The Saddest Super Bowl Losses in NFL History

The Super Bowl is the most-watched event on the American sports calendar and in some years the most-viewed television event of the year. For fans who have invested so much of themselves in the teams that reach the championship game of the National Football League, victory can bring them to the heights of euphoria, and defeat can send them to the depths of disappointment.

With the 58th Super Bowl, or if you prefer Super Bowl LVIII,  fast approaching, 24/7 Tempo has put together a list of the saddest Super Bowl losses in NFL history. We based our list on the closeness of the games, the number of lead changes, and the historical significance of the results. We drew on information from Pro Football Reference and various media outlets and exercised editorial judgment to create our list.

For much of its history, the Super Bowl was criticized for lacking excitement because the game would devolve into a mismatch. This was certainly true in the 1980s, when turbo-charged offenses such as the West Coast offense of the San Francisco 49ers powered Super Bowl winners to an average margin of victory of 22 points, the highest of any decade.

Even so, there are 18 games on our list that were decided by seven points or fewer. Sixteen games were won in the fourth quarter and the winner emerged in the final seconds in 12 of these games. Elation on one side, heartbreak on the other.

The New England Patriots have been the most frequent visitors to the Super Bowl with 11 appearances. They are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for victories with six. Five of the Patriots’ wins have been by six points or fewer. Their wildest win was in Super Bowl LI in 2017 when they extinguished a 28-9 deficit against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter and won in overtime. Patriots fans were deflated at Super Bowl XLII in 2008. New England was on the cusp of NFL history by trying to become only the second team to go undefeated. But the underdog New York Giants shocked them, 17-14.

Fans of the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles are hoping for Super Bowl glory in February after their teams lost the last two Super Bowls by three points. (Here is a list of the team that waited the longest to win a Super Bowl.)

Here are the saddest Super Bowl losses in NFL history.

Super Bowl III (1969)

• Teams: Baltimore Colts-New York Jets
• Result: Jets win, 16-7
• Why it was heartbreaking: The Colts were 18-point favorites and were billed as one of the greatest professional football teams ever assembled, but QB Joe Namath led the upstart Jets to one of football’s biggest upsets and the first Super Bowl victory by the AFL over the NFL.

Super Bowl XXIII (1989)

• Teams: Cincinnati Bengals-San Francisco 49ers
• Result: 49ers win, 20-16
• Why it was heartbreaking: 49ers QB Joe Montana led San Francisco to game-winning TD on an 11-play, 92-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds left.

Super Bowl XLIII (2009)

• Teams: Arizona Cardinals-Pittsburgh Steelers
• Result: Steelers win, 27-23
• Why it was heartbreaking: Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes caught the deciding TD pass among three Cardinals defensive players with 35 seconds left.

Super Bowl XIV (1980)

• Teams: Los Angeles Rams-Pittsburgh Steelers
• Result: Steelers win, 31-19
• Why it was heartbreaking: The underdog Rams led the dynastic Steelers entering the fourth quarter, but a Terry Bradshaw touchdown pass to John Stallworth, a TD run by Franco Harris, and an interception by Jack Lambert gave Steelers their fourth NFL championship.

Super Bowl XLIX (2015)

• Teams: Seattle Seahawks-New England Patriots
• Result: Patriots win, 28-24
• Why it was heartbreaking: Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler intercepted a pass from Russell Wilson at New England 1-yard line with 26 seconds left to preserve the Patriots win.

Super Bowl LI (2017)

• Teams: Atlanta Falcons-New England Patriots
• Result: Patriots win, 34-28
• Why it was heartbreaking: Patriots erased a 28-9 deficit with 19 unanswered points in fourth quarter and won in overtime.

Super Bowl XXXIV (2000)

• Teams: Tennessee Titans-St. Louis Rams
• Result: Rams win, 23-16
• Why it was heartbreaking: The Titans wiped out a 16-0 deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter. The Rams retook the lead on a 73-yard  touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce from Kurt Warner. With 7 seconds left, Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson caught a pass but was tackled 1 yard short of the end zone.

Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004)

• Teams: Carolina Panthers-New England Patriots
• Result: Patriots win, 32-29
• Why it was heartbreaking: QB Tom Brady drove Patriots to within field goal range with 4 seconds left and Adam Vinatieri won it with a field goal from 41 yards out.

Super Bowl XLII (2008)

• Teams: New England Patriots-New York Giants
• Result: Giants win, 17-14
• Why it was heartbreaking: Undefeated Patriots were leading the Giants 14-10 in the fourth quarter. Giants wide receiver David Tyree made a circus catch of an Eli Manning pass, keeping a drive alive that ended with a TD pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds remaining.

