Five Longest Winning Streaks in NFL History
By The Big Lead
The longest preseason win streak in NFL history is over with the Washington Commanders beating the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 of the 2023 NFL preseason. But what are the longest win streaks that matter in NFL history?
5. (tie) Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos: 17 Games
The Peyton Manning era was incredibly successful for the Denver Broncos. They didn't win the Super Bowl until the 2015 season, but they went 13-3 in back-to-back seasons including the final 11 games of the '11 season and first six of the '12 season.
The 1933 Chicago Bears won the final four games of the regular season and then the Championship game and then went 13-0 in 1934 before losing to the New York Giants in the title game. To give you an idea of how different the game was back then future Hall of Famer Bronko Nagurski, a full back and offensive tackle, completed 19 of 41 passes over the two seasons.
3. (tie) New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers: 18 Games
Remember Cam Newton at the height of his powers? The Panthers won the final four games of the 2014 season to sneak into the playoffs at 7-8-1 and actually won a Wild Card game. The next year they started 14-0 before making a run to the Super Bowl.
The New England Patriots were slightly more successful as they won the final 12 games of the 2003 season and then went on to win the Super Bowl before starting the next season 6-0. They finished the regular season 14-2 both years and won back-to-back Super Bowls. Overall they won 21 games between the regular and postseason.
2. New England Patriots: 21 Games
Then there was the time Tom Brady and the Patriots went undefeated in the regular season. They ended up losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants (18-1 mean anything to anyone?), but combined with winning the final three games of the 2006 season and first two games of the 2008 season and you've got 21 regular season wins in a row. And not a championship to show for it. Of course, the Patriots also own the longest postseason win streak in NFL history thanks to a stretch where they won three out of four Super Bowls and won 10 postseason games in a row between 2001 and 2005.
1. Indianapolia Colts: 23 Games
Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? Both guys have teams that appear on this list twice. What an absolute testament to both their greatness and the team building those franchises did when they had one of the best quarterbacks of all-time. The 2008 Colts started 3-4 before they won their final nine games. Then the 2009 Colts started 14-0. Neither team won a Super Bowl, but what a run as Indy won 10 or more games in 11 out of 12 seasons from 1999 to 2010.