25 NFL Seasons That Made Football Fans Cry Themselves To Sleep

Darren - December 22, 2021

25 NFL Seasons That Made Football Fans Cry Themselves To Sleep

Darren - December 22, 2021

4. Detroit Lions (2008)

Elite athletes always talk about making history. But becoming the first team to go 0-16 isn’t exactly what fans expect. The Lions have endured some horrendous moments over the past couple of decades. However, this was the worst moment in their history. The Browns emulated their feat in 2017, Detroit was the first. Rival fans will always have this in their back pockets to use against them.

An overcooked Daunte Culpepper offered nothing. Rod Marinelli also gave his back-ups a chance to no avail. In the end, they achieved a -249 point differential. Their defense was one of the worst the NFL has ever seen. Calvin Johnson was the single bright light in this shocking year and still managed a 1300-yard season. But 2008 made many Lions fans cry with rage and despair (via The Ringer).

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3. Cleveland Browns (2017)

Nothing makes fans cry like losing. However, the Browns took this to the extreme in 2017. They had an appalling winless season where everything went wrong. This was also a blatant attempt to tank but this infuriated the loyal Cleveland support. It’s not easy to sit in a stadium in Ohio during the winter. Their fans still came to games but they deserved more from the team and front office.

Unfortunately, they were never going to get anywhere with DeShone Kizer as their starter. This was the same Kizer who spent the following season as the Packers’ backup. Finally, he found himself out of the league by 2021. He led the NFL in interceptions this year with a miserable 22. Hue Jackson wasn’t great but was perhaps doomed to fail because the roster was so inept. In the end, they became the first team to finish winless since 2008 (via Chicago Tribune).

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2. New York Jets (2020)

On paper, the Jets weren’t the worst team in 2020. No, that honor belonged to the Jaguars. However, Adam Gase’s final season as head coach was a car crash from beginning to end. Bizarrely, they won two games over playoff teams but they were otherwise shocking. Sam Darnold was also horrible as starting QB (via New York Post). He threw more interceptions than touchdown passes in every game before Week 13.

Another reason why this season was a total failure was that they couldn’t even lose games properly. Everybody wanted Trevor Lawrence in the draft and the Jets had the advantage. All they had to do was keep losing. This was the one thing that they were good at so it seemed like a forgone conclusion. But a pair of shocking back-to-back wins sealed Lawrence’s move to Florida. The Jets sure know how to make their fans cry.

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1. Jacksonville Jaguars (2021)

The Jags didn’t have the worst season from a statistical perspective. However, head coach Urban Meyer made their fans cry with rage. It felt like new dawn after Trevor Lawrence fell into their laps. But they failed to capitalize and drama followed the team everywhere. Finally, Shahid Khan fired Meyer in Week 13 after he lost patience. It was no surprise because his tenure was a disaster (via Sportscasting).

First, he created headlines by hiring a racist fitness coach. Chris Doyle departed the Jags after a day. Then, there was the Tim Tebow spectacle. Meanwhile, Meyer enraged senior players by treating them like college athletes. He also infuriated his staff by regularly insulting them. The highlight moment was when Meyer shared an intimate dance with a young woman in a bar. Of course, she wasn’t his wife.

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25 NFL Seasons That Made Football Fans Cry Themselves To Sleep