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NFL Experts Rank the Top 10 NFL Team Nicknames of All Time
The NFL has been around for over 100 years, and there have been some fun and creative nicknames. Team nicknames are a staple in NFL history, whether they be the offense, defense, or the entire team. These teams were dominant on the field, leaving lasting legacies for their respective franchises. Except for the “Aints in the early 1980s, no one gives a team a cool nickname when that team is terrible.
The most iconic team nicknames come from the best NFL teams. These monikers are synonymous with the team to which they are attached. We will rank the top ten greatest NFL team nicknames of all time.
10. Killer B’s
The most recent addition to the list is also one of the rarer additions in that it is a nickname for an offensive unit. The Pittsburgh Steelers are no stranger to great nicknames (spoiler alert), and they arguably had the best core-three of offensive players ever. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had already won two Super Bowls with the Steelers in the mid-2000s when receiver Antonio Brown joined him and running back Le’Veon Bell in the early 2010s.
Big Ben, Bell, and Brown formed an offensive trio the likes of which had not been seen since the Dallas Cowboys’ “triplets” of the 1990s. Bell and Brown were the best players at their positions, while Roethlisberger was a perennial top-five QB. The trio put up excellent numbers and were favorites in the preseason Super Bowl odds.
Drama made it so the Killer B’s would never reach a Super Bowl, let alone win one and the breakup of this trio was not pretty. Bell sat out the last year of his contract with the Steelers and was released only to be picked up by the New York Jets for a two-year stint. That was followed by Bell signing with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020. He was released at the end of the season and is currently a free agent. After burning the bridges in his previous places of NFL employment, Bell will likely spend 2021 out of the league.
Brown was traded to the Oakland Raiders in 2019 after allegedly getting into an altercation with Roethlisberger and then sitting on the bench during the 2018 NFL regular-season finale. Brown was traded to the Oakland Raiders in 2019. More drama followed, and he was released by the Raiders and signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brown got his Super Bowl as a member of the 2020 Buccaneers and is signed to the team for the 2021 NFL season.
9. Orange Crush
The Orange Crush defense was the nickname for the Denver Broncos of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Denver adopted the 3-4 defense during the 1976 NFL season, and by 1977, the Orange Crush nickname had been embedded in the history books.
The defense was led by linebackers Randy Gradishar and Tom Jackson and, leaning on their defensive unit, the Broncos made their first postseason appearance in 1977. They ultimately lost Super Bowl XII to the Dallas Cowboys 27-10.
In 2015, the nickname made a comeback as the Broncos returned to the Super Bowl with another dominant Denver defense led by linebacker Von Miller. This time the Denver defense won the franchise a Super Bowl, as they defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10. Miller was named the Super Bowl MVP.
8. Fearsome Foursome
There had been multiple defensive fronts to use the Fearsome Foursome nickname, originating with the 1957 New York Giants, followed by the 1961 San Diego Chargers and then the 1962 Detroit Lions. The last and most famous unit to use the moniker was the Los Angeles Rams of the 1960s and 70s. In 1963, the Rams acquired Rosey Grier from the New York Giants, and he joined Lamar Lundy, Merlin Olsen, and Deacon Jones on the Los Angeles defensive line.
The foursome had seen some lineup changes throughout the years, including Roger Brown, Diron Talbert, and Coy Bacon, but the constant of Olsen and Jones turned the below .500 Rams to a contending NFL team. The Rams stuck with the moniker and had a different Fearsome Foursome in the 70s with Jack Youngblood, Fred Dryer, Larry Brooks, and Olsen. That team won seven straight division titles from 1973-79, an NFL record until the New England Patriots broke it in 2016.
7. The Hogs
The offensive line is often overlooked and underappreciated in today’s NFL. In the 1980s and 90s, that was not the case. Take the offensive line of the Washington Redskins. The group was adored by their fans and lovingly named The Hogs. The nickname originated when Washington offensive line coach Joe Bugel called the group hogs during the 1982 training camp. The original hogs consisted of center Jeff Bostic, left guard Russ Grimm, right guard Mark May, left tackle Joe Jacoby, right tackle George Starke, guard Fred Dean, and tight ends Don Warren and Rick Walker.
The Hogs gained notoriety by protecting running back John Riggins and quarterback Joe Theismann on their way to Super Bowl XVII. The O-line did their job holding down the Dolphin defense and allowing the Redskins to walk away with the Super Bowl Championship defeating Miami 27-17. Behind his big line, Riggins rushed for a Super Bowl record of 166 yards and was named Super Bowl MVP.
As the team played into the 80s and 90s, Washington had many different members join their ranks, and although the ‘Skins won Super Bowl XXII in 1988 and Super Bowl XXVI in 1992, no Redskin team has yet to match the amount of meat that was on the original Hogs line.
Grimm is the only member to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
6. Big Blue Wrecking Crew
The New York Giants of the 1980s won two Super Bowls, and their ferocious defense was the best in the league and featured the greatest defensive player of all time, Lawrence Taylor. LT was drafted number two overall in the 1981 NFL Draft and was paired with coach Bill Parcells, who eventually would become the head coach for the Giants.
As the coach and player developed, the 1986 New York defense became one of the best defenses of all time, earning our #6 spot on this list. The Big Blue Wrecking Crew gave up only 80.2 rushing yards a game and totaled 59 sacks and 24 interceptions. New York went 14-2 and reached Super Bowl XXI. The Wrecking Crew kept Hall of Fame QB John Elway in check as the Giants won their first-ever Super Bowl 39-20.
