Four current NFL teams, including franchises that have relocated or been renamed, have never appeared in a Super Bowl: the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans, despite the fact that both the Browns (1950, 1954, 1955, 1964) and Lions (1935, 1952, 1953, 1957) had won NFL Championship Games prior to...
The Lions have only lost three games total in their history. They lost just one game in 1935 and won or went undefeated in 1948 and 1956. The loss in 1935 was due to a players' strike that shortened the season by four games. The other two losses came in 1950 and 2013.
In 1950, the Lions were defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles who would go on to win the first Super Bowl. That same year, the NFL allowed each team to select one player from another team in a draft-like process called "trading up". The Lions chose quarterback Bob Vickery from Duke University and defensive back Dave Edwards from Southern California. Both players would end up playing for the Lions that year. In 1956, the Lions lost again to the Eagles. This time, however, it was not enough to prevent them from winning their third straight title thanks in part to a perfect 12-0 record.
After these two seasons, more than 10,000 fans showed up at Metropolitan Stadium to see if the Lions could win their fourth title in five years. However, they were once again defeated by the Eagles.
The Browns, Lions, Texans, and Jaguars are the only four NFL clubs who have never won the Super Bowl. By comparison, all 16 current National Football League teams have at least one championship.
The Browns were founded in 1946 and have played in every season except for 1951 and 1952. The Browns have never appeared in the Super Bowl. They lost 17 games in a row before winning their first game in 1948. That's two seasons of success out of how many years? That's right - just two. The Browns haven't won more than eight games since 1964, when they finished with an 8-8 record.
The Lions were established in 1950 and have played in every season except for 1954 and 1955. The Lions have never appeared in the Super Bowl. They've lost 13 games in a row before winning their first game in 1953. The Lions haven't won more than seven games since 1992, when they finished with an 7-9 record.
The Texans were established in 2002 and have played in every season except for 2003 and 2004. The Texans have never appeared in the Super Bowl. They're 0-4 all time.
Tennessee Titans, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, and Arizona Cardinals are the only teams who have never won a Super Bowl.
The Buffalo Bills have never won the Super Bowl. They've made the playoffs all eight seasons since their comeback victory over Denver ended with them being denied home-field advantage by an offensive ruling. That loss also prevented them from winning the first NFL title in their history. The Bills came close in 1999 when they lost to Green Bay after leading 21-7 at halftime. Running back Marshall Faulk had two touchdowns and almost 200 yards from scrimmage in that game.
They've also had multiple opportunities to end their drought but always came up short. In fact, the last time they won a championship was before the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. Back then, they were known as the Buffalo Bills/Washington Redskins franchise until the end of the season when they decided to switch leagues. The Redskins were already champions in both leagues so it didn't matter which one they played in - each year was considered the same as another for these teams. The AFL's Buffalo Bills finished the 1960 season as league champs before merging with the NFL team to form one big league club.
The Lions were the first team to finish a full (non-strike shortened) regular season with no victories or ties since the NFL expanded to sixteen regular season games in 1978, going 0-16 in 2008. They are also one of four current teams, and the only NFC team, that has never played in the Super Bowl. The others are the New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, and Washington Redskins.
They have played in every NFL Championship Game but have never won. Their last playoff victory was in 1957 over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Lions have been eliminated by the Cardinals in five straight postseasons.
The most losses by any NFL team is 92, by the Detroit Lions in 2016. Their record is 50-52-2. They play their home games at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The stadium is known for its flashy lights and loud fans. In addition to the Lions, Detroit also hosts two other NFL teams: the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears.
Lions owner William Clay Ford Jr. originally built the Lions as an expansion team in 1952. He wanted to name them the "Browns" after his family's auto dealership in Detroit, but this idea was not approved by the other owners. So he named them after his favorite color - purple. The original Lions went 0-11-2 their first season, but they became a success story right from the start.
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