http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...r/rankings/1-20

1. 1989 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 14-2 (3-0)

 

Super Bowl: Beat Denver 55-10 Coach: George Seifert

Key players: QB Joe Montana (3,521 yards, 26 TD), RB Roger Craig (1,527 total yards), WR Jerry Rice (1,483 yards, 17 TD), WR John Taylor, OG Guy McIntyre, LB Charles Haley, S Ronnie Lott

 

What, you want to bet against Joe Montana and Jerry Rice? This team gets our nod due to its excellence on both sides of the ball, mind-boggling statistics and perhaps the most dominant postseason run in NFL history. This team gave us Montana, Rice, Roger Craig, Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley in their primes. It also boasted the largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history, scoring 55 points against the NFL's best scoring defense.

 

 

This team had a future Hall of Famer, Steve Young, as its backup quarterback. Montana recorded the third-highest single-season passer rating in NFL history ? more than 20 points higher than the No. 2 mark that season. Rice was unstoppable, as he and John Taylor teamed for 142 receptions, 2,560 yards and 27 touchdowns.

 

Former defensive coordinator George Seifert seemed to push all the right buttons in his first season at the helm, following Bill Walsh's retirement. His offensive coordinator was Mike Holmgren, who would go on to guide three Super Bowl participants as head coach. San Francisco won 13 games by double digits, including playoff scores of 41-13, 30-3 and 55-10. The 49ers also went 8-0 on the road. Their two losses came by a total of five points, and both of those opponents won at least 10 games. To date, only three members of this team are enshrined in the Hall of Fame, which speaks to the value of a tremendous supporting cast that included Brent Jones, Tom Rathman, Jesse Sapolu, Michael Carter, Pierce Holt, Kevin Fagan, Keena Turner, Eric Wright, Tim McKyer, Matt Millen and Bill Romanowski.

Wow, a ranking that's not blinded by east coast bias and gets it right

#1 and 2 of the top 5. Good sh*t.