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Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have led the Patriots to three Super Bowl victories in this decade.

Hey, where’d the decade go? It seems like the turn of the century was just yesterday.

Remember 2000? Bill Belichick was getting his last chance in the football abyss called New England, the debate about Michael Vick was whether he’d be able to play quarterback in the NFL, the Seahawks were floundering in the AFC West and the Browns and Bengals sucked. Much has changed. Some things haven’t.

So with the ‘00s nearly complete, we decided to take stock of the league’s 32 teams and stack ‘em according to success since the millennium. Our criteria was simple:

• Won-loss record during the decade
• Playoff appearances
• Playoff performance
• Losing seasons
• And, where applicable, Super Bowl wins.

Some of it was common sense based on the numbers. Some of it was based on feel. For instance, we had a bit of a lengthy debate about the NFC’s top team. Ultimately, we decided that one team’s consistent excellence through the decade narrowly trumped another team’s solid decade that included a monumental Super Bowl win. The list was compiled by NBCSports.com NFL writer Tom Curran and Rotoworld and NBCSports.com writer Gregg Rosenthal. Arguments were settled by NFL editor Mike Miller.

We expect there to be disagreements and feedback. So send it to and we'll post the e-mails. Enjoy.

1. New England Patriots

Record: 102-42
Playoff appearances: 6
Playoff record: 14-3
Conference championships: 3-1
Super Bowls: 3-0
Losing seasons: 1
Other: First 16-0 regular season in 2007

It’s been a good decade. After Bill Belichick’s 5-11 debut season, they reeled off three Super Bowl wins in four seasons (2001, 2003, 2004). Even going Lombardi-less in the second half of the decade, New England’s still been the league’s leading franchise. In 2006, they were upended by the Colts in an epic AFC Championship game. In 2007, they went 16-0 and rewrote the league’s offensive record book before a monumental loss to the Giants in Super Bowl. In 2008, even without Tom Brady, they went 11-5 — a testimony the organization. Their biggest wins (2001 Super Bowl over the Rams) and losses (2007 Super Bowl) were historic. They’ve dominated the decade.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

Record: 94-49-1
Playoff appearances: 6
Playoff record: 10-4
Conference championships: 2-2
Super Bowls: 2-0
Losing seasons: 1

The only team other than New England to win multiple Super Bowls this decade (2006, 2008). The Steelers’ edge Indianapolis because they’ve been better in the postseason. It’s that simple. The “program’s” overall strength also was in evidence this decade. Examples? Pittsburgh went 15-1 in 2004 with a rookie quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, and had one losing season (6-10 in 2003). Even after a coaching change in 2007 from Bill Cowher to Mike Tomlin, the Steelers came back the following season to win the franchise’s sixth title. And it’s worth mentioning that, based on Pittsburgh’s record in drafting, free agency and pro personnel, GM Kevin Colbert may be the team’s most valuable commodity.

3. Indianapolis Colts

Record: 101-43
Playoff appearances: 8
Playoff record: 7-7
Conference championships: 1-1
Super Bowls: 1-0
Losing seasons: 1

Indy’s working on a streak of six consecutive seasons with 12 or more wins. Absurd. A case can be made for Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy and Bill Polian as the quarterback, coach and executive of the decade. Each man solidified his place in football history with their performance since 2000. Their nemesis, New England, took a significant amount of shine off their decade but the Colts gained a measure of revenge in 2006, storming back from a huge halftime deficit to win AFC Championship, then whipping Chicago in the Super Bowl. As the decade closes, the Colts string of six straight division titles has been broken by Tennessee and, without the retired Dungy, a new era is starting.

4. Philadelphia Eagles

Record: 92-51-1
Playoff appearances: 7
Playoff record: 10-7
Conference championships: 1-4
Super Bowls: 0-1
Losing seasons: 1

Philadelphia’s playoff record this decade trumped their inability win a Super Bowl. Philly's been the NFC's top team, just nipping the Giants. Four years ago, there would have been no debate. The Eagles had 11 or more wins from 2000 through 2004 and went to four consecutive NFC Championship games. They only got to that one Super Bowl, though, a 2004 loss in which Donovan McNabb had three interceptions. From 2005 to 2008, the Eagles have had just one 10-win season, but they did cobble together a stirring 2008 playoff run. Coach Andy Reid, President and GM Joe Banner, owner Jeff Lurie and defensive coordinator Jim Johnson deserve special mention.

