Is it worse to lose almost everything or to win almost everything? If you are a fan of the New England Patriots, chances are you are familiar with the 2007 Pats season. You probably know they were one game away from playing a perfect season. Here’s some news to cheer you up: The Patriots’ worst regular-season record was 1-15. Some of the worst records in NFL history include:

1. 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14)
The good news for the Bucs was that the NFL played a 14-game regular season, rather than the current 16-game format. Of course, this was the Buccaneers’ first season in the league. However, they hurt more than their feelings on the field. The Bucs averaged fewer than nine points per game and scored a chicken egg in five games during the season. Steve Spurrier, the Bucs’ starting quarterback, threw an average of .5 touchdowns per game. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay defense would “outperform” the offense, losing each game by an average of 20 points.

2. 1980 New Orleans Saints (1-15)
Saints fans referred to the team as “Ants” and covered their heads with paper bags at games. Those are definitely not positive signs. How bad was the season? His best running back Jimmy Rogers averaged less than 23 yards PER GAME! Meanwhile, Saints quarterback Archie Manning tried to overcompensate with passes – 509 attempts, to be exact. The only victory of the season was a victory over the New York Jets, by a whopping ONE point (21-20).

3. New England Patriots of 1990 (1-15)
You could say the Pats’ record adds up, considering they had the second worst defense in the NFL and the worst offense. Here are some of the highlights (or low light) of the season:

o In five games, the Pats scored a touchdown or fewer points
o 24 was the most points they scored in a game (ironically, in a 27-24 loss)
o They won their only game, by just two points (16-14 vs. the Colts)
o They fell behind the Redskins 9-0 before the Skins made an offensive play

4. 2001 Carolina Panthers (1-15)
Their season-opening win over the Vikings (24-13) would be the highlight of the season. Subsequently, they fell 15 games in a row. In five games, the offense had a touchdown or fewer points. Meanwhile, opposing offenses scored 10 or more points during each game. In defense of the Panthers, they lost six of their games by a margin of three points or less. However, such a feat is certainly not worth bragging about. The Panthers actually lost two of those games in overtime. In addition, his losses broke an NFL record – the most consecutive losses (15), in a single NFL season.

The aforementioned four NFL teams representing four decades show that a team generally gets worse, before it gets better. So if your favorite NFL team is having a rough season, keep cheering with NFL merchandise and remember that next year is another season.