Jul 17

Jul 17 The Best NFL Teams That Didn't Win the Super Bowl

The 7 Greatest Teams Who Should Have Won The Superbowl, but Didn’t

The phrase “Any Given Sunday,” became popularised in the NFL world by the Holywood movie of the same name that featured Al Pacino and Jamie Foxx among other A-listers.

The original phrase allegedly stems from former NFL Commissioner, Bert Bell, who during his tenure said: “On any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team.”

While the saying may be overused, it still holds true in one of the most competitive sports competitions in the world, and the USA’s most popular sport. The basic understanding is that an underdog can emerge victorious on any given Sunday given the complexity and the nature of football.

This means, that with only one Super Bowl on offer each year, and a straight knockout playoff format to determine the winner, even the most dominant teams from the regular season can’t afford an off day.

Some of the best teams in league history in terms of players, records, achievements earned in the regular season failed to live up to expectations in the playoffs.

Here are the Best NFL Teams Who Didn’t Win the Super Bowl:

7. The 1984 Miami Dolphins

Record: 14 - 2, NFC East Champion

Star Player: Dan Marino

Head Coach: Don Shula

Playoff Loss: 38-16 to San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XIX

It’s truly unbelievable Dan Marino never won a Super Bowl during his storied career. Often associated with the title, “Best Quarterback to Never win a Super Bowl,” 1984 was the closest he ever got. Super Bowl XIX was his only appearance in the Championship game.

This team is one of the best to not win the Super Bowl mainly because of Marino. Only in his second season, Marino broke six full-season passing records in 1984, on his way to winning league MVP honours.

Marino set new NFL records for passing yards, (5,084) and passing touchdowns, (48). Neither record was surpassed until at least 2004 and given the era Marino played in, many NFL historians regard Marinos’ 1984 campaign as the best season put together by a quarterback in league history.

The Dolphins ran into a buzzsaw in the Super Bowl as the San Francisco 49ers, quarterbacked by Joe Montana, won their second championship in four seasons. Marino carried Miami so far, but never got them over the hump.

6. The 2019 Baltimore Ravens

Record: 14-2

Star Player: Lamar Jackson

Head Coach: John Harbaugh

Playoff Loss: 28-12 to Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Round

The most recent entry on this list, Lamar Jackon took the league by storm in 2019. The rest of the league wasn’t ready for the historic, unstoppable ground attack of the 2019 Baltimore Ravens, spearheaded by the dynamic running ability of Jackson from the quarterback position.

They were the first team to rack up over 3,000 rushing yards in a season since 1978, one of only three teams to reach that mark. In fact, The Ravens finished the 2019 season with 3,296 rushing yards, an NFL record.

John Harbaugh - All smiles until the end of the season.

Jackson set a new individual record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback, 1,206. He was named league MVP, and Harbaugh Coach of the Year for the teams regular-season success. Baltimore tied an NFL record with 12 Pro Bowl nominations in 2019, which demonstrates just how stacked the team was at every position.

Starting 2-2, the Ravens went 12 games unbeaten prior to their shock playoff exit at the hands of a Derrick Henry-inspired Titans team. That loss doesn’t take away how dominant the Ravens were in the regular season.

5. The 2001 St Louis Rams

Record: 14-2

Star Player: Marshall Faulk

Head Coach: Mike Martz

Playoff Loss: 20-17 to New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI

“The Greatest Show on Turf,” Rams offense was expected to lead St Louis to their second Super Bowl in three seasons. Quarterback Kurt Warner had just earned his second league MVP in two seasons, the Rams had the most versatile running back in the league, Faulk, and still had the best wide receiver duo of the era, Torry Holt and Issac Bruce.

The Rams offense was historically good over a three-year span from 1999 to 2001.

The offense put up over 500 points each season, accumulating the most points over a three-year span from an individual franchise in league history.

The defense was also improved in 2001. The New England Patriots, led by second-year unheralded 6th round draft pick Tom Brady at quarterback, would be no match for the vaunted Rams offense…

Then Bill Belichick put on a clinic of a defensive gameplan, restricting the Rams to just 17 points.

