With this being 2025, there have naturally been countless quarter-century lists constructed as the year has progressed, ranking the top 25 this or that or assembling some sort of 25-year team. It actually wasn't that long ago that we looked at the Green Bay Packers to make (or not make) an All-Quarter Century Team.
Recently, another entertaining list was put together by ESPN senior writer Bill Barnwell, who took it upon himself to rank the top 25 NFL teams of the past 25 years, which was undoubtedly a daunting task, especially seeing as how he didn't just use the teams that have won the past 25 Super Bowls.
In fact, the top-ranked team on the list didn't hoist the Lombardi Trophy, that, of course, being the 2007 New England Patriots, who won their first 18 games before famously losing to the New York Giants in Super Bowl 42.
Those '07 Giants failed to make the list, by the way, nor did the 2011 Giants, who also took down Brady's heavily-favored Pats in the title game. Both did, however, get an honorable mention nod.
But you didn't pop in here to see us chatter about the Pats and Giants, not that we would want to anyway. So, as it pertains to the Packers, the winningest team in NFL history received one entry on the list, with the 2010 Super Bowl-winning team getting some love by taking a spot in the top 10 at No. 8.
Packers' 2010 Super Bowl squad ranked No. 8 in ESPN's Top 25 teams of the past 25 years list
Here's how Barnwell kicked off the Green Bay section:
"Since I've suggested I'm willing to consider broader performance over what teams do at the end of the season, I can already hear you wondering why I didn't nominate the 2011 Packers, who went 15-1 with Aaron Rodgers winning MVP before losing to the Giants in the postseason," Barnwell writes.
"Most of the difference between those two teams was close-game luck. The 2010 Packers went 4-6 in one-score games during the regular season, continuing what had been a frustrating start in narrow contests early in Rodgers' career. They then won three one-score games on their way to the Super Bowl and went 5-1 in those same contests during the 2011 season."
While Barnwell makes a great point that the Packers lost six one-score games in 2010, he didn't get into the actual specifics, which are that Green Bay never lost by more than four points, taking two losses by four points and four defeats by three points, two of the latter coming in overtime in back-to-back weeks in mid-October.
So, that's six losses by a combined 20 points, which is pretty remarkable when you sit and think about it.
Barnwell goes on to mention how much better Aaron Rodgers was during the second half of the regular season than he was in the first, noting how the then-third-year starter "led the NFL in QBR, threw 25 touchdown passes against four picks, averaged a league-leading 8.9 yards per attempt, and increased his completion percentage by nearly 10 full points."
He then noted the strength of the 2010 Packers' defensive unit, which allowed the second-fewest points in the NFL, giving up just 15.0 per game. He also specifically highlighted the strong seasons from linebacker Clay Matthews and safety Nick Collins, each of whom earned an All-Pro selection.
And, of course, he went into how Green Bay won all three of its NFC playoff matchups on the road as the No. 6 seed, ousting the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round, the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round, and none other than the rival Chicago Bears in the NFC title game before taking down the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 45.