Which of this year’s NFL playoff teams have never won the Super Bowl?

With one week remaining in the 2025–26 regular season, the playoff picture is largely set – but history is still very much in play. Four franchises that have never won a Super Bowl have either clinched a postseason berth or remain directly involved in decisive Week 18 battles that will determine their seeding and, in one case, whether they enter January as a division champion.

Before narrowing in on those four, here is the full historical context.

Every NFL franchise that has never won the Super Bowl

Twelve teams remain without a Lombardi Trophy:

• Cleveland Browns (0 appearances)
• Detroit Lions (0 appearances)
• Houston Texans (0 appearances)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (0 appearances)
• Arizona Cardinals (1 appearance)
• Los Angeles Chargers (1 appearance)
• Tennessee Titans (1 appearance)
• Atlanta Falcons (2 appearances)
• Carolina Panthers (2 appearances)
• Cincinnati Bengals (3 appearances)
• Buffalo Bills (4 appearances)
• Minnesota Vikings (4 appearances)

Only four of those 12 are part of the current playoff field or directly shaping it entering Week 18.

The four Super Bowl-less teams still alive in the 2025 playoff picture

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville enters Week 18 at 12–4, firmly in the mix for both the AFC South title and the AFC’s No. 1 overall seed. A win over Tennessee guarantees the division and keeps alive a path to the conference’s lone first-round bye. A franchise that has never even reached a Super Bowl is now one of three teams still mathematically alive for the top seed in the AFC.

Houston Texans

Houston sits at 12–4 and controls its own postseason destiny. The Texans can still win the AFC South with a victory over Indianapolis combined with a Jaguars loss. Even without the division, Houston has already secured a playoff spot, ensuring another postseason opportunity for a franchise still searching for its first conference championship appearance.

Buffalo Bills

Buffalo has already clinched a playoff berth at 11–5, but Week 18 will determine seeding. The Bills are locked into the postseason once again as they attempt to finally rewrite the most painful Super Bowl résumé in league history: four appearances, four losses, all without ever lifting the trophy.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers are also safely in the field at 11–5, but like Buffalo, their final regular-season game will shape their road in January. Despite decades of high-end talent and consistent competitiveness, their lone Super Bowl appearance remains a lopsided loss three decades ago.

Why Week 18 still matters for history

None of these four teams are coasting into the playoffs. Jacksonville and Houston are directly tied to one another in the AFC South race. Buffalo and Los Angeles are jockeying for positioning that could determine whether their postseason begins with a favorable matchup or an immediate uphill climb.

History does not guarantee opportunity. But heading into the final weekend, one-third of the league’s Super Bowl-less franchises that still exist are alive – and four of them are already in the bracket or fighting for the hot spots.

For at least one, January offers another chance to finally leave this list behind. But a February celebration in the Bay Area still seems a long way off.

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