The number of postseason wins for every NFL franchise

To be fair to the Texans, they have had the least amount of time to rack up playoff wins. They were an expansion team in 2002, and it took some time for the franchise to find its footing. Drafting David Carr (and putting him behind a terrible offensive line that completely destroyed his development) with the franchise’s first pick did not help. Things look promising with C.J. Stroud under center and DeMeco Ryans on the sidelines, but to date the Texans have a 5-7 playoff record.

As you will shortly see, the next two teams on this list are the other expansion franchises since the start of the 1990s (the Browns got their history back when they were reborn in 2000). That makes the Cardinals stand out. An oft-futile franchise, even once it found a stable home in the desert, Arizona has made it to a Super Bowl, but is still 31st on this list. The Cards have seven wins in 17 playoff games.

Notably, the Jaguars won two playoff games in 1996 en route to the AFC Championship Game. That stood out, as it was the franchise’s second year in existence. Indeed, the early days under Tom Coughlin went unexpectedly well, but then there was a turn. Between 1999 and 2017, the Jags won all of one playoff game. In total, they’ve won eight.

The Panthers debuted the same year as the Jaguars. They too made it to the conference title game in 1996, though thanks to a bye only needed one win to get there. Also, Carolina has been to not one, but two Super Bowls, a place Jacksonville has never been. The other years, though, have been fairly barren. Even with two Super Bowl trips, the Panthers have only been in one more playoff game than the Jaguars, 17 to 16, and have one more win, nine to eight.

Imagine how bleak things would be if the Lions hadn’t picked up two playoff wins in 2023. Before beating the Rams and exorcising those demons, Detroit had the longest playoff drought in the NFL, having not won a single playoff game since 1991. That was their first playoff win since winning the title in 1957, which shows you how rough fans of this franchise have had it. Detroit, a team that predates the Super Bowl era, has nine playoff wins, the same as the Panthers.

The Saints have something none of the teams below them on this list, and a few teams above them as well, have: a Super Bowl win. New Orleans was the champs of the 2009 season, with Drew Brees at the helm. Of course, the Saints also had years of being the “'Aints,” the team first associated with fans wearing paper bags over their heads for many. New Orleans has a Super Bowl title, but it only has 10 playoff wins.

The Falcons have been to the Super Bowl twice, but unlike their NFC South compatriots, they don’t have a title. Atlanta ran into John Elway and Tom Brady the two times it got there, which wasn’t ideal. The Falcons have 10 playoff wins, but Arthur Blank is intent on adding to that while he’s around to enjoy it, so they could move up this list.

If you became a football fan in the 2000s, say after Marvin Lewis and Carson Palmer came to town, you probably think of the Bengals being a solid franchise. If you got into the NFL in the 1980s, you may think of them as one of the class squads in the AFC. Of course, the ‘90s fans think of them as the “Bungles.” The Bengals have had some postseason flops as well. They have played in 26 playoff games, but have just 10 wins.

The Bucs won a Super Bowl with elite defense, and then won a Super Bowl with Tom Brady at the helm. In the new millennium, Tampa Bay is, at worst, a well-respected franchise, one that has ebbs and flows, but that’s true for most teams, right? Most of the Bucs’ 12 playoff wins have come in the last 25 years. Prior to that, the Bucs were perhaps best known for losing the first 26 games in franchise history.

Jets fans will always have Super Bowl III, one of the biggest title-game upsets in NFL history. Of course, that was 1968, and few fans remember that any longer. The Jets have not been back to the Super Bowl since, and haven’t even been to the playoffs since 2010. That has made it hard for them to add to their 12 postseason wins.

The Chargers have a reputation of flopping in the playoffs that goes back over a decade at this point. Whether in Los Angeles or San Diego, the franchise has zero Super Bowl wins, and only one appearance, back in 1995. The Chargers have 31 playoff games to their name, but only 12 wins. Once, a 14-2 squad lost its first playoff game, which is perhaps this franchise’s history in miniature.

You could consider the Browns the last of the bottom tier of NFL franchises when it comes to postseason success. The Browns, like the Lions, were a force prior to the Super Bowl era. Since the introduction of the Super Bowl, Cleveland has had a smidge more success than Detroit. The Browns, even with a few seasons of existence in the late ‘90s lost, have 17 wins and 22 losses.

We follow up the Browns with the team that was born out of the Browns franchise. Again, when Cleveland got an expansion franchise, it was given all the old Browns history, which means the Ravens’ history only goes back to 1996. Their 17 wins as a franchise are, as noted, a step up from the 12 of the Browns, but that’s in only 30 playoff games. Their .567 win percentage is top five in NFL history.

For years, the Seahawks’ franchise was neither formidable nor laughable. They just sort of were around. Then, things picked up for a bit. Within the span of a decade, Seattle made three Super Bowls, winning one. The Seahawks’ playoff record feels emblematic of their franchise’s history. They have 17 wins against 19 losses. Solid, not striking in any positive or negative direction. That’s the Seahawks in a nutshell.

The Bears are one of the NFL’s cornerstone franchises. They have not had a ton of playoff success though, clearly. Sure, pre-World War II, the Bears were a force to be reckoned with, but those days are a distant memory. Chicago has been to two Super Bowls, and only won one. The Bears have only played in one more postseason game than the Seahawks, and have the same amount of wins, 17. Sixteen teams have more than 17, which makes the Bears very much middling on this front.

