Which NFL Team Has Won the Most Championships?

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Which NFL team has won the most championships?

It depends on who you ask -- as this question has both an official and an unofficial answer -- and the debate over which is more valid got a little more interesting as the Green Bay Packers bested the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV this past Sunday (Feb. 6).

Folks in Green Bay, Wisc., might argue that there is a very good reason that their hometown is nicknamed “Titletown, USA.” The city’s beloved football team , the Green Bay Packers, is listed in the NFL record books as having won more championships than any other team in NFL history.

The Packers have been crowned league champions thirteen times in the franchise’s 91-year history, with a comfortable lead over the second-place Chicago Bears, who have earned nine NFL titles.

The Packers dominated the league’s formative years, when the league championship was determined by their record only. The Packers earned three titles this way, topping the standings in 1929, 1930 and 1931.

In 1933, the NFL split the league into two conferences and instituted a single playoff championship game to pit the best team from each conference against each other. The Packers won six titles under this format — in 1936, '39, '44, '61, '62 and '65.

The league introduced the Super Bowl in 1966, and legendary coach Vince Lombardi guided the Packers to victory in that year and in 1967. Lombardi’s retirement after the 1967 season signaled the end of the Packers’ golden era. The team would make the playoffs only five times in the next 28 years. But in 1996, under head coach Mike Holmgren (and with quarterback Brett Favre and defensive end Reggie White), the Packers finally returned to prominence. They defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI to capture their first NFL championship in 29 years, and then topped the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV to bring the Packers' championship total to 13.

Now, if you were to ask people in Pittsburgh which team has won the most NFL titles, they might argue that Super Bowl rings are all that matter. And when it comes to Super Bowl titles , the Steelers are second to none — with a record six Lombardi Trophies lining the trophy cases in Pittsburgh (the six Super Bowl wins are the Steelers' only championships).

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