Dan Marino's lone Super Bowl and this team was his best shot. A 142 season, and the best offense in the league led by Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt, and Isaac Bruce. FPI is working under the assumption that Deshaun Watson will not play for the Texans this season. It was all downhill for Chicago after Devin Hester returned the opening kick for a touchdown. As of now, FPI is working under the assumption that two rookies -- the Jaguars' Lawrence and the Jets' Wilson -- are their respective teams' current starters. San Francisco finished the regular season at just 10-6, and the leading receiver was none other than Roger Craig. John Elway finally won his ring in a well-played game that featured one of the best performances by a running back in Super Bowl history. Cleveland already has one of the game's best pass rushers in Myles Garrett and cornerbacks in Denzel Ward. Well, they play in a division that produced three playoff teams last year. Houston would be much higher on this list if Deshaun Watson's future with the team wasn't uncertain. Here are the 10 teams most likely to win Super Bowl LV: Kansas City vs. Tampa Bay is still not that likely, however. It has happened 8 times to 7 different teams. Interestingly enough, not only has no team won 3 in a row, not a single team has ever made it back to The NFL regular season begins in just days. Yes, the Chiefs -- not the Super Bowl-champion Buccaneers -- are projected to be the best team and also have the best chances to hoist the Lombardi trophy next February. New York didnt want Buffalos explosive offense on the field, so it grinded out the clock on the ground and ended up winning the time of possession battle by about 20 minutes. As Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers went back and forth to win the title, Super Bowl LIV is the 13th-best Super Bowl on our list. ET (Rams, Seahawks, Chargers). The AFC North features two major Super Bowl threats in Baltimore and Cleveland. After power was restored, the 49ers turned what looked to be another big game blowout into a nail-biter that Baltimore won thanks to a goal line stand and some questionable San Francisco play-calling. Take note: This isn't technically a ranking of the teams from very worst to very best, although the worse teams tend to be toward the bottom and the better teams toward the top. Defensively, they were 22nd in points scored against, and it showed in the Super Bowl. Id say so, yes.. Aaron Rodgers hasnt been back since 2011., The Chiefs have gone to two straight. Kansas City's middling defense (No. Washington, despite being the reigning champ and making an improvement at quarterback in the form of Ryan Fitzpatrick, is second (29%), followed by the Giants (15%) and Eagles (11%). US residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data. Peyton Manning needed the Saints and Tracy Porter to not come marching in. Defense wins championshipsor at least they should. Those questions need to be answered in a division where the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers defenses reside. This team just wasn't ready yet. WebThe Los Angeles Rams won in Super Bowl LVI versus the Bengals on February 13, 2022. Bradshaw would go on to complete just 67 passes for 785 yards, seven touchdowns and eight interceptions in his limited action. But it wasn't always so certain that FPI would give Green Bay the love. What will the Buffalo Bills do without defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier? Malcolm Butlers game-winning interception remains the best ending in Super Bowl history. Dallas Cowboys +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total), Realistically, Dallas is in the second tier of teams that could win the Super Bowl.. Again, FPI doesn't think the division is much-improved. The game was won with Ben Roethlisbergers perfect pass to Santonio Holmes, who somehow got two feet down in the back of the end zone. Trent Dilfer. Mahomes becomes the first quarterback to win the regular-season NFL most-valuable-player award and the Super Bowl in the same season in 23 years. The Jaguars and Jets are back-to-back in FPI's rankings -- at Nos. We cant put a Super Bowl featuring Rex Grossman too high on the list, but Peyton Manning winning his first ring salvages this one. This might be controversial among Bills fans, but this team was just as good as the year before. Kansas City Chiefs +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total), Its really hard to get to the Super Bowl. In a season without a normal offseason due to the pandemic, the 142 defending champs looked like easy Super Bowl favorites. Throw in Trent Dilfer leading the other offense and a game that was never competitive, and this is easily the worst Super Bowl of all-time. They have a new head