The Unlucky Four: 4 Teams That Have Never Reached the Super Bowl

Of the 32 teams currently playing their trade in the NFL, 12 have them have never managed to achieve Super Bowl glory. And of those unlucky outfits, four of them have never even featured in the Big Game. One of them, however, is not the Kansas City Chiefs.

Andy Reid’s side is currently approaching dynasty-like status and is close to matching a record set by the New England Patriots throughout the 2010s. The Boston-based side reached eight consecutive AFC Championship games during that decade and following their success last term, the Chiefs are now in five conference championship games in a row. Last term, however, they managed to go all the way.

Back at Super Bowl LVII, Patrick Mahomes and Co. managed to battle back from ten points down to beat the Philadelphia Eagles and claim the Lombardi for the second time in four seasons. Their success has triggered NFL odds providers to install the Missouri-based outfit as the +650 second favorites to retain their crown this term. Throughout the preseason, they were the outright favorites however, their opening-day defeat to the Detroit Lions coupled with the early season form of the San Francisco 49ers has seen them drop to second in the odds list.

Unfortunately, unlike the aforementioned Chiefs and the 49ers, the Lombardi Trophy is simply a distant dream, rather than an expectation. Winning the Super Bowl is every NFL team’s ultimate goal, however, there are a special few that have never been able to make it to the Big Game. Let’s meet them.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans became a part of the NFL in 2002 and have never been able to make it to the Super Bowl. Last season they were the whipping boys of the entire league, finishing with a dismal record of three wins against a whopping 13 losses. To put that into perspective, only the Chicago Bears had a worse record than the Lone Star State outfit.

The closest that the Texans have come to the Super Bowl is reaching the Divisional Round of the playoffs, which they have done on four separate occasions. They reached that stage in back-to-back seasons in 2011 and 2012 however, they were downed by the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots respectively. They would have to wait four years before they reached that stage again, however once more they were beaten, once again by Tom Brady and his Pats.

In 2019, they progressed passed the wildcard round against all odds, defeating Josh Allen and his Buffalo Bills. However, the Chiefs would have too much for them, ultimately winning 51-31.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been a part of the NFL since 1995 and have come close to the Super Bowl three times. They made it to the Conference Championships in 1996 and 1999, where they lost to the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans, respectively. They would have to wait another 28 years before they reached that stage again.

Their last and most recent appearance in the AFC Championship game came back in 2017. After not reaching the playoffs in a decade, the Floridians managed to top the AFC South with a record of ten wins and six losses. there, they would defeat the Bills and the Steelers to come within touching distance of a maiden Super Bowl appearance. Unfortunately for them, however, they ran into a Patriots side at the peak of its powers, eventually narrowly losing out by a score of 24-20.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions have been a part of the NFL since 1930 and have never won a Super Bowl. They are currently in the midst of perhaps the worst-ever run as a franchise, reaching the postseason just three times since the turn of the millennium. They are without a playoff victory in over three decades, with their most recent win being a divisional round 38-6 thumping of the Dallas Cowboys back in 1991.

The closest they have come to the Big Game was in 1991 when that victory over the Cowboys took them to the Conference Championship. In that game, however, they were beaten in a similarly one-sided fashion by the Washington Redskins, with the capital city outfit running out 41-10 winners. Since then, the Lions have not come close to making it to the Super Bowl.

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns have had a checkered history in the NFL since their foundation back in 1946. They are the team with the least luck out of the aforementioned four, reaching the conference championships on no fewer than five occasions. Inexplicably, however, they have lost all five.

They reached the AFC Championship game in back-to-back seasons in 1968 and 1969 losing out both times. They then reached the conference championship three times in four seasons between 1986 and 1989 but were beaten by the Denver Broncos on all three occasions. They have reached the postseason just three times since that most recent defeat 34 years ago, and a maiden Lombardi has never looked further away.