What NFL Teams Have Not Won a Super Bowl?

A comprehensive list of all NFL teams that have not won a Super Bowl, including the team’s year of establishment and city.

NFL Teams That Have Never Won a Super Bowl

As of right now, eleven NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl. This includes the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, and the Buffalo Bills.

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football franchise based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Cardinals were founded as the Morgan Athletic Club in 1898, and are the oldest continuously run professional football team in the United States. The Cardinals play their home games at State Farm Stadium, which opened in 2006 and is located in Glendale, Arizona. Since the franchise’s inception, two Cardinals players have won a combined total of five NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards.

Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions were established in 1929. They are the oldest team in the NFL that has never won a Super Bowl, and one of four teams to have never played in the big game (the others being the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars). The Lions have won four NFL Championships (1952, 1953, 1957, and 1958), but they have yet to win a Super Bowl.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team plays its home games at NRG Stadium.

Teams That Have Never Appeared in 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 agreed to merge with the American Football League (AFL) in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season; the merger was completed in 1970. Super Bowl Sunday is the day on which the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the NFL, is played.

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The Browns play their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium, which opened in 1999, with administrative offices and training facilities in Berea, Ohio. The Browns’ official colors are brown, orange, and white. They are unique among the 32 member franchises of the NFL in that they do not have a helmet logo. The franchise was founded in 1945 by businessman Arthur B. McBride and coach Paul Brown as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC).

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars have never appeared in a Super Bowl. They played in their first AFC Championship game in 1996, but lost to the New England Patriots. The Jaguars made it back to the AFC Championship game in 1999, but again lost to the Patriots. In 2017, the Jaguars made it to the AFC divisional playoffs, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey. In a unique arrangement for the league, the Jets share MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey with the New York Giants. The franchise is legally and corporately registered as New York Jets, LLC.

The team was founded in 1959 as the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League (AFL); later, the franchise joined the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The team began to play in 1960 at the Polo Grounds. Under new ownership, the current name was adopted in 1963 and the franchise moved to Shea Stadium in 1964 and then to Giants Stadium in 1984. The team has appeared in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl IV, losing both games.

Teams That Have Never Won a Super Bowl and Have Never Appeared in a Super Bowl

The Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, and Jacksonville Jaguars have never won a Super Bowl and have never appeared in a Super Bowl.

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays their home games at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills are the only NFL team that plays its home games in the state of New York. The Bills conduct summer training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York, an eastern suburb of Rochester.

The Bills began play as an original franchise of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960. They joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, and had played in each league’s championship game – although never winning – a total of four times between 1961 and 1965. Following their string of AFL wins, they reached the playoffs for a record 10 consecutive seasons between 1967 and 1976; however, they would not win another playoff game until 1995. The great run represented by that first decade plus was led by head coach Lou Saban, and featured All-American running back O. J. Simpson; Simpson’s 1968 season is considered one of the greatest individual seasons in football history.[5][6] The Bills have yet to return to AFC Championship glory since that time,[7] making them one of only three teams (the others being the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions) that have never won or hosted a Conference Championship Game,[8][9] along with being one of four teams to never appear in or win a Super Bowl.[10]

As Simpson led the Bills to four consecutive AFL championships from 1960 to 1963, as well as an NFL title appearance in 1964,[11] he became the first player ever to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season,[12][13] a feat he accomplished twice (in 1961–62 and 1963–64). Though Simpson retired early from professional football after only nine seasons,[14] his impact on both professional football and popular culture remains significant decades later.[15][16][17][18] Jim Kelly would go on to lead Buffalo to eight consecutive playoff berths during his eleven year tenure as Buffalo’s starting quarterback from 1986 through 1996;[19] however, those teams only produced one playoff win under Kelly during this time span[20]—a dramatic 41–38 overtime victory against Houston Oilers during their 1992 Wild-Card matchup.[21][22]

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team 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 Bengals have yet to win a Super Bowl or appear in one, though they did win AFC Championships in 1981 and 1988, losing both times to the San Francisco 49ers.

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.