Double-digit wins are hard to achieve. Double-digit losses are something every franchise hopes to avoid. When was the last time each team reached the height and suffered the depth?
Arizona Cardinals
The 2015 season was the last of three in a row that saw Arizona reach double digits in the victory column. Those Cardinals went 13-3 and fell in the Conference championship. The losing side has been far more recent as Arizona has lost double-digit games in each of the last two seasons.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons won double-digit games in 2016 and ’17. The put together 21 victories and a pair of playoff teams in those runs. In 2013 and ’14, Atlanta suffered double-digit losses under Mike Smith. They had won 36 games from 2010-12 before the bottom fell out in ’13 with a 4-12 mark.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have put together back-to-back double-digit win seasons, rolling up 24 victories in the last two seasons. The year 2015 saw Baltimore put together a 5-11 mark, which was the first time it reached 10 losses in a season since 2007, which was Brian Billick’s final season as head coach of the Ravens.
Buffalo Bills
It had been a while since Buffalo reached the 10-win mark, but it did so in making the playoffs in 2019. That was impressive since the Bills were coming off a 10-loss season in 2018. They had lost at least 10 games in consecutive seasons from 2009-13. On the plus side, the 2019 plateau was the first since the Bills won 11 games in 1999. Their coach that season? Wade Phillips.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers lost 11 games in 2019. Their previous season with at least 10 losses was 2016, which came off a year that saw them go 15-1 and lose in the Super Bowl. They were 11-5 in 2017 and fell in the Wild-Card round under Ron Rivera.
Chicago Bears
The Bears had a four-year run from 2013-17 that saw them lose double-digit games in each season. Over that span, they fell 45 times. Ouch. The 2018 team went 12-4 and won the NFC North. Prior to that, it was 2012 when Chicago won 10 games, which came under Lovie Smith.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have lost 24 games over the past two seasons, reaching double-digits in each. Surprisingly, it had been 2010 before they suffered 10 losses in a single season. From 2012-15, Cincinnati reached the 10-win level in every season. They won 43 games over those seasons, collectively.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns have lost 10 or more games 14 times in the last 17 seasons, featuring Hue Jackson’s reign of error. They actually won 10 games in 2007 and before it was 1994, of course, with the multi-year break when the team bailed on Cleveland for Baltimore.
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas won 10 games in 2018 and captured the NFC East. If you believe in patterns or past performances, the last three even years have seen the Cowboys at least hit the 10-win plateau. On the downside, Dallas went 4-12 in 2015 before turning it around to 13-3 the next season. Their last 10-loss season before that was 2010. Success in even years, downtimes in five-year increments. Something has to give in 2020.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos lost 21 games over 2017 and ’18 and teetered with double-digit defeats in 2019 before finishing 7-9. From 2012-15, they won 50 games in the regular season and split two Super Bowl appearances.
Detroit Lions
The Lions have lost 22 games over the past two seasons with Matt Patricia as their head coach. In 2014, they went 11-5 for Jim Caldwell.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers were 13-3 in 2019, good for the NFC North title. They also had a nice run from 2014-16 with at least 10 wins in each season, totaling 32 victories over the three seasons. Green Bay has not seen many double-digit losses in one season recently. The Packers lost 10 games in 2008, 12 in 2005 and before that you have to go to 1990 and ’91 for seasons with at least 10 defeats.
