30 greatest players to never win a Super Bowl

9. Bruce Matthews, OL, Houston Oilers

He would play in a total of 296 regular-season games, more than any other offensive linemen in NFL history and a total topped by only 11 players in league annals at this writing. He would be a starter at both left and right tackle, left and right guard and center during his amazing 19-year career.

Bruce Matthews was the ninth overall selection in the fabled 1983 NFL Draft by the then-Houston Oilers. From 1987-93, the team made seven consecutive appearances in the playoffs. From 1988 until his final season in the league in 2001, he was named to the Pro Bowl all 14 years. Those are pretty lofty accomplishments for any player, much less a pro called on to play so many different positions.

By the time Matthews called it a career after the 2001 season, the franchise had played in several different venues and went to the Houston Oilers to the Tennessee Oilers and finally to the Tennessee Titans in 1999. That year, the club got some help from a “Music City Miracle”, knocked off the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars on the road in the AFC playoffs before coming up just short in Super Bowl XXXIV against the St. Louis Rams.

Along the way, Matthews paved the way for terrific runners such as Earl Campbell, Lorenzo White and Eddie George and protected quarterbacks such as Warren Moon and Steve McNair. But the Pro Football Hall of Famer wound up without a Super Bowl ring despite nearly two decades of excellent play.

Next: No. 8