In the second part of a series exploring the worst loss in the last three decades for every major North American professional sports team, the four AFC North teams take center stage.
With the NFL postseason approaching, fans of championship-starved franchises are hopeful of a drought-breaking Super Bowl while several other teams are already looking onto their future after being eliminated from playoff contention.
While disappointment for most NFL fans arrives in the form of an underwhelming season that mathematically ends weeks before Christmas, it can also come in the form of heartbreak in a soul-crushing loss on a January afternoon.
Though suffering across fanbases in professional sports has never been and will never be equal across the 124 teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, every dedicated sports fan still knows the awful feeling after a tough loss in a close, meaningful game.
After starting this series by looking at the toughest loss for all four AFC East teams, this piece will dive into the biggest heartbreakers of the last 30 years for the four clubs in the AFC North division.
As a lifelong dedicated sports fan approaching my 30th birthday, I figured that it’d be a fun (and perhaps painful) exercise to look back on each team’s most crushing loss in that time period – a long enough time to where the vast majority of teams across all four leagues have seen their share of triumph and defeat.
While the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens both have multiple Super Bowl wins in the last 30 years, the same can’t be said for the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, who have gotten plenty of the heartbreak without any of the celebration.
Here’s a look at the losses that have stung the most for the AFC North:
Baltimore Ravens: 2023 AFC Championship Game (17-10 loss to Kansas City Chiefs)
Honorable mentions: 2011 AFC Championship Game, 2008 AFC Championship Game, 2024 AFC Divisional Round
Despite two Super Bowl wins in the 21st century, the Ravens have certainly had their fair share of heartbreak. While Billy Cundiff’s missed field goal that would have tied the 2011 AFC title game late was certainly brutal, it’s hard to top the gut-wrenching loss that was the 2023 AFC title game – especially considering the Ravens avenged that loss with a Super Bowl victory in the 2012 season.
The 2023 season seemed to be the best opportunity yet for the Ravens with Lamar Jackson at the helm – a 13-4 regular season record paved the way for home-field advantage against the Goliath-like Chiefs, who at the time were aiming for their second consecutive Super Bowl.
While Kansas City struck first on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce, the Ravens answered right back with a play that seemed to prove their offense was just fine – a 30-yard home run pass from Jackson to Zay Flowers to tie the game with just under five minutes to go in the first quarter.
The Chiefs went on to take nearly 10 minutes on their ensuing drive, finally scoring a touchdown to take a 14-7 lead with 10:56 remaining in the half. The quarter went on to be a disaster for the Ravens, with Jackson losing a fumble on a first down play on the very next drive, eliminating their opportunity to draw even.
Though the Ravens converted on a huge fourth down stand the next drive, Kansas City was still able to add a field goal before the end of the half while the Ravens were forced to punt the ball away twice, leaving them down 10 heading into the third quarter.
After both teams exchanged punts throughout the third quarter, heartbreak hit fast and heavy to start the final frame for the Ravens. Following a drive that saw Jackson take the Ravens from their own 36-yard line to the Kansas City 9-yard line, what looked to be a touchdown pass to Zay Flowers turned out to be a fumble before Flowers could break the plane, with the Chiefs recovering in the end zone for a touchback.
As if coming away without any points there wasn’t bad enough, a long drive down the field the next possession for Baltimore ended with an interception in the end zone, once again leaving Baltimore with just seven points on the board.
While the Ravens would get back within a score thanks to a field goal with 2:38 remaining, Mahomes converted for a necessary first down to secure the victory and AFC title for the Chiefs.
For a home game with one of the sport’s most electric players, it’s hard to have more things go wrong than what did for the Ravens in this game.
Cincinnati Bengals: Super Bowl LVI (23-20 loss to Los Angeles Rams)
Honorable mentions: 2022 AFC Championship Game, 2015 AFC Wild Card Game
A franchise primarily mired in mediocrity and playoff disappointment for the majority of the past 30 years, the Joe Burrow era has brought both new highs and lows to the team, making it further than ever before while dealing with their most crushing losses since falling short in Super Bowl XXIII following the 1988 season.
While a late penalty in the 2022 AFC title game doomed the Bengals’ hopes to return to the Super Bowl in incredibly painful fashion, it’s hard to overlook just how cloes they were to winning it all the year before.
After Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs came out on the right side of an incredible Divisional Round game against the Buffalo Bills in the 2021-22 postseason, Burrow and the Bengals edged out the Chiefs in Kansas City to secure their first AFC championship since 1988.
Facing the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI, it was Matthew Stafford and L.A. that was in control early on, taking an early 13-3 lead thanks to two touchdowns, one of which had a failed two-point conversion.
Cincinnati quickly flipped the script, with Tee Higgins catching a touchdown pass towards the end of the first half to bring the Bengals back within three before another quick strike to start the second half. Burrow connected with Higgins once again for a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the frame, suddenly putting Cincinnati on top 17-13.
The Bengals tacked on more on their following drive, with an Evan McPherson field goal putting Cincinnati up by a touchdown with just over 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Los Angeles answered with a field goal of their own to bring the game back within four points before an intense defensive fourth quarter.
