The NFL Teams With The Fewest Playoff Appearances

When judging an NFL franchise’s success, most people first look at the number of championships won and then the number of playoff appearances. So, what teams have the fewest playoff appearances? At the bottom of the list with no playoff appearances is the team that is also the only team in the National Football League to have never made it into the postseasons, the Houston Texans. Lets explore beyond the Texans though as they’ve only been in the league since 2002.

Next up on the list is the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers burst onto the scene in 1995 and in the following season they made it all the way to the Conference Championship game before losing one game short of a Super Bowl appearance. With this immediate success, it comes as shocking to some that in their entire history, the Carolina Panthers have only made the playoffs 3 times.

The third team on the list of teams with the fewest playoff appearances is the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens have only been around since 1996, and only have 4 playoff appearances. The Baltimore Ravens deserve a bit of a break though as during one of their playoff runs (2000) they did manage to win the Super Bowl.

There are three teams tied for fourth on this list. The New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, and Jacksonville Jaguars all just have 6 playoff appearances. While Jacksonville may have an excuse, they have only been in the league since 1995, the other two teams do not. New Orleans entered the league as an expansion franchise in 1967 and the Cardinals have been in the league since all the way back in 1920.

The last team in the NFL to have only made a single digit number of playoff appearances in their history is the Atlanta Falcons with 8 playoff appearances. Following the 1998 NFL season though, the Falcons did at least make a Super Bowl appearance.