You never want to see your favorite team on the top of a list for longest NFL playoff win droughts. The great thing about professional sports, however, is the outlook of a new beginning each and every season.
Longest NFL playoff win droughts
- Detroit Lions | 30 years (1992)
- Miami Dolphins | 21 years (2001)
- Las Vegas Raiders | 19 years (2003)
- Washington Football Team | 16 years (2006)
- New York Jets | 11 years (2011)
- Chicago Bears | 11 years (2011)
- New York Giants | 10 years (2012)
- Denver Broncos | 6 years (2016)
- Carolina Panthers | 6 years (2016)
- Arizona Cardinals | 6 years (2016)
- Jacksonville Jaguars | 4 years (2018)
- Atlanta Falcons | 4 years (2018)
- Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 years (2018)
- Indianapolis Colts | 3 years (2019)
- Los Angeles Chargers | 3 years (2019)
- Dallas Cowboys | 3 years (2019)
- Philadelphia Eagles | 3 years (2019)
- New England Patriots | 3 years (2019)
- Houston Texans | 2 years (2020)
- Minnesota Vikings | 2 years (2020)
- Seattle Seahawks | 2 years (2020)
- Tennessee Titans | 2 years (2020)
- San Francisco 49ers | 2 years (2020)
Detroit Lions hold longest current NFL playoff win drought
It’s been 30 years since Lions fans have been able to celebrate an NFL playoff win. The Cincinnati Bengals held the longest drought right up until they beat the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2021-22 Super Wild Card Round.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, who are third on this list, they will need to wait until next season to try and finally get a playoff win.
Who holds the longest NFL playoff win drought in NFL history?
The Arizona Cardinals hold the record for the longest drought in NFL history without a playoff win. It took 50 seasons, between 1948 and 1998, before the Cardinals won an NFL postseason game.
Over that span, the Cardinals moved from Chicago and St. Louis before finally settling in Arizona. They spent 28 seasons in St. Louis and only made the playoffs three times. They lost in the Divisional Round in 1974 and 1975, respectively, and the Wild Card round in 1982. The first time they made the playoffs in Arizona was in 1998, and they beat the Dallas Cowboys 20-7.