Teams with the fewest playoff appearances from 1991-2001:
Team
No.
Years
Bengals
0
--
Cardinals
1
'98
Seahawks
1
'99
Panthers
1
'96
Ravens
2
'94, '00*
Bears
3
'91, '94, '01
Chargers
3
'92, '94*, '95
Falcons
3
'91, '95, '98*
Giants
3
'93, '97, '00*
Jets
3
'91, '98, '01
Rams
3
'99*, '00, '01*
Redskins
3
'91*, '92, '99
Saints
3
'91, '92, '00
* Super Bowl appearance
Note: Browns (1999 expansion) not included
By Jacob Luft, CNNSI.com
The Bengals must have missed the memo on NFL parity.
It goes something like this:
If you have a terrible season, don't worry. You will be rewarded with a gift package of high draft picks the following year, along with an easy schedule and a fruit cake. You can reinforce that gift package with another poor season, which would bring even more high draft picks and another easy schedule, maybe even some potpourri. By Year 3, with any luck at all, you should be back in the playoffs, possibly even the Super Bowl. (Make sure to eat the fruit cake by then.)
More than any other sport, teams practically are guaranteed to make the playoffs every few years in the NFL. This has been especially true since the field expanded to 12 teams in 1990.
But in the past 11 seasons, the Bengals are the only team not to make it to playoff land. In the same time span, only three other non-expansion teams have failed to make it at least three times -- the Cardinals (once), Seahawks (once) and Ravens (twice). The expansion Jaguars, created in 1995, have made it four times.
In the past three seasons alone, 24 different teams have made the playoffs. No sport rewards complete failure like the NFL. There is no draft lottery that prevents the worst teams from getting the highest draft picks, as in the NBA and NHL. And unlike major league baseball, draft picks are more signable and usually provide immediate help.
The Bengals' combined record from 1991 through Week 2 of 2002 is 53-125, a dismal .298 winning percentage. Bob Matthews of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle recently figured out that Cincinnati has been outscored 4,252-3,068 in those 176 games from 1991-2001, which comes out to an average score of 24.2-17.4. Matthews went on to make the Bengals his "sleeper pick" in the same preseason article, but we won't mention that.
The true mark of failure in the NFL is a 10-loss season. The Bengals have lost at least 10 games in eight of 11 seasons but have nothing positive to show for it. The Patriots, on the other hand, have had five double-digit loss seasons interspersed with two trips to the Super Bowl. The Rams lost 10-plus games seven times in the same span and also reached the Super Bowl twice.
In fact, the 14 teams that have participated in the past 11 Super Bowls have had at least one double-digit loss season since 1990. Unlike the Bengals, they were able to have their fruit cake and eat it, too.
Highest of Highs ... Lowest of Lows
10-loss seasons for every Super Bowl team from 1991-2001:
