Rating Super Bowl angst of NFC fan bases

Every fan base wants to see its team in a Super Bowl, but some fan bases would merely be satisfied with a winning season. (We’re staring at you, New York Giants faithful.)

Ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox), Yardbarker NFL writers rate the Super Bowl angst of each NFC fan base on a scale of “1” (We’re good. We’re good.) to “5” (Sense of impending doom).

2024 regular-season records are in parentheses.

NFC East

DALLAS COWBOYS (7-10) | Rating: 5 | Dallas hasn’t played in a Super Bowl since SB XXX (1995 season), when the halftime act included Diana Ross and the average price for a ticket was $275. Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones recently raised his fingers to make air quotes when describing the team’s  championship drought, but fans have another digit they’d like to show him.

NEW YORK GIANTS (3-14) | Rating: 3 | With no quality starting QB to lead an offense that scored the second-fewest points per game (16.1) during the 2024 regular season, the Giants aren’t likely to reach the big game any time soon. But how many expected QB Eli Manning to lead New York to a Super Bowl title over Bill Belichick’s undefeated Patriots during the 2007 season and then again during the 2012 season?

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (14-3) | Rating: 1 | It has been seven years since Philadelphia upset New England in Super Bowl LII and just two years since the team lost to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII. Even in defeat, Eagles fans saw a record-breaking performance from QB Jalen Hurts in that game, and after a near-record-setting season from running back Saquon Barkley, the team has little to worry about beyond three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes on Sunday.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (12-5) | Rating: 2 | It’s nearly impossible to win a championship without a franchise QB, and Washington narrowly missed this season’s Super Bowl with rookie QB Jayden Daniels, who led the team to its first NFC Championship Game since the 1991 season. After watching the Commanders average 19.7 points per game under Ron Rivera, fans should be thrilled to see the team score 28.5 points per contest in 2024, the fifth-best mark in the NFL. — Bruce Ewing

NFC West

ARIZONA CARDINALS (8-9) | Rating: 4 | The Cardinals are one of the 12 teams in the NFL that has never experienced the joy of winning a Super Bowl. Arizona has not even been to one since the 2008 season, when the team lost to the Steelers in SB XLIII. The Cardinals are stuck in a rebuild, so a Super Bowl appearance seems a long way off.

LOS ANGELES RAMS (10-7) | Rating: 2 | When your team wins a Super Bowl, as the Rams did during the 2022 season, that should give your franchise at least a five-year grace period before you start to get mad about your team not winning another one. 

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (6-11) | Rating: 5 | The 49ers have made three Super Bowls since 2013, but they have not won one since the 1994 season. Those close calls are infuriating for Niners fans, especially considering how close the team has come recently and how talented the roster has been during HC Kyle Shanahan’s era.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (10-7) | Rating: 3 | The Seahawks are a decade removed from their back-to-back Super Bowl appearances (and first championship) during the Russell Wilson era, so the fandom is  starting to reach that angsty phase.  — Adam Gretz

NFC North

CHICAGO BEARS (5-12) | Rating: 4 | Chicago’s lone Super Bowl victory came in 1985, and it has reached the SB only once since then (2006 season). The Bears are more focused on just making the postseason considering they have just two playoff appearances in the past 14 years, but QB Caleb Williams and HC Ben Johnson might be the duo that can make it happen.

DETROIT LIONS (15-2) | Rating: 5 | The Lions are one of the four NFL franchises with no Super Bowl appearances in their history, which is why it was so heartbreaking for Detroit fans to watch their 15-2 squad fizzle out in the divisional round against Washington this season. HC Dan Campbell would become an instant Motor City legend if he leads the Lions somewhere no one has before.

GREEN BAY PACKERS (11-6) | Rating: 2 | The Packers, with their four Super Bowl wins, have 80 percent of the Super Bowl rings in the NFC North. Although Green Bay hasn’t won a SB title since the 2010 season, it’s hard to feel bad for a franchise with so much playoff success.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (14-3) | Rating: 5 | Minnesota’s playoff history is one filled with heartbreak, as the franchise has reached the postseason 32 times and the Super Bowl four times with no championships to show for it. Vikings fans are starving for a title, but the team has let them down time and time again. — Jack Dougherty

NFC South

ATLANTA FALCONS (8-9) | Rating: 5 | The Falcons might never live down their Super Bowl LI collapse against the New England Patriots, when they blew a 28-3 lead, but finally winning a championship would be a start. And for a franchise that hasn’t reached the playoffs since the 2017 season (and has suffered seven consecutive losing seasons), patience is running thin for Falcons faithful.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (5-12) | Rating: 3 | Owner David Tepper is the source of most of the fans’ angst. Under his ownership, which began in 2018, the Panthers have been one of the league’s worst franchises, far removed from the Super Bowl conversation.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (5-12) | Rating: 4 | The “Minneapolis Miracle” and “NOLA No Call” are etched into the psyches of Saints fans, and considering the team’s downward trend in recent seasons, it will likely be awhile before New Orleans makes new, better playoff memories. That’s of little solace to Saints fans who’ve watched GM Mickey Loomis cling to the last vestiges of the team’s 2009 championship peak at the expense of the future.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (10-7) | Rating: 1 | The Bucs are the most recent Super Bowl champions in the NFC South, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy following the 2020 season. With that triumph still fresh on the minds of Bucs fans, they don’t have much to complain about entering the offseason. — Eric Smithling