Emmitt Smith was a product of the system, except when the system failed without him.
Three teams have started 0-2 and won the Super Bowl. In 1993, the Dallas Cowboys started 0-2 in part because Emmitt Smith was holding out for a new contract. In 2001, the New England Patriots — with Drew Bledsoe as starting quarterback — began the year 0-2, before Tom Brady got his first professional start in week three. In 2007, the Gianst allowed 80 points in the first two weeks of the regular season, months before shutting down the highest scoring offense in NFL history in Super Bowl XLII.
There have been 68 teams to win a championship since 1950, including the six AFL champions in the pre-Super Bowl era. 41 of those teams started the season 2-0, and the group as a whole had a 0.790 winning percentage after two weeks. That shouldn’t be too surprising, as the best teams are likely to win most weeks. The last six Super Bowl champions not named the Giants have started the year 2-0.
But which Super Bowl champ had the greatest points differential after two weeks? One team started the year with wins of 34-3 and 39-13 (and won 42-10 in week three).
This was the third Super Bowl for this franchise, and its star quarterback became the second player from this team to win the NFL MVP award and the Super Bowl in the same season.
The 1996 Green Bay Packers outscored their first two opponents by 57 points. Brett Favre won the second of three straight MVP awards in 1996, but in the Super Bowl, two other Packers stole the show. Reggie White had three sacks against the Patriots, while Desmond Howard was named Super Bowl MVP after returning a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.
Note: Tomorrow, in lieu of Sunday trivia, I’ll present the first edition of the SRS for college football teams.
