Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Of Marty’s 1985 Browns, Tebow’s 2011 Broncos, and all other 8-8 post-season qualifiers in-between...

Who’s best?

Who’s worst?

Without digging too deep here, a few teams that popped into my head...

The 2008 Chargers would be in the running for best 8-8 playoff team. They certainly didn't seem as "bad" as 8-8. It was wedged in between 14-2, 11-5 and 13-3 seasons. +92 PF/PA, beat the Broncos convincingly to squeak into the playoffs. (capping a 4 game winning streak. Rivers was his usual very, very good self. 4009-34-11.

I was tempted to nominate the 1985 Browns as worst but upon looking again, they were "better" than I thought. (I honestly thought the Byner/Mack double 1000 yard season was '86) Tebow-magic aside I think I have to go with the 2011 Broncos as worst. A few bounces going the other way they could have been 5-11. Seemingly every week they would have a miracle fumble recovery or iffy call go their way to eke out a win. Ended the year on a 3 game losing streak. Got blown out in Buffalo on Christmas Eve which was mildly shocking to me in that I didn't think the Bills were going to win another game that year.

That's easy. The 1987 Vikings if we are going strictly by teams that won 8 or fewer games in a season. However they also weren't a true 8 win team as their scabs went 0-3 so if the starters had played all year that Vikings team likely would have gone 11-5 or 10-6.

Are the 1978 Vikings (8-7-1), the 2013 Packers (8-7-1) and the 2014 Panthers (7-8-1) included in this discussion?

Are the 1978 Vikings (8-7-1), the 2013 Packers (8-7-1) and the 2014 Panthers (7-8-1) included in this discussion?

I was about to consider the 7-8-1 Panthers but skipped over them since the OP said 8-8. ...But have at it.

BEST: 2008 Chargers - No loss by more than 9 points, and posted five blowout wins of their own, including an impressive win over New England.

WORST: 2004 Rams - Blown out in six of eight losses, only saved their bacon by managing to beat two playoff bound teams in the final two weeks.

The '85 Browns almost hosted the AFC Championship game, but after going up 21-3 over the Dolphins, they suddenly remembered they were an 8-8 team.

ChrisBabcock wrote:

Are the 1978 Vikings (8-7-1), the 2013 Packers (8-7-1) and the 2014 Panthers (7-8-1) included in this discussion?

I was about to consider the 7-8-1 Panthers but skipped over them since the OP said 8-8. ...But have at it.

Yes, why not? Forge each of them an 8-8 record and neither makes best nor worst anyway IMO. Each finished a negative-point-differential but some points of respectability to be made. The Vikes lost their last two (getting blasted in Week #15 at Detroit), middle of pack offensively/middle of pack defensively, but still breathed some final breaths of the contender they were all decade long with wins vs Denver, Green Bay (of course tying them as well), 21-10 at Dallas, and also beating Eagles. The '13 Pack at least had the offense and played vs SF quite respectively. Panthers, like '08 Chargers, finished 4-0 albeit their Week #2 convincer vs Detroit their only QW the whole campaign - that and, of course, the 1st-Rd win over Cards. Also should add that this was wedged between a 12-4 second-seed campaign and a 15-1 Super Bowl berth.

I'd have to give those 2008 Chargers the 'title' as well. That 92+PD, beating NE, and the 4-0 finish as already mentioned. They also beat Favre's Jets early on in a convincer, and well before their eventual collapse. They give Steelers at the 'Burgh and then Colts at home real good games in back-to-back weeks only to then beat those (12-4) Colts in the 1st-Rd and then give the Champs-to-be a game for at least more than a half, then sort-of rally in the 4th (go down fighting).

But let's do at least mention the '85 Browns. Yes, a negative-7 PD, but their D really wasn't bad; and they did actually beat the Pats at home (the very team they almost hosted - again - in the AFCC) while giving Redskins, Raiders, and G-men (at Meadowlands) real good games. They going up 21-3 on Miami at the half...was it a case of they suddenly being playoff-caliber? Or was it a sign of Dolphins suddenly, just like that (after the 7-0 finish), they not being playoff-caliber anymore but giving one last burst in the 2nd-half, living to play one last playoff game until next decade? Perhaps a bit of both. But the fact that Cleveland would qualify the next four seasons (with 3 AFCC-berths to boot), you got to place them well within SD's rear-view. And why not also mention '99 Cowboys with their 76+PD? And '04 Vikings at +10 and that 1st-Rd win at Lambeau.

