As the Patriots and Seahawks look to add another championship to their trophy case on Sunday, 30 teams will be watching with envy after falling short.
Only two teams can make the Super Bowl every year and just one can win it all, leaving 31 franchises dissatisfied. Some teams ended the season with a top-five pick in the draft while others came just a few plays short of the Super Bowl. What they all share in common is they are disappointed come February.
For each team that failed to make the Super Bowl, here’s a look back at the exact moment their season went wrong.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals entered their Week 5 game against the Titans on a two-game losing streak after falling to the 49ers and Seahawks. In a tough NFC West division, their matchup against the Titans offered the chance for Arizona to get right.
They appeared to be on their way to doing that as they entered the fourth quarter up 21-6 and running back Emari Demercado broke free for a 72-yard rushing touchdown to extend their lead. The only problem? Demercado let go of the football before he crossed the goal line and fumbled it out the back of the end zone for a Titans touchback.
Look away, Cardinals fans 🫣
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 5, 2025
(via @NFLonCBS) pic.twitter.com/JmtwZEI5pD
That play began a bizarre collapse for the Cardinals as the Titans scored touchdowns on their next two drives. This included a play that saw Arizona intercept Cam Ward before fumbling the interception which Tennessee recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Between that wild ending and Jonathan Gannon ripping into Demercado, the Cardinals’ season quickly fell apart.
Atlanta Falcons
A week after announcing themselves on Monday Night Football with a dominant performance from Bijan Robinson to upset the Bills, the Falcons proved unable to build off their play in a loss to the 49ers in Week 7.
It was far from a domination by the 49ers or an ugly game by the Falcons, Atlanta was simply unable to get going consistently or capitalize in big moments—such as on a key fourth down in the fourth quarter. The Falcons had the potential to be a playoff team—especially in a weak NFC South—but their lack of consistency or ability to gain momentum after a big win kept them from reaching that.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens’ loss to the Chiefs in Week 4 saw Baltimore fall to 1-3 on the season and superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson exit the contest with a hamstring injury that caused him to miss four games.
Not only did the Ravens lose Jackson for several weeks due to the injury he sustained, this loss also showed the Ravens’ defense was simply not the same dominant force this year. After already giving up big performances to the Bills and Lions, the Ravens allowed nearly 400 yards of offense and four touchdowns to a Chiefs offense that had been struggling entering this game.
The Ravens still had a chance to win their division and make the playoffs well after this loss, but it was clear in this game they weren’t the team many thought entering the season.
Buffalo Bills
Early in their divisional round game against the Broncos, the Bills were rolling with both Josh Allen and James Cook running the ball seamlessly. After taking a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, the Bills were driving into Broncos’ territory and ready to add to their lead when James Cook fumbled the football and Denver recovered. Instead of the Bills going up by at least a full touchdown, they came away with no points as the Broncos went down the field and score a touchdown of their own.
The Bills still had plenty of chances to win, but they did lose their momentum after that fumble. Following Cook’s fumble, Allen fumbled twice and threw two picks, with his interception in overtime proving to be the final straw in the Bills’ season. The Broncos scored 16 points off the Bills’ turnovers, which allowed them to win the game.
Carolina Panthers
After emerging as a contender in the NFC South, the Panthers twice blew opportunities to beat the Saints in what should've been two winnable games for Carolina. These losses showed that the Panthers were not quite ready to take advantage yet.
This season overall was a quality step up for the Panthers—they still made the postseason and played well vs. the Rams in the wild-card round—but they also didn’t capitalize on all the chances they had.
Chicago Bears
It’s hard to say the 2025 season “went wrong” at any point for the Bears when they completely exceeded expectations. The Bears didn’t always play the prettiest football and needed some exceptional comebacks to make it to the divisional round, but if anything, they went further than they should have.
KAM CURL PICKS OFF WILLIAMS IN OT.
— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2026
LARvsCHI on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/hpVRSPWjaD
This is the case too for their divisional round matchup against the Rams. Los Angeles was in prime position to get a stop and win the game before Caleb Williams made the most unbelievable throw under immense pressure on fourth-and-4 to tie up the game. He went on to throw an interception in overtime while targeting D.J. Moore as Rams cornerback Kam Curl made an impressive diving catch in the snow.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals go as Joe Burrow goes, and after Burrow suffered another unfortunate injury in Week 2 that sidelined him for two months, the Bengals’ playoff hopes came crashing down.
