The 13 Worst Teams to Make it to the Super Bowl

Image via Complex Original

Season: 2010-11
Regular season record: 10-6
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Key players: Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson
Coach: Mike McCarthy
Won Super Bowl: Yes

This is a chicken/egg situation. This Green Bay team had as many as 15 players on injured reserve by the end of the season, meaning a fully healthy Packers team isn't in this predicament. The fact that they pulled off a run may show how deep their roster was (Or, how good Aaron Rodgers is). But as only the second No. 6 seed to ever win a title, they deserve a slide on our list.

At one point the Pack were 8-6, meaning they rattled off six straight elimination game wins to hoist the trophy named after their legendary coach. Some would argue that shows the heart of a champion. We would argue that they just got hot at the right time. They beat the Giants and Bears to finish the regular season (had the Bears won their "meaningless," contest they would've eliminated the Packers. We'll explain why that's relevant in a sec).

Admittedly, Green Bay did play a gauntlet in the postseason, even beating No. 1 seed Atlanta by 27 in the Dirty South. But their NFC title foe was an overrated Bears team whom the Packers were significantly better than if you looked at overall point margins (Chicago: +48, to Green Bay: +148). The game would've never existed had the Bears anemic offense been able to muster ten points in their regular season finale against the Cheeseheads. Their inability to choke out the barely breathing Packers eventually came back to bite them like a hunter who takes pity on a bear cub.

The game was hard fought but Green Bay experienced a bit of their own luck when Jay Cutler went down and the Bears were forced to go with fan favorite (for some fucking reason) Caleb Hanie. Hanie, arguably the worst backup in the league, threw a pick six to defensive tackle B.J. Raji. The Packers walked away with a seven point win to face Big Ben Roethlisberger, searching for his third ring and won, 31-25 thereby justifying the Pack brass telling Brett Favre to pound sand when he wanted out of retirement.

Season: 2005-06
Regular season record: 11-5
Opponent: Seattle Seahawks
Key players: Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, Hines Ward, Casey Hampton, Troy Polamalu
Coach: Bill Cowher
Won Super Bowl: Yes

Behind second year QB Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers were off to a hot 7-2 start before dropping three straight with a dinged up, sometimes out, Big Ben. As a No. 6 seed the Steelers were forced to go on the road to win all three playoff games on their trip to Super Bowl 40.

In the second Round, they got a playoff gift and barely escaped after "The Bus" Jerome Bettis fumble on the 1 to open the door. But Roethlisberger chased down DB Nick Harper and barely ankle tackled him before he could streak into Steeler territory and, inevitably, the endzone. The season saving takedown set up Mike Vanderjagt the "idiot kicker," who completely biffed the game tying 46-yard FG. It was his only career playoff miss in the RCA Dome and contributed to his crappy reputation in Indy. He never kicked again for the Colts.

After stomping the Broncos in Denver, the Steelers benefited from some officiating mistakes to become the lowest seeded World champ in NFL history, a feat that wasn't equaled until the Pack bounced the Steelers five years later.

Season: 1999-2000
Regular season record: 13-3
Opponent: St. Louis Rams
Key players: Steve McNair, Eddie George, Jevon Kearse
Coach: Jeff Fisher
Won Super Bowl: No

Despite a 13-3 record, the Tennessee Titans had to play an additional playoff game as a Wild Card, due to a 14-2 Jacksonville squad (back when those actually existed). But they easily could've been bounced in the first round, if not for a "Music City Miracle" (i.e. an illegal forward pass) the Titans would not have advanced to lose by a single yard in Super Bowl 34. Down 16-15 with 16 seconds left, tight end Frank Wycheck threw a "lateral" to wideout Kevin Dyson who sprinted 75 yards down the field to ice the game, and strike another postseason blow into the collective nutsack of Buffalo.

The next week, the Titans beat a young Peyton Manning (in his first career playoff game) 19-16 in a horrible performance for the second-year phenom. We didn't know it yet but it would be the first in a string of eyebrow raising postseason losses for the GOAT regular season quarterback. They then crushed the aforementioned Jaguars 33-14 after dominating them 23-0 in the second half. Part of their success was their ability to matchup with Jacksonville. The Jags went 15-3 (including the playoffs) that season, with all three losses coming to Tennessee.