New York continued their dominance through the ‘80s and into the beginning of the 1990s. The 1990 defense rivaled the ‘86 squad for the best defense ever, with LT being a common denominator. In the NFL season finale, the Giants faced the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. The Bills had an explosive offense and were favored in the NFL betting lines, but the Giants limited them to 19 points, and New York won their second Super Bowl title. After the 1990 season, the team saw a decline. The Big Blue Wrecking Crew officially came to an end after the 1993 season with the retirement of Taylor.
5. Monsters of the Midway
Originally applied to the Chicago Bears of the early 1940s, the popularity of the name was renewed in 1985 when the Bears assembled arguably the greatest defenses in NFL history. The ‘86 Giants have a claim, but most NFL Experts agree that the NFL’s best defense has to be the ‘85 Bears. The group is legendary on and off the field, and it ended with a Super Bowl championship against the New England Patriots.
The defense of the ‘85 Bears consisted of great players like Hall of Famers Richard Dent, Mike Singletary, and Dan Hampton. Their Super Bowl XX victory over the Patriots is one of the most dominant defensive showings in Super Bowl history. Dent was named the Super Bowl MVP. And don’t forget about the Super Bowl Shuffle.
4. Greatest Show on Turf
It is much more common for a defensive unit to get a famous nickname than its offensive counterpart, but the St. Louis Rams between 1999-2001 had one of the most dynamic offenses in NFL history and one of the best nicknames, too.
Offensive coordinator Mike Martz designed the offense, mixing air and running plays to mimic the Air Coryell offense. During the three seasons, St. Louis produced the most offensive points, gained the most yards, earned three MVP awards, and made two Super Bowl appearances.
The stars of the show were quarterback Kurt Warner, who started 1999 as the backup, former San Diego State star running back Marshall Faulk, and wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. Warner won the MVP in 1999 and 2001, while Faulk earned the award in 2000. The Rams beat the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV but lost to the Patriots two years later in Super Bowl XXXVI. St. Louis set multiple offensive records during those years, including 7,335 total yards in the 2000 season. Not just about stats and numbers, that Rams team was just plain fun to watch as they stretched the field on seemingly every possession.
3. Legion of Boom
A play on the Legion of Doom, a DC Comics supervillain group, the Seattle Seahawks’ Legion of Boom (LOB) was a force during the 2010s. The main core consisted of Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Brandon Browner, Walter Thurmond, and Byron Maxwell. It was initially named after the secondary, but it soon took on a life of its own and encompassed the entire Seattle defense.
Between 2011-2018, the Seahawks had seven winning seasons, three NFC West titles, two NFC Championships, and an NFL championship in Super Bowl XLVIII. The peak of the LOB was in 2013 when the Seahawks had the number one defense in scoring and yardage. The defensive unit led the NFL with 28 interceptions with only four rushing touchdowns and 16 passing touchdowns allowed. Some NFL expert picks show that the LOB’s dominance forced the NFL to make changes to some defensive rules. With those changes, the Legion of Boom might have been the last genuinely dominant NFL defense in league history.
2. Steel Curtain
The backbone of the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty of the 1970s, the Steel Curtain helped Pittsburgh win four Super Bowls in six years. A play on the phrase the “Iron Curtain” popularized by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the Steel Curtain nickname was a product of a 1971 radio contest to name the Steelers defense. “Mean” Joe Greene was the building block for the Steel Curtain when he was drafted in 1969 and then named Defensive Player of the Year in 1972 and ‘74. Greene was joined by fellow ‘69 draft pick L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes, and Dwight White. Over the next few years, the defensive front would mold itself into the dominant force deserving of the title.
The Steel Curtain’s finest year was actually in 1976, a year Pittsburgh did not win the Super Bowl. The team started 1-4 before losing Terry Bradshaw to an injury. The Steelers recorded five shutouts in the remaining nine games, allowing opponents an average of just 3.1 points per game, and giving up only two touchdowns. The NFL playoffs were a different story, and the team lost to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship game.
1. Purple People Eaters
The greatest team nickname in NFL history has to be the Purple People Eaters of the 1960s and ‘70s. The name for the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings comes from a popular 1958 song from Sheb Wooley. The defense’s ability to get to the quarterback and the distinct purple jerseys make them one of the most popular front four in NFL history. The Purple People Eaters were Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshal, and Gary Larsen, who was replaced by Doug Sutherland in 1974.
The crew lasted from 1968-77, and with them, the Vikings were constant favorites in the online sportsbook Minnesota won ten division titles in eleven years, had five NFC Championship appearances, and made four Super Bowl appearances. Despite the dominant front four and QB Fran Tarkenton, the Vikings could never win a Super Bowl.
Although the Purple People Eaters did not win a Super Bowl, the unit was one of the most dominant forces in NFL History. The players actually disliked the name and called themselves “The Purple Gang,” but they recognized the popularity and embraced it in the end.
Nicknames are one of the best things about sports. It creates a distinct identity of the players and team that embodies the moniker, and the handles often take on a life of their own. All of these groups were legendary in their own ways. Whether it be putting up unbelievable offensive numbers or embossing their will on the defensive end, the nicknames created by their play have become iconic.
These units carried their teams to victory and helped fans cash their NFL bets on the NFL betting lines. Every origin story is different, but these nicknames have a special place in the hearts of the NFL and their fan base. Many contain Hall of Fame and Pro Bowl players that made them successful and appealed to the growing fan base of the NFL.