'04 Rams (-73) & '11 Broncos (-71) are indeed the 'take-your-pick' bottom-of-the-barrel. And the irony...like many of your "worst-ever" playoff teams...is that each actually won their 1st-Rd playoff game! Other than those last two wins vs (as Todd states) "playoff-bound" teams, the only (triple) feather in Rams' cap was their hat-trick vs 9-7 division-winner Seattle. They then get slaughtered against a not-really-so-special Falcons team in the divisional round. As for the '11 Broncos, the only regular-season win vs a playoff team was a close home-win vs 9-7-to-be Cincy in Week #2. And that flukish "Tebow-magic" 6-game streak was against four other teams that would finish 8-8, one 7-9er, and a 3-13 Vikings squad in a 35-32 last-second-FG nailbiter. And then they get clobbered at Foxboro as they also did in earlier affairs at GB and at home vs Detroit; Buffalo (as Chris pointed out) also was in on the act! I guess Denver having those two extra net-points along with beating a 12-4 defending-AFC-champ in the 1st-Rd (more like Steelers beating themselves hence signaling a brief playoff-drought to come) ought to just barely (barely) get Tebow off the schnide. Even if the Broncos would go onto - yet again - get pulverized at NE!

Upon first posting this thread, I thought that I or maybe someone else may mention Coz's '91 Jets for 'worst'. Believe it or not, though, they actually were a positive-21-PD. #6 overall offense, #12 overall defense. Yes, no win against an above-500 team all year long, but did sweep Miami to get that playoff berth thus making the Dolphins themselves 8-8 and winning the tie-breaker over them. And they did give the Oilers a good game in Houston not once, but twice. Upon further observation, '93 (also-8-8) NYJ not better than '91 after all; if only due to that 0-3 collapse that would send Coz packing. Yes, '91 Jets nowhere near those two mentioned last paragraph. And I hope no one mentions '90 Saints as a consideration for 'worst' either (sure enough, no one will). Just -1PD and their D wasn't bad; at least points-allowed-wise. Plus, they had three-straight winning seasons leading up, and two more consecutive-winners ahead of them (and with a 5-0 start in '93 to boot). Yes, "nowhere near" as well.

The 1991 Coslet Jets team that 74_75_78_79 mentioned are far from the worst 8-8 playoff team.

Despite their record, they did have a positive point differential and really only got blown out once all year at the Lions in December- the Bills game in December was a close game until Buffalo tacked on a late 4th quarter score. Their scoring offense/defense wasn't completely lopsided in favor of one or the other, so it wasn’t ghastly either way.

Could have beaten the Oilers/Bills at home, should have beaten the Bears on a MNF.

Their other 6 losses: 7, 3, 6, 3, 1, 3 points.

That said, they were very fortunate that San Diego came through against Miami in week 16.

CSKreager wrote:The 1991 Coslet Jets team that 74_75_78_79 mentioned are far from the worst 8-8 playoff team.

Despite their record, they did have a positive point differential and really only got blown out once all year at the Lions in December- the Bills game in December was a close game until Buffalo tacked on a late 4th quarter score. Their scoring offense/defense wasn't completely lopsided in favor of one or the other, so it wasn’t ghastly either way.

Could have beaten the Oilers/Bills at home, should have beaten the Bears on a MNF.

Their other 6 losses: 7, 3, 6, 3, 1, 3 points.

That said, they were very fortunate that San Diego came through against Miami in week 16.

They were also lucky that the Steelers didn't win two of three winnable games against the Giants, Browns, and Broncos in the middle of the season. The 91 Steelers didn't have a positive point differential, but they did have more Pro Bowlers than the Jets, and they had more recent playoff experience.

If the Steelers win two of those games, they have a 9-7 record like the Raiders. A better conference record (8-4 to 7-5) would send the Steelers to KC, and the Raiders to Denver or Houston (depends on who the Steelers beat between the Browns and Broncos).