Lost to the eventual champion in 8 straight seasons
Happy Independence Day, folks. July 4th, 1776 was the day our forefathers declared independence in a remarkable document that’s worth your full read. What’s known in America as the Revolutionary War began in earnest in 1775, reached ***official*** status as a revolution on this day in 1776: that was when the Declaration of Independence was adopted by Congress. Seven years later, the British surrendered, and the war is still known there as the American War of Independence. But let’s not give the British too much grief: after all, Britain was the runner-up in the Revolutionary War, which earns them a silver medal in that competition.
So today, let’s look at the best runners-up in NFL history. Two teams have lost in the playoffs to the eventual champion in four straight years.
1990-1993 Bills; 1967-1970 Raiders (4)
The early ’90s Bills famously lost in four straight Super Bowls, to the Giants, Redskins, and then twice in a row against the Cowboys. But Buffalo isn’t the only team to lose to the Super Bowl champion four years in a row: the Daryle Lamonica/Willie Brown/Gene Upshaw/Jim Otto Raiders pulled off that in the final three years of the AFL and the first year of the post-merger NFL.
In 1967, Oakland made it to the Super Bowl, but lost to the Packers. In 1968, Oakland staged a classic game against the Jets for the AFL title before New York upset the Colts in Super Bowl III. In 1969, the Raiders went 12-1-1 and led the AFL in points, yards, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and yards per attempt. In the playoffs, Oakland beat Houston 56-7, but fell to the Chiefs, 17-7, in the AFL Championship Game. Then in 1970, the Raiders again were on the doorstep of the Super Bowl, but lost 27-17 to the Colts in the AFC Championship Game.
In addition, here are the teams that lost in the playoffs to the champ in three straight seasons.
1951-1953 Browns; 1961-1963 Giants; 1973-1975 Raiders; 1978-1980 Oilers; 1987-1989 Vikings; 2000-2002 Raiders; 2003-2005 Colts; 2011-2013 49ers
The Otto Graham Browns were great, winning the AAFC Championship all four years from ’46 to ’49. Cleveland also won the NFL Championship in 1950, but nearly won it all in *eight* straight seasons! Cleveland lost in the NFL Championship Game to the Rams in ’51, before falling to the Lions in ’52 and ’53.
The early ’60s Giants were star-studded, with Y.A. Tittle and Alex Webster and Del Shofner and Frank Gifford and Jimmy Patton and Sam Huff. New York lost in the NFL title game in three straight seasons: first, to the Lombardi Packers in ’61 and ’62, before falling to the great defensive powerhouse known as the ’63 Bears.
From ’67 to ’76, the Raiders lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions SEVEN times and won the Super Bowl once. That’s how close the Raiders were to being perhaps football’s greatest dynasty: the other two years were ’71 and ’72, when the Raiders missed the playoffs at 8-4-2 and lost to the Steelers (who later lost to the Dolphins) due to perhaps the most famous play in NFL history. In ’73, Oakland lost to the Dolphins in Miami; in ’74 and ’75, the Raiders season was ended by the Steelers.
The Earl Campbell Oilers had a similar fate, losing to the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game in ’78 and ’79. Houston, then led by Ken Stabler, lost to the Raiders in the wildcard round of the 1980 playoffs.
The later ’80s Vikings met the 49ers in the playoffs in three straight seasons. In ’88 and ’89, San Francisco crushed the Vikings en route to back-to-back Super Bowls. But in ’87, Minnesota shocked a dominant San Francisco team, before losing to the Redskins in the NFC Championship Game. The Vikings actually lost in the playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl champion 12 times: ’69, ’71, ’73, ’74, ’76, ’77, ’82, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’99, and ’09, on top of losing in the NFC Championship Game as favorites in both ’98 and ’00.
And hey, let’s talk about the Raiders some more. The Rich Gannon Raiders also were close to winning it all three years in a row. In the 2000 AFC Championship Game, Gannon was knocked out of the game by the ferocious Ravens defense; Baltimore went on to win the game and the Super Bowl. The next year, the Tuck Rule kicked Oakland out of the playoffs, and you may have heard that the Patriots then won the Super Bowl. And in ’02, Oakland actually made it back to the big game, but was blown out by the Bucs.
The Peyton Manning/Marvin Harrison Colts also had some Patriots-inflicted silver medals. Indianapolis lost to the Patriots in ’03 and ’04, and then to the Steelers in ’05: all three teams went on to win the Super Bowl. The Colts finally won it all the *next* year, but Indianapolis arguably had better teams in ’03 and especially ’04 and ’05.
Finally, we have the Jim Harbaugh and Colin Kaepernick 49ers. San Francisco had an unbelievably stacked team from ’11 to ’13, but 30 months later, that roster had been depleted. San Francisco lost to the Giants at home in the 2011 NFC Championship Game, to the Ravens in the 2012 Super Bowl, and in Seattle in the 2013 NFC Championship Game. The 49ers also lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion four times from ’90 to ’96 (New York, Dallas, Dallas, and San Francisco): considering San Francisco won it all in ’88, ’89, and ’94, that means San Francisco won the Super Bowl or lost to the Super Bowl champion 7 times in 9 years, with ’91 (San Francisco had the 2nd best SRS rating, but went 10-6 and missed the playoffs due to some bad luck) and 1995 (lost to Packers) being the only exceptions.
We at Football Perspective wish you a very happy, and very safe, Fourth of July.