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It is every player's dream to win the Super Bowl. For most of us, it is a dream that we live vicariously through our heroes in the NFL. However, even for most of these highly trained athletes, the championship ring remains elusive (unless you are Tom Brady) and most never get anywhere close to it.
Although, there have been instances of many players, especially franchise quarterbacks, who have come close to winning it all, but still fell short. Here we look at three such footballing greats who won many playoff games, but could never surmount the final peak that is winning the Lombardi Trophy.
Career Greats who never won a Super Bowl
#1 - Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles
Donovan McNabb made it to 6 Pro Bowls and also made it to the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, despite his achievements, he could never get his hands on the Lombardi Trophy.
He won 9 playoff games in his career and lost 7. He holds the joint record for winning the most playoff games without getting a Super Bowl win. He took the Eagles all the way to Super Bowl XXXIX but then lost to the New England Patriots.
#2 - Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills
Joining Donovan McNabb is Buffalo Bills legend, Jim Kelly. He also won 9 playoff games, but lost 8 - never getting a ring. From 1990 to 1993, the Bills made it to 4 consecutive Super Bowls, losing every single time. His no-huddle offense made for one of the most potent attacking schemes ever seen in the history of the league.
He made it to 5 Pro Bowls and is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As of 2021, he is still the last quarterback to lose a championship game on his debut and still make it back to the championship game.
#3 - Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins
Arguably the greatest ever quarterback to never to win the Super Bowl. Dan Marino comes third on this list of quarterbacks with most playoff wins without hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. He played in 18 playoff games, won 8 and lost 10 of them.
He holds a whole host of NFL records and is remembered and revered by quarterbacks even today for his quick release. He was the first quarterback to reach 400 career passes and was named among the greatest ten quarterbacks of all time by the NFL. He made it to 9 Pro Bowls and was the league MVP in 1984. His only appearance in the championship game was in Super Bowl XIX. A lot of Marino's bad luck was attributed to the fact that he had to contend with the Cowboys' dynasty of the 90s as well as a dominant 49ers pack led by Steve Young and Jerry Rice.
