Perfect season A perfect season is a sports season including any requisite playoff portion , in which a team remains undefeated and untied . The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport , and has occurred more commonly at the collegiate level in the United States . A perfect regular season ( known by other names outside the United States ) is a season " excluding " any playoffs , where a team remains undefeated and untied ; it is less rare than a complete perfect season but still exceptional . A perfect season may be part of a multi - season winning streak . Exhibition game s are generally not counted toward standings , for or against . For example , the 1972 Miami Dolphins ( below ) lost three of their preseason games but still are considered to have a perfect season . American football . National Football League . Since the National Football League began in 1920 , only one team has played a complete perfect season ( both regular season and playoffs ) : the 1972 Miami Dolphins , who won their fourteen regular season games and three postseason games , including Super Bowl VII , to finish the season 17 – 0 – 0 . The Dolphins briefly extended their winning streak before losing to the Oakland Raiders on September 23 , 1973 . It has often been reported that the surviving members of the 1972 Dolphins would either gather to drink champagne when the final undefeated team earned its first loss , or send a case of champagne to the team who beat this final undefeated team . The head coach of the 1972 Dolphins , Don Shula , denied this in a 2007 interview with ESPN . NFL undefeated seasons ( with ties ) prior to 1932 . Prior to the development of a playoff system in the NFL in 1932 , there were four teams who completed seasons undefeated , but with one or more tied games : the 1920 Akron Pros , the 1922 Canton Bulldogs , the 1923 Canton Bulldogs , and the 1929 Green Bay Packers . Under NFL practices at the time , tied games were discounted when the win percentage was calculated ; so , these four teams were recorded with perfect win percentages of 1 . 000 . ( In 1972 , the NFL retroactively altered its standings to treat tied games as being worth half of a win - so these four teams are no longer recorded as having the perfect 1 . 000 percentage ) . The 1921 Buffalo All - Americans were controversially denied a similar type of near - undefeated season , when they believed that their final game , a 7 - 10 loss to the Chicago Staleys , was an exhibition game which would not count to the final standings ; the NFL records that game as official , and Buffalo ' s record as 9 - 1 - 2 . Other NFL perfect regular seasons . Apart from the 1972 Dolphins , three NFL teams have completed undefeated and untied regular seasons : the 1934 Chicago Bears , the 1942 Chicago Bears , and the 2007 New England Patriots . In 1934 , the Bears played a 13 – 0 – 0 regular season and became the first NFL team to complete an undefeated regular season without tied games , but lost the 1934 NFL Championship Game against the New York Giants . Despite losing several players and head coach George Halas to military service in World War II , the 1942 Bears finished 11 – 0 – 0 but again lost the NFL Championship Game , this time against the Washington Redskins . The 2007 Patriots became the first team after the NFL expanded its regular season to sixteen games in 1978 to finish undefeated . They won the divisional and conference playoffs before losing Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants , giving them a final record of 18 - 1 . While the 1972 Miami Dolphins did complete the perfect season at 17 - 0 , before ultimately losing in Super Bowl XLII the 2007 Patriots did surpass their total by one game with an 18 - 0 record . Pre - NFL era and competing leagues . An NFL predecessor , the Ohio League , had many perfect seasons . The Massillon Tigers ( 1904 , 1905 ) , Akron Indians ( 1909 ) , Shelby Blues ( 1911 ) , and Dayton Triangles ( 1918 ) all had perfect seasons during this era . In the New York Pro Football League , another league that contributed teams to the NFL , the Buffalo Niagaras went 5 – 0 – 0 ( 6 – 0 – 0 including a forfeit ) in a league that consisted of teams entirely from the city of Buffalo in 1918 . In 1920 , the Union Athletic Association of Phoenixville , Pennsylvania ( later known as the " Philadelphia Quakers " ) , played in a league mostly consisting of local teams and earned a perfect season , claiming for itself a mythical national championship . Prior to the Ohio League , the 1900 and 1901 Homestead Library and Athletic Club teams , as well as the 1903 Franklin Athletic Club , all had perfect seasons . The caliber of talent was neither as high nor as consistent between teams at the time , the seasons were generally shorter ( 7 to 11 games ) , and it was not uncommon for top teams to play all their games at home while lesser teams played all of their games on the road . In 1918 , Dayton and Buffalo had the additional advantage of having its strongest competitors suspend operations due to the Spanish flu and the First World War . Thus , it was much easier to earn a perfect season than it would become in the NFL . 