5. New York Giants

Record: 80-64
Playoff appearances: 6
Playoff record: 6-5
Conference championships: 2-0
Super Bowls: 1-1
Losing seasons: 3

The Giants started the decade with a Super Bowl appearance (where they were steamrolled by Baltimore) and ended it with four straight playoff appearances. The G-Men authored one of the decade’s seminal wins, upending the 18-0 Patriots to close 2007. Their two-year “rebuilding” period in 2003 and 2004 when they went 10-22 and switched from Jim Fassel to Tom Coughlin on the sidelines cost them the No. 4 spot. But their two Super Bowl appearances give them the edge over the Ravens one championship appearance. And they could get even higher if things fall their way in 2009.

6. Baltimore Ravens

Record: 83-61
Playoff appearances: 5
Playoff record: 7-4
Conference championships: 1-1
Super Bowls: 1-0
Losing seasons: 3

Baltimore's roller-coaster decade began with a Super Bowl win over the Giants. And the historic defense has made the Ravens a consistent playoff threat. Ozzie Newsome emerged as one of the league’s great executives and Brian Billick had a tremendous run on the Ravens sideline. Now, with Joe Flacco, the Ravens finally seem to have a franchise quarterback that can carry them and coach John Harbaugh got the Ravens to the AFC Championship in his first season on the sidelines. They are trending upward.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Record: 76-68
Playoff appearances: 5
Playoff record: 3-4
Conference championships: 1-0
Losing seasons: 3
Super Bowls: 1-0

The Bucs only had three seasons with 10 or more wins and were one-and-done in the playoffs in four of their five appearances. Still, that 2002 team that waxed the Raiders in the Super Bowl is Tampa’s trump card in this conversation. At the start of the decade, Tampa was among the NFC’s elite, along with the Rams and Eagles, but the core of their team rusted away and, as they close the decade, they’re in rebuilding mode.

8. Tennessee Titans

Record: 83-61
Playoff appearances: 5
Playoff record: 2-5
Conference championships: 0-1
Super Bowls: 0-0
Losing seasons: 3

Kind of a hard-luck decade for the Titans. The Steve McNair-led crew that went 43-21 from 2000 through 2004 had to deal with the Colts in their division and the Patriots, Steelers and Ravens in the playoffs. As a result, they could never get over the hump and get to a second Super Bowl to follow-up that 1999 team. Tennessee finally reloaded when coach Jeff Fisher got the Titans back in the saddle quicker than could have reasonably been expected. They’ve gone 31-12 since starting 2006 with an 0-5 record.

9. Seattle Seahawks

Record: 77-67
Playoff appearances: 5
Playoff record: 4-5
Conference championships: 1-0
Super Bowls: 0-1
Losing seasons: 3

A string of five straight NFC West titles and a Super Bowl appearance after the 2005 season put them in the top 10. But the damage they did (or failed to do) in the middle portion of the decade when the NFC was dying for a dominant team counts against them. The Seahawks rolled out some good and entertaining teams and players in a good decade.

10. Green Bay Packers

Record: 84-60
Playoff appearances: 5
Playoff record: 3-5
Conference championships: 0-1
Super Bowls: 0-0
Losing seasons: 2

From 2000 through 2004, the Pack won nine or more games every year and made the playoffs four times. They’ve missed the playoffs in three out of four seasons since — and the exception was a random run to the NFC Championship game that ended with an ignominious Brett Favre pick in overtime. Even when they were consistently good, the playoffs were this team’s downfall. They went 12-4 in 2001 and 2002 and got creamed in the playoffs (45-17 by St. Louis and 27-7 at home vs. Atlanta) in consecutive years.