coach, new offensive coordinator, new defensive coordinator, and rookie QB.. In the playoffs, Indianapolis Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt had to have a meltdown of epic proportions to send the Steelers to the Conference Championship and cover up for Bettis' fumble earlier in the contest. FPI then uses those ratings to simulate the season 20,000 times to create projections. The NFL didn't have a full season due to a strike, so it is hard to put a 72 team ahead of others. Terrell Davis three-touchdown game won him MVP honors. Peyton Mannings struggles reinforced the notion that he could be great in the regular season but collapsed in the playoffs. Those first three are the Broncos' first three games of the season, an easy slate right off the bat. The game was a blowout but did give us one of the most iconic moments in Super Bowl history: Don Beebe chasing down a prematurely celebrating Leon Lett. The agony of defeat. Matt Ryan was an MVP and led the best offense, but the defense surrendered 25.4 points per game. The Cardinals added more playmakers to surround Murray this offseason with A.J. Detroit Lions +12500 (bet $10 to win $1260 total), There is a universe in which the Lions ride an inspired Jared Goff and underrated defensive talent to seven or eight wins., But the schedule is brutal six road games against playoff teams from 2020! ONCE. Unfortunately for them, that stopped in the playoffs and in the Super Bowl. The worst of the Bills Super Bowl teams at 115, but Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas still elevated them offensively. Webworst defense to win super bowlaiken county sc register of deeds worst defense to win super bowl Jeremy Fowler polled a panel of more than 50 coaches, execs, scouts and players to come up with top-10 rankings for 2021: Edge | Interior DL | LB If Lance does beat out Garoppolo, that would be a sign he is comparable to the veteran, and thus a downgrade might not make sense. Los Angeles is going to score points this year. So much needs to go right for the Broncos to get into the playoffs, much less the Super Bowl. There are quite a few contenders to win their first Super Bowl in 2021, and the two favorites reside in the loaded AFC. Twelve franchises have never captured a Super Bowl title. The Broncos do have to see Mahomes and the Chiefs twice, but they play only four top-10 FPI teams and get the extra home game for being in the AFC. 5. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Any NFL fan intuitively knows that basing strength of schedule on the previous season's record is a fool's errand because teams' abilities change too much from year to year to go off that, not to mention the fact that a single NFL season is not always a great indicator for the talent of a team. Again, this is all dependent on how Darnold plays. And the NFC South doesn't have any other teams ranked in FPI's top 10. This is one of the worst rosters in the league, but Houston (at least) has a chance to win games if Watson plays. Two years ago, the 49ers were 10 minutes away from winning the Super Bowl, and they return eight defensive starters from that team. This is the first game on this list that was actually competitive going into the fourth quarter, but it was a sloppy affair featuring seven fumbles and a pair of interceptions. But Elways scramble which ended with him being helicoptered in the air remains the most memorable visual from the game. Despite the strength of the division, the 49ers play one of the easiest strength of schedules in the league (SOS rank: 29th). Not having Wentz is certainly a downgrade: FPI's predictive quarterback rating system believes backup Jacob Eason's mean projected season is roughly on par with Wentz's (poor) 2020 campaign. Atlanta is going to miss Jones' big-play ability -- and has a defense set to give up big plays of its own. Indianapolis Colts +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total), Preseason surgery to Carson Wentz and Quentin Nelson could put the Colts down for the count before the calendar turns to October.. One yard away from not even being on this list, the 133 Titans were solid. Maybe the most controversial one on the list. Both teams have two of the most talented rosters in the league and look to make an even deeper playoff run -- finally attempting to end title droughts that have lasted more than a half-century. A better offensive line will help Cousins out immensely, especially with playmakers like Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielenand Irv Smith. You have a few precious hours left to scout rosters, analyze schedules, weigh injuries and place your futures bets on who is going to win Super Bowl 56. Jalen Hurts will not pull a In the Super Bowl, Pittsburgh managed just 16 points and won a defensive slugfest 16-6. The same model expects Wentz to improve considerably off last season but not all the way back to pre-2020 levels. In the end, FPI's projections for the Colts are not all that bad; they have a 44% chance to win the AFC South (second to the Titans) and a 59% shot to make the postseason. By contrast, FPI is bullish on Cleveland's offense -- which ranks third in the league behind the Chiefs and Packers but ahead of the Bills -- but gives the Browns the 18th-best defense. Los Angeles Chargers +3300 (bet $10 to win $340 total), The world loves the Chargers after Justin Herberts incredible rookie year (record-setting 31 TDs). 