If it feels like the playoffs this season are packed with underdogs and up-and-coming teams, you’d be correct.
While some of the traditional powerhouses made it past Week 18, many of the teams in the playoffs were part of the new era of the NFL, from smaller markets and with younger histories.
What makes a traditional powerhouse? Hardware, and there’s no bigger or brighter trophy than the Vince Lombardi trophy awarded to the Super Bowl Champion.
Still, some teams stay in the conversation of contenders but struggle to win on the biggest stage.
Read on for more information about which teams are the most frequent guests of the Super Bowl and how they fare in the big game.
What NFL teams have the most Super Bowl wins?
The Patriots and Steelers are the bluest of the blue bloods thanks to a record six Super Bowl trophies apiece.
Sports
All six victories for New England came in the 21st century under the leadership of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. In the three seasons since Brady’s departure, the Patriots missed the playoffs twice and were routed by the Buffalo Bills in the wild card round in 2021.
Steelers fans haven’t been as fortunate recently. Four of their six Super Bowl titles came in the 1970s, followed by a 26-year drought. In 2005, rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led Pittsburgh to its fifth trophy in a win over the Seahawks. They returned to the Super Bowl in 2008 in a showdown between Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner, beating the Cardinals 27-23 behind 131-receiving yards from game MVP Santonio Holmes.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Closely behind the Patriots and Steelers, sits the Cowboys and 49ers with five Super Bowls each.
There are thirteen teams in total who have won two or more Super Bowls. Check out the list below to see what teams are in the multiple-win club.
NFL teams with six wins
- New England Patriots
- Pittsburgh Steelers
NFL teams with five wins
- San Francisco 49ers
- Dallas Cowboys
NFL teams with four wins
- Green Bay Packers
- New York Giants
NFL teams with three wins
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Denver Broncos
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Washington Commanders
NFL teams with two wins
- Miami Dolphins
- Indianapolis Colts
- Baltimore Ravens
What NFL teams have the most Super Bowl appearances?
It’s simple statistics -- the more chances you have at the Super Bowl, the more likely you are to win. And boy, have the Patriots had chances. Eleven, to be exact.
In 20 seasons with the Patriots -- one of which he missed entirely due to a knee injury and one of which he was the backup -- Brady made it to the Super Bowl a staggering nine times. He’s already maintained that average in Tampa Bay, winning a Super Bowl in his first season with the Bucs before retiring after the 2022 season.
Top 10 teams with the most Super Bowl appearances:
- New England Patriots (11)
T-2. Pittsburgh Steelers (8)
T-2. Dallas Cowboys (8)
T-2. Denver Broncos (8)
5. San Francisco 49ers (7)
T-6. Green Bay Packers (5)
T-6. New York Giants (5)
T-6. Washington Commanders (5)
T-6. Las Vegas Raiders (5)
T-6. Miami Dolphins (5)
T-6. Kansas City Chiefs (5)
What NFL teams have the most Super Bowl losses?
These are the real heartbreakers. The teams that are so close, yet never able to close the deal.
With the exception of the Patriots, who have five losses to their name as a result of the sheer number of times they’ve made it, many of these teams have struggled to move into the upper echelon of the NFL.
NFL teams with five losses
- New England Patriots
- Denver Broncos
NFL teams with four losses
- Minnesota Vikings
- Buffalo Bills
NFL teams with three losses
- Dallas Cowboys
- Miami Dolphins
- Los Angeles Rams
- Philadelphia Eagles
Have any NFL teams never made the Super Bowl?
Fans of the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns are part of a club everyone’s desperately trying to leave.
These four teams have never appeared in a Super Bowl. In fact, the Texans have the distinction of being the only team in the NFL to never make a conference championship. To give them the benefit of the doubt, they also happen to be the newest franchise, formed in 2002.
What NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl?
When you account for teams that have made the Super Bowl, but haven’t won, the club gets a little bigger with the addition of eight more teams.
From the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals have all made the Super Bowl but have never won. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl.
Four of those teams made the postseason last year -- the Vikings, Chargers, Bengals and Bills.
How many teams have won back-to-back Super Bowls?
While some teams would do anything to have one Super Bowl win to their name, others have the fortune of winning back-to-back titles.
Consecutive Super Bowl victories have occurred eight times in NFL history by seven different teams.
Teams that have won consecutive Super Bowls:
- Green Bay Packers (Super Bowls I and II)
- Miami Dolphins (Super Bowls VII and VIII)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (Super Bowls IX and X; Super Bowls XIII and XIV)
- San Francisco 49ers (Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV)
- Dallas Cowboys (Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII)
- Denver Broncos (Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII)
- New England Patriots (Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX)
The three-peat remains a Super Bowl unicorn as no team has successfully pulled it off.
