Not sure what you mean by stay successful. Patriots had a great run but now headed downhill. I guess the Steelers but not always a Super Bowl contender. What other franchises have been continually successful over the past 25 years? Can’t think of any in the NFC. They all have down years. Getting a QB is important but SF shows you can build a good team without a star there.
Still AFC, but the Broncos and Ravens have generally had a really good run since the late 80s (if you count the Cleveland years for Baltimore). Funny how that time period ties both franchises together with those era-defining playoff battles.
Of course, the Broncos are finally having a crappy period after a very long history of success. The Steelers grab more headlines, but the Broncos are really similar in that a switch flipped for them in the 70s and they had a lot of prosperity from that point until Peyton's retirement.
The Ravens have the occasional down year, and the early relocation years were a rough patch for them, but the past 25 years have generally been very kind to them.
Only NFC team that might be worthy of being added to the discussion (along with the Packers and Eagles) is the Seahawks. 1999 was an inflection point for them just as much as it was for the Ravens, also thanks to a coaching hire. In the Seahawks' case, it was Mike Holmgren. That started a pretty good era for them; then they waste a year on Jim Moron Jr. only to bring in Pete in 2010 and the rest is history.
