All 32 NFL teams have their own unique histories. But not all of it is good. At one point or another, every NFL franchise has hit a low point. Here is the most embarrassing NFL record held by your favorite team.
Do you remember these infamous moments that happened to your favorite NFL team?
Arizona Cardinals: Longest Championship Drought
No North American professional sports team has a longer drought than the Cardinals. The franchise last won a league title — the NFL Championship — in 1947. The franchise was based in Chicago at the time.
Atlanta Falcons: Biggest Blown Lead In A Super Bowl
The Falcons held a 25-point lead over the New England Patriots midway through the third quarter of Super Bowl 51. Of course, they found a way to self-implode entirely while Tom Brady led a historic comeback for the ages.
New England scored 31 unanswered points to win the game, which ended with a James White rushing touchdown in overtime.
Baltimore Ravens: First Team To Blow Two 14-Point Leads In A Playoff Game
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
The Ravens had already picked up two playoff victories at Gillette Stadium heading into the 2014 AFC Divisional Round. So when they built up 14-0 and 28-14 leads, Patriots fans surely felt a case of deja vu.
But of course, Tom Brady and the Pats answered with two epic comebacks. After trailing by 14 early in the third quarter, the Pats outscored Baltimore 21-3 the rest of the way for a thrilling 35-31 victory.
The Ravens became the first NFL team in history to blow a pair of 14-point leads in a single postseason game.
Buffalo Bills: Only Team To Lose Four Straight Super Bowls
Not much explanation is required here. The Bills won four straight AFC Championship banners from 1990 to ‘93. But as every Buffalo sports fan knows, they didn’t once come away with the Lombardi Trophy.
They came awfully close in Super Bowl 52, only losing to the New York Giants on a last-second field goal miss by Scott Norwood. The Bills were blown out big time in the next three Super Bowls.
Carolina Panthers: (Tie) Longest Single-Season Losing Streak (W/ Wins)
The 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns went 0-and-16. But the 2001 Carolina squad made history in their own sad way.
After winning their Week 1 opener, the Panthers proceeded to lose each of their final 15 games. They were the first team in the Super Bowl era to achieve that embarrassing feat.
Also Read: 10 NFL Teams That Have No Chance At Making The Playoffs This Coming 2024 Season
Chicago Bears: Most Seasons Leading The League In Penalties
Admittedly, we’re nitpicking a bit here, as the Bears simply don’t have that sad a history compared to several other franchises.
That said, the Bears hold a rather embarrassing feat for “most seasons leading the league in penalties” with a whopping 16. On the bright side, they haven’t led the NFL in that category since 1976. So there’s that!
Cincinnati Bengals: Lowest All-Time Postseason Winning Percentage
Bengals fans don’t want to be reminded that they haven’t won a playoff game since 1990. But that’s not even the saddest part of the franchise’s postseason struggles.
The Bengals hold a 5-and-14 all-time postseason record. This adds up to a .263 postseason winning percentage, the worst among all 32 NFL teams. The Detroit Lions, an even more depressing franchise, are a distant second-last with a .350 playoff winning percentage.
Cleveland Browns: Fewest First Downs In A Season
The 2000 Cleveland Browns weren’t even close to being the worst squad in the franchise’s history. Obviously, that notion goes to the 0-and-16 group from 2017.
But the 2000 Browns set an embarrassing feat that will probably never be broken. That year, the team recorded just 176 total first downs — the fewest ever in a season. I mean, even the worst teams these days get well over 200 first downs in any given year.
Dallas Cowboys: (Tie) Longest Home Losing Streak
Tom Landry’s final season in Dallas ended in a whimper. The team went a woeful 3-and-13 on the year. They lost their final six games at Texas Stadium.
1989 marked the first year of Jerry Jones’ ownership and of the Jimmy Johnson era. Dallas went one-and-15 that year, losing all eight home games. They carried a brutal 14-home-game losing streak into 1990.
The streak finally ended with a Week 1 win against the San Diego Chargers. A sign that better things were indeed on the horizon.
Denver Broncos: (Tie) Most Super Bowl Losses
Only six NFL teams have more Super Bowl banners than the Broncos, who own three. That’s the good news.
The bad news? The Broncos also have five Super Bowl losses. It started with a Super Bowl 12 loss to the Cowboys. Then John Elway endured three painful defeats of his own before winning two rings. Peyton Manning’s Broncos were embarrassed by the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 48, but they got redemption two years later by winning that third title.
But five Super Bowl losses are five Super Bowl losses.
