The Buffalo Bills won four consecutive AFC Championship in the early 1990s. Traditionally, teams that lose the Super Bowl have a tough time regaining the magic that got them through their conference playoffs, but the Bills did it three more times after losing Super Bowl XXV.
The last Super Bowl loser to get back to the Super Bowl the following year were the 1992 and 1993 Bills. Prior to those three consecutive trips, only a handful of teams in NFL history has ever lost a Super Bowl and been back in the big game the following year.
The Denver Broncos, led by John Elway, lost consecutive Super Bowls in 1986 and 1987. The Miami Dolphins made it to three consecutive Super Bowls in the early 70s losing their first trip but winning the second and third. The Dallas Cowboys lost Super Bowl V before winning the following season.
More recent history shows it's not just hard to get back to the Super Bowl, but to win a playoff game is rare for previous Super Bowl losers. The last team to make their conference championship game a year after losing in the Super Bowl were the 1993 Bills.
In 2009, the Indianapolis Colts lost in the Super Bowl, then lost in the Wild Card round the following year. The Arizona Cardinals fell in the 2008 Super Bowl before coming back to win a thriller in the 2009 wild card round. The New England Patriots missed the playoffs a year after they lost a perfect season in the Super Bowl, as did the Chicago Bears the year prior. The Seattle Seahawks won a squeaker following their Super Bowl defeat. The Philadelphia Eagles bottomed out at 6-10 following their NFC title, and the Carolina Panthers finished 7-9 after theirs. The Oakland Raiders finished 4-12 a year after their loss in the big game, and the St. Louis Rams were 7-9.
Buffalo showed mental toughness and tenacity in the early 1990s while rolling through the AFC playoffs four years in a row. Despite their losses on the biggest possible stage, they fought their way back the following year not once or twice, but three times. That accomplishment, while earning them a reputation as losers, should signify the opposite. It should signify a continuous resolve to be the best.