What 12 NFL Teams Have Never Won a Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl is the biggest and most important game in the NFL, and winning it is the ultimate goal for any team. But there are a few teams that have never won a Super Bowl, despite coming close on several occasions. Here are the 12 NFL teams that have never won a Super Bowl.

NFL Teams That Have Never Won a Super Bowl

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league. It was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football franchise based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the National Football League (NFL), and are currently in the NFC West division. The Cardinals were founded as an expansion team in 1898, and are the oldest continuously run professional football team in the United States. The franchise has never won a Super Bowl, but did win two NFL championships prior to the creation of the Super Bowl, in 1925 and 1947.

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team, after the NFL offered then-owner Rankin Smith a franchise to keep him from joining the rival American Football League (AFL).

In their 51 years of existence, the Falcons have compiled a record of 368–445–6 (.452 winning percentage), winning division championships in 1980, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2012, and 2016. The NFC West has been their most successful division, winning five of their six division championships. They have never won a conference championship or Super Bowl; they are one of 12 teams to have never appeared in a conference title game, and one of 24 teams to have never appeared in a Super Bowl.

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The Ravens were established in 1996, when Art Modell, who was then the owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced plans to relocate the franchise from Cleveland to Baltimore in Maryland. As part of a settlement between Modell, the city of Cleveland, and the other NFL owners at the time, Modell was allowed to move the team provided that he would leave the Browns’ name and history in Cleveland for a future NFL franchise or expansion team. The Ravens have qualified for the NFL playoffs 11 times since 2000, with two Super Bowl victories (Super Bowl XXXV and Super Bowl XLVII), two AFC Championship titles (2000 and 2012), 15 playoff victories (10th all-time), four AFC North division titles (2003, 2006, 2011, and 2012), and are currently # 10 on Forbes’ list of valued NFL franchises as of 2019.

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl in their 54 years as a franchise. The Bills have made it to the big game four times, all during the 1990s, but lost each time. The most recent appearance was in 1993, when the Bills lost to the Dallas Cowboys 52-17.

Carolina Panthers

Despite being one of the newer teams in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers have had a fair share of success throughout their history. The Panthers have made it to the playoffs 11 times and the Super Bowl twice, but they have never won a championship.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football franchise based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Their home stadium is Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati.

The franchise was founded in 1966 as a successor to the previous Seattle Seahawks franchise by original owner Gene Autry, and began play in 1968. The Bengals won the AFC championship in 1981 and 1988 but lost Super Bowls XVI and XXIII to the San Francisco 49ers. They have made two appearances in the Super Bowl ( XVI and XXIII), losing both times.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns have never won a Super Bowl and they’ve only made it to the big game once, in 1986. Since then, they’ve had a long drought of success, making the playoffs just once in the last 20 years. Despite having some talented players on their roster, they’ve never been able to put it all together and make a run at the Lombardi Trophy.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the National Football League (NFL) as part of the NFC North division. The club has won four NFL Championships, but none since 1957. They are the only current NFL team to have not qualified for the NFL playoffs in the Super Bowl era.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member club of the American Football Conference South division. The team joined the NFL in 2002 as an expansion team, and won its first division title in 2011. The Texans have not appeared in a Super Bowl since their inception.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional football franchise based in Jacksonville, Florida. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The Jaguars have played their home games at TIAA Bank Field since their inception in 1995.

The Jaguars, along with the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans, joined the NFL as expansion teams for the 1995 season. Since their inception, the Jaguars have won six division championships (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2017), qualifying for the AFC playoffs ten times. They have also won two conference championships (1996 and 1999), but have never appeared in a Super Bowl.

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League (NFL) as an expansion team in 1960, and first took the field for the 1961 season. The team competes in the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. During the 1960s, the Vikings’ record was typical for an expansion franchise, but improved over the course of the decade, resulting in a Central Division title in 1968. In 1969, their dominant defense led to the Vikings’ league championship, the last NFL championship prior to the merger of the NFL with AFL.

Despite their identity as a powerhouse defense during this time period, they failed to make it to and win a Super Bowl during this era; this would not happen until Super Bowl XI, when they defeated the heavily favored Oakland Raiders 32-14. As has been common with most Super Bowl winners throughout NFL history however, their title was followed by a wide array of disappointments in succeeding years; they made it back to the big game only once more during the 1970s (Super Bowl XII), and lost handily to the Dallas Cowboys. After another Conference Championship appearance in 1980 where they again lost to Dallas (this time 38-28), they would not make it back to an NFC Championship game for 23 years.

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city of New Orleans on November 1, 1966, the Saints joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1967.