Super Bowl curse

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The Super Bowl curse is a phrase that refers to phenomena that may occur in the National Football League (NFL) where the team whose stadium will host the upcoming Super Bowl either misses the playoffs or suffers early postseason elimination.

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No Super Bowl host team had managed to reach the title game until the 2020 season, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played in Super Bowl LV and won at their home stadium. The next year, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in a home game during Super Bowl LVI. [1] [2]

Super Bowl champions rarely win consecutive Super Bowls, compared to other professional sports leagues such as Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League.

The Super Bowl loser often has a less successful following season and may miss the playoffs.

The term was first used around 1992, when The Washington Post used the term in print. [3] Former NFL General Manager Charley Casserly attributed the curse to such factors as "a shorter offseason (five weeks shorter than the 18 teams that failed to make the playoffs), contract problems, [and] more demand for your players' time". [4] Casserly also noted that "once the season starts, you become the biggest game on everybody's schedule," suggesting that pressure from fans and spectators may also affect a team's performance. [4]

The home-field advantage curse

The home-field curse is said to affect a team if the Super Bowl is played at it home stadium. As of 2024, only two teams have played the Super Bowl in their stadiums, the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs for Super Bowl LV and the 2021 Los Angeles Rams against the Cincinnati Bengals for Super Bowl LVI at their new home, SoFi Stadium; both host teams won. The Buccaneers are the only team to achieve the feat as the designated home team. Super Bowl LVI also marked the first time Los Angeles had hosted since 1993, when the Super Bowl was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. SoFi Stadium had just opened in 2020. Super Bowl LVI was the eighth Super Bowl played in Los Angeles. Only Miami, Florida, home of the Miami Dolphins, has hosted more Super Bowls (eleven).

Besides the 2020 Buccaneers and 2021 Rams, only two NFL teams have reached the Super Bowl hosted in their home region: the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, who won Super Bowl XIX in Stanford Stadium, rather than Candlestick Park, and the 1979 Los Angeles Rams, who played Super Bowl XIV in the Rose Bowl, rather than the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Besides Stanford Stadium and the Rose Bowl, the only Super Bowl venue that was not the home stadium to an NFL team at the time was Rice Stadium in Houston for Super Bowl VIII: The Houston Oilers had played there previously but moved to the Astrodome several years earlier. The Miami Orange Bowl was the only AFL stadium to host a Super Bowl and the only stadium to host consecutive Super Bowls, hosting Super Bowl II and III. Currently, two stadiums are home to two NFL teams of both conferences: MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which hosted Super Bowl XLVIII, is the home stadium of two NFL teams—the New York Giants and the New York Jets; SoFi Stadium, which hosted Super Bowl LVI, is the home of the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams.

Six teams with Super Bowls in their home venue have qualified for the divisional playoffs: the Dolphins twice in 1994 and 1998, the 2016 Houston Texans, the 2017 Minnesota Vikings, the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the 2021 Los Angeles Rams; and three have qualified to play in the conference championship game: the Vikings in the 2017 NFC Championship Game, the Buccaneers in the 2020 NFC Championship Game, and the Rams in the 2021 NFC Championship Game (the 2021 Rams became the first Super Bowl host team to host a Conference Championship). From 1966 to 2011 (excluding the six Super Bowl games held in a stadium without a professional team), the Super Bowl host team had 11 winning seasons, four split seasons, and 25 losing seasons. Mathematically, the probability of that many losing seasons or more occurring by chance (assuming a 50 percent chance of having a losing season (disregarding .500 seasons)) is 7.69 percent. Beginning with the 2021 season, the NFL stretched to 17 games being played; it is no longer possible to have a split season unless there is a tie game. The Super Bowl host stadium is selected several years before the game is played, regardless of the teams that qualify.

This list of examples is not exhaustive; until 2020, no team had ever qualified and played in the Super Bowl while its home stadium was hosting it, home or away. Furthermore, a Super Bowl host stadium's team has never been the #1 seed nor had the best overall record in the league, as the 2020 Buccaneers were the fifth seed in the NFC.

