Top 10 teams with the longest playoff streaks in NFL

The NFL's Top 5 Longest Playoff Streaks

#5-San Francisco 49ers (1983-90)

Even though Young established himself as a legend of the game after his departure, did you really not expect to see Montana linger on this list? This period also coincided with the rise of another arguable GOAT, Jerry Rice, who arrived as a first-round pick out of Mississippi Valley State in 1985.

San Francisco won three of its five Super Bowls during the streak, which included Rice's historic effort in Super Bowl XXIII (215 yards in a 20-16 win over Cincinnati) and the most one-sided effort in modern NFL championship memory the year after (55-10 over Elway and the Broncos).

#4-Green Bay Packers (2009-16)

Modern users seem to focus solely on the fact that Aaron Rodgers captured only one Super Bowl during this historic span, but he nonetheless established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the new century through these trials. Considering all the drama that Rodgers has reportedly worked through, the streak has become even more impressive as a result.

#3-Dallas Cowboys (1975-83)

Those who constantly whine over the Dallas Cowboys' unofficial moniker of "America's Team" and wonder why they're given national television treatment on a routine basis need look no further than the continuation of their playoff streak after a one-year absence.

It was, in fact, a losing effort that gained the Cowboys this title, as an NFL Films segment documenting their rise to Super Bowl XIII (a 35-31 loss to the aforementioned Steelers) is the party primarily responsible. Nonetheless, the Cowboys still managed to add another Lombardi Trophy to their case, topping the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII.

#2-Indianapolis Colts (2002-10)

Football in Indianapolis was defined mostly by futility before Peyton Manning's arrival. By the turn of the century, the Colts had earned just a single playoff win since making their infamous midnight move out of Baltimore.

But Manning's arrival pushed the team into one of the greatest postseason mainstays of NFL history, a quest aided by the efforts of Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James, Dwight Freeney and Reggie Wayne. The group reached their first Super Bowl since the aforementioned Blunder Bowl in 2006.

This one was far more memorable, as Manning put in an MVP performance to top the Chicago Bears.

Tom Brady (12) leads the Patriots' offense during their most recent NFL title in Super Bowl LIII (Photo: Getty)

#1-New England Patriots (2009-19)

Would it be an NFL postseason list if it didn't end with Tom Brady just barely beating out Peyton Manning in a legendary contest? Patriots detractors should thank their lucky stars that the team embarked on a bit of a gap year while prepping for the post-Brady era.

Had it not been for that, New England might be working on an active playoff streak, perhaps one of the most unbeatable records in NFL history.

This stretch yielded three of the Patriots' six championships (Super Bowls XLIX, LI, and LIII) and all 11 AFC East division titles awarded in that span.