Multiple Cincinnati Bengals Quarterbacks Make Best-To-Never-Win-Super-Bowl List

Plenty of Bengals heartbreak in the big game.

JANUARY 21, 1989: Quarterback Boomer Esiason, left, was named the NFL's MVP for his passing, but the running of rookie fullback Ickey Woods carried the Bengals through the AFC playoffs. The Bengals 1 1 | The Enquirer/Gary Landers, Cincinnati Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC

CINCINNATI — The Bengals had a few legends make an unfortunate list from FOX Sports this week. The outlet ran down their top 10 quarterbacks to never win a Super Bowl, naming Bengals Ring of Honor members Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason as honorable mentions, while Carson Palmer checked in at No. 7.

Anderson and Esiason lost their lone Super Bowl trips with Cincinnati, while Palmer never won a playoff game for the organization.

The list went in this order:

1. Dan Marino
2. Phillip Rivers
3. Matt Ryan
4. Jim Kelly
5. Fran Tarkenton
6. Warren Moon
7. Carson Palmer
8. Steve McNair
9. Dan Fouts
10. Donovan McNabb

Honorable mentions: Randall Cunningham, Boomer Esiason, Ken Anderson, Cam Newton, and Vinny Testaverde.

Jan 9, 2010, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer (9) gestures in the second quarter of the 2010 AFC Wild Card playoff game against the New York Jets at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It's a ranking that Joe Burrow is really hoping he never sniffs after FOX Sports excluded all active players. The Bengals have a massive offseason ramping up into the important free agency window next month.

Burrow and the whole team knows they have to find some gems in the free-agency sand next month to get him in the best position to never join this group.

"That's of paramount importance," Burrow said about free agency at the end of the 2025 season. "You have to identify where you're weak and figure out a way to be strong in that area. That's the NFL year in and year out. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. You have to attack that period with intent to get better."

The Bengals are 0-3 in Super Bowls and have never made it back to the big game with the same quarterback. They are choosing continuity over history to try to find championship glory as the rest of the AFC North all transition to new head coaching eras.

Check out the full ranking from FOX Sports below:

Who do you think is the best QB that never won a ring in their career? pic.twitter.com/uswWnZQ67A

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) February 16, 2026

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