14. Reggie White was downright unblockable. The Vikings have made the playoffs every odd-year season since coach Mike Zimmer took over in 2014, which bodes well for them in 2021. Another Broncos blowout. Wait, Dilfer isn't iconic. When thinking about the 1990 season, it is hard to conjure up images of anything other than Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood missing a potential Super Bowl-winning kick. If you look at the teams in this stratosphere, theres a lot of continuity at the coordinator positions and, obviously, head coach and QB. To handle the uncertainty in the timing of Wentz's return, FPI gives the QB a very small chance to play in Week 1 and gradually increases the chance of his return until Week 8 -- spanning the range of the recovery timeline laid out last week by coach Frank Reich. As far as the division title is concerned, Baltimore is a narrow favorite over the Browns: 43% to 40%. Over the past three years, Cousins is seventh in passer rating (103.6), second in completion percentage (69.03), fifth in passing touchdowns (91), and 10th in yards per attempt (7.77). They had a top 5 offense and defense. This is how good the NFC West is: There's a 37% chance that three of the four teams reach the playoffs, and there's even a 3% chance that all four get in. Kansas City will be this team's measuring stick, as the Chiefs are the only roster more talented than Buffalo's in the AFC. and a dramatic finish. Baltimore has a unique spot on this list because its inclusion is not based on mediocre talent (it had players like Bubba Smith and Johnny Unitas) or that it struggled to win games (the Colts went 11-2-1). Baltimore Ravens +1500 (bet $10 to win $160 total), The best team in the rugged AFC North, but the least talked about. But hey, they did something right, they were in the Super Bowl. The game wasnt nearly as close as the score indicates, though. While Kansas City's 19% chance to win the Super Bowl might be more than any other team's, FPI is also saying that there's a 4-in-5 chance that a team other than the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl. Ah, the iconic image of Trent Dilfer hoisting his arms in victory. Those numbers should improve under offensive coordinator Joe Brady, as the Panthers will find out if Darnold can become a franchise quarterback. Had Rodgers simply decided to retire rather than suit up, Green Bay's chances to make the playoffs would have dropped from 70% to 24%, and their Super Bowl chances would have dropped from 6% to 0.2%. A year before perfection. Tampa Bay Buccaneers +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total), Yes, I just wrote that 20-0 is in play. Jacksonville Jaguars +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total), "Dont tell me what you think tell me whats in your portfolio. section: | slug: ranking-12-teams-that-never-won-a-super-bowl-by-best-chance-to-win-title-in-2021-high-hopes-in-buffalo | sport: football | route: article_single.us | With Aaron Rodgers' future in limbo, the Vikings could be primed to win the NFC North. Drafting Ja'Marr Chase over Penei Sewell was a questionable move, especially since Cincinnati's atrocious offensive line led to franchise quarterback Joe Burrow tearing his ACL in his rookie season. Adding Marvin Jones to a young receiving unit that already includes Laviska Shenault Jr. and D.J. Pittsburgh Steelers +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total), Their win total is 8.5, yet Mike Tomlin has never finished under .500 as coach of the Steelers. The team had a 142 record and the best offense in the league averaging about 34 points per game, Joe Theismann and Jon Riggins were stars. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! Pittsburgh sent six men to the Pro Bowl, went a decent 10-3-1 in the regular season and, of course, won the Lombardi Trophy. That doesn't even sound like a real record, let alone a division winner. They faced perfection, so how can you be harsh when talking about them? This game will be remembered for two plays: The surprise onside kick to start the second half and Tracy Porters game-sealing pick-6 of Manning. New York's passing attack was somewhere between awful and mediocre. Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris took over the game from there. The wild card is first-time head coach Brandon Staley, who probably is an upgrade over Anthony Lynn but hes only been in the NFL since 2017, so how could anyone say for sure? Nobody has a tougher September schedule: vs Seattle, vs the Rams, at Tennessee, at Miami, at Baltimore. Those numbers are buoyed by two factors: FPI projects them to have the best defense in the league. The 2007 New England Patriots won every game (160) and did so in tremendous fashion. The Chiefs win It was called the "Blunder Bowl" for a reason. The Rams are firmly in the mix this year. The Tennessee Titans are one of 12 teams in the NFL to have never won a Super Bowl, and according to one writer, they are the furthest away from doing so of those dozen teams. Historically, those are difficult to duplicate.. Now, by most accounts, the Steelers were great in 1974. The Panthers and Patriots gave us the most exciting fourth quarter in Super Bowl history, combining for five scores, including an 85-yard pass by Jake Delhomme, which remains a Super Bowl record, and Adam Vinatieris game-winning kick as time expired. Jacksonville was the worst team in the league last year, but the Jaguars were competitive in half of their games (seven of their losses were by one score). Four NFL teams the Browns, Lions, Jaguars, and Texans have never appeared in the Super Bowl. 1 in just about every projection you can imagine, including projected wins (11.5) and chances to reach the playoffs (89%), win their division (72%), be the No. The 2000 Baltimore Ravens featured one of the most stifling defenses ever assembled, allowing only 970 rushing yards all season and five rushing touchdowns. Cleveland hasn't been in a position to win a Super Bowl since Bernie Kosar led the franchise to consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances in the mid-1980s. Self care and ideas to help you live a healthier, happier life. The game that gave us all of those 28-3 jokes. But the rest of the roster is important, too. Kind of. 17. Arizona was on its way to the playoffs before Kyler Murray's shoulder injury limited him late in the season, hurting a potential All-Pro campaign. This isn't entirely a reflection on them, though FPI is never particularly bullish on rookie quarterbacks. With an 11-2-1 record, this group was one of many Vikings teams that should have won the big game. Please check your email for a confirmation. 1: 3: 17: 313: 305: 40.0: That was by design. Im all aboard the Trevor Lawrence bandwagon., 8. Super Bowl V. The New York team that was crowned champion was far from elite. Even without Wentz, the forecast for that stretch is better than one might guess; on average, the Colts win 2.2 of those games, and the chances that they start 0-5 is just over 1 in 20. A smart strategy? Forget about Super Bowl history, this was one of the best games in the history of American sports. The Kansas City Chiefs might have lost Super Bowl LV, but they are still the NFL team to beat this season, according to the new ESPN Football Power Index (FPI) projections for 2021. The game was expected to be a blowout Green Bay was favored by 13.5 points and it was. CB | Safety | OT | Interior OL Out of 35 qualified quarterbacks last season, Darnold finished 33rd in completion percentage, 30th in interception percentage, 32nd in yards per attempt, and 35th in passer rating. Both halves of this one were capped off by remarkable plays. This game mightve been higher on the list if the Jets hadnt pulled off the AFL-NFL upset the prior season. 22. The Los Angeles Los Angeles could put itself in position to contend for a playoff spot. Jalen Hurts will not pull a Kurt Warner this year and lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl.. Jason McIntyre is a FOX Sports betting analyst, and he also writes about the NFL and NBA Draft. They played in plenty of close games, and Steve McNair and Eddie George were superb. An 115 team that didn't exceed in anything, but had John Elway. WebThe Los Angeles Rams won in Super Bowl LVI versus the Bengals on February 13, 2022. worst team defense to win a super bowl The Los Angeles Rams won in Super Bowl LVI Here is a quarterback guru who never could quite develop a quarterback as a head coach. The Patriots dynasty started with a massive upset that ended with a Tom Brady game-winning drive and clutch kick by Adam Vinatieri. The first of the Steelers-Cowboys Super Bowls gave us those beautiful NFL Films shots of Lynn Swanns acrobatic catch. Philadelphia Eagles +7500 (bet $10 to win $760 total), The biggest preseason long shot to win the Super Bowl was the 1999 St. Louis Rams behind unknown QB Kurt Warner; the Rams were 300-1. Ron Jaworski, Harold