The worst NFL groups from the previous 50 years

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With the 2020 season that includes some woeful groups influence Trevor Lawrence’s projected vacation spot, it appears like a great time to reevaluate the least profitable seasons in fashionable NFL historical past. Listed below are the worst squads assembled for the reason that 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

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Roster-wise, this group doesn’t belong right here. The Chiefs despatched six gamers to the 2012 Professional Bowl, together with Jamaal Charles and Justin Houston. And the 2013 Chiefs, geared up with the newly arrived Andy Reid-Alex Smith duo, completed 11-5 and commenced the ascent that launched them to the NFL mountaintop. However Kansas Metropolis’s Scott Pioli- Romeo Crennel energy construction ran a semi-talented 2012 group into the bottom. The Chiefs completed 2-14 and had been outscored by a franchise-record 214 factors. Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn mixed for eight TD passes. One of many Chiefs’ wins got here a day after the horrific Jovan Belcher murder-suicide incident. 

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The Dolphins (1-15) required an time beyond regulation walk-off landing to keep away from stealing the 2008 Lions’ thunder. The Nick Saban-era Dolphins whiffed badly at quarterback, botching a Drew Brees pursuit and signing Daunte Culpepper. The ’07 group barely tried; the consequence mirrored it. A second ugly-looking Trent Inexperienced concussion left Cleo Lemon and John Beck on the helm. The Dolphins ended up dropping to the Culpepper-led Raiders when the ex-Viking totaled 75 passing yards and two INTs. Corridor of Famer Jason Taylor’s 11 sacks had been irrelevant in Cam Cameron’s one-and-done season. The Tony Sparano-Chad Pennington pair had Miami within the 2008 playoffs.

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Struggles with non-Patriots franchises displayed Josh McDaniels‘ bigger-picture points; this season is his greatest manufacturing black mark. The one-and-done Rams offensive coordinator oversaw a unit that threw 9 TD passes. This occurred regardless of 2010 Offensive Rookie of the 12 months Sam Bradford beginning 10 video games. This Rams version (2-14) was not even the worst of Steve Spagnuolo’s three St. Louis squads, but it surely ranked final in scoring (two 20-point video games all 12 months) and twenty sixth defensively. Steven Jackson one way or the other nonetheless rushed for 1,145 yards. Jeff Fisher, jokes and all, elevated the Rams from this disastrous place starting in 2012.

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Because of a stunningly dangerous Rams displaying in Week 15, the Jets averted an 0-16 season. However they had been nonetheless outscored by 214 factors. The commerce of Jamal Adams and C.J. Mosley’s opt-out wounded the Jets protection, and 12 months 2 of the Adam Gase-Sam Darnold pairing tanked former No. 3 decide’s inventory. Gregg Williams’ stupefying all-out blitz call price the Jets a win over the Raiders, resulting in the DC’s rapid ouster. The Jets’ upset win in L.A. then price the franchise Trevor Lawrence, however of their protection, it’s uncommon for a group to win two video games and never maintain the next 12 months’s No. 1 decide. The miss haunted the Jets rapidly, as their Zach Wilson funding produced mega-bust standing.

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These Jaguars reached three wins, however they earned one other No. 1 total decide after a worse season than their 1-15 2020 providing. Whilst this squad rostered Trevor Lawrence, City Meyer’s presence undercut the prized rookie QB to the purpose it stunted the prospect’s progress. Lasting lower than 11 months as Jaguars czar, the previous nationwide champion was ill-equipped to educate an NFL group to the purpose it grew to become poisonous. A litany of scandals plagued Meyer, who grew to become the primary rookie HC in 43 years to be fired earlier than season’s finish. Lawrence threw one TD cross between Halloween and New 12 months’s Day. Even after the Jags fired Meyer, they misplaced 50-10 to the Patriots en path to a minus-204 differential.