Detroit Lions: 26 Straight Road Losses
The Lions defeated the Bears at Soldier Field in Week 8 of the 2007 season. Somehow, it would be the franchise’s last road victory for three years.
The Lions lost their final four road games in ‘07. Then they went 0-and-16 in 2008. Then they lost all eight road games in 2009, finishing 2-and-14 overall that year.
After falling in their first six away games in 2010, the Lions finally ended the 26-game road losing streak with a thrilling overtime win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15.
Green Bay Packers: Most Passing Yards Allowed In A Season
This proud and historic franchise doesn’t have many embarrassing feats. But man, that pass defense in 2011 was downright awful. The Packers, that year, allowed a ridiculous 4,796 passing yards — the most ever in one year. And yet, they won 15 games thanks to league MVP Aaron Rodgers.
Houston Texans: (Tie) Worst One-Season Turnaround
The 2013 Texans share this record with the 1994 Houston Oilers.
The ‘93 Oilers and 2012 Texans both went 12-and-4. One year later? They both went 2-and-14.
The Texans started out well by winning their first two games that year, only to implode entirely the rest of the way. But because football is unpredictable, the Texans rebounded with three straight winning seasons after that.
Indianapolis Colts: Most Points Allowed In A Season
The 1981 Colts, who were then the Baltimore Colts, may have fielded the worst defense in league history. That year, the team allowed an NFL record 533 points…or 33.3 per game. Opponents put up 37-plus on them seven times. The fewest points they allowed in a game? 21.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Longest Single-Season Losing Streak (W/ Wins)
Yes, the 2020 Jaguars share this record with the ‘01 Panthers.
Jacksonville stunned the Colts in their Week 1 opener, only to lose each of their final 15 games. On the bright side, it landed them Trevor Lawrence! So it was totally worth the embarrassment!
Kansas City Chiefs: Fewest Sacks In A 16-Game Season
Jared Allen led the NFL with 15.5 sacks in 2007. The Chiefs traded him to the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason, setting the stage for…history!
In 2008, the Chiefs mustered only ten sacks, the fewest ever in a 16-game season. They went four consecutive games at one point without a sack. Tamba Hali led the NFL team with three. Only he and Jason Babin recorded multiple sacks that year.
Las Vegas Raiders: Most Penalized Team In A Season
The 2011 Raiders went 8-and-8 but missed out on the AFC West division in a three-way tiebreaker that went to the Broncos. If they displayed some half-decent discipline on the field, they could have easily won the division.
The Raiders committed 163 penalties in 2011, which stands as a record. Their 1,358 penalty yards were also a record, but the Seahawks broke that feat two seasons later.
But 163 penalties? That’s more than ten a game on average! Yeesh.
Los Angeles Chargers: Fewest Rushing Yards In A 16-Game Season
No surprise that a one-win team would set an NFL record. Those Chargers just got nothing going whatsoever.
In 2000, the Chargers only accumulated 1,062 rushing yards — the worst ever under the 16-game regular season format. On the bright side, the Chargers proceeded to draft a Hall of Famer in LaDainain Tomlinson, who on his own surpassed 1,062 rushing yards in eight different seasons!
Los Angeles Rams: (Tie) Longest Home Losing Streak
This is tied with the 1988 and ‘89 Cowboys, but we figured it was worth mentioning in two separate entries. St. Louis matched this feat from 2008 to 2010.
The ‘08 Rams lost their final five home games at the Edward Jones Dome. They went 1-and-15 in 2009, losing all eight home tilts.
After losing their Week 1 home opener to Arizona in 2010, the Rams finally ended the 14-game home losing skid with a 30-to-16 victory over Washington in Week 3.
Miami Dolphins: Biggest Playoff Blowout Loss (In Super Bowl Era)
The Bears crushed Washington 73-0 in the 1940 NFL Championship game, marking the biggest blowout in NFL history. But in the Super Bowl era, no NFL team was more embarrassed in a postseason game than the 1999 Dolphins.
Miami visited the top-seeded Jaguars in the 1999 AFC Divisional Round. In what turned out to be Dan Marino’s final game, the Dolphins were blown out 62-7. 24 of Jacksonville’s points came in the opening quarter.
Minnesota Vikings: Most Playoff Losses
Probably safe to say that the Vikings, Lions, Browns and Bills are on the NFL’s Mount Rushmore of franchises who’ve broken their fans’ hearts the most.
While the Lions and Browns have been mostly awful in the Super Bowl era, Minny has been a fairly consistent regular season winner… The postseason is a whole other story, though.
