Two championships built on the least valuable rosters ever to win one.
George S. has won in 2012 and 2015 and both ledgers are negative. Minus 254 off the draft and minus 297 by every other route, and no other franchise with more than one title is underwater on both. The 2012 title was led by a running back and the 2015 one by a defense, which is to say there is no method here to describe.
He has made one trade in nineteen years. It was August 2023 and it bought Wayne A. a championship: the first overall pick went out for four players who produced minus 33 between them, and the pick became Bijan Robinson, who started for three consecutive title teams. The most trade-averse manager in the league made exactly one move and it started somebody else's three-peat.
The holding is long and mostly flat. Mike Evans started 142 games across twelve seasons for plus 235, and Frank Gore started 110 across eleven for plus 11, which is eleven years of a roster spot for nothing. Nine top-four finishes and two last places, 2019 and 2022, and the two titles sit in the middle of a career that has otherwise been steady and unremarkable.
Nothing about this franchise predicts either championship, and that is the honest description of it. Both arrived from mid-table seasons, neither was followed by another good year, and the roster that won them was worth less than the roster of every team it beat.
All six positions, in detail. The callout above is the glance.
| Pos | Player | Here | Starts | Titles together | Franchise PAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Tom Brady | 2007–2022 | 118 | 1 | +202 |
| RB | Marshawn Lynch | 2011–2015 | 53 | 2 | +160 |
| WR | Mike Evans | 2014–2025 | 142 | 1 | +235 |
| TE | Jordan Reed | 2013–2017 | 31 | 1 | +42 |
| K | Justin Tucker | 2014–2023 | 27 | — | +23 |
| DEF | Cardinals | 2015–2016 | 21 | 1 | +63 |
| Kept | ||
|---|---|---|
| Claimed off the wire | ||
| Traded for |
Five places. Who, when, and compared to whom.
Two titles and no pattern: a running back led one and a defense the other.
Every man who started a game in a championship season, in lineup order. Two titles, two drawers.
| Player | Pos | Starts | Points | PAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | QB | 15 | 375 | 33 | |
| Andrew Luck | QB | 1 | 30 | 9 | |
| Marshawn Lynch | RB | 13 | 218 | 66 | |
| Frank Gore | RB | 12 | 147 | 13 | |
| Maurice Jones-Drew | RB | 4 | 47 | 3 | |
| Ronnie Hillman | RB | 1 | 6 | -5 | |
| Fred Jackson | RB | 2 | 5 | -21 | |
| Demaryius Thomas | WR | 15 | 186 | 42 | |
| Wes Welker | WR | 15 | 157 | 14 | |
| Andrew Hawkins | WR | 2 | 16 | -2.8 | |
| James Jones | WR | 11 | 103 | -3.1 | |
| Jeremy Maclin | WR | 3 | 19 | -10 | |
| Ryan Broyles | WR | 2 | 1 | -16 | |
| Dennis Pitta | TE | 7 | 50 | 5 | |
| Jacob Tamme | TE | 1 | 2 | -1 | |
| Dustin Keller | TE | 4 | 25 | -6.9 | |
| Jared Cook | TE | 4 | 18 | -13 | |
| Shayne Graham | K | 2 | 19 | 1 | |
| Garrett Hartley | K | 5 | 40 | -4 | |
| Alex Henery | K | 5 | 38 | -6.7 | |
| Connor Barth | K | 4 | 26 | -7.0 | |
| Cleveland Browns | DEF | 3 | 21 | 2.2 | |
| Buffalo Bills | DEF | 4 | 28 | 1.8 | |
| New York Giants | DEF | 1 | 5 | -1.8 | |
| Baltimore Ravens | DEF | 7 | 48 | -2.2 | |
| Washington Redskins | DEF | 1 | 0 | -7.0 |
| Player | Pos | Starts | Points | PAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Cousins | QB | 4 | 119 | 34 | |
| Andrew Luck | QB | 7 | 163 | 7 | |
| Alex Smith | QB | 1 | 15 | -5.6 | |
| Jameis Winston | QB | 4 | 75 | -15 | |
| Isaiah Crowell | RB | 1 | 15 | 3 | |
| Denard Robinson | RB | 2 | 14 | -6.5 | |
| Charles Sims | RB | 1 | 3 | -7.0 | |
| Marshawn Lynch | RB | 7 | 59 | -10 | |
| Frank Gore | RB | 14 | 133 | -12.6 | |
| T.J. Yeldon | RB | 9 | 85 | -12.8 | |
| Sammy Watkins | WR | 4 | 57 | 19 | |
| Jarvis Landry | WR | 14 | 148 | 16 | |
| Michael Crabtree | WR | 10 | 97 | 8 | |
| Demaryius Thomas | WR | 13 | 123 | 0.2 | |
| Rueben Randle | WR | 2 | 9 | -10 | |
| Davante Adams | WR | 4 | 21 | -12 | |
| Mike Evans | WR | 12 | 99 | -14 | |
| Jordan Reed | TE | 8 | 87 | 36 | |
| Delanie Walker | TE | 7 | 56 | -2.4 | |
| Jared Cook | TE | 1 | 1 | -6.6 | |
| Jordan Cameron | TE | 3 | 16 | -11 | |
| Stephen Hauschka | K | 10 | 96 | 13 | |
| Blair Walsh | K | 6 | 51 | 6 | |
| Cardinals | DEF | 14 | 204 | 58 | |
| Bengals | DEF | 2 | 16 | -1.6 |