We took every regular-season and playoff game since 2002, when the NFL went to 32 teams and eight divisions, from the nflverse data, and followed every team that had not lost yet, week by week. Ties do not end a run, but none of the teams below had one. Then we checked what the teams that started 4-0 and 5-0 did with that start.
When does the last undefeated NFL team lose?
More often than not, before Thanksgiving. In 13 of the 24 seasons the last unbeaten team had lost by Week 10, and the earliest it happened was Week 5, in 2010, 2014 and 2025. Last season the Buffalo Bills and the Philadelphia Eagles both started 4-0 and both lost at home in Week 5, Buffalo 23-20 to the Patriots and Philadelphia 21-17 to the Denver Broncos.
At the other end, six teams won at least 13 straight games to open a season. The 2005 Colts, the 2009 New Orleans Saints and the 2011 Green Bay Packers got to 13-0, the 2009 Colts and the 2015 Carolina Panthers to 14-0, both losing in Week 16, and the 2007 Patriots never lost until February.
| Season | Last unbeaten team | Start | First loss | Final record | How the season ended |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Oakland Raiders | 4-0 | Week 6, at Rams | 11-5 | Lost the Super Bowl |
| 2003 | Kansas City Chiefs | 9-0 | Week 11, at Bengals | 13-3 | Lost in divisional round |
| 2004 | Philadelphia Eagles | 7-0 | Week 9, at Steelers | 13-3 | Lost the Super Bowl |
| 2005 | Indianapolis Colts | 13-0 | Week 15, vs. Chargers | 14-2 | Lost in divisional round |
| 2006 | Indianapolis Colts | 9-0 | Week 11, at Cowboys | 12-4 | Won the Super Bowl |
| 2007 | New England Patriots | 16-0 | Never | 16-0 | Lost the Super Bowl |
| 2008 | Tennessee Titans | 10-0 | Week 12, vs. Jets | 13-3 | Lost in divisional round |
| 2009 | Indianapolis Colts | 14-0 | Week 16, vs. Jets | 14-2 | Lost the Super Bowl |
| 2010 | Kansas City Chiefs | 3-0 | Week 5, at Colts | 10-6 | Lost in wild-card round |
| 2011 | Green Bay Packers | 13-0 | Week 15, at Chiefs | 15-1 | Lost in divisional round |
| 2012 | Atlanta Falcons | 8-0 | Week 10, at Saints | 13-3 | Lost conf. title game |
| 2013 | Kansas City Chiefs | 9-0 | Week 11, at Broncos | 11-5 | Lost in wild-card round |
| 2014 | Arizona Cardinals | 3-0 | Week 5, at Broncos | 11-5 | Lost in wild-card round |
| 2014 | Cincinnati Bengals | 3-0 | Week 5, at Patriots | 10-5-1 | Lost in wild-card round |
| 2015 | Carolina Panthers | 14-0 | Week 16, at Falcons | 15-1 | Lost the Super Bowl |
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings | 5-0 | Week 7, at Eagles | 8-8 | Missed the playoffs |
| 2017 | Kansas City Chiefs | 5-0 | Week 6, vs. Steelers | 10-6 | Lost in wild-card round |
| 2018 | Los Angeles Rams | 8-0 | Week 9, at Saints | 13-3 | Lost the Super Bowl |
| 2019 | San Francisco 49ers | 8-0 | Week 10, vs. Seahawks | 13-3 | Lost the Super Bowl |
| 2020 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 11-0 | Week 13, vs. Washington | 12-4 | Lost in wild-card round |
| 2021 | Arizona Cardinals | 7-0 | Week 8, vs. Packers | 11-6 | Lost in wild-card round |
| 2022 | Philadelphia Eagles | 8-0 | Week 10, vs. Commanders | 14-3 | Lost the Super Bowl |
| 2023 | Philadelphia Eagles | 5-0 | Week 6, at Jets | 11-6 | Lost in wild-card round |
| 2023 | San Francisco 49ers | 5-0 | Week 6, at Browns | 12-5 | Lost the Super Bowl |
| 2024 | Kansas City Chiefs | 9-0 | Week 11, at Bills | 15-2 | Lost the Super Bowl |
| 2025 | Buffalo Bills | 4-0 | Week 5, vs. Patriots | 12-5 | Lost in divisional round |
| 2025 | Philadelphia Eagles | 4-0 | Week 5, vs. Broncos | 11-6 | Lost in wild-card round |
How often 4-0 NFL teams make the playoffs
A 4-0 start is close to a playoff ticket. Of the 67 teams that won their first four games from 2002 to 2025, 58 made the playoffs, 87 percent, as in our look at 0-3 starts, which covers every other record. Forty-eight won their division, 72 percent, and 34 earned a first-round bye. Nine missed the playoffs, the last two in 2016: the Broncos, defending champions, finished 9-7 and the Minnesota Vikings 8-8.
One more win adds little to the playoff odds: 42 of the 47 teams that started 5-0 made it, 89 percent, and 34 won the division, again 72 percent. Since the field grew to 14 teams in 2020, all 14 teams that started 4-0 have made the playoffs.
| Start | Teams | Made playoffs | Won division | Reached Super Bowl | Won Super Bowl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-0 | 117 | 73% | 51% | 20% | 8 (7%) |
| 4-0 | 67 | 87% | 72% | 30% | 6 (9%) |
| 5-0 | 47 | 89% | 72% | 34% | 4 (9%) |
| 6-0 | 30 | 93% | 83% | 47% | 4 (13%) |
| 8-0 | 19 | 100% | 95% | 47% | 2 (11%) |
| 10-0 | 9 | 100% | 100% | 44% | 1 (11%) |
| All teams | 768 | 39% | 25% | 6% | 24 (3%) |
The share that reaches the Super Bowl climbs with every win: 30 percent of 4-0 teams, 34 percent of 5-0 teams and 47 percent of 8-0 teams, against 6 percent for a team picked at random. Titles do not follow at the same rate. Six of the 67 teams that started 4-0 won the Super Bowl, 9 percent, and of the nine that started 10-0 or better, only the 2009 Saints did.
