New England Patriots v Buffalo Bills - NFL 2025
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For the first time in 11 years, the NFL season will be heading into Week 6 without an undefeated team. The Buffalo Bills (4-1) and Philadelphia Eagles (4-1) were the only two unbeaten teams heading into Week 5 and they both lost on Sunday. 

On the Bills' end, they got shocked 23-20 on Sunday night by a New England Patriots team that went into the game as a 7.5-point underdog. As for the Eagles, their loss was also shocking, but for a completely different reason: Philly blew a 17-3 fourth-quarter lead to the Denver Broncos in a 21-17 loss. 

The fact that the Eagles and Bills went the longest without losing a game should be viewed as a good thing, but for most of this century, being the final undefeated team has actually kind of been a curse. 

Over the past 18 seasons, the final undefeated team has not gone on to win the Super Bowl a single time. This surprising streak started in 2007 with the undefeated New England Patriots. After going 16-0 in the regular season, the Patriots coasted to two AFC playoff wins before being stunned by the New York Giants 17-14 in Super Bowl LXII, a game where New England was favored by 12.5 points. 

Since 2000, there has only been one team in the NFL that finished as the final undefeated team AND won the Super Bowl, and that came in 2006 when Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLVI. The Colts win came after they started the season 9-0, which made them the final unbeaten team in the NFL that year. Since then, the final unbeaten team hasn't won a single Lombardi. 

The fact that the NFL's final undefeated team has failed to win a Super Bowl for 18 straight seasons seems almost impossible -- especially when you look at the teams on the list with the 2007 Patriots obviously being the most shocking -- but that's exactly what has happened. 

Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs were the final unbeaten team and they made it all the way to the Super Bowl, but they ended up losing to the Eagles. The Chiefs were the ninth team since 2007 to make the Super Bowl after being the final unbeaten team, but those nine teams went 0-9 in the big game. 

Based on Super Bowl odds (via FanDuel), the Eagles and Bills are currently the favorites to end up in the big game this year: 

1. Bills (+500)
2. Eagles (+700)

Both teams will have the odds stacked against them, though, if they want to end the 18-year streak. Let's check out how the final unbeaten team has done since the streak started in 2006. 

Here's a look at how the final unbeaten team has done since 2007

Team (Record before first loss, final record)

2007 -- Patriots (16-0, 16-0): There's only been one 16-0 regular season in NFL history, but that season didn't end with a Super Bowl win for the Patriots, who got upset by the Giants 17-14. 

2008 -- Titans (10-0, 13-3): The Titans earned the AFC's No. 1 seed in 2008, but they didn't do much with it as they got bounced out of the playoffs in their first game after the Ravens pulled off a 13-10 upset. Fortunately for the Titans, they were able to return the favor in 2019 by knocking the top-seeded Ravens out of the postseason. 

2009 -- Colts (14-0, 14-2): For the third time in five years, Peyton Manning's Colts were the NFL's final unbeaten team, and unlike 2006, they were unable to win the Super Bowl. After starting 14-0, Indy ended up getting all the way to the big game, but they were no match for the Saints, who beat them 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV. 

2010 -- Steelers (3-0, 12-4), Bears (3-0, 11-5), Chiefs (3-0, 10-6): In a twist, all three of these teams made the playoffs in 2010, but then ended up getting eliminated in different rounds. The Chiefs got knocked out first in the wild card round. That was followed two weeks later by the Bears, who lost to the Packers in the NFC title game. The Steelers were the last to go when they lost a wild 31-25 game to the Packers in Super Bowl XLV. 

2011 -- Packers (13-0, 15-1): After winning the Super Bowl in 2010, the 15-1 Packers were the heavy favorite to repeat as champions, but that didn't happen as they were knocked out in the divisional round by the Giants in a game that wasn't close (37-20). The loss meant that the Packers squandered one of their best teams in franchise history. 