Joe Flacco did a nice job filling in for Burrow once the Bengals traded for him, but given the porous state of the defense, it wasn’t enough for Cincinnati to overcome the loss of their star quarterback. The Bengals went just 1-8 in Burrow’s absence, but were 5-3 when he was available to play. Given the weaker state of the AFC North, it’s hard to imagine the Bengals wouldn’t have been in the thick of the division race had Burrow managed to stay healthy.
Cleveland Browns
After earning an impressive upset over the Packers in Week 3, the Browns’ offense cost the team in their game against the Lions in Week 4. On a day that saw Cleveland hold Detroit to 277 yards of offense, it was three turnovers by Joe Flacco that were the key difference in the game as the Lions scored 17 points off those turnovers to earn a 34-10 win. The Browns benched Flacco for rookie Dillon Gabriel, who was later benched for Shedeur Sanders as Cleveland’s offense never got going.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys’ 2025 campaign went wrong in the preseason when they traded Micah Parsons and left their weak defense without its best player, but their flaws really showed in a Week 8 loss to the Broncos. The Cowboys were dominated 44-24 as Dak Prescott threw two picks, once again showing that Dallas had practically no shot if their offense wasn’t spectacular.
Denver Broncos
The biggest mistake in the Broncos’ AFC championship game loss came in the second quarter when backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham was sacked and tried throwing the football away. The pass was ruled a backwards throw and fumble, and was recovered by the Patriots deep Broncos’ territory. Two plays later, New England scored its lone touchdown of the day.
Jarrett Stidham throws a backward pass and it's #Patriots ball.
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) January 25, 2026
The refs blew it dead, so the touchdown doesn't count...
Should've let the play finish. That's brutal... pic.twitter.com/OEO6liyKBz
The Patriots’ offense wasn’t able to do much of anything against the Broncos, especially when the field became entrenched in snowfall. Had Stidham’s fumble not given them an easy seven points, Denver’s defense might have been able to keep the Patriots from reaching the end zone and scoring.
Detroit Lions
Coming off two straight NFC North division titles, the Lions disappointed this season by falling short of the playoffs. Their woes became especially apparent during their first loss to the Vikings in Week 9, which saw interior pressure greatly affect Jared Goff and gaffes like a David Montgomery fumble and blocked field goal help Minnesota earn the win.
The Lions still had other opportunities to earn a playoff spot after that loss, but that defeat set the stage for the errors and disappointment to come.
Green Bay Packers
After blowing a 10-point lead in their second regular season game against the Bears, the Packers took things a step further by blowing a 21-9 fourth quarter lead in their wild-card matchup against Chicago. Despite a four-touchdown performance by Jordan Love, the Packers fell victim to Caleb Williams magic and exited the playoffs in the wild-card round for the second straight season.
Caleb Williams really made this throw on 4th and 8 😱 pic.twitter.com/lVKFf5p6yH
— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2026
Houston Texans
In a wide-open AFC playoff bracket, the Texans and their championship-caliber defense were in a tremendous position to make a run for the Super Bowl, or at least, their first AFC championship game appearance. The Texans were the hottest team entering the postseason, entering on a nine-game winning streak.
Unfortunately, quarterback C.J. Stroud self-imploded at the worst possible time. After throwing eight touchdowns to just two picks over his final five regular season games, Stroud’s ball security fell apart in the postseason. He fumbled five times against the Steelers and lost the ball twice, but the Texans were still able to win. The following week, the Texans were unable to overcome his turnover woes, falling to the Patriots 28-16 as he threw four picks.
Indianapolis Colts
Though the return of Philip Rivers was an unexpected feel-good story, the Colts were not the same after Daniel Jones got injured in early December. Jones led the Colts to a historic start offensively, but suffered a fracture in his fibula. Jones played through that injury before he ultimately tore his achilles early in a loss to the Jaguars in Week 14.
After Jones first popped up on the injury report, the Colts lost their final seven games of the season. They lost control of the AFC South and their spot in the playoffs, bringing a sad end to a once-promising year.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars had an excellent opportunity to extend their 7-3 lead over the Bills in the wild-card round of the playoffs after recovering a Buffalo fumble on their kickoff return. The Jaguars reached fourth-and-2 from the Bills’ 9-yard line, and decided to go for it. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence kept the football and had a great angle to get the first down, but stumbled and dove for the marker too early. The Jaguars turned the ball over on downs, and Buffalo went on to score a touchdown of their own. Jacksonville had other chances to win the game, but this play kept them from stealing the momentum early.