Do undefeated teams win the Super Bowl?
Rarely, and the last one standing least of all. Eleven last unbeaten teams reached the Super Bowl since 2002 and went 1-10 there: the 2006 Colts, who lost their first game in Week 11 at the Dallas Cowboys, beat the Chicago Bears 29-17, and the other 10 lost. The 2024 Kansas City Chiefs, 9-0 before a 30-21 loss at Buffalo, finished 15-2 and lost the Super Bowl 40-22 to the Eagles.
Champions tend to start well but not perfectly. Six of the 24 Super Bowl champions since 2002 started 4-0, and eight lost their opening game, among them last season's champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
- 4-0 starts that won it all: the 2004 Patriots, 2006 Colts, 2009 Saints, 2013 Seahawks, 2015 Broncos and 2019 Chiefs.
- 5-0 starts that won it all: the same list without Seattle and Kansas City, four in 47 teams.
- The longest start by a champion: the 2009 Saints, 13-0 before losing 24-17 to the Cowboys in Week 15. They beat the 2009 Colts, who had started 14-0, 31-17 in the Super Bowl.
- Champions that lost their opener: eight, from the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the 2025 Seahawks.
The 1972 Dolphins and the 2007 Patriots
The 1972 Miami Dolphins remain the only perfect season in NFL history: 14-0 in a 14-game regular season, then wins over the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers and a 14-7 victory over Washington in Super Bowl VII, for a 17-0 record under coach Don Shula.
The 2007 Patriots came closest. They were the first team to go 16-0 in the regular season, finishing with a 38-35 win over the New York Giants, then beat the Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Diego Chargers in the playoffs. The Giants beat them 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008, and they finished 18-1. No team since has finished a regular season unbeaten, in 16 games or, since 2021, in 17.
The next longest runs were 14-0, by the 2009 Colts, who lost 29-15 to the New York Jets in Week 16, and by the 2015 Panthers, who lost 20-13 at the Atlanta Falcons the same week. Carolina finished 15-1 and lost the Super Bowl 24-10 to Denver, a team that had started 7-0.
Undefeated NFL teams in 2026
After Week 4, three teams are 4-0: the Chiefs, the Vikings and the San Francisco 49ers. Three unbeaten teams after four weeks is close to normal: there were at least that many in 13 of the 24 seasons since 2002, and at the other end, nobody was left after Week 5 in 2010, 2014 and last season.
- Kansas City Chiefs: 4-0 after a 30-27 win at the Las Vegas Raiders, a season after going 6-11 and finishing third in the AFC West. How often a team goes from last place to first is the subject of our look at worst-to-first teams.
- Minnesota Vikings: 4-0 after beating the Miami Dolphins 15-10; they were 9-8 and missed the playoffs last season.
- San Francisco 49ers: 4-0 after beating the Broncos 24-14; they were 12-5 last season and lost in the divisional round.
Week 5 opens on Thursday, October 8, with Tampa Bay at Dallas at 8:15 p.m. ET. Kansas City has its bye and hosts the Los Angeles Chargers on October 18; Minnesota plays at the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET and San Francisco at Seattle at 4:25 p.m. ET. At the bottom, five teams are 0-4, and none of the 68 teams that started 0-4 since 2002 made the playoffs. The full schedule has every game, and the Vertize NFL simulator plays out the rest of the season from the real standings.
Unbeaten NFL teams: frequently asked questions
When does the last undefeated NFL team usually lose? Around Week 10, the median from 2002 to 2025. The earliest was Week 5, most recently last season, and only the 2007 Patriots went through a regular season without a loss.
What percentage of 4-0 teams make the playoffs? Eighty-seven percent from 2002 to 2025, 58 of 67, and all 14 since the playoffs grew to 14 teams in 2020. For 5-0 teams it is 89 percent, 42 of 47.
How many 4-0 teams have won the Super Bowl? Six of 67 since 2002, 9 percent: the 2004 Patriots, 2006 Colts, 2009 Saints, 2013 Seahawks, 2015 Broncos and 2019 Chiefs. Almost a third of 4-0 teams reach the Super Bowl.
Has any NFL team gone 17-0? Only the 1972 Dolphins, 14-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs. The 2007 Patriots went 16-0 and lost the Super Bowl to finish 18-1.
Which NFL teams are still undefeated in 2026? After Week 4, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Minnesota Vikings and the San Francisco 49ers, all 4-0.
How this was built: every regular-season and playoff game of the 2002 to 2025 seasons from the nflverse games file, downloaded on October 8, 2026, with 2026 results through Week 4 checked against NFL.com's standings; division winners and playoff seeds come from the nflverse standings file. A team is unbeaten until its first regular-season loss; ties would not end a run, and none occurred in the runs that lasted longest. A 4-0 start means winning each of the first four games, whatever the week. The 1972 Dolphins and the Super Bowl XLII facts outside our data come from the sources linked in the text.