NFL

How Many Teams Have Played the NFL Hall of Fame Game and Won a Super Bowl (or Missed the Playoffs) the Same Season?

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The Pro Football Hall of Fame logo at the annual Hall of Fame Game

The NFL‘s annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is essentially nothing more than a meaningless preseason game. But as it’s typically the first preseason game of the new campaign, signaling the return of football, and is held adjacent to the Hall of Fame building in Canton, Ohio, the week of induction ceremonies, it tends to get a touch more attention than others.

Since the inaugural edition in 1962, the game has been held every year except for four. Seemingly for no particular reason, it wasn’t played in 1966. The scheduled meeting between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears in 2011 was canceled due to the NFL lockout.

Poor field conditions in 2016 nixed the battle between the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts. And COVID-19 halted the 2020 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers, who squared off a year later.

So that means 56 editions of the game have taken place over the last six decades, which obviously means 112 different teams have taken the field in Canton. So how have those 112 teams fared in the seasons they appeared in the Hall of Fame Game?

No team to appear in the Hall of Fame Game has ever won a Super Bowl

The Pro Football Hall of Fame logo at the annual Hall of Fame Game
A general view of the Hall of Fame Logo at midfield prior to the National Football League Hall of Fame Game | Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Of the 112 teams to appear in the Hall of Fame Game, not a single one has gone on to win the Super Bowl. And perhaps you think there’s a technicality here as the Super Bowl wasn’t played until after the 1966 season. But that’s not the case.

Of the eight teams to appear in the game from 1962 to 1965, only two made the postseason, the 1962 New York Giants and the 1964 Baltimore Colts. And both lost the NFL Championship. The much more shocking stat is that of the 104 teams to play the Hall of Fame Game in the Super Bowl era, only three have reached the season finale.

And once again, all three lost, those being the 1988 Cincinnati Bengals, the 1994 San Diego Chargers, and the 2001 St. Louis Rams. The San Francisco 49ers thwarted the first two, while Tom Brady’s New England Patriots upset “The Greatest Show on Turf.”

More than half the teams to play in Canton miss the NFL Playoffs

So if you can’t win a Super Bowl by playing in the Hall of Fame Game, how far can you get? Well, despite the fact that 62.5% (70 of 112) of teams to play in Canton finish with a .500 record or better in the regular season, only 42.9% (48 of 112) have made the NFL Playoffs.

Of those 48, 13 have fizzled out in the Wild Card Round, 25 have been knocked out in the Divisional Round, and five have lost their conference championship game. And, of course, there are the five teams mentioned above who lost the NFL Championship Game or the Super Bowl.

Now, there’s obviously no direct correlation between the Hall of Fame Game and the Super Bowl, as one is a meaningless exhibition in which most stars don’t play while the other is the biggest event in American sports.

But aren’t numbers fun?

How every team to play the Hall of Fame Game fared that season

A view of the Pro Football Hall of Fame logo during the 2021 Hall of Fame Game between the Cowboys and Steelers
Fans cheer during the 2021 NFL preseason Hall of Fame Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys at Tom Benson Hall Of Fame Stadium on August 5, 2021 | Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Here’s a look at how every team to appear in the Hall of Fame Game fared during the season in which it played in Canton.