Host teams that would be the home team

Host TeamHost FieldSeasonSeason RecordNotes
Los Angeles Rams Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California 1966 (Super Bowl I)8–6
Miami Dolphins Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida 1967 (Super Bowl II)4–10
Los Angeles Rams Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California 1972 (Super Bowl VII)6–7–1Started out the season 4–1–1, but lost six of the last eight games.
Houston Oilers Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas 1973 (Super Bowl VIII)1–13
New Orleans Saints Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana 1974 (Super Bowl IX)5–9
Miami Dolphins Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida 1975 (Super Bowl X)10–4Did not qualify for the playoffs; this was the first season the NFL instituted a seeding system for the playoffs; four playoff spots were given to a conference, the three division winners were the top three seeds, seeded 1 through 3 according to who had the best regular season record, and a Wild Card team had the #4 seed. The Dolphins tied with the Baltimore Colts in the AFC East standings with a record of 10–4 for first place, but lost the tiebreaker due to losing both games to the Colts during the season; and the Dolphins lost out on the last playoff spot because they were beaten out by the Cincinnati Bengals with an 11–3 record.
New Orleans Saints Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 1980 (Super Bowl XV)1–15Won their only game by a single point.
San Diego Chargers Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California 1987 (Super Bowl XXII)8–7Started out the season 8–1, but went 0–6 afterward to miss the playoffs. It is the final season for quarterback Dan Fouts and tight end Kellen Winslow.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida 1990 (Super Bowl XXV)6–10Started out the season 4–2, with all wins coming against divisional opponents, but then lost six straight games and ended the season with a 6–10 record. Finished second place in the NFC Central due to a four-way tie with the Lions, Packers, and Vikings; the Buccaneers won the tiebreaker over all the other three teams due to a better division record, the Buccaneers were 5–3 in games within the NFC Central, while the other three teams were all 3–5 in games within the division.
New Orleans Saints Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 1996 (Super Bowl XXXI)3–13
San Diego Chargers Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California 1997 (Super Bowl XXXII)4–12Quarterback Stan Humphries was lost for the season after starting eight games because of repeated concussions causing his injury. Backup Craig Whelihan took over as a starter, and the Chargers were winless the rest of the season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida 2000 (Super Bowl XXXV)10–6Last Super Bowl host to make the playoffs until the 2014 Arizona Cardinals. Miss the opportunity to be the NFC's #2 seed and have a home Divisional Round game before losing in overtime in the final week of the regular season. That loss dropped Tampa Bay down to the #5 seed and starting on the road in the wild-card round, which they would subsequently lose 21–3 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Houston Texans Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas 2003 (Super Bowl XXXVIII)5–11
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida 2008 (Super Bowl XLIII)9–7Lost final four games of the season after starting 9–3 to miss the playoffs.
Miami Dolphins Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida 2009 (Super Bowl XLIV)7–9Dolphins lost quarterback Chad Pennington, running back Ronnie Brown, and other key contributors on the roster to injury throughout the season. Eliminated from playoff contention in week 17.
Dallas Cowboys Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas 2010 (Super Bowl XLV)6–10Quarterback Tony Romo suffered a season-ending injury to his left clavicle. Started the season 1–7.
Indianapolis Colts Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana 2011 (Super Bowl XLVI)2–14Quarterback Peyton Manning missed the season due to a neck injury. Ended the Colts’ postseason appearance streak at nine years.
New Orleans Saints Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 2012 (Super Bowl XLVII)7–9Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the season due to Bountygate.
New York Jets MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 2013 (Super Bowl XLVIII) 8–8Eliminated from playoff contention after the Jets lost to the Panthers and the Ravens won against the Lions in week 15.
Arizona Cardinals University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona 2014 (Super Bowl XLIX)11–5Cardinals lost quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton to injury prior to playoffs. Would lose to the 7–8–1 Panthers in the wild-card round.
Atlanta Falcons Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia 2018 (Super Bowl LIII)7–9The Falcons would lose several key starters to injury early in the season and were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 15.
Miami Dolphins Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida 2019 (Super Bowl LIV)5–11The Dolphins were criticized for intentionally losing games after trading Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills, and Minkah Fitzpatrick for multiple draft picks. The Dolphins were pounded in their first 4 games, losing by 3 TD or more. After they were 3–9, the Steelers beat the Browns 20–13, which mathematically eliminated the Dolphins from playoff contention in Week 13.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida 2020 (Super Bowl LV)11–5After adding quarterback Tom Brady and running back Leonard Fournette during the offseason in free agency and wide receiver Antonio Brown during the season, the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first team to advance to play in and win the Super Bowl in their home stadium. The team posted their first playoff win since 2002, their first playoff appearance since 2007, and became the first Wild Card team to appear and win in a Super Bowl since the 2010 Packers. The Buccaneers were also the first club to win a Super Bowl without a first-round bye since the 2012 Ravens.
Los Angeles Chargers SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California 2021 (Super Bowl LVI)9–8Had the chance to get into the playoffs as a Wild Card team heading into the week 18 match against the Las Vegas Raiders, either with a win or a tie. It would have been the AFC's #7 seed with a win, or the #6 seed with a tie. The game went into overtime and came very close to ending in a tie, where both the Chargers and Raiders would have made the playoffs in such an event. Two seconds remained in the overtime period; the Chargers would lose on a last-second field goal when Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson kicked a 47-yard field goal as time expired. This knocked the Chargers out of the playoffs. Despite the Los Angeles Rams being the second team to win at their home stadium, they were designated as the away team.
Arizona Cardinals State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona 2022 (Super Bowl LVII)4–13In a season plagued by off-field drama, they started at 4–6 in the first 10 games but suffered their third consecutive late-season collapse after going 0–7 in their final 7 games with season-ending injuries to their starters and inconsistencies on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
Las Vegas Raiders Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada 2023 (Super Bowl LVIII)8–9Fired Josh McDaniels after a 3-5 start, and although interim coach Antonio Pierce rallied the team to a 5-4 finish, failed to make the playoffs. Lost Week 14 against the Minnesota Vikings 3-0 for the first 3-0 loss by any team in 16 seasons.
New Orleans Saints Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 2024 (Super Bowl LIX)–