Carmichael, and Wilbert Montgomery all had a part in this offense. Dick Vermeil's boys just missed out on the Lombardi Trophy with one bad day. Kansas City would be favored by 1.3 points over Tampa Bay on a neutral field if the teams were to suit up for a rematch tomorrow, FPI believes. Osi Umenyiora was the team's only starting Pro Bowler and the Giants trailed in every postseason game they played. In a 122 season, this team only surrendered more than 20 points once during the regular season. Jaguars won't spend big, but here are five players they could target in free agency, The most memorable pre-NFL draft workouts ever: Coaches, scouts, execs make their picks, 2023 NFL franchise tag tracker: Raiders tag Josh Jacobs, the NFL's rushing leader. And they should open 2-0, meaning their odds will get even shorter., Too much turnover on the offensive line for my liking, though, as 37-year old Aaron Rodgers will open the season with three new starters., 7. Winning close games and narrowly escaping the agony of defeat is one way to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, and while that path may not be the most exciting or exhilarating, it has been traveled on multiple occasions. Before arriving at FOX, he created the website The Big Lead, which he sold in 2010. Plenty of fans were made because the 1998 Minnesota Vikings are the best team of all time to never make a Super Bowl. Denver got out to a 10-0 lead before Washington dropped a Super Bowl-record 35 points in the second quarter on the Broncos defense. It's all about the schedule. That's ridiculous. And we'll start with the Chiefs: More: But a lot of credit needs to be given to running backs Ickey Woods and James Brooks, who both combined for 1,997 yards and 29 touchdowns. This team just wasn't ready to win it all yet, but still a very good all-around team with a sneaky productive defense. Putting that unbelievable anecdote aside, the 49ers stumbled into the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals, and Montana did what Montana seemingly always did. Tennessee already has the game's best running back in Derrick Henry and one of the league's best big-play receivers in A.J. Oh, and they had Terrell Owens, who was a superstar. and quarterback rating (112.4). FPI thinks they take another step forward this season. But the outputs are all the same: We're still talking football -- and about the chances of each team's success -- which now includes 17 regular-season games and an expanded playoff field. The market is super high on Buffalo theyre only underdogs in two games, vs Tampa and KC but there likely will be some form of regression. The first five weeks of Indianapolis' schedule are rough, as the Colts host the Seahawks and Rams before hitting the road to face the Titans, Dolphins and Ravens. Tom Brady led the offense with Randy Moss and Wes Welker to score 36.8 points per game. Just when the Falcons appeared to have a team set to contend for a playoff berth in 2021, Atlanta traded Julio Jonesto the Titans for draft picks. On footballs biggest stage we want games featuring memorable teams, star players, plays that well never forget and compelling storylines. People think of Kerry Collins when they think of this 124 Giants squad, but this defense was the real story. Quick, use one word to describe Super Bowl XL in Detroit. Tough division, and they open with three of four on the road. The defense ranked just 24th in the league that year, and a questionable call known as the "Tuck Rule" against the Oakland Raiders in the divisional round helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl when many believed they did not belong. 25. And while the effect isn't dramatic, they would each be a little better off if the other weren't around. The Jaguars are still going to be exciting to watch in 2021 as Urban Meyer is the best college coach to enter the NFL in years, having arguably the most talented quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck in Trevor Lawrence. Dilfer bounced around many teams in his career, but he was lucky enough to helm the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl victory on the strength of their history-making defense. The "Greatest Show On Turf" was the potential dynasty derailed by New England Patriots. It also gave us the first and only Super Bowl blackout. The Colts have the third worst odds at +15000, while the Texans have the worst overall odds at +30000. Well, they blew their lead in the big game, but they also weren't a great defensive team. In one of our 20,000 sims, the Eagles took the crown at 5-11-1. One playoff win and taking the Kansas City Chiefs to the brink last season opened opportunities for the Browns, who possess one of the most talented rosters in the conference. He saved the team from the clutches of