record by scoring 419 points that season. Still, his high-flying attack played into the perception that the AFL had finesse teams. But...

They entered Super Bowl IV as 13-point underdogs. But the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs' decisive victory over the Minnesota Vikings put to rest any questions as to whether the fledgling American Football League could compete against the established NFL. It also validated the careers of five future Hall of Fame players and their flamboyant head coach Hank Stram. To become world champions, Kansas City had to overcome more than its share of adversity. Quarterback Len Dawson missed nearly half the...

By any other standard, it was a season of triumph. Eleven regular season wins, two more in the playoffs, and then the crowning glory of victory in Super Bowl V. >But for the 1970 Baltimore Colts, the victory remained in the shadow of a devastating defeat - their crushing upset loss to the Jets two years earlier in Super Bowl III. America's Game relives the Colts bittersweet season from their regular-season rematch against the Jets, through the first year of a merged NFL, to the comedy of...

The team wasn't especially big, quick, or flashy. It rarely blew away opponents. Its best player was a fullback, its defense was anonymous, and it played without its Pro Bowl quarterback for most of the year. Still, the 1972 Miami Dolphins are the only team to finish a season undefeated -- 17-0, to be exact -- in National Football League history. Fresh off a Super Bowl loss the season prior, Miami played like a team determined to win a championship, racking up 14 straight regular season wins....

It was a dilemma no other NFL team had ever faced: How do you improve on perfection? The 1972 Miami Dolphins became the first team in pro football history to finish a season unbeaten, going 17-0 with a Super Bowl title. That kind of success could make anyone complacent. But head coach Don Shula was not going to allow it. He believed his Dolphins could perform even better. Still, the 1973 Dolphins did not match the same level of success as the season prior. They exceeded it, according to Shula....

It was perhaps the finest collection of talent in NFL history - and in 1974 nearly no one knew it. For five seasons, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll had meticulously built the team in his own image - tough and physical. In 1974, he added a draft class that included four future Hall of Famers. By the postseason, the team that would become the decade's best was ready to arrive. The Steelers rose to the top of the football world by upsetting the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX. It...

The 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers quickly discovered that one of the most difficult feats in all of sports is defending a world title. At the beginning of the season, coach Chuck Noll's team didn't even look like they had the stuff to reach the playoffs, let alone win back-to-back championships. Fresh off an upset in Super Bowl IX, the Steelers were not a dynasty just yet, not even with nine future Hall of Fame players. In Week 2, the team lost at home to O.J. Simpson's Buffalo Bills for a 1-1...

In 1976, the Oakland Raiders reached the summit of professional football by defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. It was the culmination of more than a decade of excellence under the leadership of Raiders owner/coach, Al Davis. The 1976 Raiders suffered some early setbacks, losing several defensive linemen to injury. Head coach John Madden found a quick solution, dropping his 4-3 scheme in favor of a 3-4. Offensively, the Raiders had an embarrassment of riches. Four starters --...

In 1977, the Dallas Cowboys sent four picks to Seattle in exchange for the second overall choice in the NFL Draft. With that pick, halfback Tony Dorsett, the Cowboys had landed the final piece to their Championship puzzle. Combined with the ingenuity of quarterback Roger Staubach and the leadership of coach Tom Landry, Dallas surged to a 12-2 regular season record. Dorsett provided the break-away speed Dallas coveted in its backfield, rushing for 1,007 yards and 12 touchdowns to win Rookie of...

Terry Bradshaw was always at his best on Super Bowl Sundays. The Pittsburgh quarterback went a perfect 4-0 in Super Bowl play during the 1970s, throwing for 932 yards and nine touchdowns combined as the Steelers became a dynasty. But Bradshaw's most validating season during that run, and perhaps in his entire career, came in 1978. Bradshaw led the AFC in passing as the Steelers went 14-2 during the regular season. His main target was Lynn Swann, who posted career highs in catches and receiving...