Kansas City Chiefs
For much of the Chiefs’ dynasty under Mahomes, they’ve been the ones coming through in the clutch. That was particularly the case last year, when they excelled in close games to go 15-2. In Week 11 though, the Chiefs punted on their final two drives while Mahomes was sacked on their last drive. The Broncos drove down the field to kick two field goals on their last drives, including the game-winner to hand Kansas City a 22–19 loss.
This loss cemented that these Chiefs were not the same team they’ve been since Mahomes took over, and that the Broncos were the best team in the division this year.
Las Vegas Raiders
After beating the Patriots in Week 1—an outcome that gets more surprising by the week—the Raiders showed their true form in a Week 2 loss to the Chargers. Facing Los Angeles on Monday Night Football, quarterback Geno Smith threw three picks and Ashton Jeanty rushed for just 43 yards as the Raiders lost 20-9. The game was emblematic of the issues to come, with Smith committing too many turnovers while Jeanty was unable to run the ball efficiently. The Raiders only won two more games the rest of the season, and earned the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers’ season first went wrong in training camp, when Pro Bowl offensive tackle Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending torn patellar injury days after signing a contract extension.
Though that injury was a big loss for the Chargers, their season truly went wrong when second-year tackle Joe Alt went down with a season-ending ankle injury in early November. The Chargers were down their two best offensive linemen and quarterback Justin Herbert was under relentless pressure for the rest of the season.
The Chargers did advance to the playoffs, but not until they finished the season ranked last according to ESPN’s pass-rush win rate rankings, 31st in PFF’s pass-blocking grades and 32nd in their run-blocking grades. They were exposed even more in the postseason, when Herbert was sacked six times as the offense mustered just three points in a loss to the Patriots.
Los Angeles Rams
Early in the third quarter of the NFC championship game, the Rams were set to get the football back trailing Seattle 17-13 before returner Xavier Smith muffed the punt. The Seahawks recovered the football and scored a touchdown one play later to extend their lead to 24-13.
FUMBLE ! Quelle erreur désastreuse de Xavier Smith sur ce punt #Seahawks
— NFL France (@NFLFrance) January 26, 2026
📺 @W9 | @beinsports_FR 1️⃣ #NFLextra
📱 @DAZN_FR pic.twitter.com/SPl54myibw
Though the Rams battled back and had the chance to re-take the lead late in the game, that muffed punt put them in a deficit to start the second half and made their path to come back and win much more difficult. After special teams plagued the Rams throughout the season, they haunted them again at the worst time.
Miami Dolphins
From the first time the Dolphins possessed the ball this season, it was clear they were in trouble. Tua Tagovailoa threw a pick on their first drive of the year, and they turned the ball over on two of their next three drives as well as the Colts walloped them 33-8.
Cam Bynum intercepts Tua and is back on his elite celly game 😭#MIAvsIND on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/pU08FPXYJo
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
Miami lost six of their first seven games before winning five of their final eight and finishing a respectable 7-10. They benched Tagovailoa for their final three games, and have turned the page to the Jeff Hafley era.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings missed out on re-signing Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones during the offseason, and that decision came back to especially hurt the team when second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy suffered an ankle injury in the team’s Week 2 loss to the Falcons. Carson Wentz did a serviceable job in McCarthy’s place before suffering a season-ending injury of his own. Ultimately though, the injury slowed down McCarthy’s development in his first year as a starter and also contributed to the Vikings failing to build off or match their 14-3 campaign from a year ago.
New Orleans Saints
After playing the Cardinals and 49ers close in their first two weeks of the season, the Saints got a complete reality check as the Seahawks dominated them 44-13 in all three phases of the game in Week 3. The Saints were predicted to be one of the worst teams in the NFL before the season so this was no surprise, but they did notably improve late in the year by winning four of their last five games. They’ll look to build off that finish in 2026.
New York Giants
The Giants entered their Week 7 game against the Broncos at just 2-4, but they were 2-1 with rookie Jaxson Dart at the helm and heading in the right direction. They appeared to be on their way to another upset when they went into the fourth quarter up 19-0.
In the fourth quarter though, the Giants collapsed, giving up 33 points and allowing the Broncos to come back and win. The Giants did score two touchdowns of their own in the quarter, but it wasn’t enough to fend off Denver, especially after they missed their final extra point attempt. The Giants lost eight straight games after their loss to Denver and head coach Brian Daboll was fired a few weeks after the defeat.
New York Jets
After a close loss to the Steelers to open up the season, the Jets showed their true colors in a Week 2 loss to the Bills. Quarterback Justin Fields exited the game early in the fourth quarter with a concussion, and completed 3-of-11 passes for 27 yards before his injury. Tyrod Taylor added 56 passing yards as the Jets recorded their first of four games with fewer than 100 passing yards.