After both teams squandered two drives early in the frame, Stafford brought the Rams down the field on a nearly five-minute drive that concluded with a one-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp, giving Los Angeles a 23-20 lead with just 1:25 left in the game.
Perhaps even more painfully for Cincinnati, what looked to be a drive that would at least end in a game-tying field goal was halted after failing to convert three times when needing only one yard for a first down. Facing pressure on a 4th & 1 at the Los Angeles 49-yard-line, Burrow haphazardly threw an incomplete pass that sealed the Bengals’ fate – and secured a Super Bowl win for the Rams.
After being in control for much of the second half, the Bengals failed to close out what should have at least been a chance to win it all in overtime. The loss has only stung more in the years since, with Cincinnati on the verge of missing the postseason for the third straight year.
Cleveland Browns: 2002 AFC Wild Card Game (36-33 loss to Pittsburgh Steelers)
Honorable mentions: 2020 AFC Divisional Round, 2023 AFC Wild Card Game, Bottlegate
Defined by decades of poor play and instability more than perhaps any other franchise in professional sports, the Browns haven’t even had very many opportunities to disappoint fans by falling short of expectations – as that requires expectations in the first place.
With that said, one defeat certainly stands out among all the others – a single-game collapse to the rival Steelers in the 2002 AFC Wild Card Game, one of just three postseason appearances since the franchise resumed play in 1999.
Led by quarterback Kelly Holcomb, the Browns were in control early in the contest, jumping out to a 24-7 lead early in the third quarter that left a packed Heinz Field crowd in Pittsburgh stunned.
Despite forcing a punt on the next Steelers possession, Pittsburgh still began to battle back – starting with an interception of Holcomb around midway through the third quarter. Steelers’ quarterback Tommy Maddox went on to find Plaxico Burress in the end zone for a touchdown with just under four minutes left in the frame, bringing Pittsburgh back within 10 points.
The Browns responded with a field goal of their own, extending their lead back to 13 just as the fourth quarter got underway – which proved to be more than enough time. Pittsburgh answered back with a feverishly quick drive ending in a three-yard touchdown pass to Jerame Tuman, with the Steelers now back within a score in a 27-21 game with 12:34 remaining in regulation.
Appearing to make things even tougher on Pittsburgh, Holcomb and the Browns promptly responded with a touchdown in a drive that barely lasted over two minutes, giving Cleveland a 33-21 advantage as the Browns failed a two-point conversion attempt.
Despite forcing a punt on the next drive that seemed to really put the Steelers in a corner, Pittsburgh got the ball back with 5:30 left in the game, with Tommy Maddox once again driving the Steelers down the field for a touchdown, making the score 33-28 in favor of Cleveland with still 3:11 left on the clock.
The Browns were only able to kill 29 seconds off the clock on their ensuing drive, forced to punt the ball back to the Steelers with a touchdown standing as enough to win the game.
Maddox went on to throw for 58 yards on a quick drive that ended with a Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala rushing touchdown and two-point conversion – putting the Steelers up by three points with less than a minute to play.
Though Holcomb did convert two first downs on the final drive of the game, a Hail Mary pass fell short as the Steelers completed a remarkable second-half comeback to topple their division rivals.
Although the Browns did go on to finally win a playoff game in 2020 against these very Steelers, this loss is incredibly conspicuous in a franchise history noted for a revolving door at the quarterback and head coaching spots.
Pittsburgh Steelers: 2016 AFC Championship Game (36-17 loss to New England Patriots)
Honorable mentions: Super Bowl XLV, 2017 AFC Divisional Round, 2004 AFC Championship Game
The Steelers interestingly were a pretty tough team to single out a tough loss for, with an intriguing mix of multiple Super Bowl wins and several relatively forgettable early-round playoff losses.
While their defeat to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV still hurts for Steelers fans, the last decade of football in Pittsburgh has led me to single out their loss in the 2016 AFC Championship Game to the Patriots as their most painful.
Maintaining a reputation as perennial Super Bowl contenders throughout Ben Roethlisberger’s career, the 2016 season turned out to be the last truly great opportunity for Pittsburgh to win it all with Big Ben at the helm.
Coming off an 11-5 season and victories over the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs in the first two rounds, the Steelers were essentially a no-show against Tom Brady and the Patriots in the AFC title game in Foxborough.
While the nature of most heartbreakers revolves around a gut-wrenching loss in a close game, it can also certainly come in the form of being ran out of the building, with any hopes of moving on instantly crushed.
That was essentially the case in the 2016 AFC title game, with New England steamrolling Pittsburgh after a somewhat competitive first half. Though only behind by one score at the half in a 17-9 deficit, the Pats quickly asserted control after the break, scoring 16 unanswered points in the third quarter to put the game away before the final frame even got underway.
While Roethlisberger still managed to complete 31 of 47 passes for 314 yards, the Steelers’ run game was essentially nonexistent while their defense had no answers for Brady and the Pats. A garbage-time touchdown and two-point conversion made the final score look a little less ghastly, but there was no hiding the fact that the Steelers were not able to hang in there with a Super Bowl berth on the line.
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