Host teams that would be the away team

Host TeamHost FieldSeasonSeason RecordNotes
Miami Dolphins Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida 1968 (Super Bowl III)5–8–1
New Orleans Saints Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana 1969 (Super Bowl IV)5–9
Miami Dolphins Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida 1970 (Super Bowl V)10–4Would lose to the 8–4–2 Raiders in the divisional round.
New Orleans Saints Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana 1971 (Super Bowl VI)4–8–2
New Orleans Saints Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 1977 (Super Bowl XII)3–11
Miami Dolphins Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)11–5Tied the Patriots with an 11–5 record in the AFC East standings but lost the tiebreaker to New England, for the New England Patriots had a better division record, so the Miami Dolphins finished in second place. Would host the Houston Oilers in the Wild Card game and lost.
Detroit Lions Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan 1981 (Super Bowl XVI)9–7Had the chance to win the division entering the final week but lost to the Buccaneers in a game that decided who would get into the playoffs and win the NFC Central. Previously, the Lions were undefeated in their home games.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida 1983 (Super Bowl XVIII)2–14Started the season 0–9.
New Orleans Saints Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 1985 (Super Bowl XX)5–11
Miami Dolphins Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida 1988 (Super Bowl XXIII)6–10Started the year out 5-4, but went 1-6 afterwards to miss the playoffs three seasons removed from making the AFC championship game and being upset by the Patriots.
New Orleans Saints Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 1989 (Super Bowl XXIV)9–7After losing to the Rams in week 12 and the Lions in week 13, the Saints were eliminated from playoff contention. Quarterback Bobby Hebert was benched for backup John Fourcade who started the last three games.
Minnesota Vikings Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1991 (Super Bowl XXVI)8–8Vikings released Herschel Walker when the season was over after a disappointing experience with the running back.
Atlanta Falcons Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia 1993 (Super Bowl XXVIII)6–10
Miami Dolphins Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida 1994 (Super Bowl XXIX)10–6Lost 22–21 to the eventual AFC champion San Diego Chargers during the divisional round, despite having a 21–6 lead at halftime.
Arizona Cardinals Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona 1995 (Super Bowl XXX)4–12
Miami Dolphins Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida 1998 (Super Bowl XXXIII)10–6Lost 38–3 to the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos during the divisional round.
Atlanta Falcons Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia 1999 (Super Bowl XXXIV)5–11Running back Jamal Anderson was lost for the season after Game 2. In the previous season, they held a 14–2 record and lost Super Bowl XXXIII.
New Orleans Saints Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 2001 (Super Bowl XXXVI)7–9Lost final four games of the season after starting 7–5 to miss the playoffs.
San Diego Chargers Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California 2002 (Super Bowl XXXVII)8–8Started out the season 6–1, but finished 2–7 the rest of the way.
Jacksonville Jaguars Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida 2004 (Super Bowl XXXIX)9–7The Jaguars' playoff chances were spoiled and dealt a critical blow when they got shut out by the Houston Texans 21–0 in week 16. The loss ultimately eliminated the Jaguars from the playoffs.
Detroit Lions Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan 2005 (Super Bowl XL)5–11Fired coach Steve Mariucci after a 4-7 start.
Miami Dolphins Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida 2006 (Super Bowl XLI)6–10Started the season 1-6, coach Nick Saban left after two seasons with the team, his only seasons as NFL coach, to take the University of Alabama coaching position where he would go on to have a legendary career.
Arizona Cardinals University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona 2007 (Super Bowl XLII)8–8Eliminated from playoff contention after the Cardinals lost to the Saints and the Vikings won against the Bears in week 15. The next season they held a 9–7 record and went to Super Bowl XLIII.
San Francisco 49ers Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California 2015 (Super Bowl 50)5–1149ers had fired Jim Harbaugh due to a dispute with the team's front office.
Houston Texans NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas 2016 (Super Bowl LI)9–7Lost 34–16 to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots during the divisional round.
Minnesota Vikings U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2017 (Super Bowl LII)13–3Were the first team to host a Divisional Round game while being the host Super Bowl stadium in the same season. The Vikings' last-second 29–24 victory over the Saints would catapult them to the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles, and many expected the Vikings to win. The eventual Super Bowl champions defeated the Vikings 38–7 despite this. Until 2020, this was the closest a home field team ever came to hosting the Super Bowl.
Los Angeles Rams SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California 2021 (Super Bowl LVI)12–5Second team to win at their home stadium. First to achieve the feat as the designated away team.