YearTeamRecord
1962Giants12-2, Lost NFL Championship
1962Cardinals4-9-1, Missed playoffs
1963Browns10-4, Missed playoffs
1963Steelers7-4-3, Missed playoffs
1964Colts12-2, Lost NFL Championship
1964Steelers5-9, Missed playoffs
1965Lions6-7-1, Missed playoffs
1965Washington6-8, Missed playoffs
1967Browns9-5, Lost Conference Championship
1967Eagles6-7-1, Missed playoffs
1968Cowboys12-2, Lost Conference Championship
1968Bears7-7, Missed playoffs
1969Packers8-6, Missed playoffs
1969Falcons6-8, Missed playoffs
1970Saints2-11-1, Missed playoffs
1970Vikings12-2, Lost Divisional Round
1971Oilers4-9-1, Missed playoffs
1971Rams8-5-1, Missed playoffs
1972Chiefs8-6, Missed playoffs
1972Giants8-6, Missed playoffs
197349ers5-9, Missed playoffs
1973Patriots5-9, Missed playoffs
1974Bills9-5, Lost Divisional Round
1974Cardinals10-4, Lost Divisional Round
1975Washington8-6, Missed playoffs
1975Bengals11-3, Lost Divisional Round
1976Broncos9-5, Missed playoffs
1976Lions6-8, Missed playoffs
1977Bears9-5, Lost Divisional Round
1977Jets3-11, Missed playoffs
1978Dolphins11-5, Lost Wild Card Round
1978Eagles9-7, Lost Wild Card Round
1979Cowboys11-5, Lost Divisional Round
1979Raiders9-7, Missed playoffs
1980Chargers11-5, Lost AFC Championship
1980Packers5-10-1, Missed playoffs
1981Falcons7-9, Missed playoffs
1981Browns5-11, Missed playoffs
1982Colts0-8-1, Missed playoffs
1982Vikings5-4, Lost Divisional Round
1983Saints8-8, Missed playoffs
1983Steelers10-6, Lost Divisional Round
1984Seahawks12-4, Lost Divisional Round
1984Buccaneers6-10, Missed playoffs
1985Giants10-6, Lost Divisional Round
1985Oilers5-11, Missed playoffs
1986Patriots11-5, Lost Divisional Round
1986Cardinals4-11-1, Missed playoffs
198749ers13-2, Lost Divisional Round
1987Chiefs4-11, Missed playoffs
1988Bengals12-4, Lost Super Bowl
1988Rams10-6, Lost Wild Card Round
1989Washington10-6, Missed playoffs
1989Bills9-7, Lost Divisional Round
1990Browns3-13, Missed playoffs
1990Bears11-5, Lost Divisional Round
1991Lions12-4, Lost NFC Championship
1991Broncos12-4, Lost AFC Championship
1992Jets4-12, Missed playoffs
1992Eagles11-5, Lost Divisional Round
1993Packers9-7, Lost Divisional Round
1993Raiders10-6, Lost Divisional Round
1994Chargers11-5, Lost Super Bowl
1994Falcons7-9, Missed playoffs
1995Panthers7-9, Missed playoffs
1995Jaguars4-12, Missed playoffs
1996Colts9-7, Lost Wild Card Round
1996Saints3-13, Missed playoffs
1997Vikings9-7, Lost Divisional Round
1997Seahawks8-8, Missed playoffs
1998Steelers7-9, Missed playoffs
1998Buccaneers8-8, Missed playoffs
1999Cowboys8-8, Lost Wild Card Round
1999Browns2-14, Missed playoffs
2000Patriots5-11, Missed playoffs
200049ers6-10, Missed playoffs
2001Rams14-2, Lost Super Bowl
2001Dolphins11-5, Lost Wild Card Round
2002Texans4-12, Missed playoffs
2002Giants10-6, Lost Wild Card Round
2003Packers10-6, Lost Divisional Round
2003Chiefs13-3, Lost Divisional Round
2004Broncos10-6, Lost Wild Card Round
2004Washington6-10, Missed playoffs
2005Bears11-5, Lost Divisional Round
2005Dolphins9-7, Missed playoffs
2006Raiders2-14, Missed playoffs
2006Eagles10-6, Lost Divisional Round
2007Saints7-9, Missed playoffs
2007Steelers10-6, Lost Wild Card Round
2008Colts12-4, Lost Wild Card Round
2008Washington8-8, Missed playoffs
2009Bills6-10, Missed playoffs
2009Titans8-8, Missed playoffs
2010Cowboys6-10, Missed playoffs
2010Bengals4-12, Missed playoffs
2012Cardinals5-11, Missed playoffs
2012Saints7-9, Missed playoffs
2013Dolphins8-8, Missed playoffs
2013Cowboys8-8, Missed playoffs
2014Giants6-10, Missed playoffs
2014Bills9-7, Missed playoffs
2015Steelers10-6, Lost Divisional Round
2015Vikings11-5, Lost Wild Card Round
2017Cardinals8-8, Missed playoffs
2017Cowboys9-7, Missed playoffs
2018Bears12-4, Lost Wild Card Round
2018Ravens10-6, Lost Wild Card Round
2019Broncos7-9, Missed playoffs
2019Falcons7-9, Missed playoffs
2021Cowboys12-5, Lost Wild Card Round
2021Steelers9-7-1, Lost Wild Card Round
2022JaguarsTBD
2022RaidersTBD

Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference

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