11. San Diego Chargers

Record: 72-72
Playoff appearances: 4
Playoff record: 3-4
Conference championships: 0-1
Super Bowls: 0-0
Losing seasons: 3

Started the decade with a 1-15 record in 2000. That kinda hurts the overall record. But they have emerged as one of the league's most potent, exciting teams. They’ve made the playoffs each of the past three seasons and four out of five. They have had the decade’s best running back, made the most clever deal of the decade (Eli Manning to the Giants on draft day 2004) and could close the ‘00s with a flourish in 2009.

12. Denver Broncos

Record: 85-59
Playoff appearances: 4
Playoff record: 1-4
Conference championships: 0-1
Super Bowls: 0-0
Losing seasons: 1

Eighty-five wins in nine seasons is only good enough for 12th place? Yeah. When you get fat on a bad division all decade, win one playoff game and go 24-24 over the past three seasons, that’s all you get. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the new Broncos regime to reinvigorate a good franchise gone stale.

13. Chicago Bears

Record: 74-70
Playoff appearances: 3
Playoff record: 2-3
Conference championships: 1-0
Super Bowls: 1-0
Losing seasons: 5

You know the old saying, “Spend a decade with a terrific defense and average to horrendous quarterback play and you wind up 13th out of 32 teams.” The Bears of the ‘00s were led in seasonal passing by (deep breath) Cade McNown, Jim Miller, Kordell Stewart, Chad Hutchinson, Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman and Brian Griese. They closed the decade by dealing for a legit arm, Jay Cutler. Apparently they didn’t want to seem hasty.

14. Carolina Panthers

Record: 71-73
Playoff appearances: 3
Playoff record: 5-3
Conference championships: 1-1
Super Bowls: 0-1
Losing seasons: 5

When they get to the playoffs, the Panthers make an impact 66 percent of the time. And 34 percent of the time, their quarterback plays like he was just pulled off the grounds crew and told to suit up. Carolina is here based on the fact that, in 2003, it had a great run to the Super Bowl and played a fascinating game against New England. And also because, in 2005, they got to another conference championship and lost to Seattle. Otherwise, their decade started very badly and then got … OK.

15. St. Louis Rams

Record: 70-74
Playoff appearances: 4
Playoff record: 3-4
Conference championships: 1-0
Super Bowls: 0-1
Losing seasons: 4

The Rams opened the decade with 43 wins in four years. And all they had to show for that was two playoff wins and one epic gag job against the upstart Patriots. Playing in a bad division, the Rams rolled up plenty of wins until Mike Martz got forced out and the Scott Linehan Experience began. The Rams haven’t had a winning season since 2004 and are staggering to the finish line with five wins the past two seasons. Still, they were a historically talented team that will be recalled longer than other teams that closed the decade with more wins.

16. Minnesota Vikings

Record: 72-72
Playoff appearances: 3
Playoff record: 2-3
Conference championships: 0
Super Bowls: 0-0
Losing seasons: 3

While the Vikings only had three losing seasons, they also had just two seasons in which they reached 10 wins. A 72-72 record for the decade with a couple of 8-8s. Middle of the pack sounds just about right. The end of the Dennis Green/Mike Tice-Daunte Culpepper-Randy Moss Era helped sink the Vikings into a “meh” team by 2006 but the introduction of Adrian Peterson and the rounding out of a potent defense with Jared Allen could have Minny closing the ‘00s with a rumble.

17. New York Jets

Record: 71-73
Playoff appearances: 4
Playoff record: 2-4
Losing seasons: 3
Conference championships: 0

The Jets mastered sneaking into the playoffs, going 9-7 and winning a tiebreaker in their only division championship of the decade (2002). For the last seven years, they have fluctuated wildly between winning and losing, which means Rex Ryan is “due” for a bad rookie campaign. Gang Green gets the nod over division rival Miami because they had a legitimate title contender in 2004, when kicker Doug Brien and coach Herm Edwards flubbed a chance to reach the conference championship.

