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Which NFL teams have never played in the Super Bowl? It's a short list.
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- Which NFL teams have never played in the Super Bowl? It's a short list.
Only four NFL teams have never played in the Super Bowl .
Out of 32 NFL franchises: 20 different teams have won the Super Bowl, and eight others have played in the big game but never won the championship .
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That leaves four franchises that are still vying for their first trip to the Super Bowl.
Two of the NFL's most historic franchises – the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions – won NFL championship games prior to the Super Bowl's creation, but they have yet to even play in the Super Bowl. The Lions got close in 2023, losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game, a matchup they led by 17 points at halftime .
And there are two relatively new NFL franchises – the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars – are still looking for their first Super Bowl trip.
Here's what you need to know about the four teams who have never reached the Super Bowl.
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Detroit Lions
The Lions won four NFL championship games in 1935, 1952, 1953 and 1957, but they have yet to reach the Super Bowl since it was created in 1966.
The Lions have reached the playoffs just 13 times since their last championship. They snapped a 31-season drought without a postseason victory by beating the Los Angeles Rams in the 2023 wild-card round and followed that up by taking down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round. They lost 34-31 to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game , their first since facing Washington during the 1991 postseason.
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Cleveland Browns
The Browns won four championships in the All-America Football Conference in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949. They also won four NFL championships in 1950, 1954, 1955 and 1964.
But Cleveland also hasn't reached the Super Bowl since its inception in 1966.
The Browns reached the conference championship games in 1968, 1969, 1986, 1987 and 1989. The latter three trips ended in heartbreaking fashion against John Elway and the Denver Broncos , against whom the team suffered "The Drive" and "The Fumble."
The Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens after the 1995 season, but they returned in 1999 . They've only been to the playoffs three times since coming back, most recently falling short against the Houston Texans in the 2023 wild-card round.
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Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars' first season was in 1995, and the franchise has not reached the Super Bowl in its 29 seasons in the NFL.
The Jaguars have had eight postseason appearances in 29 years and reached the conference championship game after the 1996, 1999 and 2017 seasons, falling to the New England Patriots in 1996 and 2017 and Tennessee Titans in 1999.
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are the youngest NFL franchise, joining the league in 2002.
The Texans have not reached the Super Bowl in their 22 seasons, falling to the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 AFC divisional round after beating the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round. It was the fifth time in the Texans' seven postseason appearances that they won one playoff game before losing in the divisional round. The other four times were: 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2019.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Super Bowl: How many NFL teams have never played in Super Bowl?
