Football is a tough game, and if Any Given Sunday taught us anything, it is that any team can be beaten by any other team on any given game day. As such, if you’re the betting type, you’d best be certain you’re following a quality handicapper to ensure you get the best free sports picks available.
A handicapper will look at more than just a team’s average season wins before heading off in a game against a competitor. They’ll look at the overall franchise, the last game they played, whether it was at home or on the road, the conditions of the starting lineup players, the advantages and disadvantages of where they’ll be playing-the list goes on. Most handicappers will have their own power rating system which will generate a point-based probability number for each team’s potential victory over the other. Using these systems can help you determine which is more likely to win, based on factual data and not fanatical feeling. Because ultimately, even if you’re a die-hard Buccaneers fan, it’s probably not a great idea to bet on them in a game.
When looking at the NFL franchises that have absolutely sucked eggs the worst, we will just consider the total overall wins versus losses. Calculating bad teams based on coaching, players, and other criteria is for another article. Here, we will just limit our concern to the point average assigned to teams based on games played and won versus games played and lost. Here are our top five, or should we say “bottom five,” biggest NFL losers.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers
What can we say? Since their franchise began in 1976 they’ve played 692 games and only won 267 of them. Their point average is .387 making them the lowest ranking NFL team based on wins versus losses alone. In fact, the Bucs lost their first twenty-six games and didn’t grab a victory until 1977. We aren’t blaming their starting QB at the time, but we see you Steve Spurrier, and it’s a good thing you’ve retired the jersey and taken up coaching. The Bucs claimed one Super Bowl title at the end of a fourteen year consecutive losing season, but that victory was short lived and they have not been to the Super Bowl since.
The Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are one of the two oldest and founding NFL teams, forming in 1898 and founding the NFL in 1920. Since then they’ve played over 1,300 games…and only won about 550 of them. The Cardinals have never won a Super Bowl. They do, however, hold the NFL record for longest active championship drought, staying championship-less for 72 consecutive seasons. Their total point average still places them higher than the Buccaneers, at .425, but we still wouldn’t expect them to be favorited over, well, any team this coming season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars
Boy oh boy, where to start with the Jags. Now you’ll want us to give them some slack since they’re a relatively new franchise, having played their very first game in 1995. They’re backed by some of the most loyal (and possibly disillusioned) fans in the NFL. Although they’ve only played 400 games, they’ve only won 176 of them, and they’ve never tied. That means they flat out lost the remainder of their games, if you aren’t following along. Additionally, the Jags have never seen a single league or conference championship. They’ve somehow pulled out three division championships, but for a twenty-four year old team we’d expect to see a little more.
The Atlanta Falcons
The dirty birds come in fourth in our biggest losers list, having won less than half of their total games ever played. Since their inception in 1966, they’ve played a total of 832 games and lost 461 of them, bringing their winning point average to .448, just above the Jaguars. Another zero-time Super Bowl championship record holder, the Falcons have pulled off two conference championships and six division championships, placing them higher up the loser ladder than the Jaguars, but only slightly.
The Cincinnati Bengals
We know, we know-there were two Bengals. We’re adding the current Bengals team (the one that was formed in 1968 and is still a franchise today) to our list. Since ’68 the Bengals have played 804 games and won 359 of them, bringing their point average to .449. Another Super Bowl non-stunner, they have amassed nine division championships and two conference championships, but haven’t seen any championship or conference wins since 2015.
That rounds out our list of the biggest losers in NFL sports history. While the teams that made the list aren’t known for their massive victories, they’ve definitely got the best fans in the league. It’s easy to support the winners, not as easy to support the losers. Our wish is that these teams would see some victories in the upcoming years and upset some of the greats (we’re talking about you, Cowboys).
