It’s the closest the NFL’s only two 14-0 teams will ever come to being on the field at the same time. So we size up the two teams through 14 games the only way we know how, with the Cold, Hard Football Facts:
- The 1972 Dolphins beat two Quality Opponents, outscoring them by 10.0 PPG
- The 2007 Patriots beat five Quality Opponents, outscoring them by 17.4 PPG
- The 1972 Dolphins scored 27.5 PPG
- The 2007 Patriots scored 37.4 PPG
- The 1972 Dolphins surrendered 12.2 PPG
- The 2007 Patriots surrendered 16.6 PPG
- The 1972 Dolphins won 11 games by double digits
- The 2007 Patriots won 11 games by double digits
- The 1972 Dolphins won four games by three touchdowns or more
- The 2007 Patriots won nine games by three touchdowns or more
- The 1972 Dolphins beat zero division winners and zero playoff teams
- The 2007 Patriots beat four division winners and five likely playoff teams
Clearly, New England has had more blow-out victories. But you can argue that the 1972 Dolphins were actually just as dominant as the 2007 Patriots. The Patriots outscore teams by 20.8 PPG and the Dolphins outscored teams by 15.3 PPG. But that difference can largely be chalked up to the different eras in which they played: the Dolphins played in the low-scoring Dead Ball Era. The Patriots play in the high-scoring Live Ball Era.
The Dolphins beat their opponents by an average of 2.254 points to 1. The Patriots beat their opponents by an average of 2.253 points to 1 point. We call that a wash.
But the Patriots have definitely done it against tougher opposition.