What NFL team has never won the Super Bowl? You might be surprised to learn there is much more than just one team that has yet to win the big game. How many teams have not won a Super Bowl? Twelve.
After winning their third Super Bowl in team history in February of 2023, the Kansas City Chiefs are one of 20 franchises that have won the big game. With LVII being their third victory, the Chiefs are just one of 15 franchises to have won a Super Bowl more than once.
But which NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl? We look at them here, with each team ready to start from scratch as the 2023-24 season nears.
NFL teams that have never won a Super Bowl
Arizona Cardinals
In the offseason prior to the 2021 season, the Arizona Cardinals went all in, acquiring star power at seemingly every turn. Adding players such as Rodney Hudson, A.J. Green, and J.J. Watt seemed like moves only possible in a video game.
But injuries ultimately got in the way. That could be the same story in 2023 as Kyler Murray works to recover from a torn ACL.
A franchise that has moved from St. Louis and Phoenix, the only time the Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl was in 2008 with Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald. While it was a close game against Pittsburgh, it wasn’t enough to get the Cards their first Super Bowl victory.
The hope is that Murray can be the one to lead them to the promised land. As part of the current dual-threat quarterback takeover, Murray may be one of the toughest football players to consistently game plan for.
Depending on how well Murray performs after recovering from ACL surgery, Arizona may bounce back in a big way but don’t expect it in 2023. Instead, let’s target the 2024 season for Arizona’s big surge.
Carolina Panthers
What NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl? Though they’ve only been around since 1995, the Carolina Panthers are in that group.
While the Panthers are 0-2 all-time in Super Bowl appearances, current team owner David Tepper isn’t afraid to do things differently. We wouldn’t expect this team to stay out of postseason contention for too long.
The last time Carolina reached the Super Bowl was after drafting Cam Newton. Maybe another superstar QB will be needed to bring this franchise back to the promised land. Is Bryce Young the solution?
After realizing Matt Rhule wasn’t the coach to get it done, along with Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, this roster needs Young to be their savior. We’re at least a couple of years away from the Panthers reaching the Super Bowl, but maybe Frank Reich can inspire a quick turnaround with Young taking command of the offense. It just won’t happen in Year One.
Atlanta Falcons
After appearing like they’d win their first Super Bowl after leading 28-3 in 2016, we all know what happened next. Tom Brady led one of the greatest comebacks of all time for his former Patriots squad, and the Atlanta Falcons are still searching for their first Lombardi Trophy as a franchise.
Super Bowl LI was the start of Mike Smith’s demise with the Falcons. Now replaced by coach Arthur Smith as he prepares for a third season, they have a lot of work to do to make this roster a contender.
Sending out Matt Ryan signaled a rebuilding effort was underway. To no surprise, Marcus Mariota didn’t suddenly lead them to a Super Bowl, and Desmond Ridder‘s rookie season didn’t get underway until the final stretch, losing out on valuable experience. Bijan Robinson’s arrival adds yet another elite offensive weapon, but QB remains a big question mark. Without an above-average solution under center, the Falcons aren’t headed anywhere.
Tennessee Titans
For many fans of football, it will be hard to ever forget the time the Tennessee Titans made it to the Super Bowl, losing in the final seconds after being one yard shy of scoring the tying touchdown against the then-St. Louis Rams. What a game.
After coming so close, it seemed the Titans may be able to simply make a few adjustments to get back to the Super Bowl, though that was easier said than done. Ever since 1999, they have yet to make another appearance. Even when they were the Houston Oilers, this franchise remains among those teams that never won a Super Bowl.
The Titans have enjoyed some recent success, reaching the playoffs four out of the past six seasons, but now a new general manager takes over, which could either be a blessing in disguise or part of a bigger rebuilding effort. For now, as a team led by Derrick Henry, maybe they can run it back in 2023 with the hopes of getting further than the Divisional Round after Ryan Tannehill‘s season-ending injury destroyed their chances in 2022.
The Titans will have to hope Will Levis develops into an above-average QB if they want to take home a Lombardi Trophy any time soon. But they’re still closer than many.