The Titans, and before them the Oilers, have gotten bites at the ample. This franchise has been to 40 playoff games. Many of them have been losses, though. Tennessee also has 17 postseason wins, which means they have 23 losses as well. The Titans have been feel-good stories that ended with Super Bowl defeat and top seeds that failed to deliver. That playoff drought at the end of the Jeff Fisher era, and beyond, didn’t help.

The Bills are the most-successful losers in NFL history. You know what we mean. Buffalo went to four Super Bowls in a row, but won none of them. To make it to four Super Bowls, though, is utterly remarkable. That requires playoff wins, and the Bills have 19 of those to kick off the top half of this list.

The Dolphins once went an entire NFL season without losing, and until another team pulls that off every fan of the franchise (and surviving member of that team) will never let you forget it. There have been plenty of losses in Miami history, though, particularly during the Dan Marino era that yielded zero rings. The Dolphins do take us to a new threshold, though, as they have 20 playoff wins.

On the one hand, the Vikings have played in 52 postseason games. That’s the sixth-most in NFL history. On the other hand, we are not into the top 10, much less the top six, in playoff wins just yet. Minnesota has a 21-31 record in the playoffs. Do you celebrate the success that led to all those playoff games, or lament the general lack of success when getting there?

The Broncos, for many years, were the team that couldn’t make it over the hump. They made it to four Super Bowls in a little over a decade, but lost them all. Then, John Elway got it done, and the Broncos won two Super Bowls in a row. Later, Peyton Manning added another title to the franchise’s history. Even with those four Super Bowl losses (plus another SB loss in the Manning era), the wins needed to get there have given the Broncos a 23-19 playoff record.

The Commanders do not have a single playoff appearance, much less a win, under the current name, but with Dan Snyder a figure of the past things could turn around. Washington has three Super Bowl wins in its history, and two losses as well. The glory days of the ‘80s and early ‘90s are in the past, but this is about franchise history, and the Commanders also have 23 postseason victories.

Like Denver and Washington, Indianapolis has 23 playoff wins. The difference here is that it also has 25 losses, so it does not have a winning playoff record. In Indy, and in Baltimore, the franchise has Super Bowl wins, though. A couple rings and 23 playoff wins? You’ll take that, even with an overall losing record.

Recent years have catapulted the Chiefs up this list. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have joined forces to turn Kansas City into something akin to a modern dynasty, and if it wins another Super Bowl, any equivocating will be thrown out the window entirely. Thanks to all the recent success, the Chiefs have 24 playoff wins.

Al Davis’ motto was “Just win, baby.” While his decisions could feel baffling, for many years the Raiders did just that. Be it in Oakland or Los Angeles, the Raiders won playoff games, and also three Super Bowls. The franchise has fallen on less fruitful times, but 25 playoff wins is rarified air, and that’s with 20 losses. The next three teams on the list, before we get to the upper echelon of NFL franchises, do not have winning playoff records.

Philly gets us back to the realm of teams with over 50 playoff games logged, which puts the Vikings’ history into perspective once more. This isn’t about Minnesota, though! It’s about the Eagles, who finally won a Super Bowl in 2017. They do feel like, with all due respect, a second-tier franchise, so 25 playoff wins against 26 losses feels about right.

The Giants, longtime rivals of the Eagles, get no bragging rights here. New York also has 25 postseason wins and 25 postseason defeats. There is a key difference, though, and that’s sequences. The Giants have been able to bunch those wins together, and thus have four Super Bowl wins to the Eagles’ one.

There is a clear demarcation between the Rams and the top-five teams, but that means the Rams do get to be the “best of the rest,” such as it is. They have 26 playoff wins across Los Angeles and St. Louis. That, of course, includes the miraculous 1999 team and the “Greatest Show on Turf” team that made the Super Bowl but lost. Sean McVay’s revitalization of the franchise was enough to get them above some of the competition, and to get the Rams another title.

When we said there is a gap here, we meant it. The Rams have 26 playoff wins, and the Steelers have 36. Yeah, these teams are at a different level. When you see the teams in question, that will track as well. The Steelers, who have losing records as often as the Lions have playoff wins, have six Super Bowl titles, which certainly helps.

It has been a while since the heyday of America’s team. Most of their 36 playoff wins were a while ago. They all count, though. Dallas has five Super Bowl rings, which is elite company. The Cowboys have made the playoffs plenty in the new millennium. They just haven’t returned to their former glory.

The Patriots were not one of the NFL’s gold-plated franchises. Then, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady arrived. While the Cowboys achieved most of their greatness prior to the new millennium, the Patriots are the franchise of the 2000s. New England also has six Super Bowl wins, and 37 playoff wins in total. Additionally, its .627 winning percentage is the best of any franchise.

By dint of winning the first two Super Bowls, the Packers were etched in stone as a storied NFL franchise. Of course, they had postseason success before the introduction of the Super Bowl, and have two Super Bowl wins after the original pair. Like the Patriots, the Packers have 37 playoff wins, but with four more losses than what the Pats have.

Atop the heap, you find the 49ers. By making it to the most-recent Super Bowl, admittedly a loss, the Niners rose to the top of this list. San Francisco now has 39 playoff victories. The franchise has five Super Bowls as well. While, like the Cowboys, none have come since the 1990s, the Niners have been to three Super Bowls in the new millennium. Maybe they haven’t been at their peak, but they have kept winning, and that’s how they got here.