Football’s preseason is creeping into view, pads are popping again, and the first real 2027 Super Bowl markets have opened.
This is the annual moment where every fanbase convinces itself this is the year and every bookmaker pretends they know something the projection models don't.
The twist in 2027 is that it's not who sits on top of the board. It's how far apart the betting markets and analytics have drifted on a couple of the favorites, with the Bills and Rams making the most noise so far.
Some teams are priced like juggernauts by the best online sportsbook operators, others like question marks by the algorithms, and the gap between vibes and spreadsheets has never been wider.
Which makes this the perfect time to revisit a timeless NFL truth. Every season produces a team that feels inevitable.
Sometimes it dominates the regular season. Sometimes it's brilliant enough to keep running deep into January before hitting the wrong opponent at the wrong moment. Being great is never enough.
One bad quarter, one dropped pass, one impossible catch eventually becomes the entire story.
Some of the greatest teams ever assembled never lifted the Lombardi. That tension, that heartbreak, is exactly what makes this year's contenders so fascinating.
With that in mind, we look back at five of the greatest teams to fall short of Super Bowl glory, from dominant regular-season juggernauts to sides that came within a single play of history.
2007 New England Patriots: The Perfect Season That Wasn't
The Patriots won every game they played for four months, then lost the only one that mattered.
Tom Brady was at the peak of his powers, throwing to Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and Donte Stallworth. Moss was nearly unguardable. Brady was ruthless.
The offense scored 589 points, more than any team before them. The defense had veterans like Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, and Junior Seau setting the tone.
New England arrived at Super Bowl XLII at 18-0. Then came David Tyree's helmet catch, Eli Manning escaping pressure in the pocket, Plaxico Burress stepping into the end zone. The Patriots lost 17-14.
They didn't lose because they were exposed over a long season. They lost because the Giants found one night when impossible things kept happening. The 2007 Patriots are remembered more for their one failure than for everything they did right. That distinction defines why they remain the gold standard for football's almost-immortals.
2006 San Diego Chargers: Most Talent, Wrong Timing
San Diego finished 14-2 and secured the AFC's top seed. LaDainian Tomlinson set records for rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns.
Philip Rivers was still young but competent. Antonio Gates gave them a nightmare matchup at tight end.. The Chargers looked like a team with answers everywhere.
Then came the divisional round against New England. Rivers played through a torn ACL. The Chargers committed costly mistakes. The Patriots won 24-21.
San Diego never reached the AFC Championship Game or the Super Bowl. They lost before the real stage even arrived. The cruelty is specific.
The 2006 Chargers had the best record in football, the league's most terrifying running back, and a defense that could suffocate entire games. They still spent January watching someone else make the trip to Miami.
1990 Buffalo Bills: One Yard Away, Four Years of Pain
While they might be the favourites in the betting odds for this year, Buffalo's early-1990s run was perhaps the best in franchise history. Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, and Bruce Smith led the Bills into Super Bowl XXV against New York.
Buffalo had the ball late with a chance to win. Scott Norwood lined up for a 47-yard field goal attempt. The kick drifted wide right. That miss became one of the most famous images in NFL history.
The Bills would return to the Super Bowl three more times, losing each one. The 1990 team belongs above the later Buffalo squads because it came closest to winning the first one.
It also established the core that would carry the franchise through an era of extraordinary heartbreak. They didn't lose in a blowout. They lost by the width of a football. That sliver of space became the beginning of a four-year nightmare.
2014 Seattle Seahawks: The Goal-Line Call That Changed Everything
Seattle had already won Super Bowl XLVIII, so this franchise has tasted victory. But the 2014 version may have been the best team of the Pete Carroll-Russell Wilson era.
The Legion of Boom was still dominant. Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor set the tone. Marshawn Lynch gave them a physical identity. Wilson created plays when structure collapsed.
Seattle came back from a 10-point deficit against New England in Super Bowl XLIX. With the Seahawks at the Patriots' 1-yard line, Pete Carroll decided to throw instead of hand the ball to Lynch. Malcolm Butler intercepted Wilson's pass.
The Seahawks went from the edge of a repeat championship to one of the most painful defeats ever suffered by a defending champion. They were one yard away from becoming a dynasty. Instead, one goal-line call turned them into the answer to a trivia question nobody in Seattle wants to hear.
There’s plenty of reason to believe they can do it again. The Seahawks head into 2026 with most of the roster that delivered last season's Super Bowl LX triumph still in place, giving them a level of continuity that many defending champions don't get.
There is also a new voice calling the plays in Brian Fleury, while the franchise continues to work on a contract extension for star cornerback Devon Witherspoon.
That combination gives Seattle a strong foundation, but repeating as champions is notoriously difficult.
2021 Cincinnati Bengals: Too Young, Too Soon
Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and a fearless young core changed the Bengals expectations almost overnight.
That whole 2022 season felt like a fever dream. They won the AFC North, survived Tennessee, then stunned Kansas City in overtime in the AFC Championship Game.
Burrow played with veteran calm. Chase looked like a future superstar. The offensive line remained an obvious weakness, but Cincinnati kept surviving.
In Super Bowl LVI, the Bengals led late and had a chance to complete one of the most dramatic rises in recent NFL history. Aaron Donald wrecked the final drive. Los Angeles won 23-20. Cincinnati's case differs from the others.
This wasn't a dominant team that collapsed. This was a young team that reached the summit while still being built. They weren't finished. That was the point. They had arrived at the Super Bowl carrying the feel of a project, and they came within a few plays of completing the whole renovation.
The Pats Remain the Standard
Many franchises have spent decades chasing the Lombardi Trophy. Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, and Jacksonville remain the only teams that have never reached the Super Bowl. Buffalo and Minnesota have each lost four times. But when the question is about the greatest single team, the 2007 Patriots are the strongest answer.
They went 16-0 in the regular season, scored more points than any team before them, and were 12 minutes from completing the first perfect season since 1972.
The 2007 Patriots weren't merely a great team that lost a Super Bowl. They were a perfect team that lost the final game. That distinction is why they remain the gold standard for football's almost-immortals.
Final Thoughts
As the 2027 Super Bowl markets settle and projection models update with preseason data, remember that the favorites on the board won't include any of these teams.
Dominance in September and October means nothing if you can't finish in February. The teams that never won the Super Bowl serve as reminders that being great is just the first step.
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