A Tally of Winning and Losing Seasons in the NFL

Post Highlights

• The Chicago Bears have had the most winning seasons (56), followed by the Green Bay Packers (55).

• The Dallas Cowboys have the highest percentage of winning seasons (65%) .

• The Dallas Cowboys had winning seasons from 1966 to 1986; 20 consecutive seasons.  It’s the most consecutive winning seasons by any team in the NFL.

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had losing seasons from  1983 to 1996: 14 consecutive seasons.  It’s the most consecutive losing seasons by any team in the NFL.

• The Green Bay Packers had only one losing season (1933)  from 1921 to 1947.  The Chicago Bears had only one losing season (1929) from 1920 to 1944.

 

If you determined success solely on winning seasons the Dallas Cowboys would be the most successful team in the NFL. This is because the Cowboys have the highest percentage of winning seasons in the NFL.  The Cowboys have had 33 winning seasons; 65% of their seasons have been winning ones.  Checkout the chart below for a complete tally of winning and losing seasons by team in the NFL.

Winning and Losing Seasons in the NFL

Legend: W (# of winning seasons), L (# of losing seasons), .500 (# of .500/even seasons), % (percentage of W/L/.500 seasons), W Streak (greatest streak of winning seasons), L Streak (greatest streak of losing seasons)

Note: Data only includes regular season records.  Includes AAFC and AFL records.  Doesn’t include merged teams.

AFC East
Team	W	%		L	%		.500	%		W Streak	L Streak
Bills	21	41%		27	53%		3	6%		6 (1988-93)	6 (Last: 2005-10)
Dolphins	29	64%		11	24%		5	11%		7 (1997-2003)	4 (1966-69)
Jets	18	35%		23	45%		10	20%		3 (Last: 2008-10)	4 (1962-65)
Patriots	30	59%		18	35%		3	6%		10 (2001-10)	7 (1967-73)
AFC North
Team	W	%		L	%		.500	%		W Streak	L Streak
Bengals	13	30%		23	53%		7	16%		3 (1975-77)	6 (1997-2002)
Browns	37	60%		22	35%		3	5%		13 (1957-69)	4 (Last: 2003-06)
Ravens	8	53%		6	40%		1	7%		3 (2008-10)	3 (1996-98)
Steelers	37	49%		32	42%		7	9%		9 (1972-80)	8 (1964-71)
AFC South
Team	W	%		L	%		.500	%		W Streak	L Streak
Colts	32	55%		22	38%		4	7%		9 (Last: 2002-10)	9 (1978-86)
Jaguars	7	44%		7	44%		2	13%		4 (1996-99)	4 (2000-03)
Texans	1	11%		6	67%		2	22%		No Streak	5 (2002-06)
Titans	22	43%		21	41%		8	16%		7 (1987-93)	6 (1981-86)
AFC West
Team	W	%		L	%		.500	%		W Streak	L Streak
Broncos	24	47%		19	37%		8	16%		5 (Last: 2002-06)	10 (1963-72)
Chargers	24	47%		20	39%		7	14%		7 (1963-69)	7 (1970-76)
Chiefs	27	53%		20	39%		4	8%		9 (Last: 1989-97)	6 (1974-79)
Raiders	28	55%		17	33%		6	12%		16 (1965-80)	7 (2003-09)
NFC East
Team	W	%		L	%		.500	%		W Streak	L Streak
Cowboys	33	65%		16	31%		2	4%		20 (1966-86)	5 (Last: 1986-90)
Eagles	33	43%		40	52%		4	5%		6 (1944-49)	10 (1933-42)
Giants	48	56%		29	34%		9	10%		10 (1954-63)	8 (1973-80)
Redskins	37	47%		31	39%		11	14%		10 (1936-45)	9 (1957-65)
NFC North
Team	W	%		L	%		.500	%		W Streak	L Streak
Bears	56	62%		32	35%		3	3%		15 (1930-44)	7 (1969-75)
Lions	33	41%		42	52%		6	7%		9 (1931-39)	10 (2001-10)
Packers	55	61%		27	30%		8	9%		14 (1934-47)	5 (1973-77)
Vikings	29	58%		14	28%		7	14%		6 (1973-78)	3 (1961-63)
NFC South
Team	W	%		L	%		.500	%		W Streak	L Streak
Buccaneers	12	34%		22	63%		1	3%		4 (1999-2002)	14 (1983-96)
Falcons	13	29%		29	64%		3	7%		3 (2008-10)	8 (1983-90)
Panthers	4	25%		9	56%		3	19%		No Streak	3 (2000-01)
Saints	10	23%		27	61%		7	16%		3 (1987-89)	12 (1967-78)
NFC West
Team	W	%		L	%		.500	%		W Streak	L Streak
49ers	37	57%		24	37%		4	6%		16 (1983-98)	6 (2003-08)
Cardinals	27	30%		56	62%		7	8%		4 (1946-49)	9 (1985-93)
Rams	35	48%		33	45%		5	7%		8 (Last: 1973-80)	9 (1990-98)
Seahawks	15	43%		16	46%		4	11%		5 (2003-07)	4 (1991-94)

As mentioned before the Dallas Cowboys have the highest percentage of winning seasons (65%).  The Chicago Bears have had the most winning seasons (56), followed by the Green Bay Packers (55).

Highest Percentage / Most Winning Seasons in the NFL

Highest % of Winning Seasons					Most Winning Seasons
Rk	Team	%	W Sea		Rk	Team	W Sea	%
1	Cowboys	65%	33		1	Bears	56	62%
2	Dolphins	64%	29		2	Packers	55	61%
3	Bears	62%	56		3	Giants	48	56%
4	Packers	61%	55		4t	Browns	37	60%
5	Browns	60%	37		4t	49ers	37	57%
					4t	Steelers	37	49%
					4t	Redskins	37	47%

The Houston Texans have the highest percentage of losing seasons (67%).  The Arizona Cardinals have had the most losing seasons (56); more than double the  losing seasons the Green Bay Packers have had (27).

Highest Percentage / Most Losing Seasons in the NFL

Highest % of Losing Seasons					Most Losing Seasons
Rk	Team	%	L Sea		Rk	Team	L Sea	%
1	Texans	67%	6		1	Cardinals	56	62%
2	Falcons	64%	29		2	Lions	42	52%
3	Buccaneers	63%	22		3	Eagles	40	52%
4	Cardinals	62%	56		4	Rams	33	45%
5	Saints	61%	27		5t	Steelers	32	42%
					5t	Bears	32	35%

 

Winning and Losing Season Streaks in the NFL

Winning Season Streaks

The Dallas Cowboys had winning seasons from 1966 to 1986; 20 consecutive seasons.  It’s the most consecutive winning seasons by any team in the NFL.

The New England Patriots have the longest current streak of winning seasons; 10 consecutive winning seasons from 2001 to 2010.  The Indianapolis Colts follow with 9 consecutive winning seasons.

The Atlanta Falcons never had back to back winning seasons until Mike Smith became their head coach.

The Green Bay Packers had only one losing season (1933)  from 1921 to 1947.  The Chicago Bears had only one losing season (1929) from 1920 to 1944.

 

Losing Season Streaks

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had losing seasons from  1983 to 1996: 14 consecutive seasons.  It’s the most consecutive losing seasons by any team in the NFL.

The Detroit Lions have the longest current streak of losing seasons; 10 consecutive losing seasons from 2001 to 2010.

 

Reference: Pro-Football-Reference.com