Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Pretty much the antithesis of 10-1 NYG vs 10-1 SF (almost 11-0 vs 11-0), 1990. Or as close to it as possible. I would guess there have been ‘0-3 vs 0-3’ or ‘1-4 vs 1-4’-like matchups, but any such a thing late in the season? The league always tried to match up two, at least, relatively decent teams from the year before so a, for example...'2-12 vs 1-13'-like MNF matchup not so easy to come by. I'm sure there have been many bad matchups between losing teams late in the season but none that really pop-out at me, nor none that I can imagine having such a real low accumulative win-%age between them. Maybe a '5-9 vs 4-10’ kind of clash but nothing too notoriously bad that would make me remember. Unless any of you can think of any...

Just off the top of my head, the week 8 matchup between Baltimore and New England in 1972 had the Colts at 1-6 and the Pats at 2-5.

Todd Pence wrote:Just off the top of my head, the week 8 matchup between Baltimore and New England in 1972 had the Colts at 1-6 and the Pats at 2-5.

Neither of these are as good as yours, Todd, but upon first putting up the OP I did think of this, here, ‘Bart Simpson Underachiever Bowl’...http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-x ... story.html

As for much later in the season ones, I got 5-7 Chiefs going into 3-9 NE in 2000.

Chargers-Colts in 1993 was a terrible matchup going into the game and then it ended up being a horrible one-sided affair.

Dec. 15, 1975 - N.Y. Jets (3-9) @ San Diego Chargers (1-11). Maybe not the worst ever match up in terms of winning percentage but these were two really bad teams colliding in prime time. I remember J.J. Jones starting at QB for New York after Ken Shipp had benched Joe Namath for a curfew violation. Namath did eventually play in the game and gave an uninspiring performance along with the rest of his teammates.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8 ... 1%2C220502

Retro Rider wrote:Dec. 15, 1975 - N.Y. Jets (3-9) @ San Diego Chargers (1-11). Maybe not the worst ever match up in terms of winning percentage but these were two really bad teams colliding in prime time. I remember J.J. Jones starting at QB for New York after Ken Shipp had benched Joe Namath for a curfew violation. Namath did eventually play in the game and gave an uninspiring performance along with the rest of his teammates.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8 ... 1%2C220502

Through 2010 (haven't updated my spreadsheet in a while) that is indeed the worst MNF matchup in terms of winning percentage. Assuming both teams had played at least 5 games in the season. As self-appointed king of lousy football games, I applaud your research.

Retro Rider wrote:Dec. 15, 1975 - N.Y. Jets (3-9) @ San Diego Chargers (1-11). Maybe not the worst ever match up in terms of winning percentage but these were two really bad teams colliding in prime time. I remember J.J. Jones starting at QB for New York after Ken Shipp had benched Joe Namath for a curfew violation. Namath did eventually play in the game and gave an uninspiring performance along with the rest of his teammates.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8 ... 1%2C220502

REAL nice, RR! Now that just may win top-prize!

Jay Z wrote: Through 2010 (haven't updated my spreadsheet in a while) that is indeed the worst MNF matchup in terms of winning percentage. Assuming both teams had played at least 5 games in the season. As self-appointed king of lousy football games, I applaud your research.

Actually there was no research involved. I watched that debacle as a 14 year old Jets fan (instead of doing homework). Everything about it was lame - especially after tuning in to find out that Namath had been benched in favor of J.J. Jones. Even Dan Fouts had a sub par performance. Not sure what the ratings were but I wouldn't be suprised if a lot of viewers went to bed early that night.

Another sad Monday Night matchup of note:

The 7-4 Broncos lost to the 1-10 Seahawks on November 30, 1992. Denver lost 5 of it's last 6 games to close out the Dan Reeves era. Wikipedia says this about the (2-14) 1992 Seahawks:

Football Outsiders calls Seattle's 1992 offense "the worst offense in (their ranking system's) history." [1] Seattle's 1,778 passing yards are the fewest in a season by any team during the 1990s.[2] Seattle was so inept that from the first game of the season until their Week 13 overtime win over Denver, they collectively had fewer points scored than punts attempted; for the entire season, the team finished with only slightly more points than punts.

Retro Rider wrote:

Jay Z wrote: Through 2010 (haven't updated my spreadsheet in a while) that is indeed the worst MNF matchup in terms of winning percentage. Assuming both teams had played at least 5 games in the season. As self-appointed king of lousy football games, I applaud your research.

Actually there was no research involved. I watched that debacle as a 14 year old Jets fan (instead of doing homework). Everything about it was lame - especially after tuning in to find out that Namath had been benched in favor of J.J. Jones. Even Dan Fouts had a sub par performance. Not sure what the ratings were but I wouldn't be suprised if a lot of viewers went to bed early that night.

Another sad Monday Night matchup of note:

The 7-4 Broncos lost to the 1-10 Seahawks on November 30, 1992. Denver lost 5 of it's last 6 games to close out the Dan Reeves era. Wikipedia says this about the (2-14) 1992 Seahawks:

Football Outsiders calls Seattle's 1992 offense "the worst offense in (their ranking system's) history." [1] Seattle's 1,778 passing yards are the fewest in a season by any team during the 1990s.[2] Seattle was so inept that from the first game of the season until their Week 13 overtime win over Denver, they collectively had fewer points scored than punts attempted; for the entire season, the team finished with only slightly more points than punts.

I forgot about the Broncos’ late-season slide that year. I assumed ’92 was simply a plain bad season the whole way for them en route to Reeves’ dismissal. Kind of ’98 Steelers-like, they seemed to be. The Broncos’ other, earlier MNF affair that year was they getting doused at RFK. I remember a 21-year-old Tommy Maddox going in for Elway end of that game, hearing of him for the first time. Would practically forget all about him until a decade later.

If only that Seahawks’ O would have been just a quarter as good as their D...