List of NFL franchise post-season droughts
Updated: 5/20/2026, 7:03:18 PM Wikipedia source
This is a list of current and former National Football League (NFL) franchise droughts (multiple consecutive seasons of not reaching a certain achievement) related to the post-season and Super Bowl. The length of a drought is the number of seasons since the last time a franchise achieved a certain milestone. For a milestone that a franchise has never achieved, the length of the corresponding drought is equal to the number of seasons the franchise has been active. All 32 active NFL teams have qualified for the playoffs and won at least one playoff game in their history. Of the 12 teams that have never won the Super Bowl, the seven who predate the institution of the game (the Cardinals, Lions, Oilers/Titans, Chargers, Browns, Bills, and Vikings) had all won an NFL or AFL championship prior to the AFL–NFL merger. In the case of the Vikings, however, the Super Bowl existed at the time they won their only league title (in 1969). Thus, the Vikings along with the other five teams (the Falcons, Bengals, Panthers, Jaguars and Texans, whose history is no older than the Super Bowl itself) are the only franchises to have never won the highest championship available to them. The Cardinals own the longest drought since a championship of any kind, at 78 seasons. Note that for continuity purposes, the Cleveland Browns are officially considered to have suspended operations for the 1996, 1997, and 1998 seasons. Since returning 27 years ago, they have only made the playoffs three times, while the Baltimore Ravens are considered to be a separate team that began play in 1996. The Ravens, as a result of the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy, absorbed the Browns' personnel upon their suspension, but not their history.
Tables
| 0^0 | Longest drought in team history |
| 0Team0 | Last appearance in post-season | Seasons |
| New York Jets ^ | 2010 AFC Championship | 15 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 2017 NFC Divisional | 8 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 2020 AFC Wild Card | 5 |
| New Orleans Saints | 2020 NFC Divisional | 5 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 2021 AFC Wild Card | 4 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 2021 NFC Wild Card | 4 |
| Tennessee Titans | 2021 AFC Divisional | 4 |
| New York Giants | 2022 NFC Divisional | 3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2022 AFC Championship | 3 |
| Cleveland Browns | 2023 AFC Wild Card | 2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 2023 AFC Wild Card | 2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 2023 NFC Wild Card | 2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2024 NFC Wild Card | 1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 2024 NFC Wild Card | 1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 2024 AFC Divisional | 1 |
| Detroit Lions | 2024 NFC Divisional | 1 |
| Washington Commanders | 2024 NFC Championship | 1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Super Bowl LIX | 1 |
| 2025 playoff teams | ||
| Los Angeles Chargers | 2025 AFC Wild Card | 0 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 2025 AFC Wild Card | 0 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 2025 AFC Wild Card | 0 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2025 NFC Wild Card | 0 |
| Green Bay Packers | 2025 NFC Wild Card | 0 |
| Carolina Panthers | 2025 NFC Wild Card | 0 |
| Buffalo Bills | 2025 AFC Divisional | 0 |
| Houston Texans | 2025 AFC Divisional | 0 |
| Chicago Bears | 2025 NFC Divisional | 0 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 2025 NFC Divisional | 0 |
| Denver Broncos | 2025 AFC Championship | 0 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 2025 NFC Championship | 0 |
| New England Patriots | Super Bowl LX | 0 |