That matched them up against "The Greatest Show on Turf," a team that was challenging the antiquated notion that "defense wins championships." On paper it looked like a joke. The Rams pleased the nation's gamblers by holding a 16-0 lead well into the third quarter. But the Titans stormed back and pulled within one possession for the game's final drive that took 1:54 and ended with the outstretched lunge of Kevin Dyson. Had he been born with 10-foot long arms he would've been a hideous freak mocked relentlessly from cradle to grave. But, at least he'd have that ring.

Season: 2007-08
Regular season record: 10-6
Opponent: New England Patriots
Key players: Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress, Osi Umenyiora, Michael Strahan
Coach: Tom Coughlin
Won Super Bowl: Yes

With a Wild Card berth and a point differential of +22, the Giants hardly seemed like a team ready to decimate the dreams of a 19-0 Patriots season. They featured only one pro-bowler in DE Osi Umenyiora, and went 0-4 in the regular season against playoff teams.

After escaping the first two rounds of the playoffs with relative ease, the Giants had to visit a Hoth-like Lambeau Field (-18 degrees) to beat a Packers team that looked destined to represent the East and give their resident gunslinger Brett Favre a chance to finish his Packers career with no drama, except that of dethroning Tom Brady on his noble quest for undefeated greatness. The Giants hung with them, and Favre wilted (again) throwing a crucial INT to Corey Webster to deliver an OT victory for the "G-Men." The same Packers team that smashed them 35-13 in September, lost their chance to send Favre off as a hero instead of some flip-flopping pervert.

This set them up against the previously mentioned 18-0 Patriots. The game remained close and perfectly aligned giving the Giants a dramatic chance to bankrupt bookies nationwide. To get to the promised land they needed a rigid pocket passer to escape a collapsing o-line and then throw to a no-name wideout who used his helmet instead of his hand. This unlikeliest of plays led to Eli throwing a 13-yard TD pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left.

Season: 1996-97
Regular season record: 11-5
Opponent: Green Bay Packers
Key players: Drew Bledsoe, Curtis Martin, Terry Glenn, Willie McGinest
Coach: Bill Parcells
Won Super Bowl: No

After starting the season 0-2, the Tuna-led New England Patriots won seven of their next eight to matchup against the best team in the AFC, the Denver Broncos. The Broncos put them in their place with a 34-8 bucking to embarrass the New Englanders in front of a home crowd that may as well have burned their money. It served as a reminder that you're going to have to get through them for a chance at the AFC title.

Fortunately for them, the Jacksonville Jaguars stunned the Broncos 30-27 in 36-degree Denver. This meant that the Florida team would have to pull a cold-weather miracle off again next week in 23-degree (with 19 MPH wind) Foxboro. The Patriots matched up better with the Jags, beating them by three in overtime earlier in the season. The cold clearly got to Mark Brunell and company, and the wind caused a muffed punt by Jacksonville. Seizing their opportunity, the Patriots won 20-6, and had a date with the vastly favored Brett Favre-led Packers.

New England actually pulled within six in the 3rd quarter but their hopes were dashed mere seconds later by a 99-yard TD return via Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard. In the end, the Patriots lost the turnover battle 4-0 and got dispatched easily, 35-21. It was the 13th straight Super Bowl claimed by the NFC. Next year, John Elway and the Broncos would stave off any upset attempts and finally snap the streak.

Season: 2012-13
Regular season record: 10-6
Opponent: San Francisco 49ers
Key players: Joey Flacco, Ray Rice, Ray Lewis
Coach: John Harbaugh
Won Super Bowl: Yes

The defending champs (which is true for another two weeks) barely held out for the AFC North title, after losing four of their final five games without their emotional (see: fucking insane) leader in retiring Ray Lewis. This allowed them to play a dome team from Indianapolis outdoors in the elements.

The thing about the 2012 Ravens was that without their vaunted defense, they lacked any real identity. They were middle of the league on both sides of the ball. But, all you need to do is get your foot in the playoff door. And their Wild Card berth did just that.

They dispatched the Colts then stepped on the field against a Denver team that looked like a clear favorite to win the AFC. After the prevent failed to stop the only play it's designed to stop, Peyton Manning threw an interception and opened another door for the Ravens to walk away the gift-wrapped victors, 38-35 in double OT.

They came into Foxboro the next week and beat another living legend in Tom Brady, by putting together an unbelievable, and uncontested, fourth quarter. This allowed the Harbaugh brothers to play out Madden wet dreams worldwide and face-off in the Super Bowl.

