“Just win, baby!” “You play to win the game!” “Playoffs? Don’t talk about—playoffs?! You kidding me? Playoffs?! I just hope we can win a game! Another game!” These are just some of the more memorable and hilarious quotes that we’ve heard and remembered from after following the NFL for so many years. When it comes down to any team sport, the goal is to ultimately be at the top of the mountain for the respective sport and be forever remembered as a champion. More often than not, we remember the winners and often forget the losers who came up short of their goal. Sure, there’s personal achievements, division crowns, and playoff victories, but being crowned as a champion, at the highest level, is one thing even the best players sometimes never get to experience. The Super Bowl era began in 1966, and we’ve seen or read about the 55 teams who have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in the biggest game of any sport (probably minus the soccer World Cup, which we only see once every four years). Unfortunately, there are twelve teams that have never won the big game, so they can’t be forever remembered as Super Bowl Champions, and there are four teams that have never even made it there at all! Let’s take a look at who they are, and I’m going to tell you who I think has the best chance to win their first ever Lombardi Trophy out of this bunch in the next 1-5 years.
First, let’s address the teams that have never made it to Super Bowl Sunday:
- Cleveland Browns
- Detroit Lions
- Houston Texans
- Jacksonville Jaguars
Out of this list, the Browns are, by far, the best team that is well equipped enough to make a serious run in the next couple of years. The fans in Cleveland have to be some of the most die hard and patient fans you’ll hear about in this league. They’ve endured some pretty lousy seasons and uninspiring play from their team for quite some time. We can’t forget this franchise was moved to Baltimore in 1996, and became what we now know as the Baltimore Ravens. It wasn’t until 1999 that Browns football returned to Cleveland. The Browns, on five different occasions, have come one game short of representing the AFC, and haven’t been to the AFC Championship game since 1989. In their path is Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs, who have now gone to back-to-back Super Bowls, and the Bills, led by MVP candidate Josh Allen. The AFC is a juggernaut but, if Baker Mayfield can elevate his game, this team has a legitimate shot to win their first ever title.
I love what the Lions are starting to build in the trenches, but they still have some ways to go now that they are transitioning to a 3-4 defense. If they can build their WR room and their secondary begins to make some plays, this team will be on the right path to make some noise in the NFC North. If Goff, or a rookie QB, comes in and plays exceptional football, this team will be ready to compete legitimately in about three years.
You know what they say every New Year’s Day: “New year, new me!” Well, the Jacksonville Jaguars certainly have received a massive face lift in the past few months, with the additions of Trevor Lawrence and Urban Meyer, who the fans hope will lead them to be a perennial contender for the next decade plus. In a division where there have been tons of changes lately, the Jaguars have an opportunity to begin claiming their throne very soon. They’ve made it to the AFC title game twice, most recently in the 2017-2018 season, but haven’t been able to have sustained success. That being said, you can best bet that DUVALLLLL County is ready!
The Houston Texans are the most recent expansion team to be introduced to the league back in 2002, but they have yet to advance past the divisional round in the AFC. If you remember back in 2019, they had a 24-0 lead in Kansas City before they imploded and eventually lost 51-31. It has gotten worse down in Houston since then, with the trade of WR DeAndre Hopkins last offseason and the departure of long time All-Pro defender J.J. Watt in this offseason. Now, their franchise QB Deshaun Watson is facing legal issues, while at the same time expressing his desire to never play another down for the team again. This team, as of right now, is not built to win anytime soon. Houston won’t be making a Super Bowl appearance for a while.
Here are the teams that have played on Super Bowl Sunday but have yet to come away victorious:
- Buffalo Bills- They lost four straight Super Bowls from 1990 to 1994…! Watching your team lose one is bad enough, but four straight?! I can only imagine what lengths #BillsMafia would go to if they won the SB. This absolutely needs to happen, and I think they can win very soon.