Two minutes to go, tie ball game, Brady drove New England down the field with the poise of a seven-time Super Bowl-winning veteran… Adam Vinatieri kicked the winning field goal as time expired to deny the Rams a chance of a dynastic reign, simultaneously kickstarting the Belichik - Brady legacy as we know it today.

4. The 1992 San Francisco 49ers

Record: 14-2

Star Player: Steve Young

Head Coach: George Seifert

Playoff Loss: 30-20 to Dallas Cowboys in NFC Championship Game

The battle between Dallas and San Franciso to establish the dominant team of the 1990s is NFL history worth revisiting.

The two giants of the sport squared off in the NFC Championship game three years in a row. This was the first of those battles.

I chose this season over similar 49ers disappointments as quarterback Steve Young won the first league MVP of his career in 1992. His second, the 49ers beat the Cowboys in the title game and went onto win Super Bowl XXIX.

The greatest wide receiver in the history of pro football, Jerry Rice, won offensive player of the year in 1992 with the 49ers.

Feature running back Ricky Watters had an incredible season and the defense allowed less than 15 points a game this year. The 49ers were scary in the 90s, Dallas were just that little bit better most seasons.

3. The 1998 Minnesota Vikings

Record: 15-1

Star Payer: Randy Moss

Head Coach: Dennis Green

Playoff Loss: 30-27 to Atlanta Falcons in NFC Championship Game

How Minnesota doesn’t have a Super Bowl-winning season in franchise history is beyond me. The 1998 squad came closest and was the most dominant team in the league that season.

Randall Cunningham was reborn at quarterback and Randy Moss alongside Chris Carter is also in the conversation for the best wide receiver duo of all time.

This was the Rams before the Rams when it came to the best offense in league history.

Randy Moss Vikings.jpg — Touchdown Vikings!

Green was a defensive-minded coach and he built a solid unit. Spearheaded by legendary Vikings defensive tackle John Randle, who led the entire league in sacks the previous season.

Of course, heartbreak ensued. One of the most reliable kickers in pro football history, Morten Anderson, missed a game-sealing kick against Atlanta. The Falcons drove down the field and dumped one of the best teams in league history out the playoffs.

2. The 1991- 1994 Buffalo Bills

Record: 49 - 15

Star Player: Jim Kelly

Head Coach: Marc Levy

Playoff Loss(es): Four Super Bowl Losses in Four Seasons

I am cheating a little bit in this spot. However, choosing one heartbreaking Buffalo Bills season the players, coaches and fans lived through in the 1990s feels like an injustice.

Jim Kelly - Gutted at the end of every season.

Within these four seasons, the Bills had a defensive player of the year, Bruce Smith (1990), and a league MVP, Thurman Thomas (1991). One of the best quarterbacks in the league, Jim Kelly, and a fantastic coach in Marc Levy who somehow continued to rally the troops after each devastating Super Bowl loss.

It would be wrong to choose one season from the four. No franchise has matched or surpassed the Bills feat of appearing in four consecutive Super Bowls.

1. 2007 New England Patriots

Record: 16-0

Star Player: Tom Brady

Head Coach: Bill Belichick

Playoff Loss: 17-14 to New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII

There will be very few New England sympathizers seeing as the franchise has dominated the 21st century overall, winning six titles.

However, there’s a case to be made that the best Patriots team of all time in fact didn’t win the Lombardi trophy.

The 2007 Patriots were unstoppable in the regular season, literally. Going the entire 16-game slate undefeated. Belichick was named coach of the year.

Brady league MVP and set a new NFL record for passing touchdowns in a season, 50. Randy Moss had the best season of his Hall of Fame career and set a new record for receiving touchdowns in a season, 17.

The defense was full of veterans who were a solid collective unit. They were fourth-best in points allowed during the 2007 season.

New England was expected to dominate Eli Mannings’ Giants in the Super Bowl. The Giants only reached the playoffs as a wildcard team, they weren’t even the best side in their division during the regular season.

But the New York pass rush harassed Brady all day and didn’t allow the offense to get going. Manning strung together enough offensive drives to pinch the lead in the fourth quarter.

The Giants held on, shocking the world in one of the biggest Super Bowl upsets of all time. Preventing New England from achieving only the second undefeated season in NFL history.