The 49ers looked like the team to beat. With Alex Smith they were good, but with Colin Kaepernick they were unstoppable. Their defense ranked amongst the tops in the league as well. But the Ravens started off hot and led 21-6 at the half. To open the third quarter Jacoby Jones took the opening kick 108 yards to the house to pad the lead to 22.

At that point, according to completely off-the wall theories, Commissioner Roger Goodell dipped into cartoonish super-villainy and had the power go out causing a massive delay allowing the Niners to re-calibrate (even after a lengthy halftime show), and  San Francisco jumped back into the game. It came down to a final stand for Baltimore but they had one last gasp and Ray Lewis went out a champ.

Season: 2011-12
Regular season record: 9-7
Opponent: New England Patriots
Key players: Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, Jason Pierre-Paul
Coach: Tom Coughlin
Won Super Bowl: Yes

The 2011-12 New York Giants were actually outscored by six points over the course of the season, making them the first team in Super Bowl history to make the big game despite a negative point margin. To put that in perspective, eight teams in 2011 alone outscored their opponents and didn't even make the playoffs (including the 6-10 Miami Dolphins and the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks). But since they were in a division with Tony Romo, Michael Vick, and Rex Grossman, they made the playoffs by default.

The season looked at its bleakest in the midst of a four-game losing streak from November 13 to December 4. On the last day of the season, they beat the Cowboys in New Jersey, 31-14, to gain entry into a certain one-and-done playoff experience. They then crushed the Falcons (10-6) and the Packers (15-1) before benefiting from two Kyle Williams fumbles and a muff to stink slightly less than the Niners (13-3) and enter a rematch against Tom Brady and the Pats (13-3). They also became the third team (joining the '79 Rams and '08 Cardinals) to make the Super Bowl despite a 9-7 record.

In the Big Game there were no miracles comparable to Eli's connection with David Tyree, four years earlier. Just a good solid gameplan and one perfectly timed Wes Welker drop that cemented the victory and ruined the night for gamblers everywhere. The win gave Eli his second championship victory over Tom Brady, helped him to surpass his brother as the Manning with the most rings (for now), and made the 2011-12 Giants the only 9-7 team in Super Bowl history to actually win the game.

Season: 2003-04
Regular season record: 11-5
Opponent: New England Patriots
Key players: Jake Delhomme, Steven Davis, Mushin Muhammad, Steve Smith, Julius Peppers
Coach: John Fox
Won Super Bowl: No

The Panthers had the seventh best record in the NFL and only outscored opponents by 21 points in a year where their opponents' combined win percentage was well below .500. Out of their 11 wins, only four came by more than three points. The team only featured two Pro Bowlers, and slid past Philadelphia in the Conference Championship thanks to Ricky Manning's three interception career day from nowhere. Despite losing the Super Bowl (by a mere field goal) the team proved that miracles can happen in the form of Jake Delhomme leading a team to the season's final game. Afterward the conversation focused less on Carolina and their improbable run, and more on Janet Jackson and her humongous knockers.

Season: 1989-1990
Regular season record: 11-5
Opponent: San Francisco 49ers
Key players: John Elway, Bobby Humphrey, Vance Johnson, Steve Atwater
Coach: Dan Reeves
Won Super Bowl: Uh, no

In 1989, the Denver Broncos were the AFC's clear No. 1 seed as they were the only team in the conference to register victories in the double-digits. In the NFC they would've been the No. 5 seed. They had lost three of their final four games, backing into the playoffs. They got their second wind and barely scraped by Pittsburgh, by a single point, in their first playoff contest. They then avenged their regular season loss against the Cleveland Browns to win their inferior conference.

What happened next is open to interpretation, but those who watched claim that the Broncos got slapped in the face with 49er dicks and lost 55-10. Eight touchdowns were allowed (two in every quarter) and John Elway got pinned as a player unable to win the big one, a prognostication that would've landed '80s sportswriters their own show on ESPN if the network could've become a non-stop gasbag fest just 15 years earlier.

Season: 1985-86
Regular season record: 11-5
Opponent: Chicago Bears
Key players: Tony Eason, Craig James, Irving Fryar
Coach: Raymond Barry
Won Super Bowl: No

The 1985 New England Patriots qualified for the second season as the second Wild Card after taking a tiebreaker over the Broncos. They won three playoff games in a row, convincingly, to represent the AFC in the title game. The Pats then faced the enviable task of having an opportunity to beat the '85 Bears. A team so boisterously cocky that they did a "Super Bowl Shuffle," in mid-November. The "unenviable" part was the fact that the Bears were one of the best teams in history and were primed to devour the Patriots like a Goldilocks with a realistic ending.

