The New England Patriots are one win away from becoming the greatest dynasty in NFL history.

How's that for getting to the point?

Better than the Packers of the 1960s, the Steelers of the '70s, the 49ers of the '80s and the Cowboys of the '90s.

You read it right.

Better than the Super Steelers.

Sorry.

A lot of people will rush to label the Patriots the best team of all time if they beat the New York Football Giants in Super Bowl XLII and finish 19-0, but it's hard to go there. The reason has nothing to do with the Patriots' overblown Spygate scandal early in the season and everything to do with the fact that it's impossible to compare individual teams from different eras. Yes, the Patriots are bigger, stronger, faster and better than the players from 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago. No clear-thinking person will argue that quarterback Tom Brady throwing to wide receiver Randy Moss next Sunday is not a more dangerous pass-catch combination than Green Bay's Bart Starr throwing to hung-over Max McGee in Super Bowl I. But that doesn't necessarily mean the Patriots are a better team in their era than the Packers were in theirs. Certainly, the Patriots aren't a better team than any of those great Steelers teams. They might not even be better than the ultimate one-year wonder, the 1985 Bears. Neither might the 1972 Dolphins, who went 17-0, for that matter.

But if the Patriots do finish a perfect season by beating the Giants, their dynastic run will be the most significant in NFL history. That would make four championships in seven years, not as good statistically as the Steelers' four-in-six run, but more impressive because of the circumstances of the two eras. It's much harder to win multiple championships in today's NFL.

The Steelers' dynasty -- like those in Green Bay, San Francisco and Dallas -- was built before free agency and the salary cap. Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll knew exactly the kind of players he wanted. Personnel wizard Art Rooney Jr. and his staff did a marvelous job finding them. Once in place, the Steelers were able to keep those great players together for their entire careers. An astonishing nine made it to the Hall of Fame. There never has been a better collection of talent in the NFL, probably never will be.

The Patriots' dynasty is much different. Coach Bill Belichick and Brady are among the few key constants over the seven-year period. This is a franchise that has kept winning despite having to replace integral parts every year. It's not as if the Patriots' team this season is loaded with future Hall of Famers. How many would you say there are? Three, maybe? Brady, Moss and linebacker Junior Seau, who spent the best days of his career with the San Diego Chargers?

Brady, obviously, is the key. He will take a 14-2 postseason record into the Super Bowl and is nothing less than the greatest quarterback of all time, all due respect to Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana and the other 29 quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame. What makes Brady's success -- and his teams' success -- so amazing is that the Patriots have had three different leading rushers and five different leading receivers during their run. Until Moss joined them before this season, the Patriots' wide receivers were good, but not great. It's not as if Brady has been throwing to Lynn Swann and John Stallworth for seven years.

No matter how passionate you are about protecting the Super Steelers' legacy, you have to give the Patriots credit for a wondrous achievement.

You are awfully narrow-minded if you won't.

Of course, the Patriots still must win one more game to be anointed as the NFL's greatest dynasty. There's a chance the Giants will beat them. Maybe it's only a 1 percent chance, but it's a chance nonetheless.

If the Giants do pull off the greatest upset in Super Bowl history since Joe Willie Namath's Jets beat the Colts in Super Bowl III, the final words to this discourse will belong to the one and only Emily Litella, who frequently and famously said on the great "Saturday Night Live" television shows:

"Never mind."