Houston Texans
Houston has had back-to-back seasons with at least 10 victories. Before this pair, the team had not won double-digit games since 2012 when it went 12-4. On the sad side, the Texans were 4-12 under Bill O’Brien in 2017. Before it was 2013 when Houston went 2-14.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts were 10-6 in 2018. The year prior, they went 4-12. There was a three-year run from 2012-14 that saw Indy reel off consecutive 11-5 seasons. Before that success, in 2011, the Colts were 2-14. That season ended a run of nine seasons with at least 10 wins.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have reached the 10-loss milestone in eight of their last nine seasons. The one year they did not lose double-digit games was 2017, when a 10-6 mark led to believe they might be Super Bowl contenders. It has not happened as they have lost 21 games over the last two seasons under Doug Marrone.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are in a run of five straight 10-or-more victory seasons and six of seven under Andy Reid. The man who Reid succeeded, Romeo Crennel went 2-14 in 2012. Before that forgettable season, KC had not suffered 10-loss seasons since 2007-09 when they were downed 38 times.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders won 12 games in 2016 with Jack Del Rio as their head coach. Before that season, they had not won double-digit games since 2002. The down side of the record book is far more prevalent. The Silver and Black reached the double-digit loss mark in 2017 and ’18. They had a three-year run from 2012-14 that saw 40 losses and a span from 2003-09 with double-digit losses in every season. The total defeats during those years were 83.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers reached the plus side of this exercise in 2018 and the down side in 2019. Not something anyone wants to brag about. They lost 23 games in 2015 and ’16 with Mike McCoy as their head coach. The previous double-digit victory season was 2009 when they went 13-3 for Norv Turner.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams just missed making it three straight seasons with at least 10 victories by finishing 9-7 in 2019. In 2017, the season before Sean McVay arrived, the Rams went 4-12 under Jeff Fisher and John Fassel. Until McVay arrived, they had not seen a season with at least 10 victories since 2003 when Mike Martz was in charge and the franchise was based in St. Louis.
Miami Dolphins
A nine-loss season in 2018 has kept the Dolphins from having three straight with at least 10 defeats. They won 10 games in 2016 but before they had not achieved such success since 2008 under Tony Sparano.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings reached 10 victories in 2019. They had a 13-victory season in 2017 under Mike Zimmer. Their current coach has not seen a 10-loss season. That distinction, if you want to call it that, most recently goes to Leslie Frazier, who saw the team lose 23 games in 2011 and ’13, surrounded by a 10-victory campaign in 2012.
New England Patriots
How about 17 straight seasons with at least 10 victories and 18 of 19? The run under Bill Belichick since 2001 is nothing short of amazing. The last time New England reached double-digit losses was 2000, Belichick’s first season as Patriots coach, when the team went 5-11.
New Orleans Saints
Sean Payton and 10-win seasons go together quite well in the Big Easy. He’s hit a trifecta of them over the last three seasons after a triple of campaigns that saw the Saints finish 7-9 in each. The last time New Orleans saw the down side of this exercise was 2005, Jim Haslett’s last, when the Saints went 3-13. Before that it was 1996-99, a four-year dismal run, that saw New Orleans lose 46 games, 33 under Mike Ditka.
New York Jets
Gang Green just missed a fourth straight 10-or-more loss season going 7-9 in 2019. The previous three seasons saw 34 losses under Todd Bowles, who had such a promising start when the Jets went 10-6 in 2015.
New York Giants
The Giants have lost at least 10 games in five of their last six seasons, which is why they are on their fourth head coach heading into 2020. They won 10 games in 2016 under Ben McAdoo. Prior, the team had not seen such success since winning 10 games in 2010.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles lost 12 games in 2012. Prior to that, the Birds did not have a 10-loss season since 2005 and 1999 before that. Hard to believe they have avoided double-digit losses so frequently, it feels. On the plus side, of course, they won 13 games and the Super Bowl after the 2017 season.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The last time the Steelers lost 10 games was 2003 under Bill Cowher. They won at least 10 games from 2014-17, capturing 45 victories over that span under Mike Tomlin.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are the opposite of the Los Angeles Chargers. They lost 12 games in 2018, ending a run of four seasons that saw them lose 47 games. They made it to the Super Bowl in 2019, completing a remarkable turnaround that saw them go from 4-12 to 13-3.
Seattle Seahawks
Seattle has won 10 or more games in seven of its last eight seasons. Pete Carroll’s Seahawks missed making it 8-for-8 by going 9-7 in 2017. Seattle last lost at least 10 games in 2009, which ended a two-year slide that saw them lose 11 in ’09 and 12 the season before.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs avoided a third straight double-digit loss season by going 7-9 for Bruce Arians, who took over in 2019. They have not won 10 games in a season since 2010. They have lost at least 10 games in six of the last nine seasons.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans have been the model of mediocrity and consistency over the last four seasons, going 9-7 in each. Before that there were two disasters that saw Tennessee go 5-27 between 2014-15. They have not reached double-digit victories since 2008.
Washington Redskins
Washington went from 2015-19 without a 10-loss season. The most recent season was a doozy as it finished 3-13. In 2012, Washington won 10 games before that it reached double digits in 2005 and 1999. Washington has not won more than 10 games in a regular season since 1991.
