The quest for Super Bowl LVII is heating up as 14 teams square off to battle it out in the 2023 playoffs. For some teams, the postseason is familiar territory– after all, more teams than ever before have the chance to play for the Lombardi Trophy. But for others, playoff appearances have still proven to be elusive.
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Which team has the most playoff appearances in NFL history?
The Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys are now tied for the most postseason appearances all-time at 35 apiece. The Packers have historically dominated the postseason but failed to make the 2023 playoffs with a Week 18 loss to the Lions on SNF, allowing the Cowboys to tie the record with their eventual playoff berth.
Meanwhile, the New England Patriots have dominated the playoffs in the NFL’s modern era with 18 postseason appearances since 2000 and 28 total appearances. But the Kansas City Chiefs have emerged as a recent challenger to the Patriots’ postseason legacy, advancing now to eight straight postseasons, including two straight Super Bowls in that stretch.
The New York Giants, who are tied for the third-most playoff appearances of all time, will finally return to the postseason this year– just the second time in the last decade. The Cleveland Browns, who were left outside of the 2023 playoffs, are within the top 10 of the league but they have made just one playoff appearance since 2002.
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Which team has the fewest playoff appearances in NFL history?
Meanwhile, the bottom five teams in the NFL have 13 or fewer playoff appearances. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers round out the bottom five teams in the league, despite their recent success. When the Buccaneers advanced to the playoffs in the 2020 season (and eventually went on to win Super Bowl LV over the Kansas City Chiefs), they snapped the second-longest active postseason drought in history. In his tenure in Tampa Bay, Tom Brady has led the Bucs to the playoffs each of the last three years.
The Jacksonville Jaguars (8) were able to add an appearance to their resume this year after clinching a spot and winning the division in a Week 18 win vs the Titans. They’re joined by the Arizona Cardinals (10), Carolina Panthers (8), and Houston Texans (6) which round out the four teams in the league with 10 or fewer playoff appearances.
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All-time playoff appearances by each team, as of the 2023 NFL playoffs:
Green Bay Packers: 35
Dallas Cowboys: 35
New York Giants: 33
Pittsburgh Steelers: 33
Los Angeles Rams: 31
Minnesota Vikings: 31
Cleveland Browns: 29
Indianapolis Colts: 29
San Francisco 49ers: 29
Philadelphia Eagles: 29
New England Patriots: 28
Chicago Bears: 27
Commanders: 25
Tennessee Titans: 25
Kansas City Chiefs: 25
Miami Dolphins: 24
Las Vegas Raiders: 23
Denver Broncos: 22
Buffalo Bills: 22
Los Angeles Chargers: 20
Seattle Seahawks: 20
Detroit Lions: 17
Cincinnati Bengals: 16
Atlanta Falcons: 14
New Orleans Saints: 14
New York Jets: 14
Baltimore Ravens: 14
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13
Arizona Cardinals: 10
Carolina Panthers: 8
Jacksonville Jaguars: 8
Houston Texans: 6
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