defeat and led a game-winning fourth-quarter drive. "Broadway Joe" completed just 49.2 percent of his passes during the season and threw two more interceptions (17) than he did touchdowns (15). Washington Football Team +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total), Ryan Fitzpatrick, a guy who hasnt been to the playoffs in his career, is suddenly going to get to the Super Bowl?. The teams combined for 11 turnovers. The Super Bowl has been around 55 years, yet more than a third of the league has never hoisted a Vince Lombardi Trophy. Miamis three points is still the fewest points scored in a Super Bowl. It is not that these teams were not deserving of a Super Bowl, but rather that they do not stack up when compared to the greatest units the NFL has ever seen. They had a four-game losing streak, two in overtime, they were actually really good on both offense and defense. And Chicago finds itself with eight games against FPI's top 10 teams: at Rams, at Browns, at Bucs, vs. 49ers, vs. Ravens, at Seahawks and then a home-and-home with the Packers. Denver Broncos +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total), Yes, this is irrationally high. Their strategy to run it back with nearly the same squad looks (on paper) like it could pay off; the Bucs have an 85% chance to reach the playoffs and a 15% shot to repeat as champions, according to FPI. Let us first acknowledge that four future Hall of Famers were drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974 (Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster). They started 1-7, fought back into playoff contention, and cratered down the stretch behind backup QB Colt McCoy.. Ryan Tannehill has been a top five quarterback over the last two seasons and it hasn't been talked about enough. Brett Favre had 35 passing touchdowns and Dorsey Levens ran for 1,435 yards. For starters, the NFC has nine road games this season, so a team from that conference was always likely to occupy the top spot. Bettis got his ring before retirement andthe Steelersgreatly overachieved in the process. Love the defense, which is good enough to vault Washington to the playoffs again. The game that confirmed Joe Flacco was elite. But the Super Bowl? WebWhat was the worst NFL offensive team to win a Super Bowl? Buffalo also went 6-1 in one-score games, including the playoff win over the Colts. A.J. W. 23-20. Yet I can see the defense making a Washington-type leap, and the offensive weapons are there for whoever wins the starting job. The Cardinals defense significantly improved with the addition of J.J. Watt and the return of Chandler Jones on the pass rush. Listen below and follow the Pick Six podcast for a daily dose of everything you need to follow pro football. There were 11 total turnovers in the game and the Cowboys took it one step further with a Super Bowl-record 10 penalties. This team is starting to scratch the surface of its potential. Joe Namath may have guaranteed a Super Bowl III win over the Baltimore Colts, but he didn't say anything about being the best team of all time. The NFC West is loaded, but the Cardinals have the talent to win the division. Peyton Manning was on another level this season, leading his offense to score a jarring 37.9 points per game, but the team around him was lacking. Instead, Baltimore is here due to how poorly it played in its Super Bowl win. Yeah, this one wasnt compelling for neutral viewers. ", From the huge offseason losses on the offensive line, to questions about the secondary, to the difficult division there isnt an ounce of value in the Raiders to win a ring., 26. Green Bay Packers +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total), The Packers are tied for the second-best odds to win the NFC, but their arduous schedule includes a league-high 10 games against teams that made the playoffs last year. 23. A great defense and front seven, but their running game hit on all cylinders with 2.305 total team rushing yards. The Bengals should be better, but they aren't close to competing for a championship yet -- especially residing in the AFC North. Not to mention, Reggie White wrecking people on defense. Houston Texans +20000 (bet $10 to win $2010 total), Lowest win total on the board, uncertainty at QB, and a defense that cant stop a nose bleed.. Craving even more NFL coverage focusing on previews, recaps, news and analysis? Joe Montanas first Super Bowl win was nearly squandered after the 49ers let the Bengals nearly erase a 20-point deficit. Plenty of star power like Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks, Aaron Donald, and Ndamukong Suh. It featured the great comeback, the only overtime in Super Bowl history, not one but two spectacular catches and a fascinating chess match between the Falcons and Patriots coaching staffs.