The NFL is far and away the most popular sport in America these days, which can make it somewhat easy to forget that it is still relatively young in the grand scheme of things.
Yes, there have been some traces of “professional football” that date back to the late 1800s, but it was still largely informal.
And the first Super Bowl, which has become one of the most well-known sporting events in the world, wasn’t even played until 1967.
As a result, there are still a dozen NFL franchises that have NEVER won the big game.
So—how about we look forward at 2023 and see which of them has the best and worst chances to rewrite the history books?
12. Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals were one of the trendiest picks for the Super Bowl over the past couple seasons with Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray at the helm, but it has really all come unraveled for them.
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Kingsbury was jettisoned out of town after an abysmal four and 13 2022 season—that was somehow actually worse than the record even indicates.
Between the Kyler “study plan” the power struggle between Kliff and the front office—not to mention the resentment that seemed to be spreading throughout the locker room like wildfire… The fact of the matter is that the organization became a comedy of errors—then, to top it all off, Kyler tore his ACL and will now miss the entirety of the 2023 season.
Meaning… New coach, new quarterback, lots of turnover, and a handful of key players sold off ahead of what’s expected to be a very “down” year.
As far as I’m concerned, they are not just near the bottom tier of this list—but frankly, across the entire NFL when it comes to their Super Bowl hopes.
11. Carolina Panthers
For the first time in a long time—really since Cam Newton’s heyday—there is hope in Carolina. They wheeled and dealed their way into the first overall pick and took Bryce Young, who they—and many around the NFL believe is going to be one of the next great young quarterbacks in the league.
That said—there is no guarantee that Young pans out… Ane even if he does it, who is to say that he is this franchise-altering quarterback in year 1. Or that he even gets slotted into the starting lineup year 1!
There is a real chance that the Panthers decide to sit Young and let him learn the offense, while the team continues to stink.
Whether Young starts or not, it will be a long season for the Panthers. If they even scratch their way into a wild card berth that would be a HUGE win.
They really shouldn’t be taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender in 2023 under any circumstances.
10. Houston Texans
The Houston Texans have done well to bring in some good young pieces following a few downtrodden seasons. In 2022, Dameon Pierce emerged as one of the more elusive and explosive running backs in the league.
And the Texans have high hopes for CJ Stroud, their rookie quarterback that they snagged with the second overall pick in this year’s draft. The acquisition of former Cowboys tight end, Dalton Schultz, should be helpful for his development too—as he’s been a super reliable security blanket in years past.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Texans are also sporting an exciting first-round pick, former Crimson Tide defensive end, Will Anderson Jr. – and a new defensive-minded head coach in DeMeco Ryans, who, unlike the last couple of Texans coaches – seems genuinely excited to be in Houston.
“There is no place I wanted to be any more than H-Town,” Ryans told the team’s site after his hiring. “It was an easy pick for me. It was a no-brainer to be here, be home. It was a no-brainer. It wasn’t a difficult decision at all. It was very easy.”
Ryans, however, will have his work cut out for him—even with the talented young core they are building. After all, the Texans have been 11, 38 and one over the past three seasons. There are still A LOT of holes on that roster…
And even with what will likely be a bright future ahead of him, CJ Stroud is far from a known quantity at this point.
I’m not saying he won’t play well… Or that DeMeco Ryans can’t right the ship, but I feel fairly comfortable wagering that they won’t be able to get them to Super Bowl glory in year 1.
9. Cleveland Browns
To be honest, the Cleveland Browns really have no chance of winning the Super Bowl this year… It is going to be another season of sadness in the Midwest.
The front office made the ill-fated decision to hitch its wagons to Deshaun Watson, who look like an absolute shell of his former self during his return last year.
There is still some talent on the roster, with guys like Nick Chubb at running back and Myles Garrett rushing the quarterback off the edge, but the Watson acquisition really handcuffed them salary cap wise, so the talent is fairly shallow.
Besides… until they figure out the quarterback position this team is going nowhere.
8. Atlanta Falcons
We are now heading into the second season of the Arthur Smith regime in Atlanta—and he’s shown he is hellbent on bucking the trend and playing the game the old-fashioned way, by building the team around their rushing attack.
Admittedly, the strategy didn’t go great in 2022… The team was pretty much irrelevant the entire year.
Smith, however, has doubled down—continuing to zig when the rest of the league zags by taking a running back, Bijan Robinson with the 8th overall pick in the draft.
Safe to say this team is going to try and pound the rock this year… And who knows, they may be able to compete for the NFC South title… After all—that is a rather downtrodden bunch there following the departure of Tom Brady.
But the Super Bowl is definitely still a bridge too far.
7. Tennessee Titans
After dominating the AFC South for the last few seasons, the Titans slipped up in 2022 and dropped the ball—largely due to struggles at the quarterback position…
Unfortunately for the folks in the Music City, the questions at the position still exist.
The team rolled the dice on Kentucky product Will Levis early in the second round this year—and he’ll compete with Malik Willis and incumbent starter, Ryan Tannehill for the job.
