Throughout the history of the NFL, plenty of teams have won in the Super Bowl. While some franchises such as the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, and plenty others haven’t yet. But which teams that had lost in the Super Bowl were the best in the history of the league? With there being some obvious choices in the top ten the question is where do they rank amongst other teams?
Number Ten: 2019 Baltimore Ravens
Going 14-2 to lose in the divisional round is pretty wild to see from a team that seemed like Super Bowl favorites throughout the regular season. This 2019 Ravens team was fantastic, they had one of the best tight end duos since Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez with Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews, who were very productive during the time. You also had Lamar Jackson who had become the second quarterback in history to achieve the MVP award at 23, with the previous holder being Tom Brady. The team had been knocked out in the divisional round to the Tennessee Titans which was unfortunate, as the team seemed so promising for a Super Bowl.
Number Nine: 2023 Baltimore Ravens
While it’s surprising that there’s the same team in a row, the 2023 Ravens not only have Lamar Jackson, who had achieved his second MVP award to join elite companies such as Patrick Mahomes, Steve Young, Joe Montana, and even Kurt Warner. This team was mauling teams like the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, and Miami Dolphins. All of those teams boasted 11+ wins in the regular season and two of the teams reached the NFC Championship. The Defense was incredible and for how surprising it was, they failed when the spotlights landed upon them in the AFC Championship when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, which did fortunately produce the highlight of Lamar Jackson receiving his own blocked pass.
Number Eight: 2009 Indianapolis Colts
Winning the division and achieving 14 wins is no simple feat for a team to do in the regular season, it requires incredible players and coaching to do such a thing, and when you do go 14-2 in the regular season you’re projected on a highway to a Lombardi Trophy. The Indianapolis Colts had all-time players like Reggie Wayne, Peyton Manning, and even star podcast host, Pat McAfee. The team had cleared their way through the playoffs winning 20-3 and 30-17 against the two opponents they had faced on their way to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, like most teams on this list, they came up short in the big game losing to the New Orleans Saints 17-31.
Number Seven: 1984 Miami Dolphins
With Hall-of-Fame Quarterback Dan Marino, he had racked up a monumental 5,084 yards and was one of the most eye-boggling sights to see from a rookie quarterback especially back then. You had an offensive line with two Pro Bowl interior offensive linemen Ed Newman and Dwight Stephenson. The team ended up losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl and this was the last we have seen the Dolphins in the Super Bowl.
Number Six: 2004 Philadelphia Eagles
With current star head coach Andy Reid leading this team, the 2004 Eagles had been stuck losing the NFC Championships for the past three years before making the Super Bowl in 2004, the team had lots to lose and unfortunately, they lost lots. Donovan McNabb lined up at quarterback with Running Back like Brian Westbrook, and receivers like Terrell Owens, the team was pretty stacked which makes sense as to why they made it to the Super Bowl.
Number Five: 1992 San Francisco 49ers
With this season being the last Joe Montana was on the roster, the 1992 49ers went 14-2 and lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship. You had the iconic duo of Jerry Rice and Joe Montana. This team was anything but bad, Ricky Watters at the Running Back position, and of course the Quarterback and Wide Receivers were the best back then. This team had tons to show, but the Cowboys were also an incredible team to face in the NFC Championship, so it’s not entirely surprising that they hadn’t made it to the big game.
Number Four: 1998 Minnesota Vikings
Being one of the two teams in history to appear and lose all four games in the Superbowl, the Vikings fans aren’t the proudest of this achievement. However, this team had two of the greatest Minnesota receivers to ever play on the Vikings. This team not only had 10 Pro Bowlers but, also had eight All-Pros with five of those All-Pros being first-team and three second-team All-Pros. Going 15-1 and barely losing in the NFC Championship to the Cardinals in OT, losing 27-30.
Number Three: 2001 St Louis Rams
31 points per game, prepared to win their second Super Bowl, the “Greatest Show on Turf” was a spectacle to view. You had Kurt Warner, who had made it to the Super Bowl with two different teams, which only three other quarterbacks could do. Not only that, but the team had legendary Running Back, Marshall Faulk, who had also led the league in touchdowns with 21 rushing touchdowns. And if you thought that was enough, don’t forget about the two Pro Bowl receivers who had combined for over 2400 yards Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. Blowing out the Packers in the divisional round 45-17, defeating the Eagles 29-24 in the NFC Championship to make it to the Super Bowl. However, all of this came up to nothing when they lost against a game-winning drive performed by Tom Brady with their kicker kicking a 48-yard field goal to make the score 20-17 with the clock running out.
Number Two: 1990 Buffalo Bills
With this year being the first year of the four-year dreadful stretch, the Buffalo Bills had made their first Super Bowl against the Giants. The team had gone 13-3 in the regular season and even went 8-0 at home. The Bills had made their way to the Super Bowl to come up shot 19-20 when their kicker Scott Norwood had missed a field goal to win the game. It’s becoming a trend in Buffalo, unfortunately.
Number One: 2007 New England Patriots
With what is in plenty of people’s books disregarding the Super Bowl loss, the 2007 Patriots were the first and currently only team to go 16-0 in a season. They had shown that they were the “Top Dog” of the NFL. Three of the offensive linemen achieved AP All-Pro awards, Vince Wilfork, Asante Samuel, and Mike Vrabel led the defense to stop any team they would play. You can’t forget the receivers that Brady was throwing to seeing how he had Randy Moss and Wes Welker, who had both achieved AP All-Pro with Moss being on the first team and Welker being placed second team. This loss in the Super Bowl had made the biggest upset but also one of the biggest highlights of all time, “The Helmet Catch.”
All of these teams were fantastic, some had bigger upsets in the playoffs where their reigns had ended. It would be exciting to see which of these teams is truly the best, but of course, they can’t play each other to find out.