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These Chargers almost beat the 2008 Lions to the 0-16 punch. The Ryan Leaf-saddled group wanted a game-winning discipline purpose to beat a Chiefs group beginning a backup quarterback (44-year-old Warren Moon) to keep away from an 0-fer. These Bolts rostered Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison and misplaced eight one-score video games, serving to Mike Riley obtain a 3rd season as head coach. However this was the tip of the road for Leaf, the 1998 No. 2 total decide who threw 18 INTs in 11 video games. The Chargers reduce him months later and used their No. 1 draft slot to commerce down and purchase LaDainian Tomlinson and Drew Brees. Good got here out of this mess.

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Though the Payments had O.J. Simpson and gifted wideouts Haven Moses and Marlin Briscoe, they went 1-13 — the worst file in franchise historical past. An offseason commerce of defensive lineman Ron McDole to Washington brought on a rift between coach John Rauch and proprietor Ralph Wilson, resulting in Rauch’s summer season resignation. Alternative Harvey Johnson, who went 1-10-1 as a Payments interim HC in 1968, didn’t fare effectively. Buffalo ranked final offensively and defensively. Dennis Shaw completed with an 11-26 TD-INT ratio, and Simpson ended a 3rd straight season underneath 800 speeding yards. Lou Saban’s 1972 return helped lead Buffalo out of this gap.

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One of many NFL’s most quietly depressing stretches featured the post-merger period’s second winless season. These Colts went 0-8-1, and whereas they may have gained a sport had a strike not intervened, their minus-123 level differential strikes to minus-246 when extrapolated to a full season. The Colts used Mike Pagel as their starter all through, with No. 4 total decide Artwork Schlichter starting his run as a infamous QB bust. Frank Kush’s first Colts group was so unappealing it prompted John Elway to deploy his notorious baseball leverage play to keep away from enjoying in Baltimore in 1983. The Colts left for Indianapolis in 1984.

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Two Corridor of Famers had been on this group; it mattered not. Though Warren Sapp was close to the tip, the Raider protection rating third in yards allowed prevented this squad from “Worst group ever” discussions. An unenthused Randy Moss was a non-factor on an offense that scored 10.5 factors per sport — the second-worst determine this century. A floundering teaching search led Al Davis to rehire Artwork Shell, who had not coached in six years. Shell’s offensive coordinator rent, Tom Walsh, had not coached within the NFL since 1994. The Raiders didn’t get better in 2007 when Davis traded Moss to the Patriots and drafted JaMarcus Russell.

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The Falcons greenlighting a second Marion Campbell head-coaching stint didn’t work out. Swamp Fox 2.0’s first season unfolded unusually. The Falcons (3-12) began 5 quarterbacks however had an All-Professional O-lineman (proper guard Invoice Fralic) and noticed Gerald Riggs additionally make a Hawaii journey. Atlanta ranked final on offense and protection however beat eventual Tremendous Bowl champion Washington per week earlier than the gamers’ strike. The Falcons’ scabs gained a sport; their full-timers went 2-10 and had been outscored by 22 factors per contest. Campbell, whose group was outscored by 231 factors on the entire, nonetheless lasted two extra seasons.

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This veers into a wierd place, not less than in comparison with the “every thing is horrible” style that includes a lot of this record. These Patriots beat eventual NFC champion Washington to maneuver their file to 2-1. Then, the rollercoaster malfunctioned. New England (3-11) misplaced its subsequent 9, bottoming out towards Tremendous Bowl VII’s different entrant — a 52-0 loss to the unbeaten Dolphins, main to educate John Mazur’s resignation — and completed the season with a minus-254 level differential. That ranks because the sixth-worst all-time mark. Jim Plunkett completed with an 8-25 TD-INT ratio. The Pats did use this catastrophe to draft Corridor of Fame guard John Hannah.

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It took video games towards the growth Buccaneers and the 2-12 Payments to raise these Jets to a not-historically horrendous-looking 3-11. That’s deceiving. New York completed with a franchise-worst (for now) minus-214 differential, and QBs Joe Namath and Richard Todd mixed for seven TD passes and 28 INTs. Lou Holtz lasted 11 video games earlier than leaving for Arkansas, giving Bobby Petrino a transparent blueprint. Holtz composed a combat track and tried different school gimmicks earlier than later admitting the NFL was not for him. This was Namath’s twelfth and remaining Jets season; the franchise shipped him to the Rams in 1977.

