2009 Football Championship Rankings

The pro football season is quickly speeding to the final game, so its time for the annual ritual where I list how this seasons 3 championship games (both conference and league) affect the overall number of championships as a measure of franchise greatness.

Long time readers (if there are any) will know that I have two ways of measuring this. One is by the total number of championship game appearances, with tie breaks by the number of trophies received at both League and Conference levels. There is little change this year in the top 10 for this ranking - the only change being that Indianapolis is now tied with number 11 Denver and will move to a tie for number 10 with New England with a win. They were tied with Miami for 15th.

Minnesota 13 (4), moves up to 14th from the 17th spot by earning (and losing) their conference championship. The New York Jets move to 22nd with 5 appearances and two wins. New Orleans, with three appearances counting their next one, moves from 31st (last ranked – not counting Houston, which has none) to 27th . If they win they are in sole possession. If they lose, they are tied with Atlanta and Seattle with one win.)

Here is the current top 10.

Rank Team Appearances (wins)
1 Dallas 24 (13)
2 NY Giants 22 (10)
3 Pittsburgh 21 (13)
4 Green Bay 19 (13)
5 Oakland 19 (8)
6 San Francisco, Washington 17 (10) tie
8 St. Louis 17 (6)
9 Chicago 15 (9)
10 New England 14 (9)

The second way to count greatness is the total number of trophies received, with ties broken by win-loss percentage (with a better ranking for winning in fewer tries).

Indianapolis has moved to ninth because of last Sunday's win, and will move into a tie for seventh with New England with a win. They have cracked the top 10. They were eleventh.

Minnesota's loss leaves them in 18th place with 4 wins and 9 losses. New York's loss moves them to 25th, knocking them out of a tie for 22nd. New Orleans was second to last at 30th. They have moved into 27th with one win and one loss in conference championship games. A win moves them into the tie for 22nd (which will move New York to 26th) while a loss leaves them at 27th, a position they will then share with Atlanta and Seattle (currently tied for 28th).

Here are the top 10 by wins.

Rank Team(s) Win-Loss
1 Green Bay 13-6
2 Pittsburgh 13-8
3 Dallas 13-11
4 San Francisco, Washington (tie) 10-7
6 New York 10-12
7 New England 9-5
8 Chicago 9-6
9. Indianapolis 8-5
10. Denver 8-6