18. Miami Dolphins

Record: 72-72
Playoff appearances: 3
Playoff record: 1-3
Conference championships: 0
Losing seasons: 3

The Dolphins mastered mediocre this decade, thus the .500 record. Dave Wannstedt actually put together four straight winning seasons with Jay Fiedler at quarterback, but they were never truly title contenders. A disastrous trade for A.J. Feeley before Wannstedt’s final campaign started a run of five head coaches in five seasons (including interim coach Jim Bates) that ended with Tony Sparano’s division winning first season.

19. Oakland Raiders

Record: 57-87
Playoff appearances: 3
Playoff record: 4-3
Losing seasons: 6
Conference championships: 1-1
Super Bowls: 0-1

The Raiders were the most difficult team to rank. For the last six years, only the Lions were as bad. But for the first three years of the decade under Jon Gruden and Bill Callahan, the Raiders were a legitimate top-five franchise. The lost a home conference championship game to the Ravens, the tuck rule game ended the next season, and they made the Super Bowl after the 2002 season. Raiders fans have clung to those memories since.

20. New Orleans Saints

Record: 70-74
Playoff appearances: 2
Playoff record: 2-2
Losing seasons: 3
Conference championships: 0-1

Average equals progress in the bayou. The franchise experienced their first playoff win under Jim Haslett and Aaron Brooks, then got on Super Bowl’s doorstep in their magical first season with Sean Peyton and Drew Brees. Take away the 3-13 post-Katrina season where the Saints essentially played on the road for 16 weeks, and they are actually well over .500. New Orleans didn’t rank higher, though, because they never had a truly great team, with two 10-win seasons being their peaks.

21. Atlanta Falcons

Record: 66-77-1
Playoff appearances: 3
Playoff record: 2-3
Losing seasons: 5
Conference championships: 0-1

This was a tumultuous decade for the Falcons, a franchise defined by its inconsistency. Michael Vick’s win in Lambeau in 2002 felt like the start of something big, but Dan Reeves was fired midway through the next season. Jim Mora won Coach of the Year in his first season, but he imploded by his third year. And all that happened before Bobby Petrino and Vick’s dogfighting scandal. With Matt Ryan in town, the Falcons are a good bet to be a top-10 franchise in the next decade.

22. Dallas Cowboys

Record: 71-73
Playoff appearances: 3
Playoff record: 0-3
Losing seasons: 5
Conference championships: 0

We anticipate an avalanche of e-mails on this one, but Dallas’ body of work is unimpressive. The Cowboys started the decade with Troy Aikman still behind center, but they lost 11 games three straight times under Dave Campo. They have been solid since Bill Parcells showed up, but haven’t won a playoff game. Their excellent 13-3 squad in Wade Phillips’ first season was the only standout team, and the Giants upset them. Jerry Jones may lead the league in headlines, but his team has been ordinary.

23. Jacksonville Jaguars

Record: 69-75
Playoff appearances: 2
Playoff record: 1-2
Losing seasons: 5
Conference championships: 0

The Jack Del Rio Jaguars have been better than average overall, but the last three years of the Tom Coughlin/Mark Brunell era was dreadful. And while Del Rio has made the playoffs twice, the Colts have blocked them from any division championships. (The Patriots dismissed them 28-3 in 2005, which was Jacksonville’s best regular season.) It’s not a great sign for Del Rio that the most memorable thing about his six-year run is his attire, though his badass leather coaches and sideline suits are pretty sharp.

24. Kansas City Chiefs

Record: 66-78
Playoff appearances: 2
Playoff record: 0-2
Losing seasons: 5
Conference championships: 0

The Chiefs best season was 2003, when the Dick Vermeil/Trent Green/Priest Holmes team started 9-0 with a boatload of points before flaming out down the stretch. That spectacular collapse was the decade’s high note, a team that was typical of Vermeil’s all hat, no cattle teams that couldn’t stop anyone on defense. Vermeil did a decent job staying around .500, but he and GM Carl Peterson’s short-term thinking left the cupboard bare for Herm Edwards.