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In between the Jake Delhomme and Cam Newton eras, the Panthers went via a tough autumn. Compelled to make use of one-time elite recruit Jimmy Clausen and future QB2 mainstay Matt Moore, Carolina completed with a minus-212 level differential. These Panthers mixed for 9 TD passes and had 4 video games with fewer than 80 passing yards. The Panthers (2-14) completed two video games worse than anybody else that 12 months. A second-round rookie, Clausen was completed as a starter after this season. And former NFC champion coach John Fox was out after 9 years. This season led to the Panthers taking Newton atop a loaded 2011 draft. 

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The Buccaneers had entry to Bo Jackson and Steve Younger in 1986. By 1987, each gamers had been happier in California. Irked at Bucs possession, Jackson adopted via with the John Elway plan by spurning a No. 1 draft decide wage for baseball. Younger, a USFL refugee tethered to the Bucs due to the supplemental draft, was compelled to pilot a 2-14 group. The Bucs ranked final defensively, permitting 20-plus factors in each sport, and adopted this season up by buying and selling Younger to San Francisco and going with 1987 No. 1 decide Vinny Testaverde. The franchise remained woeful for the subsequent decade. 

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Archie Manning‘s profession grew to become maybe the closest NFL equal to “House Jam”-universe Michael Jordan’s would-be reality had the Toon Squad not prevailed in that fateful matchup. A top quality expertise tethered to horrible groups, the Manning patriarch completed within the prime 10 in TD passes and passer score in 1980. New Orleans’ protection allowed 487 factors — the second-most in NFL in the course of the Nineteen Eighties — and these Saints, a 12 months away from George Rogers’ arrival, had no 400-yard rusher. The Saints began 0-14 and had been a game-winning Tony Galbreath TD away from 0-16. In Week 14, they blew a 28-point result in the Joe Montana-led 49ers. 

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Steve Spagnuolo wanted his reconstruction of the Chiefs protection to rehabilitate his profession. He submitted one of many worst head-coaching tenures in NFL history . Spags’ Rams debut ended with a 1-15 file, full with a twenty first century-worst minus-261 differential. Former playoff beginning QB Marc Bulger‘s tenure led to 2009, with an damage ushering in much less efficient backups Kyle Boller and Keith Null. These Rams produced extra shutout losses than 20-point video games, however the indefatigable Steven Jackson gained 1,416 speeding yards. The Rams did decide the correct time to backside out; the Lions’ futility overshadowed this descent.

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The Oilers erred upon hiring coveted school coach Invoice Peterson in 1972, starting a 2-24 span. Peterson made it solely via Week 5 in ’73 — the worst season Houston historical past. The Oilers traded future Corridor of Fame security Ken Houston that 12 months however nonetheless had fellow Canton-bound defender Elvin Bethea. They gave up 31.9 factors per sport — fourth-worst within the Tremendous Bowl period — and the Dan Pastorini-piloted offense wanted a game-winning drive to beat the 4-10 Colts to keep away from an 0-14 slate. Even offensive mastermind Sid Gillman, Peterson’s interim alternative after 5 video games, couldn’t save this bunch.

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The Colts’ 1987 Eric Dickerson commerce helped them to the playoffs that season, however the relocated franchise tailed off into the ’90s. Their nadir got here after they scored the second-fewest factors within the 16-game period (143). Indianapolis (1-15) scored double-digit factors 5 instances and solely did so as soon as throughout Ron Meyer’s 9 video games. The Colts gained in interim HC Rick Venturi’s debut, beating the playoff-bound Jets 28-27. Second-year QB Jeff George began each sport, offering a great indication the mega-trade the Colts made to land him was a mistake. This was Dickerson’s remaining Colts season; the group traded George in 1994.

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An proprietor stealing play-calling obligations, teammates feuding, and the tip of former MVP Bert Jones’ Colts tenure highlighted a full-on freefall for the then-Maryland-based franchise. After going 7-9 in the course of the 1980 season, the Colts set an NFL file by permitting 533 factors in ’81. Mike McCormack’s group went 2-14, dropping 14 straight video games in between Week 1 and Week 16 victories. Baltimore set a then-NFL file with simply 13 sacks, and the Colts’ minus-274 differential nonetheless ranks second all-time. Inside the subsequent two-plus years, proprietor Bob Irsay traded John Elway towards his GM’s needs and adopted via on his threats to maneuver the Colts.