Los Angeles Chargers
Since being drafted in 2020, Justin Herbert has proven to be a superstar in L.A., but they still need to figure out how to get deeper in the playoffs. In the NFL, having a top-notch quarterback is one of the best ways to reach the Super Bowl, so it seems it’s only a matter of time.
For a Chargers franchise that has changed locations to Los Angeles, the only time they made it to the Super Bowl was back in 1994 when they were still in San Diego, led by a strong defense. Before that season, the Chargers were seen as a longshot to qualify for postseason play. Ultimately, they were blown out by the 49ers.
The Chargers certainly boasted the talent in 2021 to compete for a Super Bowl. But a bad run defense and some costly decisions by first-year coach Brandon Staley eliminated them from playoff contention on the final play of the regular season. While they didn’t drastically improve in 2022, despite spending plenty in free agency to try shoring up the D, the Bolts again showed their defense wasn’t quite ready to hang in the postseason. Yet with Herbert, the Chargers’ future is as bright as ever.
Related: 2023 NFL Power Rankings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are one of two NFL franchises to get to the Super Bowl four different times without winning any of them. As their fans know all too well, their postseason history is dreadful.
Despite having some historically great teams over the years with the Purple People Eaters, and in 1998, with what some used to say was one of the greatest scoring attacks of all time, the Vikings have never won a Super Bowl.
Some diehards will tell you the Vikings have gotten screwed a few times. Maybe you buy into the theories that the Giants stole signals leading to a 41-0 shutout in the 2000 NFC Championship game despite Minnesota having the fifth-best offense in the NFL. Curiously, there hasn’t been a shutout or a bigger margin of victory in a conference championship or Super Bowl since.
Or maybe when the Saints had bounties out to injure Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC Championship Game, which led to several rule changes and suspensions. While the Vikings aren’t the only team to deal with some less-than-favorable situations, it’s helped contribute to their many playoff mishaps through the years.
Minnesota’s misfortunes have kept them away from the big dance since 1976, which is the longest Super Bowl drought of any team to make an appearance without winning.
A new approach led by Kevin O’Connell and a rejuvenated roster led to better results in 2022. They had a potent offense despite a leaky defense flush with talent, giving them just enough of a chance. But, as mentioned, the defense was far too inconsistent to give Vikings fans much hope. Until they can reshape the talent on the defensive side of the ball, it’s hard to view the Vikings as serious Super Bowl contenders. Yet, their offense remains one of the best in the league.
Related: Ranking all 32 starting quarterbacks, every week
Cincinnati Bengals
Established in 1968, some may wonder, have the Cincinnati Bengals won a Super Bowl? After reaching the big game in 1981 and 1988, the Bengals lost to the San Francisco 49ers both times.
Now, with Joe Burrow, the Bengals finally have the franchise quarterback needed to bring them back. He leads an offense that’s among the very best in the NFL, thanks to Ja’Marr Chase being nearly impossible to slow down.
Burrow helped end this franchise’s 31-year drought without a playoff victory in just his second season, leading the Bengals to its first AFC Championship game in decades. While the Bengals made it back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 34 years, they couldn’t quite topple the Los Angeles Rams in an exciting battle to the end.
Now that this roster realizes its potential, teams found them tough to slow down in 2022, where Burrow led them right back to the doorstep of the Super Bowl, only to lose to Patrick Mahomes for the first time in his career. With the Bengals’ best pieces still not reaching their ceiling, it could mean another Super Bowl run in the near future. But they’ll have to improve in a hurry after a rough start.
Buffalo Bills
Have the Buffalo Bills ever won a Super Bowl? No, but they are one of the teams who have had several chances. In fact, the Bills are 0-4 all-time in Super Bowl appearances.
While it’s incredible for them to have even made it that far on four separate occasions, history really only remembers the winners.
The silver lining for members of the Bills Mafia is that Josh Allen has the team positioned to be a contender for a long time. We thought Patrick Mahomes was the dragon Buffalo needed to find a way to slay, but now Joe Burrow’s Bengals have tossed their hat into the ring, eliminating the Bills from the postseason in 2023.
Sadly, the Bills still haven’t slain either dragon.
