Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

And for the 12-game era, we can include the best less-than 5-7ers. Teams that were simply more than one game below-500 in the W/L column.

'84 Eagles (6-9-1) come to mind. A more-than scrappy bunch. Started off 4-4, beat Giants and Wash, and lost on the road to Miami by a single point.

'81 Bears (6-10) even more to say. Perhaps the best last-place team ever. Spilt with the division champ Bucs, beat SD at home thanks in big part to Buddy (example of '46' precursor) and also Levy's above-500 Chiefs at Arrowhead, gave Dallas quite a run for it Turkey Day, and beat a Bronco team in the finale that had to win to get in!

'82 Eagles and Niners pretty good 'abbreviated' examples (strike, 3-6 apiece).

While it's not included here, I'd say the best .500 (7-7) team ever was the 1972 Vikings. They lost five games by a field goal or less, three of them in the final minute of play. In another, their apparent game-winning TD was wiped out by a penalty in the final minute, which was followed by Fred Cox shanking a 27-yard FG that would have salvaged a tie.

BD Sullivan wrote:While it's not included here, I'd say the best .500 (7-7) team ever was the 1972 Vikings. They lost five games by a field goal or less, three of them in the final minute of play. In another, their apparent game-winning TD was wiped out by a penalty in the final minute, which was followed by Fred Cox shanking a 27-yard FG that would have salvaged a tie.

The 1974 Patriots would have to be in the running, for beating both the previous seasons Super Bowl teams, the Vikings and Dolphins, along with the Rams, losing both games to Buffalo by a total of three points (winning both games would have put them in the postseason instead of the Bills) and losing to the Steelers by 4 and losing to Miami in the Orange Bowl by a TD. With a few breaks here and there, and not having given up so many turnovers in losses to the Browns and Jets, this team could have won 10 or 11 games.

74_75_78_79_ wrote: '81 Bears (6-10) even more to say. Perhaps the best 'last place' team ever. Spilt with the division champ Bucs, beat SD at home thanks in big part to Buddy (example of '46' precursor) and also Levy's above-500 Chiefs at Arrowhead, gave Dallas quite a run for it Turkey Day, and beat a Bronco team in the finale that had to win to get in!

Lot of people forget that if the Bears don't beat Denver that final week, there is no Epic in Miami (Chargers would have finished behind the Jets thanks to the tie and Buffalo had the H2H tiebreaker) and the Broncos play the Dolphins instead for a spot in the Freezer Bowl

2-14: 1981 Patriots and it's not even close.

Their biggest margin of defeat that year- 14 points.

Most 2-14 teams get their clock cleaned multiple times by 20 points or more.

Played the Eagles/Cowboys tough, got Hail Mary'd in Buffalo, lost a close one to the fast-improving Redskins in Gibbs' first year.

1970 Chargers, who finished with an ugly 5-6-3 record:

*One two-point loss was decided in the final minute, while another was decided in the final four minutes.
*They lost another game thanks to George Blanda's late FG, but an Oakland TD drive had a pair of Biletnikoff catches that looked like they skipped off the ground.
*The Bengals had no net passing yards, yet somehow won 17-14. Horst Muhlmann kicked a 53-yard FG, Lemar Parrish ran back a punt for a score and Ken Riley's pick put the ball at the SD 13, where a Jess Phillips run scored on the first play.
*They were in FG range in the final minute against Houston, but an interception gave them a tie instead.
*They had a 17-0 halftime lead over Denver before Denver tied the game, which is how it ended.

1968 Packers, who finished 6-7-1:

*Lost 23-17 to the Lions in the final two minutes after having a 10-0 lead and the ball at the Detroit seven in the second quarter. Kramer shanked a 21-yard FG.
*Lost 16-14 to the Rams in the final minute on a FG.
*Tied the Lions 14-14 after getting the ball down to the Detroit 25 in the final minute--and then fumbling.
*Lost 13-10 to the Bears in the final minute on a FG. Mercein missed a 22-yard FG with 3:40 left. The winning FG came after the Bears called for a free kick after a fair catch at the GB 43.
*Lost 14-10 at Minnesota, blowing four great second half chances; First down at the Viking 25 was followed by a holding (then 15 yards) call and two sacks; first down at the Minny 6, but a 24-yard FG attempt is blocked; first down at the Viking 31, followed by a fumble; with 1:42 left, they began a drive at their own 42, but fumbled at the Minnesota 45.

CSKreager wrote:2-14: 1981 Patriots and it's not even close.

Best 3-13 team might have been the 1986 Colts, who started 0-13 then won their final three, beating Atlanta, Buffalo and the Raiders. The momentum carried over to 1987, where they became one of the flukiest division winners in pro football history.

Best 2-12 team, I'll argue for the 1977 Bucs. Despite the awful offense (easily the worst since WW2), they were quickly building an above average defense, and they were losing a number of 0-10 games. They were shut out six times, but only twice did they give up more than 20 points in a game. Here's how bad the Bucs offense was - the 1977 Bucs offense scored on three TD passes during the entire season, while the Bucs defense scored three TD's on interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Here's how bad the Bucs offense was - the 1977 Bucs offense scored on three TD passes during the entire season,

3 TD passes along with 30 interceptions.

Since we brought up .500 teams, here was one that was just below: the 1986 Falcons.

They started 5-1-1, and lost 4 games by seven points are less. One was by three to the World Champion Bears. Another was on a blocked punt to the Colts with seconds left. Then, after that, they lost to NO by only five points at home. They also lost on the road to the Rams and Pats by seven and eight points, respectively.