The Non-Repeat Curse

Since 1993, few winning teams have followed up their Super Bowl appearances with a second Super Bowl appearance or even advanced to a conference title game in the subsequent season (the 1994 Dallas Cowboys qualified for their conference title but did not qualify for the Super Bowl). Only seven teams have won back-to-back Super Bowl championships, and only one of these seven have made more than two consecutive winning appearances in the Super Bowl. The only franchise to reach more than three straight title games was the Buffalo Bills who lost four Super Bowls from 1990 to 1993. The hard salary cap, draft, free agency, schedule, generally large team roster, and generally high injury rate of the sport make it more difficult to win repeat league championships in the NFL compared to other major North American professional sports leagues (Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League) where dynasties have been prevalent. [5]

Between the 2004 and 2022 season, no incumbent holder had managed to successfully defend their title until the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs with wins in Super Bowl LVII and LVIII. Between 2006 and 2013, every defending Super Bowl champion would conclude the following season either losing their opening playoff game or failing to qualify for the playoffs.

This list of examples includes every team that has ever had back-to-back appearances at the Super Bowl.

TeamFirst Super Bowl AppearanceScoreSecond Super Bowl AppearanceScoreThird Super Bowl AppearanceScoreFourth Super Bowl AppearanceScore
Green Bay Packers 1966 (Super Bowl I)35–10 1967 (Super Bowl II)33–14———–
Dallas Cowboys 1970 (Super Bowl V)13–16 1971 (Super Bowl VI)24–3———–
Miami Dolphins 1971 (Super Bowl VI)3–24 1972 (Super Bowl VII)14–7 1973 (Super Bowl VIII)24–7——
Pittsburgh Steelers 1974 (Super Bowl IX)16–6 1975 (Super Bowl X)21–17————
Dallas Cowboys 1977 (Super Bowl XII)27–10 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)31–35————
Pittsburgh Steelers 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)35–31 1979 (Super Bowl XIV)31–19————
Washington Redskins 1982 (Super Bowl XVII)27–17 1983 (Super Bowl XVIII)9–38————
San Francisco 49ers 1988 (Super Bowl XXIII)20–16 1989 (Super Bowl XXIV)55–10————
Buffalo Bills 1990 (Super Bowl XXV)19–20 1991 (Super Bowl XXVI)24–37 1992 (Super Bowl XXVII)17–52 1993 (Super Bowl XXVIII)13–30
Dallas Cowboys 1992 (Super Bowl XXVII)52–17 1993 (Super Bowl XXVIII)30–13————
Green Bay Packers 1996 (Super Bowl XXXI)35–21 1997 (Super Bowl XXXII)24–31————
Denver Broncos 1997 (Super Bowl XXXII)31–24 1998 (Super Bowl XXXIII)34–19————
New England Patriots 2003 (Super Bowl XXXVIII)32–29 2004 (Super Bowl XXXIX)24–21————
Seattle Seahawks 2013 (Super Bowl XLVIII)43–8 2014 (Super Bowl XLIX)24–28————
New England Patriots 2016 (Super Bowl LI)34–28 (OT) 2017 (Super Bowl LII)33–41 2018 (Super Bowl LIII)13–3——
Kansas City Chiefs 2019 (Super Bowl LIV)31–20 2020 (Super Bowl LV)9–31————
Kansas City Chiefs 2022 (Super Bowl LVII)38–35 2023 (Super Bowl LVIII)25-22 (OT)————

