Which franchise for a period of time, in your opinion, underachieved?

[SeahawkFever]

A team that I think underachieved was the 1990s 49ers.

Yes, they do have a Super Bowl Championship after the 1994 season over San Diego. Outside of that:

1990 - Lost in NFC Championship Game to the New York Giants (Shout out Jeff Hostetler)
1991 - Missed Playoffs with a 10-6 record (Lost in a tiebreaker to Atlanta)
1992 - Lost in NFC Championship Game to the Cowboys (Start of Their Dynasty)
1993 - Lost in NFC Championship Game to the Cowboys AGAIN (2nd Super Bowl Win)
1995 - One and Done in the Playoffs, Lost to Green Bay in the Divisional Round
1996 - Lost to Green Bay in the Divisional Round AGAIN (@ Lambeau; Eventual SB Champs)
1997 - Lost in NFC Championship Game to Green Bay a 3rd Time
1998 - Lost in the Divisional Round to Atlanta's Ground and Pound Attack
1999 - Missed Playoffs, Steve Young's Career Ends due to Injury

To think of all the talent that was on that squad: Young, Jerry Rice, Ricky Watters, Terrell Owens, Deion Sanders, Charles Haley, Brent Jones, John Taylor, Bryant Young, Tom Rathman, Dana Stubblefield, Eric Davis, Guy McIntyre, and Bill Romanowski.

That squad yielded just one Super Bowl Championship in the decade. Dallas had three, Green Bay had one, the Giants had one, Washington had one, Denver had two, and St. Louis won their first.

This is definitely fair. And of their seven playoff losses in the 90s, four were at home, including three NFC title games.

They were also insanely stacked in '94. On defense alone, they added Rickey Jackson, Ken Norton, Gary Plummer, and Richard Dent... and THEN added Deion. Added Tim McDonald the year before along with Dana Stubblefield in the draft. 1994, drafted Bryant Young and Lee Woodall, both starters. If Dent hadn't gotten injured, nine of their 11 defensive starters would have been new starting in '93, the year after they went 14-2 and lost the NFCCG at home. They really tooled up in a major way to knock off Dallas.

Come to think of it, that is a lot of talent when you lay it all out, so I could see why you would say underachieve overall.

Though I will still lean more towards overachieve for '98 because of that postseason. Also, I don't know if it was injury or what but Richard Dent is listed as only playing two games as a 49er (he got two sacks to his credit but still).

[readjack]

A team that I think underachieved was the 1990s 49ers.

Yes, they do have a Super Bowl Championship after the 1994 season over San Diego. Outside of that:

1990 - Lost in NFC Championship Game to the New York Giants (Shout out Jeff Hostetler)
1991 - Missed Playoffs with a 10-6 record (Lost in a tiebreaker to Atlanta)
1992 - Lost in NFC Championship Game to the Cowboys (Start of Their Dynasty)
1993 - Lost in NFC Championship Game to the Cowboys AGAIN (2nd Super Bowl Win)
1995 - One and Done in the Playoffs, Lost to Green Bay in the Divisional Round
1996 - Lost to Green Bay in the Divisional Round AGAIN (@ Lambeau; Eventual SB Champs)
1997 - Lost in NFC Championship Game to Green Bay a 3rd Time
1998 - Lost in the Divisional Round to Atlanta's Ground and Pound Attack
1999 - Missed Playoffs, Steve Young's Career Ends due to Injury

To think of all the talent that was on that squad: Young, Jerry Rice, Ricky Watters, Terrell Owens, Deion Sanders, Charles Haley, Brent Jones, John Taylor, Bryant Young, Tom Rathman, Dana Stubblefield, Eric Davis, Guy McIntyre, and Bill Romanowski.

That squad yielded just one Super Bowl Championship in the decade. Dallas had three, Green Bay had one, the Giants had one, Washington had one, Denver had two, and St. Louis won their first.

This is definitely fair. And of their seven playoff losses in the 90s, four were at home, including three NFC title games.

They were also insanely stacked in '94. On defense alone, they added Rickey Jackson, Ken Norton, Gary Plummer, and Richard Dent... and THEN added Deion. Added Tim McDonald the year before along with Dana Stubblefield in the draft. 1994, drafted Bryant Young and Lee Woodall, both starters. If Dent hadn't gotten injured, nine of their 11 defensive starters would have been new starting in '93, the year after they went 14-2 and lost the NFCCG at home. They really tooled up in a major way to knock off Dallas.

Come to think of it, that is a lot of talent when you lay it all out, so I could see why you would say underachieve overall.

Though I will still lean more towards overachieve for '98 because of that postseason. Also, I don't know if it was injury or what but Richard Dent is listed as only playing two games as a 49er (he got two sacks to his credit but still).

Yeah, Dent got injured at the start of '94 and only played there that one year. But he was a future HOFer, past SB MVP, etc. etc., and coming off a double-digit sack season. He was a huge signing for them, and speaks to their pursuit of defensive talent to ensure that they could get past Dallas.

[PaulPFHOF]

KC Chiefs of mid 60s to early 70s-great coach and plenty of PFHOFers yet just one SB

[readjack]

KC Chiefs of mid 60s to early 70s-great coach and plenty of PFHOFers yet just one SB

Definitely.

[readjack]

We're missing a big one, and it's on me to include them:

The 80s Bears.

After '85, we went 14-2, 11-4, 12-4 and then 11-5 in both '90 and '91.

But we only won two playoff games ('88 and '90) and lost at home in '86, '87, '88 and '91. Those losses included the shocking one-and-out seasons of '86 and '87 and then getting blown out by the Niners in the '88 NFCCG when the whole conversation was whether San Francisco could win in "Bear Weather."

Tough sledding for my beloved Bears!

[Gary Najman]

The 2021-2023 Dallas Cowboys. You would think that with three straight 12-win seasons they at least make the NFC Championship Game.

[Crazy Packers Fan]

2000s Philadelphia Eagles for sure. Four NFC Championship Game losses, one Super Bowl loss. Donovan McNabb was so underrated. I always hated when the Packers played the Eagles because McNabb always figured out a way to win. Stars all over the roster. Andy Reid as coach. Yeah, the Eagles should have won at least one Super Bowl and maybe even two. I wonder if McNabb finds his way to the Hall of Fame if the Eagles win even one Super Bowl.

[Brian wolf]

The Harbaugh-led Ravens have underachieved alot as well, in my view. From 2008-2014 and especially, 2018-2025, these teams were loaded with talent but have only the one championship in 2012 to show for it. Now that Harbaugh is gone, can Jackson finally take this team to a SB?

[SeahawkFever]

The Harbaugh-led Ravens have underachieved alot as well, in my view. From 2008-2014 and especially, 2018-2025, these teams were loaded with talent but have only the one championship in 2012 to show for it. Now that Harbaugh is gone, can Jackson finally take this team to a SB?

How about Buffalo since 2018?

[Brian wolf]

Yes, Buffalo is a good call, never getting by the Chiefs but if you look at their playoff era, not alot of known names other than Allen, Diggs, Milano--when he stayed healthy--and Tre'Davious White. Hyde and Poyer could be good but up or down. Cook is a star on this recent team.

The defense had alot of disappointing players as well, including Von Miller. More a blue-collar team with a star QB, similar to Denver from the 1980s, though the Broncos had better defenders.

We will see if Joe Brady can take them farther than McDermott but I wouldnt bet on it. Alot of young players have to step up on defense.