Here's a list of NFL teams that have never won the Super Bowl: Philadelphia Eagles. Whoops! Sorry. The Eagles won Super Bowl LII! It literally happened last night. That was not a dream. And so they're no longer on the incredibly depressing list of teams that have never won the Super Bowl before.
You know who is still on that list? 12 teams! TWELVE! That's so many teams. It's more than a third of the teams in the NFL. A few of them have actually never even been to the Super Bowl. Let's walk through the remaining 12 teams that have never won, as well as their history with getting to the NFL's championship game.
Cincinnati Bengals
Ah, the Bungles. They've existed for 50 seasons and have never won the Super Bowl. They did come really close -- twice. In Super Bowl XXIII the Bengals lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 20-16. Joe Montana led a 92-yard game-winning drive that included him throwing a game-sealing touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds left. You may have seen this play a few times before in your life.
Seven years later, the Bengals lost to the 49ers in the Super Bowl yet again. It was another close loss (26-21), if not quite as heartbreaking. The Bengals have been back to the playoffs only eight times since, and they have won just one playoff game during that time.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills finally broke their 17-year playoff drought by making the postseason this year, but they obviously did not win the Super Bowl. You probably already know this, but the Bills have indeed had several chances to win the Super Bowl. Tell me if you notice anything about these Super Bowl appearances:
- Super Bowl XXV: Giants 20, Bills 19
- Super Bowl XXVI: Redskins 37, Bills 24
- Super Bowl XXVII: Cowboys, 52, Bills 17
- Super Bowl XXVIII: Cowboys 30, Bills 13
That's right. The Bills lost the Super Bowl four years in a row, each time to a team from the NFC East. Pretty incredible. (Even more incredible: They are not the only team that is 0-4 in Super Bowls. More on that later.) The Bills do have two championships, having won it all in the AFL in 1964 and 1965, just a few years before the AFL/NFL merger.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns have not only never won the Super Bowl; they have never lost the Super Bowl, either. They've not played in any of the 52 Super Bowls held by the NFL. Of course, they had extensive NFL Championship Game experience in the pre-Super Bowl era. The Browns actually won eight NFL titles between 1946 and 1965, and they lost in the championship game five times during that span as well.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals franchise has existed in some form or another since 1920. They've played in Chicago, St. Louis, and Arizona. And they have never won the Super Bowl. They won two championship games and lost one in the pre-Super Bowl era, but since 1970, they've only made the playoffs eight times. They've made one appearance in the Super Bowl, losing an absolute heartbreaker to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-23, on Feb. 1, 2009.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers have existed for only two years (1960 and 2017), but the Chargers also played in San Diego from 1961 through 2016. Like the Browns and Cardinals, the Chargers do have an NFL championship on their ledger. Way back in 1963, they defeated the Boston Patriots 51-10. They also lost the NFL title game in 1960, 1961, 1964, and 1965. The Chargers have made only one appearance in the Super Bowl, getting blown off the field by Steve Young and the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX, 49-26.
Atlanta Falcons
Ah, man. The Falcons. It's been over a year since Super Bowl LI now, so we're going to go ahead and bring up the 28-3 lead against the Patriots again. You might want to turn away and not watch this video, Falcons fans.
Eighteen years earlier, the Falcons lost Super Bowl XXXIII in far less heartbreaking fashion, falling to the Denver Broncos by a score of 34-19. From the Falcons' point of view, that game is remembered far more for what happened the night before than what happened during the actual contest.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have never won or lost the Super Bowl. And according to an all-knowing demon that may or may not eventually negotiate his way into the Good Place, they will never win the Super Bowl. Sorry, Jason Mendoza.
Detroit Lions
The Lions also have never won or lost the Super Bowl. Because they've been around since 1930, however, they have won several championships. They've actually fared quite well in championship games, having won it all in 1935, 1952, 1953, and 1957, while losing only once, in 1954. The closest they've gotten to Super Bowl Sunday is an NFC Championship game loss to Washington back in 1992. Washington would go on to defeat the Bills in the Super Bowl.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers entered the NFL the same year as the Jaguars and also have never won a Super Bowl. Unlike the Jags, the Panthers have actually had a couple shots to win. Carolina lost to Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII, as Adam Vinatieri nailed a game-winning field goal with four seconds left to give the Pats their second title of the Brady-Belichick era.
Jake Delhomme passed for 323 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn't enough. He was never the same after that, and it took the Panthers 13 years to get back to the Super Bowl -- this time with Cam Newton under center. A relentless Broncos defense held the league's highest-scoring offense to just 10 points, and the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 in what would be the final game of Peyton Manning's career.
Houston Texans
The Texans have never been to the Super Bowl. They've never been to the AFC title game, actually. They've also existed only since 2002. Let's give 'em some time, folks.
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans were once the Tennessee Oilers, who were once the Houston Oilers. The Houston Oilers won the NFL championship in 1960 and 1961, and they lost the title game in 1962. The franchise, whether in Houston or Tennessee, named Oilers or Titans, has not won a ring since.
They've been back to the big game once, losing Super Bowl XXXIV to the Greatest Show on Turf Rams. They came agonizingly close to a win, as Titans receiver Kevin Dyson was tackled one-yard short of the goal line by Mike Jones on the game's final play.
Minnesota Vikings
Remember how we mentioned earlier that there was another team that is 0-4 in Super Bowls? That's these guys. They didn't lose four in a row like the Bills, but the Vikes did come up short all four times they made it to Super Bowl Sunday:
- Super Bowl IV: Chiefs 23, Vikings 7
- Super Bowl VIII: Dolphins 24, Vikings 7
- Super Bowl IX: Steelers 16, Vikings 6
- Super Bowl XI: Raiders 32, Vikings 14
The Vikes have lost by double digits in each of their four Super Bowl appearances, and they have not been back to the game since 1977. They're an incredible 0-6 in conference championship games since that point, losing in 1978, 1988, 1999, 2001, 2010 and 2018.
