Top 10 Most Disappointing NFL Teams of the 2011-12 Season

A second straight devastating loss to Eli Manning and the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. Poor Tom Brady. At least he still has Gisele to go home to.

The Patriots' loss was a disappointing end to another fine year for New England. Luckily, they played well enough all season to still be considered one of the best in the NFL. 

This list is for the teams that came into the season with high hopes but instead crashed and burned. The teams that started off strong and faded down the stretch. And the teams that just flat-out sucked.

10. Indianapolis Colts

Regular-Season Record: 2-14

No one expected any miracles. If the Colts were able to sneak in as a wild card, Indianapolis fans would have been thrilled.

For the first time in over a decade, the Colts would not have their superstar QB Peyton Manning taking snaps behind the offensive line. Instead, it would be a combination of Peyton's longtime backup Curtis Painter and veteran Kerry Collins. Yikes.

Combined with an aging, lackluster defense, the Colts dropped to the bottom of the standings faster than you can say, "Peyton's having neck surgery...We're screwed."

9. Buffalo Bills

Regular-Season Record: 6-10

What looked like a three-way race in the AFC East between Buffalo, the New York Jets and New England Patriots through Week 7 quickly dissolved into a painfully-bad finish for the Bills.

Losing eight of their final nine games, Buffalo's descent to last place in the AFC East was greatly contributed to by the loss of running back Fred Jackson and a defense that would allow 139 rushing yards per game (28th in the NFL overall).

The Bills are pretty low on this list simply because I don't think anyone predicted that they would have any impact at all during the season.

8. Kansas City Chiefs

Regular-Season Record: 7-9

What happened to the 2010-11 AFC West champions? Well, it all started around Week 2 when Jamaal Charles, who racked up 1,460 rushing yards in an absurdly low 230 attempts last season, suffered a season-ending ACL injury against the Detroit Lions.

QB Matt Cassel would follow Charles onto the Injured Reserve after a hand injury in Week 10 against the Denver Broncos, forcing Kansas City to start Tyler Palko. Shockingly, without their two main offensive stars from the the previous season, the Chiefs were unable to defend their division title.

7. Oakland Raiders

Regular-Season Record: 8-8

The Oakland Raiders are responsible for Tebowmania. With a 7-4 record going into their Week 13 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, Oakland's chances at working their way into the playoffs in an exceedingly mediocre division seemed assured.

The Raiders proceeded to go 1-4 over the final final games of the season, while the Tebow-led Broncos surged through the AFC West en route to an unlikely AFC West division title.

Now, Tim Tebow is the most talked-about player in the NFL, and I won't be able to get through a day without something Tebow-related being discussed by the media. Thanks a lot, Raiders!

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Regular-Season Record: 4-12

I could not have picked a more perfect photo to describe Tampa Bay's awfulness this season than Albert Haynesworth. They have so many of the same characteristics. Over-hyped: Check. Lots of personal issues: Check. Can't stop rushers: Check.

After being the subject of debate in the preseason about whether they would be able to hang with their NFC South rivals the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, the Buccaneers effectively answered the critics' expectations by losing 10 consecutive games to end their season.

How bad were the Buccaneers during this 10-game debacle? Tampa Bay averaged only 17.4 points per game on offense, while allowing 34.9 points per game on defense.

5. Minnesota Vikings

Regular-Season Record: 3-13

For whatever reason, we thought that Donovan McNabb could still be a viable option at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.

Never mind the fact that his skills had clearly eroded by age 35 or that his lone year in Washington was so underwhelming that the Redskins traded McNabb only a few months after signing him to a five-year extension worth $78 million. He was still Donovan McNabb, so we thought he still had a couple of years left in him. How wrong we were. How wrong we were.

It's incredible that one of the NFC's top teams from just a couple of seasons ago has so quickly faded to one of its worst.

4. Dallas Cowboys

Regular-Season Record: 8-8

The Dallas Cowboys are held to a somewhat unfair standard because of their franchise's history of success. Expectations are ridiculously high every season, and unsurprisingly it's rare that the Cowboys actually reach their overall goal.

The explanation for this season's disappointing finish: They simply weren't that good. They were slowed down by critical injuries to QB Tony Romo and star WR Miles Austin, an unimpressive pass defense that would be thoroughly exploited by an opposing team's QB and an inability to beat their division rivals (0-4 against the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles).

3. San Diego Chargers

Regular-Season Record: 8-8

The photo to the left much sums up the San Diego Chargers' 2011-12 season. After all the preseason expectations that this Chargers team was indeed one of the elite teams in the NFL, a combination of Philip Rivers throwing pick after pick and a thoroughly mediocre defense would limit San Diego to an 8-8 record.

While the Chargers offense proved to be as strong as it looked on paper, no one could have anticipated that Rivers, who had racked up 136 touchdowns against 58 interceptions for his career, would experience such a disappointing season.

2. New York Jets

Regular-Season Record: 8-8

If there's one thing sports fans love to do, it's watch the arrogant admit defeat.

In hindsight, we shouldn't be surprised that the New York Jets turned out to be nothing more than a .500 team. They got older at wide receiver (Plaxico Burress replacing Braylon Edwards), their offensive line got considerably worse especially at right tackle (Wayne Hunter replacing Damien Woody) and their once-vaunted running game was held in check all season (almost 700 fewer rushing yards).

But we bought into head coach Rex Ryan's hype about how this was the team that had made it to back-to-back AFC Championship games and would win it all this year. And we believed him.  

1. Philadelphia Eagles

Regular-Season Record: 8-8

"Dream Team": the quote that caused fans, sportswriters and all of the NFL to throw totally unrealistic expectations at a team that would be ultimately found out to be a fraud.

QB Michael Vick's inconsistent performance and injuries that would force the Eagles to play backup Vince Young greatly slowed down the team's offense, as well as revealed trouble with the offensive line.

The Eagles take the cake in terms of disappointment, simply because they were being picked by many as the likely NFC champions during the preseason.