| Seattle Seahawks | Super Bowl LX | 0 |
| 0^0 | Longest drought in team history |
| 0♦0 | Most consecutive losses in team history |
| 0¤0 | Tied for most consecutive losses in team history |
| Seasons since win | Team | Last playoff game win | Loss streak | Playoff losses – teams |
| 25 | Miami Dolphins ^ | 2000 AFC Wild Card | 6 ♦ | 2000 – Oakland 2001 – Baltimore 2008 – Baltimore 2016 – Pittsburgh 2022 – Buffalo 2023 – Kansas City |
| 23 | Las Vegas Raiders ^ | 2002 AFC Championship | 3 ♦ | 2002 – Tampa Bay 2016 – Houston 2021 – Cincinnati |
| 15 | New York Jets ^ | 2010 AFC Divisional | 1 | 2010 – Pittsburgh |
| 10 | Arizona Cardinals | 2015 NFC Divisional | 2 | 2015 – Carolina 2021 – L. A. Rams |
| 10 | Carolina Panthers ^ | 2015 NFC Championship | 3 ¤ | 2015 – Denver 2017 – New Orleans 2025 – L. A. Rams |
| 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2016 AFC Divisional | 7 ♦ | 2016 – New England 2017 – Jacksonville 2020 – Cleveland 2021 – Kansas City 2023 – Buffalo 2024 – Baltimore 2025 – Houston |
| 8 | Atlanta Falcons | 2017 NFC Wild Card | 1 | 2017 – Philadelphia |
| 7 | Indianapolis Colts | 2018 AFC Wild Card | 2 | 2018 – Kansas City 2020 – Buffalo |
| 7 | Los Angeles Chargers | 2018 AFC Wild Card | 4 ¤ | 2018 – New England 2022 – Jacksonville 2024 – Houston 2025 – New England |
| 6 | Minnesota Vikings | 2019 NFC Wild Card | 3 | 2019 – San Francisco 2022 – N. Y. Giants 2024 – L. A. Rams |
| 6 | Tennessee Titans | 2019 AFC Divisional | 3 ¤ | 2019 – Kansas City 2020 – Baltimore 2021 – Cincinnati |
| 5 | Cleveland Browns | 2020 AFC Wild Card | 2 | 2020 – Kansas City 2023 – Houston |
| 5 | New Orleans Saints | 2020 NFC Wild Card | 1 | 2020 – Tampa Bay |
| 3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 2022 AFC Wild Card | 2 ¤ | 2022 – Kansas City 2025 – Buffalo |
| 3 | New York Giants | 2022 NFC Wild Card | 1 | 2022 – Philadelphia |
| 3 | Dallas Cowboys | 2022 NFC Wild Card | 2 | 2022 – San Francisco 2023 – Green Bay |
| 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2022 AFC Divisional | 1 | 2022 – Kansas City |
| 2 | Green Bay Packers | 2023 NFC Wild Card | 3 ♦ | 2023 – San Francisco 2024 – Philadelphia 2025 – Chicago |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2023 NFC Wild Card | 2 | 2023 – Detroit 2024 – Washington |
| 2 | Detroit Lions | 2023 NFC Divisional | 2 | 2023 – San Francisco 2024 – Washington |
| 1 | Baltimore Ravens | 2024 AFC Wild Card | 1 | 2024 – Buffalo |
| 1 | Washington Commanders | 2024 NFC Divisional | 1 | 2024 – Philadelphia |
| 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | 2024 AFC Championship | 1 | 2024 – Philadelphia |
| 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | Super Bowl LIX | 1 | 2025 – San Francisco |
| 2025 playoff winners | ||||
| 0 | Buffalo Bills | 2025 AFC Wild Card | 1 | 2025 – Denver |
| 0 | Houston Texans | 2025 AFC Wild Card | 1 | 2025 – New England |
| 0 | San Francisco 49ers | 2025 NFC Wild Card | 1 | 2025 – Seattle |
| 0 | Chicago Bears | 2025 NFC Wild Card | 1 | 2025 – L. A. Rams |
| 0 | Denver Broncos | 2025 AFC Divisional | 1 | 2025 – New England |
| 0 | Los Angeles Rams | 2025 NFC Divisional | 1 | 2025 – Seattle |
| 0 | New England Patriots | 2025 AFC Championship | 1 | 2025 – Seattle |
| 0 | Seattle Seahawks | Super Bowl LX | 0 | 3-game win streak |
| Seasons since win | Team | Last playoff game win | Loss streak | Playoff losses – teams |
| 0♦0 | First round bye |
References
- pro-football-referencehttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/
- "NFL Playoff Picture"http://www.nfl.com/playoffs/playoff-picture
- The record for most consecutive losses in NFL history is nine.
- pro-football-referencehttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/super-bowl/
- Also lost Super Bowl IV pre NFL-AFL merger
- Detroit won four NFL champions pre-Super Bowl era.