Four years ago, I made a list of all the teams that have won Super Bowls, and how many they won. When I add the past four Super Bowls into the mix, there are now 14 teams (out of 32) that have never won a Super Bowl, and there are four teams that have never been to the Super Bowl:  The Browns, Texans, Jaguars, and Lions.  Congratulations to the Cardinals for attending their first Super Bowl, and congratulations to the Giants for beating the Patriots twice. I’m not going to mention the one team that won for the first time, because they beat my Colts.

Given that the Jaguars are currently fighting the Chiefs for the 2013 #1 draft pick (the Jags are 2-8 and the Chiefs are 1-10), they don’t look to break that streak anytime soon.  The Lions are playing like the Lions, so who knows when they might ever be good. It may take a decade to wash the stink of Millen from their franchise. The Browns are the Browns. Of these four teams, the Texans are playing the best football in their franchise history, and they currently hold the #1 playoff seed in the AFC.  They have a great chance to go the distance.

I’m hoping that the Chiefs maintain their current level of play so that they can get the #1 draft pick next year.  Given their history, however, they’ll use it on a kicker.  Yes, that’s a depressed Chiefs fan talking.

Here’s my playoff hope hierarchy: 

1. I didn’t expect the Colts to even be mentioned this year, given the massive shakeup the club went through in the offseason (new GM, new coach, only 21 players from last year’s team made the 53-man roster).  I laughed at people in September who assumed that since we have Andrew Luck we would be going to the Super Bowl every year. I told these people that Peyton Manning, who is arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, only went 3-13 his rookie year, so why should we expect more from Luck?  Well, the team proved me wrong, and we now hold a 7-4 record, which is fifth best in the AFC.  If the season ended today, the Colts would go to the playoffs.  I still don’t think they are going to win the Super Bowl, but how great would that be for Andrew Luck as a rookie, and the team in general, to go from worst in the league to Super Bowl Champion?
2. If the Colts fall in the playoffs, I will be rooting for my man Peyton Manning. As a Chiefs fan, it is hard for me to root for the Broncos, but not as hard as it would be to root for the Chargers (Billy Volek!!!) or the Raiders (never going to happen).   The problem is that, given the current playoff picture, the Colts would play the Broncos in the first round. So if this trend remains, rooting for the Broncos wouldn’t be a problem.
3. If the Colts AND the Broncos lose, I will be rooting for the Texans.  I am a big fan of the underdog, and since the Texans have never even been to the Super Bowl, I think it would be great to get that accomplishment AND a Lombardi trophy on the same day.  Plus, I don’t want to see any of those ninnies in the NFC win. 

So those are my NFL thoughts for now, and Go Colts!