In the theoretical competition for the worst combined single-season performance by one division of teams in NFL history, the NFC West possesses a strong candidate among a baker’s dozen of nearly equal—and equally terrible—choices. In the 2008 season, that division made a persuasive argument for the kind of professional football history no franchise, let alone any collection of franchises in the same (sort of) geographic area, wants to make.
That NFC West sank lower than, say, the 2019 NFC East (combined record: 24–40 or a combined winning percentage of 37.5%). At least the Eagles finished above .500. On lists that track this kind of thing—yes, they do exist, amid tons of misinformation and just as many basic math errors—two commonly tabbed seasons (1990 NFC Central, 2011 AFC West) hardly qualify for Worst Performance by a Division (single-season) in NFL History. Both of those divisions won too often, collectively, to be so terrible as to necessitate being lumped in with the others.