New York also got scorched on the ground as they gave up over 200 rushing yards. They’d finish 29th in rushing yards allowed per game by the end of the season.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles’ offense had been stale for much of their season prior to their second game against the Cowboys, but their performance vs. Dallas saw these issues actually come back to bite them. After getting off to a 21-0 lead by the second quarter, the Eagles didn’t score a single point in the second half of the game as the Cowboys came roaring back to win 24-21 in Week 12.
Before this game, the Eagles were often able to win even when their offense played poorly. Their loss to the Cowboys marked the first of three straight losses, and though Philadelphia still won the division and made the playoffs, it exited in the wild-card round as the offense failed to find its way.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers’ offense was unable to do much of anything in their wild-card game against the Texans, but their chances of pulling off a comeback took a hit when Aaron Rodgers was strip-sacked and Sheldon Rankins ran the football to the end zone for a touchdown. The play gave Houston a 17-6 lead, and they would extend it with two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to defeat Pittsburgh 30-6.
A beautiful rumble for Sheldon Rankins. pic.twitter.com/rv1DG1b7oV
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2026
San Francisco 49ers
Though the 49ers endured their first major personnel losses in Week 1 when both George Kittle and Brock Purdy sustained injuries that caused them to miss significant time, the loss of Nick Bosa to a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3 shook the team up in a different way.
The 49ers were able to withstand the injuries to Kittle and Purdy, especially since both players were set to return later in the year. When the 49ers lost Bosa though, it marked the first of two irreplaceable losses for the defense, along with Fred Warner. Though the 49ers impressively withstood the injuries long enough to make the playoffs and advance to the divisional round, their pass rush was practically nonexistent after losing Bosa, hampering their defense long-term.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After starting the season 6-2 and looking like one of the best teams in the NFL, the Buccaneers began struggling as they took on the toughest part of their schedule. Tampa Bay lost seven of its last nine games of the season, but no loss proved more telling than the Bucs’ loss to the Saints in Week 14.
Tyler Shough called his own number for the game-winning TD 🙌 @visa pic.twitter.com/3a749oxzLU
— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2025
Before the loss to the Saints, the Buccaneers had fallen to the Patriots, Bills and Rams in consecutive weeks. While those losses were discouraging for a team with hopes of a deep playoff run, they were also at the hands of good teams. The Buccaneers held off the Cardinals the following week before losing to the Saints, a defeat that truly showed Tampa Bay not only wasn’t in the class of the upper-echelon teams, but might not be good enough to win the NFC South. The Buccaneers then fell to the Falcons, Panthers and Dolphins before winning their final game of the year vs. Carolina. By that point, it was too little, too late as the Buccaneer lost the division title for the first time since 2020.
Tennessee Titans
Not much was expected out of the Titans during the 2025 season, and those expectations proved correct for a Tennessee squad that finished the year 3-14.
If there was a moment the season “went wrong,” it was when rookie quarterback Cam Ward was stripped sacked in a loss to the Rams in Week 2. Prior to the sack, the Titans were only trailing the Rams 20-16 in the fourth quarter. The Rams converted that fumble into a touchdown, and went on to earn a convincing 33-19 win. Overall, Ward was sacked a league-high 55 times, an area he and the Titans will have to clean up heading into his sophomore campaign.
Washington Commanders
Fresh off an appearance in the NFC championship game with their Offensive Rookie of the Year-winning quarterback, the Commanders had high hopes entering the 2025 campaign.
FUMBLE! BEARS BALL!
— NFL (@NFL) October 14, 2025
CHIvsWAS on ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/l6Ps1NW7Kj
Those hopes took a big hit six weeks into the season when the Commanders faced the Bears on Monday Night Football. The Commanders entered the game at 3-2, and appeared on their way to a win as they moved the ball into Chicago territory up 24-22 with a little over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. On a third-and-1, Jayden Daniels fumbled and the football was recovered by the Bears. Chicago moved the football into field goal range and made the game-winning kick to snatch the victory.
After the game, the Commanders lost their next seven games and finished the season 5-12 as Daniels was in and out of the lineup due to injury. The result was eerily similar to their game against the Bears the year before, with opposite results. In 2024, the Bears entered their matchup vs. the Commanders at 4-2, but lost to Washington on a miraculous Hail Mary. They went on a long losing streak immediately after, and won just one more game the rest of the way.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Exact Moment the 2025 Season Went Wrong for Every Team Not in Super Bowl.
