"Frankly, I think you could argue a team like Steelers, Cowboys, or Niners would have a better team than the Patriots anyway."
You sure about that?
Yep. Pretty confident in that statement.
Test it, then. Choose one and compare it to the Pats.
Start with the Steelers. You take the 70's Steel Curtain defense and then you add guys like Troy Polamalu, Jack Butler, Rod Woodson, James Harrison, Joey Porter, Cameron Heyward, Kevin Greene, etc.
Offensively you have 2 HOF QB's leading the way with Bradshaw and Roethlisberger (6 Super Bowl wins between them). Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis, and Le'Veon Bell at RB. Antonio Brown, Hines Ward, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth at WR with Heath Miller at TE (the one real weak spot). As for the line, plenty of All Pros to choose from including some current players like Pouncey and DeCastro, and some more recent guys like Faneca, Dawson, Webster (though tackle is a bit weak, the line is very good overall).
The Patriots might very well be favored against that team, but it would be far from a given, especially when you consider that defense. The Steelers could put together a defense that is superior to the Patriots defense, and it isn't all that close, though the Pats offense would likely have the edge.
The Niners and Cowboys would have offenses on par or better, and would be close defensively.
Heck, I posted about the Ravens in this thread. Clearly the Ravens in their 20 years of existence would fall way short offensively, but they could put together such a suffocating defense and Flacco obviously has no fear in NE, such that if you gave him Jamal Lewis, Priest Holmes, Ray Rice, and Shannon Sharpe offensively, I'm not sure I'd count them out either. I mean imagine that 2000 Ravens defense, but add Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, and Ed Reed to it. Take the Chris McAlister from a few years later and the Rod Woodson from a couple of season earlier. Put Ray Lewis at his peak. The thought of trying to score on that team has got to be scary.