Which franchise has the most playoff wins without winning the Super Bowl?
Winning the Super Bowl is the ultimate goal of every NFL franchise, but some have been more successful than others. The likes of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots have a trophy cabinet full of them, while there are others who have never had the chance to hoist the Lombardi. Some franchises have come close, whereas others have fallen well short.
To win the Lombardi Trophy, each franchise has to navigate the playoffs successfully. The higher a franchise's playoff wins, the higher the probability that they would have won the championship. However, there are teams who have done significantly well in the playoffs, only to fail to bring home the ultimate prize. Here, we look at the top three teams with the most playoff victories to their name without winning the Super Bowl.
Teams without a Super Bowl win despite success in playoffs
#1 - Minnesota Vikings - 21 playoff wins
The Minnesota Vikings are the most successful team in the history of the NFL playoffs to have never been crowned champions. They have won 21 playoff games and lost 30. Their success over the years in the playoffs has led them to four Super Bowls, all of which they have lost.
Their last appearance in the final game traces way back to 1977. Since then, they have never appeared in a Super Bowl game again. For a storied franchise like the Vikings, it's been a long wait.
The only teams with more Super Bowl appearances without a win are the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings (0-4 each)
#2 - Buffalo Bills - 17 playoff wins
The Buffalo Bills are tied with the Minnesota Vikings for the highest number of Bowl appearances without a victory at four apiece. For the Bills, all those appearances came in consecutive Super Bowls from 1990 to 1993, all of which they lost despite having one of the most fearsome offenses led by quarterback Jim Kelly.
Since that final appearance in 1994, they have not reached the final again. However, with Josh Allen currently tearing up the field, they will be hoping to end their drought very soon.
#3 - Tennessee Titans - 17 playoff wins
The Tennessee Titans (previously the Houston Oilers) have to be the franchise with the most disappointing record when it comes to making it all the way to the final game. They have the same number of playoff wins as the Buffalo Bills, but have only ever played in a single championship game in 2000.
A team like the Cincinnati Bengals have reached three finals without winning with fewer playoff victories. It remains to be seen if the coming years will lead to a change in fortunes for them under head coach Mike Vrabel.