Super Bowl curse


The Super Bowl curse or Super Bowl hangover is a phrase that refers to one of three phenomena that may occur in the National Football League. First, that host teams rarely qualify for the Super Bowl during the year their city will host. Second, that teams rarely win consecutive Super Bowls. These interpretations of the Super Bowl curse are not mutually exclusive.
The term has been used since at least 1992, when The Washington Post used the term in print. Former NFL General Manager Charley Casserly attributed the curse to such factors as "a shorter offseason, contract problems, more demand for your players' time". 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.

The Home Field Advantage Curse

The home field curse affects the host team of the Super Bowl. So far no team has yet managed to reach the Super Bowl in their home stadium. Five 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, and the 2017 Minnesota Vikings, the Vikings being the first to qualify for their conference's title game. From 1966–2011, the Super Bowl host team has had 11 winning seasons, four split seasons, and 25 losing seasons. Mathematically, the probability of that many losing seasons or more occurring by chance is 7.69 percent. The Super Bowl host stadium is selected several years before the game is played, without regard to the teams that qualify.
Only two NFL teams have reached the Super Bowl hosted in their home region: the San Francisco 49ers, who played Super Bowl XIX in Stanford Stadium, rather than Candlestick Park, and the 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 other Super Bowl venue that was not the home stadium to an NFL team at the time was Rice Stadium in Houston: the Houston Oilers had played there previously, but moved to the Astrodome several years prior to Super Bowl VIII. 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. 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.
This list of examples is not exhaustive; no team has ever qualified for the Super Bowl played in their home stadium.
TeamHost FieldSeasonSeason RecordNotes-
New Orleans SaintsTulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana1971 4–8–2-
Houston OilersRice Stadium, Houston, Texas1973 1–13-
New Orleans SaintsTulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana1974 5–9-
New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana1977 3–11-
New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana1980 1–15-
Detroit LionsPontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan1981 9–7-
Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida1994 10–6Lost 22–21 to the eventual AFC champion San Diego Chargers during divisional round, despite having a 21–6 lead at halftime.
New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana1996 3–13
San Diego ChargersQualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California1997 4–12
Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida1998 10–6Lost 38–3 to the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos during divisional round.-
Atlanta FalconsGeorgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia1999 5–11-
Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida2000 10–6Last Super Bowl host to make the playoffs until the 2014 Arizona Cardinals-
New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana2001 7–9-
San Diego ChargersQualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California2002 8–8-
Houston TexansReliant Stadium, Houston, Texas2003 5–11-
Jacksonville JaguarsAlltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida2004 9–7-
Detroit LionsFord Field, Detroit, Michigan2005 5–11-
Miami DolphinsDolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida2006 6–10-
Arizona CardinalsUniversity of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona2007 8–8-
Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida2008 9–7-
Miami DolphinsSun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida2009 7–9-
Dallas CowboysCowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas2010 6-10Quarterback Tony Romo suffered a season-ending injury to his left clavicle.-
Indianapolis ColtsLucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana2011 2–14Quarterback Peyton Manning missed the season due to neck injury.-
New Orleans SaintsMercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana2012 7–9Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the season due to Bountygate.-
New York JetsMetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey2013 8–8-
New York GiantsMetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey2013 7–9-
Arizona CardinalsUniversity of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona2014 11–5Cardinals lost quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton to injury prior to playoffs.-
San Francisco 49ersLevi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California2015 5–1149ers fired Jim Harbaugh due to a dispute with the team's front office.-
Houston TexansNRG Stadium, Houston, Texas2016 9–7Lost 34–16 to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots during divisional round.-
Minnesota VikingsU.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota2017 13–3The 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. Despite this, the eventual Super Bowl champions defeated the Vikings 38–7. This was the closest a home-field team ever came to hosting the Super Bowl.-
Atlanta FalconsMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia2018 7–9The Falcons would lose several key starters to injury early in the season and were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 15.-
Miami DolphinsHard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida2019 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.-

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. 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 in a row from 1990–93. The salary cap, draft, free agency and the schedule makes it more difficult to win repeat league championships in the NFL, compared to other major North American professional sports leagues where dynasties have been prevalent.
Since 2005, no incumbent holder has managed to successfully defend their title. 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
Dallas Cowboys1970 13–161971 24–3———–
Miami Dolphins1971 3–241972 14–71973 24–7——
Pittsburgh Steelers1974 16–61975 21–17————
Dallas Cowboys1977 27–101978 31–35————
Pittsburgh Steelers1978 35–311979 31–19————
Washington Redskins1982 27–171983 9–38————
San Francisco 49ers1988 20–161989 55–10————
Buffalo Bills1990 19–201991 24–371992 17–521993 13–30
Dallas Cowboys1992 52–171993 30–13————
Green Bay Packers1996 35–211997 24–31————
Denver Broncos1997 31–241998 34–19————
New England Patriots2003 32–292004 24–21————
Seattle Seahawks2013 43–82014 24–28————
New England Patriots2016 34–28 2017 33–412018 13–3——

The Losers' Curse

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, more pressure on the players, and an increase in visibility, which could contribute to nervous playing. Only the 1971 Dallas Cowboys, 1972 Miami Dolphins, and 2018 New England Patriots have followed up a Super Bowl defeat with Super Bowl win the following season.
One piece of the Super Bowl curse asserts the team that loses the Super Bowl will go into losing seasons overall. The trend was especially evident during the early 2000s.
This list of examples is not exhaustive.
TeamSuper Bowl SeasonSeason RecordSuper Bowl ScoreSeasonRecord
Cincinnati Bengals1988 12–416–2019898–8
Denver Broncos1989 11–510–5519905–11
Buffalo Bills1993 12–413–3019947–9
Atlanta Falcons1998 14–219–3419995–11
New York Giants2000 12–47–3420017–9
St. Louis Rams2001 14–217–2020027–9
Oakland Raiders2002 11–521–4820034–12
Carolina Panthers2003 11–529–3220047–9
Philadelphia Eagles2004 13–321–2420056–10
Chicago Bears2006 13–317–2920077–9
New England Patriots2007 16–014–17200811–5
Carolina Panthers2015 15–110–2420166–10
Los Angeles Rams2018 13–33–1320199–7