The Patriots were beaten by 36 points, a Super Bowl record that was broken four years later. The Bears led 44-3 entering the fourth quarter, and had such contempt for their opposition that they trucked William "The Fridge" Perry through an alleged goal line defense as if they were on such an easy setting they could score with whomever they wanted. New England rushed for seven yards in the game and had only four plays (out of 21) that went for positive yardage in the first half against Chicago's mythic 'D.' 

Season: 1994-95
Regular season record: 11-5
Opponent: San Francisco 49ers
Key players: Stan Humphries, Natrone Means, Junior Seau
Coach: Bobby Ross
Won Super Bowl: No

After starting the season 6-0, the San Diego Super Chargers dwindled down over an eight-game (see: half the season) stretch in which they went 3-5. The Bolts survived with two wins in the final two weeks, but looked destined for a one-and-done postseason experience, fitting for NFL fans in San Diego.

They won in their divisional round meeting by a single point over the Dolphins after kicker Pete Stoyanovich missed a 47-yard game-winning FG try, by roughly 47 yards. They then benefited from unseasonable warmth on a 59 degree day in the middle of January in Pittsburgh to best the one-seeded Steelers 17-13. They stunned western Pennsylvania with two 43-yard TD passes in the second half off the golden arm of Stan "The Child" Humphries (career QB rating: 75.8).

On Super Bowl Sunday, the clock struck midnight for this cliche Cinderella squad and they got their balls blown up with a firework by a Steve Young-Jerry Rice tandem that connected for three scores, (Young finished the day with a half-dozen TD passes and as an additional insult to injury he was the game's leading rusher). How bad was it? The Chargers were the biggest underdogs in Super Bowl history (+18.5) and the Niners actually covered with ease. It was the second time that season that San Diego matched up against their cohorts from Northern California. They lost by 23 both times.

Season: 2008-09
Regular season record: 9-7
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Key players: Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald
Coach: Ken Whisenhunt
Won Super Bowl: No

Led by a back-from-the-dead Kurt Warner, the Arizona Cardinals won an extremely weak NFC West that lacked another .500 team and featured two squads with four wins or less. Over the entire 16-game campaign the Cardinals had an overall margin of +1 point. The second worst in history amongst NFL teams (and a record at the time). That's because when the Cardinals lost, they lost big, losing by 21-plus points four times and getting rocked by the Patriots 47-7 in Week 16. That's the type of thing that can happen to a pampered dome team in Foxboro in December. So fortune smiled upon them when they got to play two home games (as a No. 4-seed), and one in Carolina during the postseason.

Onto Super Bowl 43 (which was roughly Kurt Warner's age at the time), they faced the Mike Tomlin-led Steelers whom the Cardinals led late into the fourth quarter before Big Ben connected in the corner to Santonio Holmes (above), therefore ruining the dreams of underdogs worldwide and reminding all of us that there's no reason to ever try if the odds are stacked against us, even the slightest bit. 

Season: 1979-1980
Regular season record: 9-7
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Key players: Pat Haden, Wendell Tyler, Nolan Cromwell
Coach: Ray Malavasi
Won Super Bowl: No

The season got off to a bad start before the NFL Draft, in April, when team owner Carroll Rosenbloom drowned in the Atlantic Ocean. By mid-November they were 5-6. They made the playoffs at 9-7, by beating up on their incredibly shitty division with a 5-1 mark inside the NFC West (making them 4-6 against everyone else). It was the seventh straight season that the Rams won their division, but the only time they'd advance to the season's final Sunday.

Their passing game was non-threatening, alternating between two QBs (Pat Haden and Vince Ferregamo), the team threw 29 picks to 19 touchdowns. To put that in perspective, that's really fucking bad. Ferragamo did lead them to a win in their divisional playoff matchup against Dallas, when he threw a 50-yd TD pass on a short crossing route with two minutes left to win by two. The next week they shutout the Bucs with a 9-0 victory to claim the NFC.

Their "feat" had them as the team with the worst record in the history of the Super Bowl (it wouldn't be matched again for 29 years). In the Super Bowl, they led the defending champ Steelers heading into the fourth quarter before relenting, and losing, 31-19. Over the entire 16-game season, they had only outscored their opponents by 14 points—the closest the City of Angels ever came to achieving Super Bowl glory, up until that point. The next year they moved to Orange County and eventually delivered a championship to St. Louis leaving L.A., and these guys, sick.