Best Regular-Season Record in NFL History

The best regular-season record in NFL history by wins is the 2007 New England Patriots’ 16-0, the only team ever to win every game of a 16-game schedule. Measured purely by win percentage, the 1972 Miami Dolphins also finished perfect at 14-0, but no one has matched the Patriots’ raw win total.

“Best record” can mean two things in the NFL, because the length of the season has changed over the decades. A perfect win percentage is the ultimate marker, yet a team that goes 16-0 has simply won more games than one that went 13-0. Here is how the greatest regular seasons stack up, why the 2007 Patriots sit at the top, and what the new 17-game era means for the record. All figures are through the 2025 season.

The record holder: the 2007 Patriots’ 16-0

When the New England Patriots finished the 2007 regular season 16-0, they became the first and still only team to win all 16 games of the modern schedule. Tom Brady threw a then-record 50 touchdown passes, Randy Moss caught a record 23, and the offense set a then-record for points in a season. It was the most complete regular season the league had ever seen.

The perfect run did not end with a title, the Patriots lost Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants to finish 18-1, but the regular-season record stands alone. You can read the full story in our breakdown of the 2007 Patriots’ 16-0 season.

The full leaderboard of perfect and near-perfect seasons

The table below ranks the best regular seasons in NFL history by record, spanning every era of the league.

Record	Win%	Team	Season	Schedule
16-0	1.000	New England Patriots	2007	16 games
14-0	1.000	Miami Dolphins	1972	14 games
13-0	1.000	Chicago Bears	1934	13 games
11-0	1.000	Chicago Bears	1942	11 games
15-1	.938	Multiple teams	1984-2011	16 games

The four perfect teams sit at the top by win percentage, with the Patriots leading on total wins. The 15-1 line represents a cluster of great teams, from the 1984 49ers and 1985 Bears to the 1998 Vikings and 2011 Packers, that fell a single game short of perfection.

The 1972 Dolphins: perfection that finished the job

The one team on this list that turned a perfect regular season into a title was the 1972 Miami Dolphins. They went 14-0 in the regular season and then swept three playoff games to finish 17-0, the only completely perfect season in NFL history. The 1972 Dolphins’ perfect season remains the benchmark every unbeaten contender is measured against.

By contrast, the 1934 and 1942 Bears both went unbeaten in the regular season only to lose the NFL Championship Game, and the 2007 Patriots fell in the Super Bowl. A flawless regular season, it turns out, guarantees nothing in January.

The 17-game era and the record ahead

Since 2021 the NFL has played a 17-game regular season, adding one more hurdle to any perfect run. Through the 2025 season, no team has gone 17-0, and the best marks in the new era have landed in the 14-3 range. Until a team runs the table across 17 games, the Patriots’ 16 wins remain the most in a single unbeaten season.

That is what makes the record so interesting going forward: a future 17-0 team would surpass the Patriots on wins, but matching the 1972 Dolphins’ perfect year, regular season and championship together, is a separate and even rarer feat. For the complete historical list, see our guide to every undefeated NFL team.

Why the record matters

The best regular-season record is a snapshot of dominance, but it also frames one of the sport’s favorite debates: is a perfect record more impressive than a championship? The Dolphins have both. The Patriots have the wins but not the ring. The Bears have neither the title nor a modern schedule to compare against. That tension is exactly why these numbers endure.

The short version: the 2007 Patriots hold the best regular-season record in NFL history at 16-0, the 1972 Dolphins share the perfect win percentage at 14-0, and a handful of 15-1 teams sit just behind. With no 17-0 season yet in the 17-game era, the Patriots’ record stands through the 2025 season.