The NFL is just about as American as it gets in sports. Football is big, bad, loud, and colorful, yet with all the happy endings and spectacular finishes, you have to feel for the teams that just never have things go their way. Of course, these teams are comprised of players that all have their own tales of misery. For some, they get so close to glory only to see it stripped away at the last second.
Throughout the years, we have seen teams play out of their skins only to never attain success. Is there an unluckier team in sports history than the Buffalo Bills in the 1990s? How any team can reach four straight Super Bowls – only to walk away as losers every time – is just cruel. Yes, you have to take your chances and get the plays right in order to win, but I will always feel sad for Buffalo fans…
Of course, it is not just the Bills that have suffered in NFL. How about the New York Jets? Can any fan of the Jets refrain from thinking of what could have been had Bill Belichick not stayed for just one day as head coach before moving to the Patriots? Well, Jets fans would soon be reminded what bad luck is if there is a Minnesota Vikings fan around. When talking about bad luck, surely the Vikings have the worst in the history of the NFL, right? Well, maybe a Cleveland Browns fan would disagree.
The NFL has seen its fair share of hard luck stories over the years and this will always be the way. The future is set to provide more tales and legends of calamitous errors, last-play capitulations, and teams that just can’t seem to get over the line. Below, however, we will take a look at the players that had it all in terms of talent, but somehow, just never got a single ring.
There is a fair chance that you most reading this would have expected to see at least one Buffalo Bills player make this list. If one player of the tragically unlucky Bills had to be mentioned, that man is Bruce Smith. The Bills, as mentioned prior, own the unwanted record of appearing in four consecutive Super Bowls and losing every single one. It is not the type of statistic any player wants on their resume.
For any professional, the highest achievement in football is winning a Super Bowl. Of course, a player that has made the Super Bowl four times in a row and walked away empty-handed each time would probably not be criticized too harshly for having a playing violinist walking behind them for the rest of their lives. Of all the exceptional players for Buffalo, Smith was probably the best.
Bruce Smith was the first-overall pick in the 1985 NFL Draft. The Norfolk, Virginia-native went on to enjoy 19 years as a pro and drew huge plaudits for his speed and strength. An edgy and quickfire defensive line, Smith made 100 tackles twice in his career (in 1990 and 1993). Without a doubt, Smith was a major reason for the Bills winning six titles and making those four Super Bowls.
To this day, Smith is still the all-time sacks leader in NFL history with 200. He made the Pro Football Hall of Hame in his first year of eligibility (2009) and is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Smith has some other impressive accolades to boot, including 11 Pro Bowls, 8x First-team All-Pros, 2x Second-team All-Pros, and was a member of the NFL All-Decade Teams of the 1980s and 1990s.
When I think of the greatest offensive linesmen in the history of the NFL, Anthony Munoz is usually the first name that comes to mind. While Munoz made a big impact in his 13 seasons at Cincinnati, he was not always considered to be a sure thing. In fact, as the Bengals’ third overall pick in 1980, there were some who believed that the injury problems Munoz carried through college could have made him a liability rather than a legend.
Munoz, who stood at 6ft 6 inches and weighed 278 pounds, started in his first season as a left tackle for the franchise and showed no signs of having any injury problems at all. In fact, Munoz missed just three games in his first 12 seasons as a Bengal. An incredibly dedicated trainer, the Ontario, California-native was regarded for his hard work in the gym and his dedication to fitness.
Statistically, he was a revelation for the Bengals. Munoz was the Offensive Lineman of the Year in both 1981 and 1988. He picked up the NFL Players Association Lineman of the Year in 1981, 1985, 1988, and 1989. He also bagged the NFL Alumni Association’s Offensive Lineman of the Year honors in 1987, 1989, 1990, and 1991. It is common to see Munoz’s name mentioned alongside the true greats of the NFL.
Unfortunately, for all Munoz’s talent, the Bengals lost twice to Joe Montana’s San Francisco 49ers in both of their appearances in a Super Bowl (XVI and XXIII). Both losses were narrow, with the first game (XVI) ending 26-21 and the second (XXIII) 20-16. Given his quality and standing among his peers, he has to go down as one of the greatest players never to win a ring.
An NFL legend, Frank Tarkenton made just about the most incredible first impression that any player in the history of the game could. A third-round pick for the Vikings in the 1961 NFL Draft, Tarkenton was as green as they come in a franchise operating in their first season. On September 17 of that year, the rookie came off the bench to stun the Chicago Bears and etch in his name in football immortality.