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The 0-16 Browns’ minus-176 level differential is merely the franchise’s fourth-worst since rebooting. However Hue Jackson‘s group completed three video games again of the sphere in 2017. Possession tried a new-age rebuild method, essentially the most blatant tank effort a group has tried on this period, and Jackson was left with DeShone Kizer at quarterback. The longer term journeyman backup led the NFL with 22 INTs, and whereas Gregg Williams‘ protection was not as large of an issue, the long run Jets DC was current for this winless mess too. Proprietor Jimmy Haslam fired de facto GM Sashi Brown that December. Successor John Dorsey was gone barely two years later.

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The preliminary Browns 2.0 squad was worse. After the Jaguars and Panthers obtained smoother growth on-ramps in 1995, the NFL panorama was not as pleasant for the Browns’ return. The consequence: a 2-14 season that flirted aggressively with 0-16. Given the opposite groups’ dregs within the ’99 growth draft, the Browns gained 40 yards and recorded two first downs of their opener — a 43-0 loss to the Steelers. The Browns began 0-7, beat the Saints on a Tim Sofa-to-Kevin Johnson Hail Mary, and gained the Steelers rematch two weeks in a while a game-winning discipline purpose. Opponents outscored this Cleveland squad by 220 factors. 

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It one way or the other worsened in 12 months 2, regardless of the Browns having one other No. 1 total decide (defensive finish Courtney Brown). This Cleveland version scored a twenty first century-low 161 factors. A part of the explanation behind this: a Sofa damage compelled Doug Pederson to make eight begins. Sofa threw seven TD passes in seven begins; Pederson managed two. 5 of these video games ended with out Browns TDs. This group additionally endured 4 shutouts. Its 3-13 mark supplies considerably of a ground, however Browns 2.0’s sophomore season has a sneaky case because the second-worst group ever. The Browns fired head coach Chris Palmer on the season’s finish.

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Matt Millen‘s remaining season supplied a fruits of the worst Lions interval, with the Rod Marinelli-coached group ending with a minus-249 differential and sticking the long-avoided 0-16 touchdown. Calvin Johnson managed a 1,300-yard season, however an evolving QB circuit — long-post-prime Daunte Culpepper, Jon Kitna, and Dan Orlovsky — restricted a lot else from being achieved offensively. Every member of that trio misplaced not less than 4 video games, and Orlovsky’s notorious security proved key in a two-point Vikings loss. Future Tremendous Bowl starter Cliff Avril was additionally current for this, however Marinelli’s protection allowed 48 extra factors than anybody else. 

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As a 13-year-old Tom Brady rooted on a hopeful 49ers threepeat, his future franchise was the NFL’s worst on the Nineteen Nineties’ outset. The second-longest-tenured QB in Patriots historical past — Steve Grogan — sadly concluded his profession on this 1-15 squad. One-and-done Rod Rust gained his debut, misplaced 15 straight, and the Pats completed with the third-worst margin of defeat (minus-265) ever. Grogan began within the lone victory; ex-Raider first-rounder Marc Wilson was current for six losses in what grew to become his remaining season. The Pats solely fielded the NFL’s second-worst protection, nevertheless. Most of this roster was passed by Invoice Parcells’ 1993 arrival. 

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Enhanced by soundbite machine John McKay’s presence, the growth Bucs effort will reside on so long as the NFL does. The ex-USC coach’s two-plus months of two-a-day practices set a nasty tone for Tampa Bay’s inaugural season, with accidents additional weakening the NFL’s worst modern-era roster. The 0-14 Bucs’ minus-287 differential is the worst ever. The Steve Spurrier-quarterbacked group got here inside one rating simply twice — as soon as to the growth Seahawks — and misplaced 5 shutouts. The Bucs didn’t notch their first win till Week 13 of 1977, however McKay’s rebuilt protection did carry the ’79 group to the NFC title sport.