Through the 2020 season, the Vikings had 30 losses — the most in NFL history. The Cowboys were a close second with 28, followed by the Rams with 26. So maybe Minnesota won’t hold this record too much longer…
New England Patriots: (Tie) Most Super Bowl Losses
The Patriots are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins with six. They are also tied with the Broncos for most Super Bowl losses with five. Even the GOAT, Tom Brady himself lost three of them…
New Orleans Saints: Most Consecutive Non-Winning Seasons
The Saints joined the NFL in 1967. They wouldn’t record their first winning season until 1987 when they went 12-and-3. The season was shortened because of the strike.
The Saints went 8-and-8 in 1979 and ‘83…and had 18 losing seasons through their first 20 years of existence. Needless to say, it took the franchise a long time to turn a corner.
New York Giants: Most Points Allowed Per Game
The 1981 Colts may have allowed the most total points in a season. But the 1966 Giants hold an equally embarrassing feat: The most points allowed PER GAME.
In a 14-game season, the Giants allowed 501 total points — bad enough for 35.8 points allowed per game. That surpasses the 33.3 the Colts allowed on average in 1981.
New York Jets: (Tie) Fewest rushing TDs In A 16-Game Season
The 1995 New York Jets had just two total rushing touchdowns. That is tied with the ‘05 Arizona Cardinals for the fewest in a 16-game season.
How is that even possible?
Philadelphia Eagles: Most Sacks Allowed In A Season
The 1986 Eagles certainly weren’t the worst NFL team in history. They went 5-10-and-1. But even the ‘08 Lions and ‘17 Browns have nothing on that 1986 Philadelphia team.
That year, the Eagles allowed 104 total sacks, the most ever in a single season. Philly used three starting quarterbacks that year; Randall Cunningham took 72 of the 104 sacks.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Fewest Passing First Downs In A Season
More nitpicking here because the Steelers are a historically successful franchise.
But uh, the 1941 team — which went 1-9-and-1 — sure left a lot to be desired. That year, the Steelers recorded just 18 total passing first downs. Yes, it was only an 11-game season. But for comparison sake, the 2-8-and-1 Eagles had 59 passing first downs.
And the Cleveland Rams, who won just two games that year, had 44 passing first downs.
San Francisco 49ers: Most Turnovers In A Season
Before the start of the glorious Joe Montana/Bill Walsh/Jerry Rice days, the 49ers had to get through a painful second half of the ‘70s decade.
The 49ers hit rock bottom in 1978, losing 14 of 16 games. They also committed a whopping 63 turnovers, the most ever in a single season. This included 36 interceptions; 22 of which were thrown by Steve DeBerg. Scott Bull accounted for 11 of them, as well.
Seattle Seahawks: Fewest Yards Gained In A 16-game season
The 1992 Seahawks used three different starting quarterbacks. They somehow won two games despite averaging, wait for it — 8.8 points per game.
You heard that correctly. 8.8 points per game—the lowest in a 16-game season ever.
So, you shouldn’t be surprised to hear that the ‘92 Seahawks also set the record for the fewest yards gained in a 16-game season, with just 3,374 total yards of offense. Gross.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Lowest All-Time Winning Percentage
Some of you probably expected the Bucs’ 26-game losing streak — which spanned from 1976 to ‘77 — on here. But it’s the Chicago Cardinals who hold the longest ever losing skid from 1942 to ‘45, having lost 29 straight contests.
Even though they have two Super Bowl victories — both in the 21st century — the Bucs actually hold the all-time lowest regular season winning percentage. Through the 2020 season, the Bucs were 278-429-and-1 – which works out to a winning percentage of just .393. No other NFL team has an all-time winning percentage below .400.
Tennessee Titans: Biggest Blown Lead
They don’t call it “The Comeback” for nothing.
The Houston Oilers, who are now the Titans of course, held a 35-to-3 lead over the Bills in the 1992 Wild Card Round. But as you all know, it was the home team who emerged victorious 41-to-38 in overtime.
The Oilers blew a 32-point lead, the biggest in NFL history. Something tells us that the record won’t ever be broken.
Washington Football Team: Longest Playoff Drought Ever
Including the pre-Super Bowl era, no team has a longer NFL playoff drought than Washington. The franchise missed out on the postseason every year from 1946 to 1970. That’s right, 25 straight years of no playoff football.
The drought finally ended in 1971, when new head coach George Allen led the team to a 9-4-and-1 record. And Cleveland fans thought they had it bad by missing the postseason every year from 2003 to 2019?
Also Read: One New NFL Team Name Idea For All 32 Teams
