The postseason is the cherry on acake called the NFL regular season, everyone wants to play in the playoffs but only a small group of teams have access to the postseason. It’s hard to think that some of the greatest players never won a Super Bowl and others never played in the playoffs.
But playing in the postseason is not a title, it’s just an opportunity to fight for one, and for some teams with long droughts without winning anything, the postseason becomes a nightmare that never ends. All NFL franchises have played in the postseason but only 20 of 32 teams have Super Bowl titles.
When a player doesn’t even make the playoffs it’s not just his fault, the whole team has to be blamed for that situation, including the head coach, general manager and team owner. Some players have great individual achievements but with their team they never win anything important.
10 Top notch NFL players that never make the playoffs
1. Dick Butkus: His only team was the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1973, Butkus was an All-Decate team twice and an All-Time Team twice, including a bunch of other awards.
2. Gale Sayers: A teammate of Butkus from 1965 to 1971, Sayers was a top college football player and highly dominant as a halfback and return specialist during his stint with the Bears. Sayers died in 2020.
3. Joe Thomas: The Cleveland Browns were his team for 10 years from 2007 to 2017, Thomas was a 2010s All-Decade Team and a 10x Pro Bowl selection.
4. Takeo Spikes: For 14 years the NFL had one of the best linebackers of the 21st century, Spikes played for five different teams but was never enough to make the playoffs.
5. Archie Manning: It hurts to say it but it’s true, Manning never played in the playoffs, his career started in 1971 and ended in 1984.
6. Aaron Schobel: Nine years with the Bills weren’t enough to make the playoffs, that’s Schobel’s sad story. His top record was as the NFL player that sacked Tom Brady more times than anyone else.
7. Brian Moorman: His position was Punter from 1999 to 2013 mostly playing in the United States but he also played with the Berlin Thunder in the now defunct NFL Europe.
8. Brandon Marshall: 13 seasons and it was never possible to make the playoffs, today Marshall works on TV. His last team was the New Orleans Saints in 2018.
9. Tommy Nobis: He was one of the top Atlanta Falcons players of the 60s and 70s, Nobis’ career was unforgettable but the Falcons during those years were one of the worst teams in the league.
10. Bilal Powell: The Jets never knew how to take advantage of a talent like him, but Powell was always faithful to the franchise and played with the Jets from 2011 to 2019.