In just over a week, the Super Bowl will celebrate its 60th anniversary in Santa Clara, Calif. Of the 32 NFL teams, only 12 haven’t experienced the exhilaration of winning it all.
Surveying the league, the wealth has been hoarded by seven teams. The Patriots (6), Cowboys (5), 49ers (5), Steelers (6), Giants (4), Packers (4) and Chiefs (4) have won 34 of the 59 championships in the Super Bowl era, or 57.6%. Conversely, of the dozen who have never won a Super Bowl, only the Browns, Texans, Lions and Jaguars have never graced the field on Super Bowl Sunday.
With the big game looming, we dug into why each of the dozen ringless teams is still without its first Super Bowl banner, and whether it’s a case of long-term ineptitude or merely some bad luck.
We start with the Cardinals, who, unfortunately for the team and its fans, fall into the former category.
Arizona Cardinals
For a franchise that’s been around since the NFL’s founding in 1920, there haven’t been a ton of close calls for the Cardinals.
Whether they’ve been in Chicago, St. Louis or Arizona, the Cardinals have primarily been an also-ran, with a winning percentage of .421 and only 11 playoff appearances and seven postseason wins. The Cardinals won a controversial championship in 1925, which is also claimed by the Pottsville Maroons, who believe they won the league title (the NFL didn’t play a title game until ’33).
Since then, the Cardinals won a title in 1947 and reached Super Bowl XLIII in 2008, losing in the final seconds to Ben Roethlisberger, Santonio Holmes and the Steelers.
Atlanta Falcons
An expansion team in 1966, the Falcons didn’t make the playoffs until ’78. They finally reached the Super Bowl in ’98 after beating the 15–1 Vikings, but lost 34–19 to John Elway and the Broncos.
In 2016, Atlanta reached Super Sunday once again and, infamously, took a 28–3 lead but lost 34–28 in overtime to the Patriots. The Falcons haven’t been close to winning it all in any other season, reaching the NFC title game on only two other occasions.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills have a pair of titles to their name, but both came before the merger. Buffalo won the 1964 and ’65 American Football League championships, beating the Chargers in both title games.
Of course, the Bills went to four consecutive Super Bowls from 1990 to ’93, the only team to make four consecutive appearances in the big game. Unfortunately for Buffalo, it lost to the Cowboys twice, along with the Giants and Washington. The Bills advanced to the AFC championship game in 2020 and ’24, losing to the Chiefs on both occasions.
The Bills are eager to deliver a Super Bowl to Buffalo during the Josh Allen era. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Carolina Panthers
An expansion team in 1995, the Panthers immediately charged to the NFC championship game in ’96, where they lost to the Packers at Lambeau Field. In 2003, Carolina reached its first Super Bowl, losing 32–29 to the Patriots on a last-second field goal by Adam Vinatieri.
The Panthers had their best season in 2015. They began 14–0 before finishing with 15 wins. In the postseason, they handled the Seahawks and Cardinals to enter Super Bowl 50 as favorites over the Broncos. However, MVP Cam Newton and Carolina lost 24–10 and haven’t been back since.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have been close to glory multiple times, only to be turned away at the last moment. In the 1980s, Cincinnati had a pair of very similar seasons. In ’81, quarterback Ken Anderson won the MVP award but the Bengals fell short, losing to Joe Montana and the 49ers. In ’88, quarterback Boomer Esiason won the MVP award, but the Bengals lost to Montana and the Niners in the Super Bowl once again.
After 30 years of playoff abyss, Cincinnati made another run to the Super Bowl, this time in the 2021 season. Behind Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the Bengals reached Super Bowl LVI but lost to the Rams at SoFi Stadium.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns came into existence as a member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946 and won all four of that league’s titles before moving to the NFL in ’50. Cleveland then emphatically proved itself, advancing to six consecutive NFL title games and winning three to start the decade.
However, after winning another championship in 1964, the Browns have primarily disappointed. In the 1980s, Cleveland reached the AFC title game three times and lost each time to the Broncos. Since the ’89 season, the Browns have not won a division title or advanced past the divisional round.
Detroit Lions
Much like the Browns, the Lions were a powerhouse in the 1950s. They won three championships on staunch defense and the Hall of Fame talents of quarterback Bobby Layne, earning titles in 1952, ’53 and ’57. Since, however, it’s been ugly.
The Lions went from 1957 to the ’91 campaign without a playoff victory and then endured another 32-year drought before their next. Detroit has been close recently, but lost a 24–7 lead in the NFC championship game to the 49ers in the 2023 season, keeping the Lions as the only NFC team without a Super Bowl appearance.
Houston Texans
Joining the league as an expansion team in 2002, the Texans don’t have the long-term history of the other teams on this list. However, Houston has played 24 NFL seasons, and even for a young team, its lack of success is somewhat surprising.
The Texans have made the postseason nine times but have never reached the AFC title game. They’ve come close in recent years, advancing to the divisional round in four of the past seven seasons, including each of the past three. Houston is the only team to never play on championship Sunday.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Like the Panthers, the Jaguars entered the league in 1995. And, like Carolina, Jacksonville went to its conference title game in ’96, losing to the Patriots at old Foxboro Stadium. Three years later, the Jaguars returned to that stage as a 14–2 juggernaut, but lost to the Titans, the only team to beat them all season.
Since the 1999 campaign, Jacksonville has only returned to the AFC title game once (2018), doing so in Cinderella fashion with a great defense and Blake Bortles leading the offense. Unfortunately for Jags fans, they lost 24–20 to New England, thwarting their latest Super Bowl bid.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers won an AFL championship in 1963 behind a high-powered offense that included Hall of Fame receiver Lance Alworth, quarterback John Hadl and running back Paul Lowe. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, they have reached the AFC title game four times, winning only once.
Their lone AFC championship came in 1994, when quarterback Stan Humphries and Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau led the Chargers past the Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium. However, San Diego then ran into a loaded 49ers team, creating one of the biggest mismatches in Super Bowl history. The Chargers were 18-point underdogs and lost 49–26, with San Francisco quarterback Steve Young throwing six touchdowns in an MVP performance.
Minnesota Vikings
No team has been more tortured over the years than the Vikings. Coming into the NFL in 1961, Minnesota emerged as a powerhouse in ’69, reaching the first of its four Super Bowls over seven years.
That first year, the Vikings lost as a 12-point favorite in Super Bowl IV to the AFL-champion Chiefs, and then fell to the Dolphins, Steelers and Raiders in the 1973, ’74 and ’76 seasons. In ’87, Minnesota had a magical run as an 8–7 team to the NFC title game but lost, and then fell in the same round 11 years later, but that time as a 15–1 squad and the overwhelming favorite. Since then, the Vikings have lost three NFC title games and have never returned to the Super Bowl.
Tennessee Titans
Originally known as the Houston Oilers in the AFL, they won the first two league titles in 1960 and ’61 over the Chargers. Once in the NFL, Houston reached the AFC title game in 1978 and ’79, but both times fell to the eventual-champion Steelers.
In 1999, the relocated Titans finally reached the Super Bowl but fell to the Greatest Show on Turf, losing 23–16 to the Rams when receiver Kevin Dyson was tackled at the 1-yard line when time ran out. Tennessee also reached the AFC championship game in 2019 but lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
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