NFL
Which NFL Teams Have Never Made A Super Bowl Appearance?

Twelve NFL teams have never won the Super Bowl, and four franchises have never even played in the big game. Those teams without a Super Bowl victory include the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, and Tennessee Titans.
Four NFL Teams Have Never Made A Super Bowl Appearance
Out of the 32 NFL franchises, 20 different teams have won the Super Bowl, and eight others have played in the big game but never won the championship. That leaves four franchises that have yet to make their first trip to the Super Bowl.
The Green Bay Packers have the most NFL championships with 13. The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl wins at six apiece.
Only two of those 12 teams have appeared in four Super Bowls: the Bills and Vikings. From the non-Super Bowl winners list, the Falcons, Panthers, and Bengals each have two Super Bowl appearances.
The Cardinals, Chargers, and Titans have all appeared in one Super Bowl as well. However, can you guess which four teams have never even played in the big game?
4.) Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are the youngest NFL franchise, joining the league in 2002. The Texans have not reached the Super Bowl in their 22 seasons, falling to the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 AFC divisional round after beating the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round.
It was the fifth time in the Texans’ seven postseason appearances that they won one playoff game before losing in the divisional round. The other four times were: 2011, 2012, 2016, and 2019. At least Houston fans haven’t had to sit through over 50 years of watching their team choke and never make a Super Bowl appearance.
3.) Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first season was in 1995, and the franchise has not reached the Super Bowl in its 29 seasons in the NFL. The Jaguars have had eight postseason appearances in 29 years and reached the conference championship game after the 1996, 1999, and 2017 seasons, falling to the New England Patriots in 1996 and 2017 and Tennessee Titans in 1999.
Jacksonville has won a division title four times — two as part of the AFC Central Division (1998 and 1999) and two as part of the AFC South (2017 and 2022). The Jags have had 10 winning seasons and 18 losing seasons. While their history is disappointing, the Jags are still not the greatest embarrassment. Two other NFL teams have had it much worse.
2.) Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions won four NFL championship games in 1935, 1952, 1953, and 1957, but they have yet to reach the Super Bowl since it was created in 1966. The Lions have reached the playoffs just 13 times since their last championship.
Since defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Playoff Bowl in the 1962 season, the Lions have lost 14 times in the postseason and won just three playoff games — two of those victories came in the 2023 season.
Detroit snapped a 31-season drought without a playoff victory by beating the Los Angeles Rams in the 2023 wild-card round and followed that up by defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round.
However, the Lions went on to lose 34-31 to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game. This means Detroit has the second-longest NFL championship drought behind the Arizona Cardinals.
The Lions lost an NFL-record nine consecutive playoff games from 1991 to 2023. In the 2008 season, Detroit made history by becoming the first team since the schedule was expanded to 16 games to finish winless.
Detroit finished 0-16 and joined the expansion 1976 Buccaneers as only the second team since the AFL-NFL merger to finish a full-length season winless.
1.) Cleveland Browns
The Browns won four championships in the All-America Football Conference in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949. They also won four NFL championships in 1950, 1954, 1955, and 1964.
Despite winning multiple championships decades ago, Cleveland still hasn’t reached the Super Bowl since its inception in 1966. In 2017, the Browns became the second team in NFL history (2008 Detroit Lions) to go 0-16.
The Browns advanced as far as the conference championship games in 1968, 1969, 1986, 1987, and 1989. The latter three trips ended in heartbreaking defeats to John Elway and the Denver Broncos.
Their 1986 AFC Championship Game loss featured “The Drive,” when Elway, in a span of five minutes and two seconds, led his team 98 yards in 15 plays to tie the game with 37 seconds left in regulation. Denver won the game in overtime by making a 33-yard field goal, pulling off a 23-20 comeback win over the Browns.
Cleveland’s 1987 AFC Championship Game appearance also had “The Fumble” play. Late in the fourth quarter, Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille managed to knock the football out of Browns halfback Earnest Byner’s hands at the three-yard line. Castille recovered the fumble at the three-yard line to help Denver secure the win.
The Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens after the 1995 season, but they returned in 1999. They’ve only been to the playoffs three times since coming back, most recently falling short against the Houston Texans in the 2023 wild-card round.
In 2020, the Browns won their first playoff game since their reactivation in 1999, defeating the division champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round.