25. Arizona Cardinals

Record: 52-92
Playoff appearances: 1
Playoff record: 3-1
Losing seasons: 7
Conference championships: 1-0
Super Bowls: 0-1

Look at that playoff winning percentage: only the Patriots can top that mark! Unfortunately, the eight years before Arizona’s surprise Super Bowl run still counts. And they were uniformly ugly. In fact, the lost Dave McGinnis/Dennis Green years barely were ahead of Detroit for the league’s worst record of the decade until 2009. One Super Bowl trip covers up plenty, though Arizona’s close Super Bowl loss could haunt this franchise into the next decade.

26. Washington Redskins

Record: 66-78
Playoff appearances: 2
Playoff record: 1-2
Losing seasons: 4
Conference championships: 0

Like the Cowboys, but worse, the Redskins have made a lot of noise this decade, signifying little. All the free agent money possible has only resulted in one 10-win season (under Joe Gibbs in 2005), and an uninspiring playoff win in Tampa. Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Gibbs, and Jim Zorn have mostly avoided bottoming out, but the Redskins haven’t boasted a title contender since Gibbs’ first run.

27. San Francisco 49ers

Record: 60-84
Playoff appearances: 2
Playoff record: 1-2
Losing seasons: 7
Conference championships: 0

Steve Mariucci had the 49ers in the playoffs twice in a row early in the decade, even winning a playoff game in 2002. GM Terry Donahue then fired Mariucci after a power struggle, and the organization has been in a tailspin since. Since Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens left town during Dennis Erickson’s run, the team hasn’t approached average. That’s hard to do in this topsy-turvy league.

28. Cincinnati Bengals

Record: 58-85-1
Playoff appearances: 1
Playoff record: 0-1
Losing seasons: 5
Conference championships: 0

The Bengals have been bad all decade, but at least they’ve been entertaining since Marvin Lewis, Carson Palmer, and Chad Ochocinco hit town. Unfortunately, they have also been in the news too often for the wrong reasons. (Hello, Chris Henry.) Palmer tore his ACL in a playoff loss to the Steelers and the team hasn’t quite recovered. Three ugly seasons under Bruce Coslet and Dick Lebeau to start the decade put them below the 49ers.

29. Buffalo Bills

Record: 60-84
Playoff appearances: 0
Losing seasons: 6

This ranking may seem low, but every franchise’s goal is to compete for a title. The Bills didn’t do that once, unlike the Bengals and 49ers who had dangerous playoff teams. Buffalo only had one winning season, going 9-7 under Mike Mularkey in 2004, but they lost in Week 17 with a playoff spot on the line to the number one seeded Steelers — who were playing their backups. It has been that kind of blah decade for the Bills, even if they avoided bottoming out like some others.

30. Houston Texans

Record: 40-72
Playoff appearances: 0
Losing seasons: 5
Other: Came into the league in 2002

Dom Capers and David Carr never enjoyed a winning season, but the expansion Texans didn’t embarrass themselves until going 2-14 in 2005. That caused the hiring of Gary Kubiak, who has brought along an entertaining offense to go with back-to-back 8-8 seasons. An expansion team should have finished No. 32 on this list, so consider this mark overachieving.

31. Cleveland Browns

Record: 52-92
Playoff appearances: 1
Playoff record: 0-1
Losing seasons: 7

The Browns deserve a break because they were starting from scratch in ’99, but Butch Davis had them in the playoffs by 2002. That Kelly Holcomb-led team wasn’t that good, and lost to a mediocre Steelers team. After that, the Browns lost at least 10 games in five of six seasons, broken up by Derek Anderson and Romeo Crennel’s surprising 10-6 run in 2007. In hindsight, a favorable schedule and a few breaks camouflaged a poor roster that continues today.

32. Detroit Lions

Record: 40-104
Playoff appearances: 0
Losing seasons: 8

How bad were the Lions? They had a two-year head start on the expansion Texans, and still didn’t win more games. Detroit actually had a winning start to the decade under Bobby Ross and Gary Moeller. Then Millen happened. Said owner William Clay Ford when he hired GM Matt Millen, “We've been ... pretty much stuck on dead center for quite a few years. Matt offers us an opportunity to move ahead." After one of the worst seven year runs in NFL history, dead center sounds pretty nice to Lions fans.

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