At the start of the 2019 National Football League (NFL) season, the Chicago Bears had won the most regular-season games in the history of the competition. The Bears have made two Super Bowl appearances and were crowned champions for the only time in the 1985 season.
How is an NFL season structured?
Each NFL season is split into two distinct competition formats: regular season and postseason. The regular season refers to the sport’s league format, where a team competes to finish as high as possible in their respective division and overall conference. The postseason is a knockout tournament involving the best teams from each conference. The final game of the postseason is called the Super Bowl and is played between the winners of the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC).
The origins of the game
The Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals are the only two teams currently playing that were founder members of the original American Professional Football Association in 1920 – the competition was renamed the NFL in 1922. Interestingly, the Arizona Cardinals were named the Chicago Cardinals for that inaugural season in 1920, whereas the Chicago Bears were known as the Decatur Staleys.
NFL teams ranked by wins in the regular season all-time (at the start of the 2019 NFL season)*
* Arizona Cardinals: Chicago Cardinals, 1920-1959; St. Louis Cardinals 1960-1987; Phoenix Cardinals, 1988-1993; Arizona Cardinals, 1994-present; Card-Pitt, 1944 Chicago Bears: Decatur Staleys, 1920; Chicago Staleys, 1921; Chicago Bears, 1922-present Detroit Lions: Portsmouth Spartans, 1930-1933; Detroit Lions, 1934-present Indianapolis Colts: Baltimore Colts, 1953-1983; Indianapolis Colts, 1984-present Kansas City Chiefs: Dallas Texans, 1960-1962; Kansas City Chiefs, 1963-present Los Angeles Rams: Cleveland Rams, 1937-1942, 1944-1945; Suspended operations, 1943; Los Angeles Rams, 1946-1994; St. Louis Rams, 1995-2015 New England Patriots: Boston Patriots, 1960-1970; New England Patriots, 1971-present New York Jets: New York Titans, 1960-1962; New York Jets, 1963-present Philadelphia Eagles: Phil-Pitt, 1943 Pittsburgh Steelers: Pittsburgh Pirates, 1933-1939; Pittsburgh Steelers, 1940-present; Phil-Pitt, 1943; Card-Pitt, 1944 Los Angeles Chargers: Los Angeles Chargers, 1960; San Diego Chargers 1961-2016 Tennessee Titans: Houston Oilers, 1960-1996; Tennessee Oilers 1997-1998; Tennessee Titans, 1999-present Washington Redskins: Boston Braves, 1932; Boston Redskins, 1933-1936; Washington Redskins, 1937-present
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Pro Football Hall of Fame. (August 31, 2019). NFL teams ranked by wins in the regular season all-time (at the start of the 2019 NFL season)* [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/784521/nfl-team-ranking-by-all-time-regular-season-wins/
Pro Football Hall of Fame. "NFL teams ranked by wins in the regular season all-time (at the start of the 2019 NFL season)*." Chart. August 31, 2019. Statista. Accessed January 21, 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/784521/nfl-team-ranking-by-all-time-regular-season-wins/
Pro Football Hall of Fame. (2019). NFL teams ranked by wins in the regular season all-time (at the start of the 2019 NFL season)*. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: January 21, 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/784521/nfl-team-ranking-by-all-time-regular-season-wins/
Pro Football Hall of Fame. "Nfl Teams Ranked by Wins in The Regular Season All-time (at The Start of The 2019 Nfl Season)*." Statista, Statista Inc., 31 Aug 2019, https://www.statista.com/statistics/784521/nfl-team-ranking-by-all-time-regular-season-wins/
Pro Football Hall of Fame, NFL teams ranked by wins in the regular season all-time (at the start of the 2019 NFL season)* Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/784521/nfl-team-ranking-by-all-time-regular-season-wins/ (last visited January 21, 2020)
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