Best sub-7-9 team ever, best sub-6-8 team ever...

[Citizen]

The 1988 Packers won only four games, but they were by an average margin of 21 points.

[74_75_78_79_]

'97 Cowboys? Walloping the AFCCG host-to-be on opening day ('Air' Aikman, perhaps his best game), 37-7. Were suddenly mediocre after that but were 6-5 coming down the stretch, looking to make a run for it, before losing-out rest of the way.

'89 Bears another good one. Though in paper-tiger mode at this point (coming off being "brought back down to earth" vs visiting Niners in previous year's NFCCG), they looked to pile on the wins again in '89. The not-so-paper-tiger-like 4-0 start - beating Cincy, burying Vikes, and soundly preventing 'Fog Bowl'-revenge on MNF. Lost three straight from there, Ditka blows up at press conference after Houston loss (derides his own team), but were 6-4 after going to the 'Burgh pitching a 20-0 shutout vs playoff-bound Steelers. Then Ditka's (to paraphrase) "we won't win another game" prophesy comes true.

One better, however (and also from '89; and same division)...the '89 Bucs. Finishing a game below Chicago, they did sweep them! Beat the 9-7 Saints, spilt with the 10-6 Pack (only losing by one in the game they lost to them), lost to NINERS by just 4, and gave Houston a good game on the road as well. Other TB seasons with Perkins at helm may be looked at in this way as well ("good" well-below-500 squads). While at it, let's throw in Bennett's '85 Bucs. 2-14 but gave the BEARS good games in both their matches with them, putting up 28 and 27 vs that famed '46' respectively. They gave three other playoff teams good games - the Rams and, on the road, the Dolphins and Giants.

[JohnH19]

Just off the top of my head; the 1971 4-10 Bengals and the 1981 7-9 Falcons were both much better than their record.

[7DnBrnc53]

1970 Chargers, who finished with an ugly 5-6-3 record:

*One two-point loss was decided in the final minute, while another was decided in the final four minutes.
*They lost another game thanks to George Blanda's late FG, but an Oakland TD drive had a pair of Biletnikoff catches that looked like they skipped off the ground.
*The Bengals had no net passing yards, yet somehow won 17-14. Horst Muhlmann kicked a 53-yard FG, Lemar Parrish ran back a punt for a score and Ken Riley's pick put the ball at the SD 13, where a Jess Phillips run scored on the first play.
*They were in FG range in the final minute against Houston, but an interception gave them a tie instead.
*They had a 17-0 halftime lead over Denver before Denver tied the game, which is how it ended.

Two playoff appearances in 1969 and 1970 (SD would have made the playoffs in the last year of the AFL if they would have taken the two best non-division winners like they should have, not just the two second-place teams) may have led to no Alworth trade in 71 and no Hadl trade in 73 (or 74 for that matter).

[BD Sullivan]

Just off the top of my head; the 1971 4-10 Bengals and the 1981 7-9 Falcons were both much better than their record.

I recall in Week 12, the Browns-Bengals game was considered a crucial contest since the 6-5 Browns could virtually clinch the division with a win. Meanwhile, the 4-7 Bengals had won three in a row and could have gotten within one game of the lead. The back-and-forth game was decided in the 4th Q in the 31-27 Cleveland win and the Bengals dropped their last two games.

In 1981, the Falcons won their first three game before then losing three straight and six of their losses were by a field goal or less.

[7DnBrnc53]

In 1981, the Falcons won their first three game before then losing three straight and six of their losses were by a field goal or less.

In a preview issue from that time (I think), the loss of OLB Joel Williams seems to be a main culprit for their collapse.

[Gary Najman]

The 7-9 1986 Dallas Cowboys should be in this list. They beat both the Giants and Redskins (the teams who played in the NFC Championship game after that year), and they were at one point 7-4, with 3 of these losses by 4 points or less (the other was at the eventual AFC champion Denver Broncos). In fact, they were 6-2 before QB Danny White got injured. But Steve Pelluer played atrociously in place of the injured White and Dallas had its first losing season in more tan 20 years.

[Gary Najman]

The 7-9 1983 Cincionnati Bengals also could be mentioned. They had the top defense in the NFL, yet they started 1-6 (with none of the losses by more tan 10 points). Besides a thrashing in a Mnday Night matchup with the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl, their other two losses were by 5 and 6 points. In fact, they scored 49 more points than they received it. Ken Riley led the league in interceptions and was named All-Pro in his 15th and final season.

[74_75_78_79_]

How about Fisher's Rams these past few years?

[Rupert Patrick]

How about Fisher's Rams these past few years?

The Rams could very well be the sleeper team in the NFL this year. I'm expecting Seattle to decline a little following the Super Bowl loss, and San Francisco will likely drop below .500, and the Cards perhaps playing a little above their heads last year, there is going to be a power vacuum in the NFC West, and the Rams could very well wind up with a 10-6 or 11-5 record which will put them in the playoffs. If you're looking for a team to come out of nowhere in 2015, I think it is the Rams.