Super Bowl XLVII (2013)

• Teams: San Francisco 49ers-Baltimore Ravens
• Result: Ravens win, 34-31
• Why it was heartbreaking: Brothers Jim and John Harbaugh were the opposing coaches. San Francisco fought back from a 22-point deficit to cut the lead to 31-29 in the fourth quarter, but the 49ers two-point conversion failed and they got no closer.

Super Bowl XXV (1991)

• Teams: Buffalo Bills-New York Giants
• Result: Giants win, 20-19
• Why it was heartbreaking: With the Giants leading 20-19 and 8 seconds left in the fourth quarter, kicker Scott Norwood had the chance to win it for the Bills with a 47-yard field goal. However, his kick went wide.

Super Bowl LII (2018)

• Teams: New England Patriots-Philadelphia Eagles
• Result: Eagles win, 41-33
• Why it was heartbreaking: Tom Brady’s final drive ended at midfield with an incomplete pass as time expired. Brady threw for 505 yards and three touchdowns in the New England loss.

Super Bowl XLVI (2012)

• Teams: New England Patriots-New York Giants
• Result: Giants win, 21-17
• Why it was heartbreaking: The Patriots sought revenge over the Giants ruining their perfect season four years earlier. QB Eli Manning drove the Giants 88 yards in 2:49 to put New York ahead with 57 seconds left in the fourth period.

Super Bowl XLIV (2010)

• Teams: Indianapolis Colts-New Orleans Saints
• Result: Saints win, 31-17
• Why it was heartbreaking: Colts QB Peyton Manning was trying to drive Indianapolis to a possible tying touchdown when his pass was intercepted by Tracy Porter with 3:12 left and returned for a touchdown, giving the Saints their first Super Bowl win.

Super Bowl XXXVI (2002)

• Teams: St. Louis Rams-New England Patriots
• Result: Patriots win, 20-17
• Why it was heartbreaking: New England kept “The Greatest Show on Turf” at bay by taking a 17-3 lead into the fourth quarter. The Rams offense woke up and tied the game with 1:37 left. QB Tom Brady drove the Pats 53 yards in nine plays to set up Adam Vinatieri for a 48-yard game-winning field goal with 7 seconds remaining.

Super Bowl V (1971)

• Teams: Dallas Cowboys-Baltimore Colts
• Result: Colts win, 16-13
• Why it was heartbreaking: In a game noted for 11 turnovers, Jim O’Brien won it for the Colts on a field goal with 9 seconds left.

Super Bowl XXXIX (2005)

• Teams: Philadelphia Eagles-New England Patriots
• Result: Patriots win, 24-21
• Why it was heartbreaking: After losing the NFC Championship game three straight years, the Eagles reached the Super Bowl but were hamstrung by three interceptions, including the last one with 17 seconds left.

Super Bowl XVI (1982)

• Teams: Cincinnati Bengals-San Francisco 49ers
• Result: 49ers win, 26-21
• Why it was heartbreaking: The 49ers almost blew a 20-0 halftime lead en route to their first Super Bowl victory.

Super Bowl LVII (2023)

• Teams: Philadelphia Eagles-Kansas City Chiefs
• Result: Chiefs win, 38-35
• Why it was heartbreaking: The Eagles led until the fourth quarter when the Chiefs scored two touchdowns to lead 35-27. The Eagles tied it with 5:15 to go and then QB Patrick Mahomes drove the Chiefs 66 yards in 12 plays to set up the winning field goal from Harrison Butker with 11 seconds left.

Super Bowl LVI (2022)

• Teams: Cincinnati Bengals-Los Angeles Rams
• Result: Rams win, 23-20
• Why it was heartbreaking: The Bengals rallied from 10 points down to go ahead 20-13 in the third quarter. The Rams scored 10 answered points on a field goal and Matthew Stafford’s TD pass to Cooper Kupp with 1:25 to go to win.

Super Bowl XIII (1979)

• Teams: Dallas Cowboys-Pittsburgh Steelers
• Result: Steelers win, 35-31
• Why it was heartbreaking: A second pairing of Hall of Fame QBs Terry Bradshaw of the Steelers and Roger Staubach of the Cowboys in the Super Bowl did not disappoint as both registered a quarterback rating of 100 or above and combined for seven touchdown passes. A Cowboys TD with 26 seconds remaining brought them to within 4 points, but an onside kick was recovered by Pittsburgh.

Super Bowl X (1976)

• Teams: Dallas Cowboys-Pittsburgh Steelers
• Result: Steelers win, 21-17
• Why it was heartbreaking: The Cowboys led the two-loss Steelers 10-7 until the fourth quarter. A safety, two field goals, and a 64-yard scoring strike from QB Terry Bradshaw to Lynn Swann gave the Steelers an 11-point lead. Dallas QB Roger Staubach found Percy Howard with 21-yard TD pass with 1:56 left, but his third interception ended the game.