Football Outsiders ran a piece on the worst NFL teams of the past 30 seasons, and the winless 2008 Detroit Lions obviously made that list. But in Las Vegas, the point spread is the great equalizer, and many of those teams were at least better against the spread than their overall records. Despite a dreadful record, those teams still actually made bettors money in some cases. On the other hand, slightly better teams might have performed worse against the spread throughout a season.
What are the five worst ATS teams of the past 30 years? We're glad you asked.
1987 Cincinnati Bengals
ATS W-L: 3-12 (4-11 overall record)
A season remembered by a strike and games played by replacement players would be one to forget for the Bengals. Cincinnati finished the season with an 0-8 ATS record at home, with all three of their covers coming on the road.
The Bengals would bounce back in 1988, as they covered in each of their first six games and ended up losing in the Super Bowl to the San Francisco 49ers.
2007 Baltimore Ravens
ATS W-L: 3-13 (5-11 overall record)
Following a 13-3 season in 2006, the Ravens were expected to contend in the AFC in 2007. However, Baltimore covered just one spread in its first 11 games before losing 27-24 to the undefeated New England Patriots as 19.5-point underdogs in Week 13.
A win and cover against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17 wouldn't be enough to save Brian Billick, who was fired after nine seasons with the team.
2011 St. Louis Rams
ATS W-L: 3-13 (2-14 overall record)
The Rams went 2-14 in 2011, the third time in four years that the franchise lost at least 14 games in a season. But those 2011 Rams were the worst among the bunch against the number in Vegas, covering just three times all season.
The lone bright spot of the season for St. Louis was a 31-21 win in Week 8 over the New Orleans Saints as 13.5-point underdogs.
2012 Philadelphia Eagles
ATS W-L: 3-13 (4-12 overall record)
This would mark Andy Reid's 14th and final season in Philadelphia, as his Eagles would cover just once in their first 11 games. After entering the season with the third-best Super Bowl odds, the Eagles would end up being underdogs in each of their final nine games.
Since becoming the Kansas City Chiefs coach in 2013, Reid has a winning ATS record in each of his four seasons in Kansas City.
2014 Tennessee Titans
ATS W-L: 3-13 (2-14 overall record)
Ken Whisenhunt's first season as Titans coach started with an upset win over the Chiefs in Week 1, but it all went downhill after that. Tennessee would cover just two more times in its final 15 games.
Still, that poor season allowed the Titans to take Marcus Mariota with the second pick in the 2015 NFL draft.