If the Steelers win the SB this year then its a tie I am afraid,despite more wins you have to go by the SB titles as the overall evaluation.
The writers are saying there is more to evaluating best teams of the decade than just Super Bowl wins; that is why the Eagles rank higher than three Super Bowl winners.
And while both teams would have three wins in that circumstance, the Patriots would have more conference championships.
If the Steelers were to win the Super Bowl next year, here is how the two teams would match up in the criteria used in this article.
Record: Patriots would still be ahead of the Steelers unless they finish eight games ahead of the Pats in 2009. Currently the Pats are 102-42 and the Steelers are 94-49-1.
Playoff Appearances: Both teams currently have six; the Pats would need to miss the playoffs completely for this to be a factor.
Playoff Record: It would take the Steelers going 4-0 and the Pats going 0-1 for Pittsburgh to catch up. Currently the Pats lead 14-3 vs 10-4.
Conference Championships: Unless Pittsburgh (2-2) beats the Pats (3-1) in the AFCCG, the Pats would still lead this category. And if that were to happen, then the Pats would take the Playoff Record (above) category.
Super Bowls: Best Pittsburgh can do is match the number of wins. While they would have a better winning percentage, they would also have less appearances.
Losing Seasons: Both teams have one; it is highly unlikely that the Pats will fail to win more than seven games this year.
Other: Pats go 16-0 in 2007.
Bottom line is that it would take the Steelers going 19-0 while the Pats finish 7-9 or worse for the crown to clearly go to Pittsburgh. A Super Bowl victory for the Steelers will stir the debate, but I feel the Pats would still have a slight edge if they simply make the playoffs this year, regardless of what else happens.