But expectations are not what they once were in Nashville.
I would be stunned to see this team make a deep playoff run in 2023.
6. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions were one of the more pleasant surprises around the league last year…
After a terrible one and six start, the team rallied to win eight of its final 10 games, narrowly getting boxed out of the playoffs during the final week of the season.
Detroit also had the distinct pleasure of playing spoiler to its division rival, the Green Bay Packers, during Week 18.
Perhaps more importantly though—Jared Goff proved he is still a very legitimate starting quarterback in the league—even without playing in Sean McVay’s system… So much so that he was able to earn a Pro Bowl selection on the strength of 4438 yards, 29 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. In part—thanks to his young wide receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown, who has quietly emerged as one of the best in the game.
The Lions were scrappy in 2022—and they should look to take a big step forward season, but let’s not get crazy and think that means Super Bowl.
After all, the organization has been around for a LONG time and they always seem to find a way to take two steps back after a big step forward.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
After their epic playoff push during the second half of the 2022 season—and the ridiculous comeback they made against the heavily favored Los Angeles Chargers during the Wild Card round, the Jaguars are quickly becoming one of the most “in vogue” dark horse picks around the league.
Trevor Lawrence is starting to look more and more like the “can’t miss” talent that everyone had him pegged as coming out of Clemson—and they’ve actually built a nicely core of skill players around him with guys like Travis Entienne, Calvin Ridley, Zay Jones, and Evan Engram.
Plus, they have a proven winner at the wheel in Doug Pederson.
Jacksonville’s defense is still going to be a big question mark heading into the 2023 season, but the unit definitely improved as last season progressed—and they’ll have some solid continuity with Roy Robertson-Harris and Davon Hamilton returning.
It is still a long shot that the Jaguars make it to the Super Bowl, let alone win it, but who is to say that Trevor Lawrence doesn’t have a run like Joe Burrow did during his second season in the NFL and lead the team all the way there.
And once the big game arrives… anything can happen!
4. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers are one of the older franchise on this list—and they have certainly proven over the years that they have no shortage of creative ways to lose big games…
But hey! If they can put the ugliness of last year’s wild card round meltdown behind them—they have more than enough talent to make a run at winning the Super Bowl this year.
That offense, led by Justin Herbert, could be special if the o-line holds up… And they have a legit game wrecker on defense in Joey Bosa.
All they need to do is make sure that they don’t blow it in typical Chargers’ fashion.
3. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are an interesting case… They are coming off one of the more bizarre 13-win seasons that we’ve ever seen… as they won a number of close—and dare I say—flukey games.
They have a lot of continuity on the offensive side of the ball with the core of Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson as the centerpiece. The loss of Dalvin Cook will hurt, no doubt, but there are a lot of whispers around the league that Alexander Mattison will be able to slide right in there—and the team’s rushing attack won’t miss a beat.
It is also worth noting they will be without longtime wide receiver, Adam Thielen, but they snagged Jordan Addison in the draft to replace him.
What will be most interesting to see—is how their new defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, is able to revitalize a defensive unit that was abominable in 2022.
If he can, the Vikes do have a real chance at contending for a Super Bowl this year.
2. Buffalo Bills
There seems to be a growing belief that the Bills are going backwards since their “Super Bowl window” opened in 2020—going from the AFC Title Game, to two Divisional Round losses that got worse in successive order…
But as far as I’m concerned the Bills still have a great chance at making a deep postseason run this year—and maybe even exorcising their Super Bowl demons by winning the big one.
Obviously, with Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis—and the rest of the gang—that offense should be solid no matter what.
You know… So long as they can cobble together some sort of a running game this year… Preferably one that doesn’t involve their franchise quarterback running around like mad every week.
Nevertheless… What people really seem to sleep on when it comes to the Bills—is their defense. The loss of Tremaine Edwards hurts, but they still have a stud in Matt Milano and Buffalo has one of the better defensive backfields in the AFC, headlined by names like Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.
Between the talent, continuity and coaching, Buffalo’s got a great chance spread smiles all around Western New York come February.
1. Cincinnati Bengals
Las Vegas may have the Bills as slight favorites over the Bengals heading into the season to win the Super Bowl, but that sounds like a sucker’s bet.
Because while Buffalo is obviously an extremely talented team—with stars like Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs, the Cincinnati Bengals have some pretty dynamic players of their own…
Cough, cough… Joe Burrow… Ja’Marr Chase… Tee Higgins… And that’s just on the offensive side of the ball.
Cinci also has some serious game changers on D as well—guys like Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, and Germaine Pratt.
Beyond the personnel—and even beyond the X’s and O’s, Cinci just sort of seems to be better equipped for playoff football than the Bills—or any other team on this list.
After all, we have seen them become perennial Super Bowl contenders since Joe Burrow’s ascension. Coming off two consecutive AFC Title Game appearances—the Bengals are a Super Bowl favorite. No doubt about it.
And they have far and away the best chance of any team that hasn’t one a Super Bowl to get the job done in 2023.
