Top 5 teams with longest NFL playoff win drought ft. Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins may be the most cursed team in the NFL right now.

In 2022, they took a massive leap forward when they hired Mike McDaniel to be their head coach and then traded for Tyreek Hill. The result was an explosive offense that looked set to contend for a Super Bowl, but that has not yet been the case.

Contrast that with the Detroit Lions – long considered the laughingstock of the NFC North – they experienced their own massive leap forward in 2023, clinching their first division title in 30 years, then defeated the Los Angeles Rams 24-23 to end what was then the longest playoff win drought at 32 years.

So who now holds that record? Here's a list that rank teams based on when they last won a playoff game:

Top 5 teams with longest NFL playoff win drought

#5) New York Jets (last playoff win: Jan. 16, 2011)

Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets massively regressed after conseutive AFC Championship game appearances

The 2009 season will be remembered as the beginning of a massive missed opportunity for the New York Jets.

They had a bombastic head coach in Rex Ryan, who was outspoken about wanting to defeat the New England Patriots and winning Super Bowls. And he had a strong cast at his disposal: rookies Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene, sophomore tight end Dustin Keller, one of the deeper offensive lines in the league with three Pro Bowlers, and a monstrous defense anchored by future Hall of Fame cornerback Darrelle Revis.

That team managed to make it to the AFC Championship Game, where they blew an 11-point lead and lost at Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts. But for 2010, the Jets only got better.

While they lost Thomas Jones to the Kansas City Chiefs, they did gain another future Hall of Famer in LaDainian Tomlinson, as well as two top AFC North wide receivers in one-time Cleveland Browns Pro Bowler Braylon Edwards and Pittsburgh Steelers champion Santonio Holmes. Revis also got himself a backfield partner in Antonio Cromartie.

The revamped squad defeated the Colts, then the Patriots, to reach another AFC Championship Game, only for them to fall behind early and eventually lose at the Steelers. From there, Gang Green deteriorated into the laughingstock that it is today.

#4) Chicago Bears (last playoff win: Jan. 16, 2011)

The last time the Chicago Bears won a playoff game was with legendary linebacker Brian Urlacher

When the Chicago Bears reached Super Bowl XLI in 2006-07, they had not been true title contenders since the days of the legendary Mike Ditka. But they had taken the NFC North by storm thanks to an elite defense helmed by future Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher.

They lost to Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts because of poor quarterback play, and for the next three non-playoff seasons it seemed they had wasted their chance. But in 2010, the Bears returned to the top of the division and, armed with a first-round bye, easily made their way to the NFC Championship Game.

Awaiting them were Aaron Rodgers and the No. 6 seed Green Bay Packers. They lost, and have not gone that deep since.

#3) Washington Redskins/Football Team/Commanders (last playoff win: Jan. 7, 2006)

Josh Harris has much to do to return the Washington Commanders to prominence

The last time Washington went past the Wild Card round, they were still called the Redskins. They managed to upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before losing to the Seattle Seahawks. Since then, they have failed to go deep, even after shedding the controversial moniker.

In their first season under that moniker, the Commanders were surprisingly competitive, going 8-8-1 behind a decent defense anchored by Pro Bowl-caliber defensive linemen Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen. But then in 2023, they collapsed to 4-13 as the first two departed in midseason trades.

Now Josh Harris and new General Manager Adam Peters have a clean slate with which to help elevate the franchise.

#2) Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders (last playoff win: Jan. 19, 2003)

Derek Carr led the Raiders to two postseasons

It is safe to say that the Raiders' lopsided Super Bowl XXXVIII loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers haunted the franchise for a long time.

Here is a summary of the things that happened between that game and their playoff return in 2016-17: No winning seasons, the best they could manage being two .500 records in 2010 and 2011. A revolving door of coaches and starting quarterbacks. Player transactions, most notably a trade for Randy Moss and drafting JaMarcus Russell No. 1 in 2007, failed to pan out as well as expected.

Even with a slightly better culture under Mark Davis, they have not made it past the Wild Card in their two appearances (both starring former starter Derek Carr).

#1) Miami Dolphins (last playoff win: Dec. 30, 2000)

Tua Tagovailoa is still chasing his first division title

When Dan Marino retired in early 2000, everyone thought the Miami Dolphins were done contending. Instead, they won the AFC East thanks to Jay Fiedler, the former backup of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had beaten them in Marino's last-ever game.

And then they got shut out by the Raiders and have not come close since. They won the AFC East again in 2008, largely thanks to Tom Brady's season-ending injury, but were routed by the Baltimore Ravens. The Dolphins returned to the playoffs in 2016 but lost to the Steelers.

This season represented their best chance at reclaiming their past glory, but they squandered an 11-4 standings lead and ceded the AFC East to the Buffalo Bills, before being routed by the Kansas City Chiefs on a bitterly cold Saturday night.