The 16-game schedule era of the NFL is now over. The league voted this past week to extend the schedule out to 17 regular season games. And it’s not going to revert back, not with the increased revenue gleaned from the extra week on the schedule.
The 16-game schedule dates back to the 1978 season, when the NFL expanded from 14 games to accommodate the recent additions of the expansion teams in Tampa Bay and Seattle. Those 43 seasons were not good ones for the Detroit Lions.
No team posted a lower win percentage over the 43-season span of the 16-game schedule than the Lions. Their record of 268-410-2 finished below the Browns, Buccaneers and Cardinals as the lowest win percentage of the era.
From Kendall Baker of Axios, the ugliness laid out in graphic form:
Here’s hoping the 17-game schedule era produces a better showing for Detroit.
