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NFL

NFL

Which NFL team has never made the playoffs?

There are 32 teams in the NFL, all of which have qualified or won a game in the playoffs. Which teams haven’t appeared in ages, and how do playoffs work?

Reem Abdalazem
Reem Abdalazem
There are 32 teams in the NFL, all of which have qualified or won a game in the playoffs. Which teams haven’t appeared in ages, and how do playoffs work?
Sean M. HaffeyAFP

The National Football League playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to decide the NFL reigning champion. The 32-team league is divided into two conferences, AFC, the American Football Conference, and NFC, the National Football Conference. Each conference has 16 teams divided into four divisions of four teams each, since 2002.

Seven teams from each of the NFL’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs, and a tie-breaking procedure is available if required. Leading up to the Super Bowl, the winners become the champions of the NFL.

All 32 active NFL teams have qualified for and won a game in the playoffs.

See Also:

Here is a short list of AFC/NFC Championship game appearance, in order of the oldest appearance in a conference championship:

Bengals, Last appearance in conference championship: 1988 AFC
Washington Football Team, Last appearance in conference championship: 1991 NFC
Detroit Lions, Last appearance in conference championship: 1991 NFC
Cleveland Browns, Last appearance in conference championship: 1989 AFC
Miami Dolphins, Last appearance in conference championship: 1992 AFC
Dallas Cowboys, Last appearance in conference championship: 1995 NFC

While there are no NFL teams that have never made it to the playoffs ever since the AFL and the NFL merged together into the new and current NFL, there are a few teams who have never made or won the Super Bowl.

Which NFL team has never played in the Super Bowl?

The Detroit Lions are the oldest NFL team to have never appeared in a Super Bowl and the only franchise from the NFC to have never played for the trophy. Their last playoff victory came in 1992.

Which NFL teams have never won the Super Bowl?

In all, there are 12 teams who are yet to win the Super Bowl: the Atlanta Falcons, the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and the Tennessee Titans.