Teams That Have Never Won a Super Bowl: All 12 and How Close They Came
Buffalo and Minnesota share an NFL record nobody wants: four Super Bowl losses each and no wins. They are two of the 12 teams that have never won a Super Bowl.
The other ten are Cincinnati, Atlanta, Carolina, Arizona, the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston and Jacksonville. Together the 12 have lost all 18 Super Bowls they played, and four have never reached one.
Five of those 18 losses came by four points or fewer. Buffalo lost Super Bowl XXV by a single point.
The 12 teams by the numbers
| Team | Super Bowls | Losing seasons | Closest loss | Seasons played since 1966 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 0-4 | 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 | 1 point (XXV) | 60 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 0-4 | 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976 | 10 points (IX) | 60 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 0-3 | 1981, 1988, 2021 | 3 points (LVI) | 58 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 0-2 | 1998, 2016 | 6 points (LI) | 60 |
| Carolina Panthers | 0-2 | 2003, 2015 | 3 points (XXXVIII) | 31 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 0-1 | 2008 | 4 points (XLIII) | 60 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 0-1 | 1994 | 23 points (XXIX) | 60 |
| Tennessee Titans | 0-1 | 1999 | 7 points (XXXIV) | 60 |
| Cleveland Browns | 0-0 | Never reached | None | 57 |
| Detroit Lions | 0-0 | Never reached | None | 60 |
| Houston Texans | 0-0 | Never reached | None | 24 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 0-0 | Never reached | None | 31 |
All 12 NFL teams without a Super Bowl title, through the 2025 season.
Cleveland had no team in the 1996, 1997 and 1998 seasons. Houston is the newest of the 12, with its first season in 2002.
Eight teams reached the Super Bowl and lost
Buffalo: four straight losses, the first by one point
The New York Giants beat the Bills 20 to 19 in Super Bowl XXV. Buffalo returned in each of the next three seasons and lost to Washington and twice to Dallas.
Minnesota: four losses in eight seasons
Kansas City, Miami, Pittsburgh and Oakland beat the Vikings after the 1969, 1973, 1974 and 1976 seasons. Minnesota scored 34 points in those four games.
Cincinnati: three losses by a combined 12 points
San Francisco beat the Bengals after the 1981 and 1988 seasons, by 5 and 4 points. The Los Angeles Rams won the third, 23 to 20, after the 2021 season.
Atlanta and Carolina: two trips each
Denver beat Atlanta 34 to 19 after the 1998 season. After the 2016 season, the Falcons led New England 28 to 3. The Patriots won 34 to 28 in the first overtime in Super Bowl history.
Carolina lost 32 to 29 to New England after the 2003 season and 24 to 10 to Denver after 2015.
Arizona, Tennessee and the Chargers: one trip each
Pittsburgh beat Arizona 27 to 23 after the 2008 season. The St. Louis Rams beat Tennessee 23 to 16 after 1999. San Francisco beat the San Diego Chargers 49 to 26 after 1994.
How long each team has waited
Each strip runs from 1966 to 2025, one cell per season. Sort the teams, or tap one to see every Super Bowl it lost.
The wait for a first Super Bowl
Four teams that have never reached a Super Bowl
Cleveland: three AFC title game losses
The Browns lost three AFC Championship Games, the last 37 to 21 to Denver after the 1989 season. They won NFL titles before the Super Bowl began, including 1950 and 1954.
Detroit: NFC title game losses after 1991 and 2023
Washington beat the Lions 41 to 10 after the 1991 season, and San Francisco beat them after 2023. Detroit’s last NFL title came in 1957, against Cleveland.
Jacksonville: three AFC title games since 1995
The Jaguars have lost three AFC Championship Games, the last after the 2017 season.
Houston: never past the divisional round
The Texans are the only team never to play in a conference title game. Their latest try ended with a 28 to 16 loss to New England in January 2026.
Where the 12 stand after the 2025 season
Five of the 12 made the playoffs after the 2025 season, and none reached a conference title game.
Buffalo beat Jacksonville 27 to 24, then lost 33 to 30 in overtime to Denver. Houston beat Pittsburgh 30 to 6 before its loss to New England. Carolina and the Chargers went out in the Wild Card round.
Baseball has a shorter list. Four of its 30 clubs have never won the World Series. They are listed on our MLB teams that never won a World Series page.
Never won a Super Bowl: quick answers
How many NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl?
Twelve. Buffalo, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Carolina, Arizona, the Chargers and Tennessee have each lost at least one. Cleveland, Detroit, Houston and Jacksonville have never played in one.
Which NFL teams have never been to the Super Bowl?
Cleveland, Detroit, Houston and Jacksonville. Houston is the only one of them that has never played in a conference title game.
Which team has lost the most Super Bowls without a win?
Buffalo and Minnesota, with four losses each. The Bills lost four in a row, after the 1990 through 1993 seasons.
What was the last team to win its first Super Bowl?
Philadelphia, after the 2017 season. The Eagles beat New England 41 to 33 in February 2018.
Which of these teams came closest to a title?
Buffalo. The Bills lost Super Bowl XXV to the New York Giants by one point, 20 to 19.
Every team’s full record is on Super Bowl wins by team. Two title teams have their own pages, the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs. The NFL hub lists the rest.
Sources
Super Bowl results and losing seasons match across Pro-Football-Reference and Pro Football Network. First seasons follow the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 2025 playoff results agree across NBC Sports and Yahoo Sports. The full lists are at Pro-Football-Reference and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Last verified: November 1, 2026.
