There have been 58 Super Bowls played in NFL history, and somehow, there are still 12 teams that have yet to win a Lombardi Trophy. However, that number could be going down by one this year and that's because there are five teams in the playoffs that will have a chance to end their Super Bowl drought.
With that in mind, we're going to rank those teams based on who has the best chance of winning their first Super Bowl ever.
Before we do that, though, let's take a look at the seven teams that have never won a Super Bowl and won't be winning one this year because they didn't make the postseason. Those teams are: the Bengals, Browns, Cardinals, Falcons, Jaguars, Panthers and Titans.
As for our other five teams, let's get to the rankings:
5. Texans
Super Bowl appearances: Zero
The Texans are the NFL's newest team, so it's understandable that they've never been to a Super Bowl. Since their expansion year in 2002, not only have the Texans failed to make it to the Super Bowl, but they've never even been to an AFC Championship and it's hard to see that changing this year. Even if the Texans beat the Chargers in the wild-card round, they'd likely be staring at a divisional-round game against the Chiefs assuming there were no upsets in the AFC bracket. Considering the Texans went 1-5 this year against teams that finished with a winning record, it's hard to see them making a run to the Super Bowl.
4. Chargers
Super Bowl appearances: One
The Chargers did get to the Super Bowl once back in 1994, but they got blown out 49-26 in a loss to the 49ers. Since then, the Chargers have made the playoffs nine more times, but they always seem to find a way to lose. For instance, in their last playoff appearance in 2022, they blew a 27-0 lead in a 31-30 loss to the Jaguars. With Jim Harbaugh now running the show, the Chargers should be viewed as dark horse to get to the Super Bowl, but they did go 0-3 against the AFC's top three playoff seeds, so it's hard to imagine them making a run to New Orleans.
3. Vikings
Super Bowl appearances: Four
The Vikings might have the worst postseason luck of any team in NFL history (That's a title you could probably give to the Vikings, Bills or Bengals). Not only do they have four Super Bowl losses, but they also have several heartbreaking losses in franchise history from the 1998 NFC title game (Gary Anderson's infamous 38-yard miss) to the 2009 NFC title game, when Brett Favre inexplicably threw an interception with the Vikings on the edge of field range with 20 seconds left in a tie game that the Saints would eventually win in overtime. Although the Vikings went 14-3 this year, they still have a brutal path to the Super Bowl. They only lost to two teams (Rams and Lions) and they could be forced to face BOTH of those teams in the first two rounds of the playoffs. This is a good Vikings team, but it's hard to see them making it through that gauntlet.
2. Bills
Super Bowl appearances: Four
This feels like it could finally be the Bills' year, but only if they can actually beat the Chiefs in the postseason. Since the start of the 2020 season, the Bills have gone 5-4 in the playoffs, which breaks down like this: 0-3 against the Chiefs and 5-1 against everyone else. Yes, the Bills did beat the Chiefs in the regular season, but they also beat them in 2021 and 2023, only to lose to them in the playoffs. The Bills went just 1-2 against the top-four seeds in the AFC, so they're no lock to get to the Super Bowl, but with Josh Allen at quarterback, you definitely feel good about their chances. If the Bills win it all, they'd be able to exorcise a lot of Super Bowl demons and maybe they could even invite Scott Norwood to the parade.
1. Lions
Super Bowl appearances: Zero
The NFL has been playing Super Bowls since 1966 and the Lions have never been to one, but if that drought is going to end, this seems like the year where it could happen. For one, they've already made history this year by earning the top seed in the NFC for the first time in franchise history. With the bye into the divisional round, that means the Lions have to win just two games to get to the Super Bowl. The Lions have been the best team in the NFC all year and if they continue to play at a high level, there's no reason they can't take home their first Lombardi Trophy. If the Lions do make it to New Orleans, the French Quarter better be ready, because Lions fans will be letting out 58 years of pent up frustration and that could involve a lot of drinks.
Final take: This is one of the most unique postseasons in NFL history: It will mark just the second time ever that three teams with zero Super Bowl titles all won at least 13 games during the regular season to get to the playoffs. The only other time it happened came in 1999 when two teams with zero Lombardi Trophies ended up meeting in the Super Bowl (Rams vs. Titans) and it feels like there's at least a small chance that we could once again see another meeting of two teams that have never won the big game.
