30 greatest players to never win a Super Bowl

TAMPA BAY, FL - OCTOBER 2, 1994: Barry Sanders
TAMPA BAY, FL - OCTOBER 2, 1994: Barry Sanders /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
25 of 30
Next
FOXBORO, MA – CIRCA 1990s: Bruce Smith
FOXBORO, MA – CIRCA 1990s: Bruce Smith /

6. Bruce Smith, DE, Buffalo Bills

In 1981, a defensive terror by the name of Lawrence Taylor made his NFL debut and quarterbacks around the league couldn’t have been unhappier. He chased down not only opposing signal-caller but anyone who had the football in their hands.

What he also did was motivate those who keep the numbers when it comes to this great game to make individual sack totals an official statistic. Why it took so long was anyone’s guess. But Taylor’s impact was so startling that it was certainly no coincidence that quarterback traps started to count in 1982.

Regardless of what era you played in, topping what Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith. The first overall pick in the 1985 draft from Virginia Tech spent his first 15 seasons with the Buffalo Bills and his final four years with the Washington Redskins. It added up to 279 games and an astonishing 200 career sacks (the most since the NFL began counting sacks as an official stat in ’82). There were double-digit sacks in 13 of those campaigns – including 12 with Buffalo. Smith also picked off two passes and recovered 15 fumbles.

There were 11 Pro Bowl invitations and Smith was named All-Pro eight times. More importantly, there were those four straight Super Bowl appearances. But in each instance, the Bills came up short and the defense didn’t answer the bell in each instance. But Smith’s greatness can’t be overlooked.

Next: No. 5