Josh Allen is the newest player to win the coveted NFL MVP award, after a historic season which he carried the Buffalo Bills to the AFC championship game. While’s Allen’s MVP award over Lamar Jackson was controversial, it’s actually hard to believe the Bills quarterback hasn’t won a Super Bowl yet — or even been to one.
Allen actually has a winning record in the playoffs (7-6) with 33 total touchdowns to just six turnovers. Over his last five playoff games, Allen has 13 total touchdowns to zero turnovers. The postseason success doesn’t stop there. Allen is the all-time playoff leader in interception rate (0.9%), touchdown-to-interception ratio (25-4), total yards per game (311.0), and total touchdowns per game (2.5). He’s the only player to average 250 yards passing and 50 yards rushing per game in playoff history.
Allen has the most total touchdowns in a player’s first seven seasons (262) in NFL history and has three postseasons with having 6+ total touchdowns and zero interceptions without making the Super Bowl. The Bills have scored the most points per game (29.1) and allowed the fewest points per game (19.6) over the last five years — and haven’t made the Super Bowl.
For everything Allen has accomplished in his career, the one trophy missing is the one the MVP quarterback really wants.
“You know, it is such a great honor, and I do appreciate being honored for my work,” Allen said to Sports Illustrated. “But at the same time, I still didn’t win a Super Bowl. Didn’t win a ring, and that is the only goal. It’s the only focus that I’ve ever had going into this league.”
Allen will certainly trade in that MVP honor for a Super Bowl title, as will many MVP winners who didn’t win a Super Bowl. While Allen isn’t one of the five best MVPs to win a championship yet, these five players are the best in NFL history who didn’t win a Super Bowl title.
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5. LaDainian Tomlinson (2006)
A generational running back of his era, Tomlinson still holds the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28) and scrimmage touchdowns in a season (31) — his MVP season. A six time All-Pro selection and five-time Pro Bowler, Tomlinson had eight 1,000-yard seasons and led the NFL in rushing yards in consecutive seasons (2006, 2007). He also led the league in rushing touchdowns three times, yards from scrimmage one (2003) and scrimmage touchdowns once (2006).
Tomlinson is second in NFL history in rushing touchdowns (145) and third in total touchdowns (162). His 13,684 yards rushing are seventh in NFL history (fifth when he retired) and his 18,456 yards from scrimmage are sixth in NFL history (fifth when he retired). He’s one of the greatest running backs ever.
Tomlinson never played in a Super Bowl, coming close three times (played in three conference championship games). Running backs winning Super Bowl in Tomlinson’s era was very difficult, as the NFL was becoming the passing league it is today.
4. Lamar Jackson (2019, 2023)
The only two-time MVP to never win a Super Bowl, Jackson is on his way to a Hall of Fame career regardless. Jackson was the first player in NFL history with 40+ passing touchdowns and fewer than five interceptions in a season (2024). He’s the first quarterback in NFL history with 4,000+ yards passing and 800+ yards rushing in a season and is the first player to lead qualified quarterbacks in the NFL in passer rating (119.4) and rushing yards (915) in a season.
The NFL’s all-time rushing yards leader for quarterbacks (6,173), Jackson is the only player with multiple MVP awards who doesn’t have a championship. His struggles in the postseason are well known, as Jackson is 3-5 with 13 total touchdowns and 11 turnovers in his playoff career.
Jackson’s .745 win percentage is the best ever by a quarterback without a Super Bowl title. He’s the only multiple-time MVP quarterback with a losing record in the playoffs, as the Baltimore Ravens average 18.6 points per game in Jackson’s starts in the playoffs compared to 28.7 in the regular season.
Fortunately for Jackson, there’s plenty of chances to rewrite the script and get off this list. Jackson is still only 28 years old and has plenty of good football ahead of him.
3. Fran Tarkenton (1975)
Tarkenton was one of the most electrifying players of his era, walking away from the game with the most passing yards (47,003) and most passing touchdowns in NFL history (342). The passing yards and passing touchdowns record stood until 1995 (when Dan Marino broke both).
Tarkenton only led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns once, but the year he led the NFL in passing touchdowns (1975) he won MVP. A nine-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro, Tarkenton also led all quarterbacks in rushing yards (3,674) and rushing touchdowns (32) when he retired in 1978.
Playing in three Super Bowls (VIII, IX, XI), Tarkenton and the Minnesota Vikings lost all three of them.
2. Dan Marino (1984)
Marino is one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, revolutionizing the game with his precision passing that is the model for today’s NFL. When Marino retired after the 1999 season, he was the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards (61,361) and passing touchdowns (420). Marino was the first player to throw for 50,000 yards and 400 touchdowns in a career — and still ranks in the top 10 in both categories 25 years later.
A six time All-Pro selection and nine-time Pro Bowler, Marino was the first player to throw for 5,000 yards in a season. In his MVP season (1984), Marino set NFL records for passing yards (5,084) and passing touchdowns (49) in a season — records that stood for over two decades.
Marino led the NFL in passing yards five times, passing yards per game four times, and passing touchdowns three times. He played in one Super Bowl, as the Miami Dolphins fell in Super Bowl XIX to the San Francisco 49ers (1984).
1. Barry Sanders (1997)
Sanders is one of the greatest players in NFL history, making it a shame he’s never even played in a Super Bowl — let alone win one. Running backs winning Super Bowls is difficult to begin with, but Sanders had a career worthy of winning a championship.
Sanders never played a season where he didn’t earn an All-Pro and Pro Bowl honor, getting selected to both in all 10 of his seasons. He led the NFL in rushing yards four times, yards from scrimmage twice, scrimmage touchdowns twice, and rushing yards per game four times.
A six-time first-team All-Pro and two-time Offensive Player of the Year, Sanders finished his career second all time in rushing yards (15,269) and third in yards from scrimmage by the time he retired in 1998. He won his MVP in 1997, when he rushed for 2,053 yards and had 2,358 yards from scrimmage.
