No fan base is happy after a loss, but there are different levels of disappointment. Determining who are the worst feeling fanbases is a combination of what their expectations were for the team and how they had performed recently. It is not just about a team’s record, as a fanbase that expected their team to lose would not feel as down as a fanbase that thought their team had an easy win and lost. Injuries can also be a factor, if your team had a crushing injury that could propel that team on the list. Also how you lose is very important, getting blown out or losing by a hail mary are both crushing losses, much more than losing by 10. Ultimately, the worst thing is the feeling that your team’s season just ended, losses or injuries that lean a fanbase into thinking that way, are the teams at the top of the list.
Honorable Mention
Broncos: 10-17 to Titans. After a brief stint in the win column, the Broncos are back to grinding out a low scoring loss. This is now their 5th loss in 6 games, and their offense is dead last in the league averaging 14.6 points. If they had scored exactly 18 points, in regulation, every game this year their record would be 8-1, instead they are 3-6. Their defense is elite, but their offense is horrible, and to make matters worse Jerry Jeudy got an ankle injury, even though initial reports indicate that it is not too serious.
#3 Texans
16-24 loss to the New York Giants. The Texans are bad, really bad, they have a NFL high four game losing streak and have lost 7 of the last 8 games. Their fans did know they were bad, and the Texans were going up against a surprisingly good Giants team, so they probably didn’t expect to win. It’s not so much that they loss, but how they lost. The Giants knew the Texans had bad run defense and didn’t even try to pass. The Giants 47 rush attempts were just three behind the Eagles, in week 4, for most in a game this year. Saquon Barkley by himself received 35 carries, tied for the most of any player of the last 5 seasons, with Derrick Henry. The Texans couldn’t stop them and the Giants cruised to the victory, a sobering reminder that the Texans might just be the worst team in the NFL. Never a good feeling for a fanbase.
#2 Rams
17-27 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams were in a tough spot when they found out that Matt Stafford was going to miss the game with a concussion. But considering they were playing a team who, similarly, had their own starting quarterback ruled out of the game in the last moments with a hamstring injury, and it was the 3-6 Cardinals, they still probably expected to win. Instead, it was a complete loss, immediately falling behind 17-3 at halftime and while they avoided a blowout, never made the Cardinals sweat about their chances. This loss continues a near free fall for the Rams, as they have lost 5 out of their last 6 to slide into last place in their division. Over those 6 games the offense is averaging 14.5 point per game, which compared to the season leaders, is worse than the last place Broncos who are averaging 14.6 points per game. Essentially, the offense looks nearly dead, especially compared to the team that won it all last year. To extinguish any hope for poor Rams fans, Cooper Kupp went down with what looks to be a severe injury and the initial reactions are that he’s out for at least 3-4 weeks. The Rams went from expecting another Super Bowl run, to way out of the playoff picture, with an offense that was terrible before their best player got hurt, in only a 10 week span. The Rams could easily make the case for the worst feeling fan base and you wouldn’t get much of an argument from me, but hey maybe Stafford can come back and be a superhero! It’s really the only glimmer of hope Rams fans can hold onto.
#1 Raiders
20-25 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Oh boy, and the hits keep coming! Let’s rewind a few weeks, the Raiders were 2-4 but with upcoming games against the Saints, Jaguars, and Colts, they had a bunch of winnable games coming up! Then the Saints smashed them 24-0, but the Jaguars are probably a bottom 3 team they can bounce back right?! Nope, blew a 17 point lead and lost 27-20. Luckily, they’re playing the Colts who are starting a new head coach, Jeff Saturday, who had not coached any game, outside of high school, in his life. Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher called the hiring of someone so inexperienced “a disgrace to the coaching profession”, on top of that the Colts had lost three straight games with most recently being blown out by the Patriots 26-3. Surely the Raiders will end their slide with this opportune matchup, but at last the Raiders were dealt maybe their most embarrassing loss of the year losing 25-20. The Raiders have now lost three games in a row, against very winnable teams, to fall to 2-7 the second worst record in the NFL, only ahead of the 1-7-1 Texans. Raiders fans felt every bit of this losing streak, especially because each game was against a team that was struggling so they all seemed like perfect opportunities to turn their season around. Unfortunately, the Raiders never took advantage, leaving them way outside the playoff picture. For a fanbase that expected their team to be in the playoffs again, watching their season fall apart more and more each week, while continually losing winnable games, is about as excruciating as it comes. Maybe Raiders fans can focus on that shiny top draft pick that they are going to have, but even that is the slimmest of silver linings considering it is barely more than half way through the year.