Not the Jets, not the Jaguars — this is the worst NFL team of the past 25 years

The NFL is still a long way from kicking off again, with teams currently focused on building the strongest possible roster. The league’s competitive format is both “simple and complex.” It’s designed so that a team stuck at the bottom today can be contending for the top just a few years down the line — a cycle we’ve seen repeat over and over throughout history. That said, not every franchise takes advantage.

When a team dominates for too long, making the right decisions for the franchise becomes harder — and that’s where the gap between the best and worst teams over the past 25 years becomes striking.

Below is a list compiled by CBS Sports, ranking each team by total losses since the year 2000.

Total losses over the past quarter-century

• New England Patriots - 134
• Pittsburgh Steelers - 146
• Greenbay Packers - 151
• Philadelphia Eagles - 160
• Baltimore Ravens - 160
• Indianapolis Colts - 165
• Kansas City Chiefs - 172
• Seattle Seahawks - 174
• New Orleans Saints - 179
• Dallas Cowboys - 187
• Denver Broncos - 187
• Minnesota Vikings - 188
• Los Angeles Chargers - 200
• Buffalo Bills - 2025
• Tennessee Titans - 205
• Atlanta Falcons - 206
• Miami Dolphins - 208
• San Francisco 49ers - 208
• Houston Texans - 209
• Cincinnati Bengals - 210
• Los Angeles Rams - 212
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 215
• New York Giants - 217
• Chicago Bears - 218
• Carolina Panthers - 222
• Arizona Cardinals - 230
• New York Jets - 231
• Washington Commanders - 232
• Las Vegas Raiders - 243
• Detroit Lions - 244
• Jacksonville Jaguars - 251
• Cleveland Browns - 264

A testament to how balanced the NFL’s system can be: three of the five teams with the most losses during this span have made the playoffs in the last two seasons. Meanwhile, four of the five teams with the fewest losses reached the most recent postseason — including the eventual champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.

But if we go on just the most losses of the past 25 years, the worst team in the NFL is the Cleveland Browns.

In that time (and remember, the franchise was inactive from 1996 to 1998, so 2000 was only the Brown’s second season back), the Browns have only troubled the post-season three times, never getting beyond the divisional playoffs. They lost the wildcard game in 2002 and 2023, and the divisional playoff in 2020.

This year they have the second pick in the Draft... will their selection finally change their 21st century fortunes?

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