Football history if the patriots and broncos didn't cheat.

[Rain Man]

I've been thinking about this recently. It would take forever to fully simulate all of the past seasons and figure out who the rightful Super Bowl winners would be if the patriots and broncos (and tom brady) weren't cheating. But we can do a quick shorthand analysis.

For these purposes, I assumed the following:

For every Super Bowl that the cheating teams appeared in, I looked to see who their opponents were in the AFC champtonship games. I then compared the NFC Super Bowl team against the rightful AFC champion and awarded the Super Bowl trophy to the team with the best regular season record. (I reversed the process for the most recent super Bowl since the cheating team was in the NFC.

I present below the true Super Bowl winners of the past 26 years, and in parentheses I included the team that received the trophy.

55 Chiefs (Cheaters)
54 Chiefs (Chiefs)
53 Rams (Cheaters)
52 Eagles (Eagles)
51 Falcons (Cheaters)
50 Panthers (Other Cheaters)
49 Seahawks (Cheaters)
48 Seahawks (Seahawks)
47 Ravens (Ravens)
46 Ravens (Giants)
45 Packers (Packers)
44 Saints (Saints)
43 Steelers (Steelers)
42 Chargers (Giants)
41 Colts (Colts)
40 Steelers (Steelers)
39 Steelers (Cheaters)
38 Colts (Cheaters)
37 Buccaneers (Buccaneers)
36 Rams (Cheaters)
35 Ravens (Ravens)
34 Rams Rams
33 Falcons (Other Cheaters)
32 Packers (Other Cheaters)
31 Packers Packers
30 Cowboys Cowboys


A number of interesting things would have happened if the patriots and broncos didn't cheat.

First, Roethlisberger would have been legendary for winning the Super Bowl during his first two seasons and 3 of his first 5.

Second, Manning would have actually earned his second Super Bowl ring instead of being awarded one by the league when he retired.

Third, Marty would have a ring, which would be great even if it was with the Chargers.

Fourth, the Ravens, Seahawks, and Chiefs would have two consecutive wins, and the Chiefs would be on target for their third coming up. (And we all know they would have beaten the Rams too, but I had to follow my own rules)

I wish we had experienced this world.