The Vikings were trailing the Bears at the time the Richmond, Virginia-born quarterback made his way to the field. By the end of the game, Tarkenton had thrown four touchdown passes and ran another as the Vikings won 37-13. At the time, he was the only player in the history of the league to achieve such a feat until Marcus Mariota did the same for Tennessee Titans in the first game of the 2015 season against Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While Tarkenton established himself as a standout in the five years he played at the fledgling Vikings, the team itself struggled. With just 10 wins in their first three seasons, the quarterback was instrumental in the little success they managed. He threw 18 touchdowns and 17 interceptions for 1,997 yards in his debut season, with 308 yards on 56 rushes for five touchdowns. In his second season, he threw 22 touchdowns and 25 interceptions for 2,595 yards, with 361 yards on 41 rushes for two touchdowns.
Despite etching out almost every passing record that matters in the game, Tarkenton and the Vikings could not convert three Super Bowl appearances into success. Granted, the opposition was top-quality and not even this incredibly gifted player could do anything to get his team over the line. A seriously talented quarterback, it is nothing less than a crying shame that Tarkenton didn’t bag himself at least one ring.
Barry Sanders was like The Flash. It is a wonder that some of his opponents didn’t end up with detached retinas trying to focus on the elusive Detriot Lions standout. For those who are uninitiated with just how good this guy was, a few minutes watching his highlight reel should be enough to develop a serious love for a player that had it all (in abundance). Unfortunately, a Super Bowl ring just wasn’t meant to be.
Sanders played for 10 seasons for the Lions, registering 15,269 yards in the process. To put that number into perspective, that is 1,457 yards off Walter Payton’s all-time record. While Sanders was not the biggest or most powerful player on the field, he had an unbelievable fluidity to his game and was exceptionally mobile and elusive. He made players miss tackles like no other.
As with other great players, Sanders was considered a risk, to begin with. He was selected as the 3rd overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft, despite the Lions wanting to sign Deion Sanders. At 5 feet 8 inches and weighing in at 203 pounds, the future legend of the franchise only joined following the insistence of coach Wayne Fontes. It was certainly the right decision, as Sanders went on to rush for over 1,000 yards in the ten seasons he was at Detroit.
While the exceptional Sanders was the franchise’s greatest asset, he did not have the players around him to guide Detroit to a Super Bowl. In fact, the Lions made the playoffs five times in his time there, but could only get past the Wild Card round once. As one of the greatest players in NFL history, you have to feel for a man of Sanders’ talent ending his career without even testing himself on the highest stage of them all.
Accuracy, precision, and an arm like a shotgun that could “thread the needle,” Dan Marino is deserving of anyone’s list of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Tall, athletic, physically and mentally quick, Marino was almost tailor-made for the NFL as soon as he left college. Even though rumors of recreational drug use put some potential suitors off, everyone was aware of the quality the young quarterback had.
Like everyone else on this list, however, not even the superb quality of Mr. Marino was enough to earn him a ring. Isn’t it funny how life works? Marino’s talent was something that was questioned due to a weak season at college and he ended up as the 27th pick for the Dolphins. Given that others passed on him, he was intent on showing every franchise that did just how much of a mistake they had made.
In the sixth week of the 1983 season, Marino established himself as the starting quarterback and started to make true on that promise. Marino took Miami to a 12-4 record, registering 20 touchdown passes and a 96.0 passer rating as a rookie. Unbelievably, he began to destroy records the next season, becoming the first player in his position to pass for over 5,000 yards in a single season.
Marino broke the touchdown passes record (48), and threw four touchdown passes over Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. Ahead of the appearance at Super Bowl XIX, Marino, unfortunately, hit a wall. Two interceptions twice and four sacks culminated in a 38-16 loss. It was heartbreaking for Marino, who would never make it to the Super Bowl again.
Marino kept breaking records and working hard but did not have the talent outside and ahead of him to get to the final stage once more. Despite his talent and quality, Marino could never win a ring and this is something that frequently sees him overlooked in the conversation for the greatest passers of all time. Make no bones about it, Marino was one of the true greats and one of the best players never to win a ring.
Although these five players will never be among the sea of names of Super Bowl winners, they are all regarded as greats in their own rights. Some fans will insist that a player cannot be called a legend unless they have a Super Bowl ring to their names, but I disagree entirely with this. In fact, I would go as far as to say that many players with multiple rings are less deserving as each man on this list.
When all is said and done, the simple fact is that these men never got to experience the elation of winning America’s finest championship. Fans and fellow players can only assume how painful this was and continues to be for these men. What we can say is that, if these five fine players could turn the clock back and take to the field once more, there would be no guarantees that the result would be different.
I guess that’s just the way it goes…
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