1937 Los Angeles Bulldogs . The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a member of the second American Football League , who joined the league in 1937 after the Cleveland Rams defected to the NFL . Playing a combination of AFL teams and independent franchises ( such as the Providence Steam Roller and the Salinas Packers ) , the team went 16 – 0 , with 8 of those wins coming against AFL teams . The Bulldogs ’ dominance is cited as one of the key factors in the AFL ’ s demise , and the next season as an independent with a 10 – 2 – 2 record including a 2 – 1 – 2 record against NFL teams , several of the team ’ s players were invited to play on the " Pro All Stars " team in the NFL ’ s first Pro All - Star Game in Los Angeles . The Bulldogs are considered to be one of the few independent teams to have ever achieved parity with the NFL . 1948 Cleveland Browns . The Browns were a member of the All - America Football Conference , a professional football league that played from 1946 to 1949 . In 1948 , the Browns won all fourteen regular season games and the 1948 AAFC championship to post a 15 – 0 – 0 record . Cleveland ’ s perfect 1948 season was part of a longer string of 29 straight wins , which stretched from 1947 to 1949 and included both the 1947 and 1948 title games . Overall , the Browns won all four AAFC championship games and were accepted into the NFL when the two leagues merged after the 1949 season . Neither the NFL nor the Pro Football Hall of Fame recognizes the Bulldogs ’ or Browns ’ perfect seasons . Close to perfect . Since the NFL expanded to a fourteen - game regular season in 1961 , eight teams have had regular seasons with one loss and no ties : Most of these teams suffered their regular - season loss early in the year and only the 1962 Packers ( 10 - 0 ) , 1985 Bears ( 12 - 0 ) , and 2011 Packers ( 13 - 0 ) were on track for a perfect season when they lost . Coincidentally , the 1985 Bears ’ lone loss came to the Miami Dolphins . The best start from an NFL team who failed to complete a perfect regular season was by the 2009 Indianapolis Colts , who started 14 – 0 before losing their final two regular season games to the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills to finish 14 – 2 . Indianapolis , having clinched the top seed in the AFC , sacrificed its chances at a perfect regular season and instead rested its starters the final two games to protect them for the playoffs . The Colts would go on to Super Bowl XLIV but lost to the New Orleans Saints . Four other teams have started 13 – 0 before losing their fourteenth game : the 1998 Denver Broncos , 2005 Indianapolis Colts , 2009 New Orleans Saints and 2011 Green Bay Packers . The 1998 Broncos , 2005 Colts and 2009 Saints lost at least two of their final three games but the Broncos and Saints recovered to win the Super Bowl . The 1953 Cleveland Browns and 1969 Los Angeles Rams started 11 - 0 in twelve - and fourteen - game seasons respectively ; both lost their only playoff game . Other leagues . The following is a list of teams in minor or alternate leagues that compiled perfect seasons of six games or more , including postseason games , with no ties : In indoor football , the following teams have had perfect seasons : At least twenty - three other semi - professional football teams have had perfect seasons , seven of them being at least 17 games long . The Chambersburg Cardinals won a record 72 straight games between 1977 and 1984 . There have been no perfect seasons ( or even perfect regular seasons ) in the American Association , World Football League , United States Football League , XFL , or , to date , the Arena Football League . The United Football League has had two perfect regular seasons , but neither qualify for the list : the 2009 Florida Tuskers finished 6 – 0 , but that team lost the subsequent championship game ; the 2012 Las Vegas Locomotives had a record of 4 – 0 when the league abruptly suspended operations halfway through the season . The 1933 Providence Huskies ( possibly a successor to the Providence Steam Roller ) played arguably the most perfect season ever recorded by a professional or semi - professional team : a ten - game season in which they won every game and did not concede a single point during any game . Canadian football . Professional . A true perfect season ( no losses and no ties through the regular season and playoffs ) has never been achieved in professional Canadian football . Only one team , the 1948 Calgary Stampeders , has completed a perfect regular season . The current CFL schedule would require a team to win 20 games ( 18 regular season , 1 playoff after bye week , and the Grey Cup championship ) to post a perfect record . 