The "Super Bowl Runner-Up Jinx"

Although many teams experience this phenomenon, it is certainly not the rule. There are many speculations made about potential causal factors for this trend, including the team having a shorter offseason due to their extended postseason play, difficulty settling contracts, [6] more pressure on the players, and an increase in visibility, which could contribute to nervous playing. [4] [7] Only the 1971 Dallas Cowboys, 1972 Miami Dolphins, and 2018 New England Patriots have followed up a Super Bowl defeat with a Super Bowl win the following season.

One feature of the Super Bowl Runner-Up Jinx is that the team that loses the Super Bowl will not advance as far as the conference championship game the following season — something only three of the last 27 such teams have done (the Patriots twice). Not only that, but 12 of these 27 Super Bowl runners-up did not even make the playoffs the year after, including four that finished last in their division. [8]

This list of examples is not exhaustive.

Examples
TeamSuper Bowl SeasonSeason RecordSuper Bowl ScoreSeasonRecord
Cincinnati Bengals 1988 (Super Bowl XXIII)12–416–20 1989 8–8
Denver Broncos 1989 (Super Bowl XXIV)11–510–55 1990 5–11
Buffalo Bills 1993 (Super Bowl XXVIII)12–413–30 1994 7–9
Atlanta Falcons 1998 (Super Bowl XXXIII)14–219–34 1999 5–11
New York Giants 2000 (Super Bowl XXXV)12–47–34 2001 7–9
St. Louis Rams 2001 (Super Bowl XXXVI)14–217–20 2002 7–9
Oakland Raiders 2002 (Super Bowl XXXVII)11–521–48 2003 4–12
Carolina Panthers 2003 (Super Bowl XXXVIII)11–529–32 2004 7–9
Philadelphia Eagles 2004 (Super Bowl XXXIX)13–321–24 2005 6–10
Chicago Bears 2006 (Super Bowl XLI)13–317–29 2007 7–9
New England Patriots 2007 (Super Bowl XLII)16–014–17 2008 11–5
Carolina Panthers 2015 (Super Bowl 50)15–110–24 2016 6–10
Los Angeles Rams 2018 (Super Bowl LIII)13–33–13 2019 9–7
San Francisco 49ers 2019 (Super Bowl LIV)13–320–31 2020 6–10
Counter-examples
TeamSuper Bowl SeasonSeason RecordSuper Bowl ScoreSeasonRecordPlayoffs?
Indianapolis Colts 2009 (Super Bowl XLIV)14–217–31 2010 10–6Yes
Pittsburgh Steelers 2010 (Super Bowl XLV)12–425–31 2011 12–4Yes
New England Patriots 2011 (Super Bowl XLVI)13–317–21 2012 12–4Yes
San Francisco 49ers 2012 (Super Bowl XLVII)11–4–131–34 2013 12–4Yes
Denver Broncos 2013 (Super Bowl XLVIII)13–38–43 2014 12–4Yes
Seattle Seahawks 2014 (Super Bowl XLIX)12–424–28 2015 10–6Yes
Atlanta Falcons 2016 (Super Bowl LI)11–528–34 (OT) 2017 10–6Yes
New England Patriots 2017 (Super Bowl LII)13–333–41 2018 11–5Yes
Kansas City Chiefs 2020 (Super Bowl LV)14–29–31 2021 12–5Yes
Cincinnati Bengals 2021 (Super Bowl LVI)10–720–23 2022 12–4Yes
Philadelphia Eagles 2022 (Super Bowl LVII)14–338-35 2023 11-6Yes

Further reading

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References

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