The Chiefs and Bengals may be the biggest roadblocks standing in the way of the Bills playing in a Super Bowl. Von Miller was brought in to be the closer, who would hopefully come up with a key sack in clutch situations, but an ACL tear put an end to such dreams in 2023. Even still, the Bills have as good of a chance as any team to win their first-ever Super Bowl going forward, but they’ll once again have to try and overcome a series of serious injuries.
Which teams have never made it to the Super Bowl?
While there are some franchises that have never won a ring, there are even some NFL teams that have never been to the Super Bowl. Here are the teams who have yet to make a Super Bowl appearance.
Houston Texans
The Dallas Cowboys have won five Super Bowls. So how many Super Bowls have the Houston Texans won from the same state?
Well, it’s not that simple. The Cowboys have been around since 1960, whereas the Texans are the league’s newest franchise after being established in 2002. Thus, the Texans have never won a Super Bowl.
Related: NFL offense rankings
Incredibly, the Texans won six AFC South Championships from 2011-19. But those were the only seasons they ever made the playoffs.
After a complete overhaul, the Texans could be coming closer to emerging from their tumultuous times as a franchise without any Super Bowl appearances. Having a treasure chest of incoming draft talent will help rebuild the roster, and C.J. Stroud is proving to be the real deal. The Texans may finally be on an upward trend. But a Super Bowl may be out of reach in his first year.
Related: Houston Texans’ unconventional approach during 2023 NFL Draft paying major dividends
Cleveland Browns
Have the Cleveland Browns won a Super Bowl? Not yet.
The Browns came close in 2020, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champs. Many thought they would finally get over the hump in 2021, especially if Baker Mayfield took a step forward. Instead, Cleveland didn’t even make the playoffs, and Mayfield has been booted from the roster. Needless to say, this team wasn’t ready to end its Super Bowl drought yet.
The Browns are also one of the teams that have never been to the Super Bowl, but that could change depending on how Deshaun Watson gets acclimated after his suspension.
With Nick Chubb, the Browns have one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL. Myles Garrett is a wrecking ball that cannot be contained, and the Browns have several other young pieces on both sides of the ball.
They just need a consistent year, and it didn’t happen right away in 2022, but with Watson, they have a chance to be special for several seasons. Only if he can return to the MVP-caliber form we saw from him in Houston before his off-field issues plagued his career. Yet, the loss of Nick Chubb and Watson for the season will likely be too much to overcome.
Detroit Lions
What four NFL teams have never been to the Super Bowl? The Detroit Lions are the oldest NFL team to have never appeared in a Super Bowl and the only franchise from the NFC to have never played for the trophy. Their last playoff victory came in 1992.
After going from Matthew Stafford to Jared Goff, the Lions finished just 3-13-1 in coach Dan Campbell’s first season. He topped that mark in 2022 with flying colors, coming within a game of clinching a playoff spot.
The Lions have done well to build in the trenches in each of their past two draft classes, picking up Penei Sewell and Aidan Hutchinson. Now that Jameson Williams is getting a chance to make an impact, the Lions could have their WR1 locked in too.
Another strong draft class in 2023 has helped overhaul a defense that’s routinely ranked in the bottom three of points allowed each season since 2020. Correcting their problems on the defensive side of the ball have helped the Lions take a step toward being a legit contender.
The Lions also added speed to the backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs. He can help Goff look good on all three downs, creating mismatches all over the field. Still, a chance at a Lombardi is likely at least a year away for a team that doesn’t know how to handle success yet.
Jacksonville Jaguars
What teams have never been to the Super Bowl? Unfortunately, the Jacksonville Jaguars are still among that group of four. Despite being around since 1995, the Jags only have three division titles and have been to the playoffs just seven times in total. But the Jaguars have never made it to the Super Bowl.
But if Trevor Lawrence continues to ascend into one of the better QBs in the NFL, the Jags may not be far away from being a perennial contender. The long Super Bowl drought in Duval could come to an end sooner than some fans expect.
They’ve certainly added talent in the past few years, and it’s translated to a division crown in the AFC South and a Wild Card win. But it still wasn’t their year to win a Super Bowl. Expect the Jaguars to be in the fight until the very end, and who knows, that Super Bowl drought may finally end this year.