Sports

The Greatest NFL Teams That Didn’t Win the Super Bowl

Even though these squads set records throughout the regular season, the greatest NFL teams that didn’t win the Super Bowl came up short when it mattered most.

The beautiful thing about sports is that the best team doesn’t always walk away the winner. The NFL prides itself on parity and is a living example of this notion, especially when you account for the greatest NFL teams that didn’t win the Super Bowl.

1984 Miami Dolphins

At a time when a quarterback was considered “good” for surpassing the 3,000 benchmarks, Dan Marino was out there throwing for 5,084 yards. Marino’s record-setting season stood the test for two decades, only to fall because the NFL changed the rules to accommodate more points.

Unfortunately for Marino, he led his 14-2 Dolphins to Super Bow XIX against the buzzsaw that was the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners boat raced the Fins 38-16, which ended up being the only Super Bowl Marino played in.

2015 Carolina Panthers

In the year prior, the Panthers finished 7-8-1, which sadly was enough to win the NFC South. Pundits may have thought the Panthers would win the division again, but no one could have predicted a 15-1 record and outscoring their opponents 500-308.

Nevertheless, that’s what the NFC champions did behind an MVP season with the dabbing Cam Newton. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Carolina would stream-roll an ancient Peyton Manning and the Broncos to capture their first championship. However, Denver’s defense stifled the high-octane Panthers, holding them to only 10 points.

2001 St. Louis Rams

Would you believe the entire country cheered on a Tom Brady-led New England Patriots team? Shockingly, that happened when the Pats defeated the St. Louis Rams 20-17 in the Super Bowl.

“The Greatest Show on Turf” had a two-time MVP award winner in Kurt Warner behind center, a running back in Marshall Faulk who had over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns, plus a pair of wide receivers with Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt that had over 1,000 yards. For those reasons, the Rams were a 14-point favorite, making it one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.

1998 Minnesota Vikings

If you could have constructed a football team in a lab, the 1998 Minnesota Vikings might be the closest thing to perfection you could muster. They finished the regular season at 15-1, with their only loss coming to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by three points. They also nearly doubled their opponents in points 556-296, proving they were elite on both sides of the ball.

With a reemerging Randall Cunningham and a rookie Randy Moss, the Vikings and Broncos were on a collision course to meet in the Super Bowl, hoping they wouldn’t be a part of Super Bowl trivia as a ringless franchise. Except that Vikings kicker Gary Anderson, who didn’t miss a kick all year, pulled it left of the crossbars, sending the Vikings home as the “Dirty Birds” from Atlanta moved on.

2007 New England Patriots

Only the 1972 Miami Dolphins had the distinction of being the league’s only perfect team, but 2007 was knocking on their door after their historic 16-0 regular season. After two playoff wins and an AFC Championship, the Patriots were staring 19-0 dead in the eye. The Pats found themselves against the Giants, whom they had defeated a month before. The Giants shocked the world in the rematch by beating the Patriots 18-1, capping off the imperfect season.