1948 Calgary Stampeders . Under head coach Les Lear , the 1948 Calgary Stampeders completed a perfect regular season with a record of 12 – 0 ; they had two wins and a tie during the playoffs to finish with a record of 14 – 0 – 1 , the only undefeated complete season in Canadian pro history . In the Western Interprovincial Football Union playoff series ( a home - and - home series decided on total points ) against the Regina Roughriders , the first leg was tied 4 – 4 , and the Stampeders won the second 21 – 10 , to win the entire series 25 – 14 . The Stampeders then defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders 12 – 7 for the 36th Grey Cup . Canadian Interuniversity Sport . 1975 University of Ottawa Gee Gees . In 1975 the number one ranked University of Ottawa Gee Gees had the first CIS undefeated season . After completing their perfect regular season at 8 - 0 , the Gees Gees won their first play - off defeating the number two ranked Toronto Varsity Blues 14 - 7 . The Gees Gees then demolished the Windsor Lancers 45 - 6 to win the Yates Cup and the right to play for the national championship and the Vanier Cup . The undefeated season was completed on November 21 , 1975 , when the Gee Gees defeated the University of Calgary Dinos 14 - 9 , at CNE Stadium in Toronto . That night the Gee Gees became the first undefeated team in CIS and Vanier Cup history . The 1975 Gees Gees roster had a big impact on the CFL . Gee Gee Players from the 1975 team played in the CFL for a cumulative total of 96 years and throughout their professional careers in the CFL accomplished : one Canadian Football Hall of Fame Inductee , one Grey Cup Canadian MVP , two Frank M . Gibson Trophies for Outstanding Rookie Eastern Division , two CFL Leo Dandurand Trophy Outstanding Lineman Eastern Division , twenty CFL and Divisional All - Star Selections , twenty - three Grey Cup Appearances and a total of twelve Grey Cup Rings . 2003 , 2005 Saskatchewan Huskies . In 2003 and 2005 , the Saskatchewan Huskies completed perfect regular seasons . However , in both years they lost in the playoffs : in the Vanier Cup to the Laurier Golden Hawks in 2005 , and in The Canada West Semi - Final To Alberta Golden Bears in 2003 . 2007 Manitoba Bisons . A perfect season was attained in 2007 by the Manitoba Bisons , the football squad representing the University of Manitoba , located in Winnipeg , Canada . The Bisons were undefeated in Canada West Universities Athletic Association play during the 8 - game schedule . In the playoffs , Manitoba comfortably handled the Calgary Dinos 27 – 5 in the opening round . The Bisons followed up with a 48 – 5 defeat of the Regina Rams in the Hardy Trophy and a strong 52 – 20 showing against the perennial contenders from the University of Western Ontario , the Western Ontario Mustangs , in the Mitchell Bowl . On Friday , November 23 , 2007 , two days before the 95th Grey Cup game in Toronto , the Bisons defeated the Saint Mary ’ s University squad , known as the Saint Mary ' s Huskies , 28 – 14 to claim their first Vanier Cup championship since 1970 , and third overall title . That victory capped their perfect 12 win season . 2010 Laval Rouge et Or . In 2010 , the Laval Rouge et Or located in Quebec City , Quebec , Canada had a perfect season of 13 – 0 . They were undefeated with an 8 – 0 record in the QUFL . During the playoffs , they beat the Bishop ’ s Gaiters 56 – 1 in the opening round . The Rouge et Or won the QUFL championship and the Dunsmore Cup by a close win of 22 – 17 against the Sherbrooke Vert et Or . They followed with a win of 13 – 11 against the Western Ontario Mustangs in the Uteck Bowl . Finally , on Saturday , November 27 , 2010 , in their home stadium in Quebec City , they won the Vanier Cup 29 – 2 against the Calgary Dinos , capping a 13 – 0 season . American collegiate sports . NCAA Football . Due to relatively short seasons through most of college football history , the list of undefeated Division I football teams includes dozens of teams . The highest level of college football , the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , does not use a play - off to determine a champion , instead relying on a combination of polls and computer rankings to choose two teams to play one title game in a system known as the Bowl Championship Series . Prior to 1992 , no attempt was made to match up the top two teams in a championship game , further increasing the chances of multiple teams achieving a perfect season . The record for most wins in an undefeated season is 14 – 0 , accomplished in 2002 by Ohio State , twice in 2009 by Boise State and Alabama , and in 2010 by Auburn . The University of Washington ’ s FBS record 63 game unbeaten streak included five consecutive perfect seasons from 1909 – 1913 . The University of Oklahoma ’ s FBS record 47 game winning streak included three consecutive perfect seasons from 1954 – 1956 .