2012 -- Falcons (8-0, 13-3): Matt Ryan finally picked up his first career playoff win in 2012, but he wasn't able to get a second one as the Falcons ended up losing to the 49ers in the NFC title game. If the Falcons had never blown a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI, this is the game that would probably still haunt fans in Atlanta. The Falcons went up 17-0 on the 49ers before losing 28-24.

2013 -- Chiefs (9-0, 11-5): In Andy Reid's first season as Kansas City's coach, the Chiefs absolutely choked down the stretch, going just 2-5 over their final seven games after starting 9-0. The bigger choke actually would come in the playoffs, where they would blow a 38-10 third-quarter lead in a 45-44 loss to the Colts.

2014 -- Cardinals (3-0, 11-5), Bengals (3-0, 10-5-1), Eagles (3-0, 10-6): In one of the ugliest years possible, these three teams combined to win zero playoff games. For one, the Eagles didn't even make the postseason despite their 10-6 record. As for the Cardinals and Bengals, they were both bounced in the wild card round. 

2015 -- Panthers (14-0, 15-1): During the regular season, the Panthers became just the sixth team in NFL history to finish 15-1, but that wasn't enough for a Super Bowl win. In Super Bowl 50, the Panthers got handily beaten 24-10 by the Broncos. 

2016 -- Vikings (5-0, 8-8): Vikings fans have dealt with a lot of disappointing seasons, and this one definitely qualifies. Minnesota didn't even make the playoffs after starting the year 5-0. 

2017 -- Chiefs (5-0, 10-6): Once again, Andy Reid is on this list, and once again, his team didn't win the Super Bowl. After starting 5-0, the Chiefs went just 5-6 down the stretch, and once again, they choked in the playoffs. In a wild card game against the Titans, the Chiefs blew a 21-3 lead in a 22-21 loss. 

2018 -- Rams (8-0, 13-3): The Rams almost ended the drought when they made it all the way to the Super Bowl after finishing as the league's final unbeaten team. However, the Rams ran into a brick wall known as the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII and would end up losing the game 13-3.

2019 -- 49ers (8-0, 13-3), Patriots (8-0, 12-4): The 49ers made it all the way to the Super Bowl before being knocked off by the Chiefs. As for the Patriots, they lost in the wild card round to the Titans in Tom Brady's final game with the team. 

2020 -- Steelers (11-0, 12-4): The Steelers fell apart to close the season with four losses in their final five games and things didn't get much better in the playoffs: They lost to the Browns in the wild card round. 

2021 -- Cardinals (7-0, 11-6): After starting 7-0, the Cardinals totally collapsed over the second half of the season, going just 4-6 down the stretch. The Cardinals' late-season failures continued into the playoffs with a wild card loss to the Rams. Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury ended up getting fired one year later. 

2022 -- Eagles (8-0, 14-3): The Eagles came close to ending the streak, but they fell just short in a 38-35 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII in a game that wasn't decided until Kansas City kicked a field goal with just eight seconds left. 

2023 -- 49ers (5-0, 12-5), Eagles (5-0, 11-6): The Eagles got to 10-1 on the season before losing six of their final seven games, including a wild card loss to the Buccaneers. As for the 49ers, they came tantalizingly close to ending the drought: They were beating the Chiefs 19-16 with 10 seconds left in Super Bowl LVIII before Harrison Butker sent the game to overtime with a short field goal. In OT, the Chiefs ended up knocking off the 49ers, 25-22. 

2024 -- Chiefs (9-0, 15-2): Not only were the Chiefs the final unbeaten team last season, but their 15-2 record was also tied for the best in the NFL. Unfortunately, the streak didn't end here because Kansas City ran into a buzz saw in the Super Bowl: The Eagles handily beat the Chiefs 40-22. 

The good news for the Bills and Eagles is that the final undefeated team has made the Super Bowl in each of the past three seasons, but the bad news is that no one has been able to end the 18-year drought. 

The Eagles and Bills might be the Super Bowl favorites right now, but based on this drought, you might want to stay away from betting on them to win it all.