- Cincinnati Bengals- They represented the AFC in 1982 and 1988, but lost both times to the 49ers dynasty that had tons of success in the 1980s. They haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, when I was just a one-year old making baby noises and crawling about aimlessly. That’s a long time ago, but now they at least have a potential franchise QB in Joe Burrow (a.k.a. Joey Buckets, as I like to call him) and a sneaky good defense, even with the loss of Geno Atkins. If all goes well, this team will be difficult to beat in the near future.
- Arizona Cardinals- They lost their lone appearance in SB 43, where heroic efforts from Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald were not enough to overcome the magic of Big Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes. If you ever get the chance to re-watch that game, it will be worth it. The Cardinals are hoping Kyler Murray can lead them to that next level, but the NFC West is one of the toughest divisions in all of football, and the jury is still out on Kliff Kingsbury and GM Steve Keim. They won’t be back just yet, in my opinion.
- LA Chargers- The Chargers lost their only appearance in the big game so far: during the 1994-1995 season, where they fell to Steve Young and the 49ers. They had a few chances with Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson, but couldn’t ever get past Tom Brady and the Patriots. They drafted a very good QB named Justin Herbert (you may have heard of him), and are building a very talented team out in LA. The question is, can they overtake the Chiefs? We’ll look back on this years from now and see how it ultimately shaped out.
- Atlanta Falcons- Pain. That’s literally it, pain. They lost in the late 1990s to the John Elway-led Broncos, and then in 2017 in absolutely gut-wrenching fashion to none other than Tom Brady and the Patriots. I’ve never seen quite a collapse like that in my lifetime watching sports (besides my Giants allowing Desean Jackson to return a punt to seal the game a few years ago), but I will always remember this team for being a half of football away from securing their first ever trophy… and then subsequently coughing it up away. As if that weren’t bad enough, their best receiver in franchise history (Julio Jones) wants a trade to play for a winner now… Just brutal stuff.
- Carolina Panthers- This is another team that lost their only two appearances, with Jake Delhomme in SB 38 and with MVP Cam Newton in SB 50. The first loss came in heartbreaking fashion, when the Panthers saw future HOF K Adam Vinatieri kick a game winning field goal to give the Patriots their second SB victory. Their second appearance was an offensive struggle, and they ultimately could not find any rhythm offensively to win. They’re building a nice roster over in Carolina now, but they aren’t on the same level as the Buccaneers and the Saints, so it’ll be a little while before they make any serious noise.
- Tennessee Titans- Remember earlier when I mentioned you usually remember the winner and never the loser? Well, unfortunately, I will remember the Titans (no pun intended) for coming one yard short of winning the Super Bowl against the Rams with the late Steve McNair. They came close to making another trip to the SB in 2019, where they had some major upsets on the road against New England and then in Baltimore. Unfortunately, this team has lost some depth recently this offseason, which is why I am not so sure that they have necessarily enough firepower to be taken seriously in the AFC. I do like Mike Vrabel as their HC, though, but that’s not enough to move the needle for me.
- Minnesota Vikings- The Vikings lost four SBs in the 1970s and haven’t been back since. This isn’t on the level as the Bills run from 1990 to 1994 but it’s still just as bad. Just google Fran Tarkenton and you’ll see how awesome of a QB he was for the Vikings as a passer and scrambler, yet he couldn’t close in on a title. The Vikings have played in some memorable playoff games recently but haven’t been able to get over the hump and play for the Lombardi Trophy. I don’t think Kirk Cousins is the guy to take them there nor do I think Kellen Mond can be the answer either. Even with SKOL Nation behind them, they seem stuck in neutral and don’t offer anything appealing to be looked at as a contender. If they can get elevated play from the QB position, then I think this team could make something happen.
So, to summarize in order who I believe has the best chance to win their first ever SB in the next 1-5 years, it is as follows:
- Bills
- Browns
- Chargers
- Panthers
- Cardinals
- Falcons
- Titans
- Vikings
- Jaguars
- Bengals
- Lions
- Texans
“Just win, baby!”, as Al Davis once said. Let’s make it happen!
