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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/Either_Imagination_9 on 2025-04-13 17:45:57+00:00.
When you read that sentence I’m sure a list popped into your head. Maybe you’re an older fellow who believes it to be the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That team had a losing streak of 26 games between 1976 and 1977. The worst streak any team has ever had in the history of the national football league. Or maybe you believe it to be the 2008 Detroit Lions. That team had the first 0-16 season since the invention of the 16 game season. Or maybe you’re a younger fellow who will stick with a more recent answer of the 2017 Cleveland Browns.
And sure, all of those are very reasonable answers. But what if I told you that there was a 4th team that deserved to be in that conversation. One that, I truly believe, was the worst football team that this sport has and maybe will ever see. Let me introduce you to the 2009 St Louis Rams. This was far after their years as the Greatest Show On Turf and long before their days under Sean McVay in Los Angeles. They were coached by Steve Spagnoulo, who you may recognize today as the defensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs. And I guess its fitting to mention the Chiefs because you remember how last season the Chiefs never scored more than 30 points in their games? Well this team only managed to score twenty points in just 2 of their games. Across all 16 of their games, the Rams only scored 12 Touchdowns. Let me repeat that, the Rams scored less touchdowns than the amount of games they played in 2009. That is 3 less than the 2017 Browns, 6 less than the 2008 Lions, and only 3 more than the Buccs in 1976. They had 21 interceptions total, gave up 5965 yards across the season and had an srs score of -17.44. For reference, the 08 Lions srs score was -13.11 and the 17 Browns score was -10.95. So this team had an easier schedule than both of the other two. And they were getting pummeled by bad teams that whole season. The Seahawks didn’t even make the playoffs that year and they destroyed the Rams 28-0 in week 1. Then in week 4 the Niners, who also didn’t make the playoffs, shut them out 35-0! And then in week 13 they played the Titans who again, DIDN’T MAKE THE PLAYOFFS, and beat the Rams 47-7.
But hold on, I hear you saying. This team couldn’t have been that bad! They won 1 game in their schedule right? That’s right, there was only one organization that could have stopped the Rams from going 0-16 this year, and that team was of course, the Detroit Lions, coming one year off of their 0-16 campaign. And this… hoo boy, this is football at its absolute peak. You will not truly have an appreciation for football until you’ve seen it played at this level. If you haven’t watched this, get some friends, grab a couple beers and give it a watch. You’ll have a blast I promise you.
The only talent, literally the only player with any sort of credibility on this team was running back Steven Jackson, a two time pro bowler. And there you go, that’s how the Rams escaped the cursed 0-16 season. I hope you’re happy bud, you robbed us of history.
This team I think gets forgotten because it was only a year off of the Lions going 0-16 but I geniunely don’t think its hyperbole to say the 09 Rams were worse than both the 08 Lions and 17 Browns.