Ranking the Biggest One-Year Turnarounds in NFL History

When an NFL team is struggling, the road back to competitiveness is typically a multiyear process. Every so often, though, that journey seems to happen overnight.

Injuries to star quarterbacks are often the impetus of a problematic year, and their returns understandably boost the team in the following year. Otherwise, a new signing, coaching change or breakout player can provide that much-needed spark.

And we're not talking about a couple extra wins.

Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, few teams have ever increased their win total by seven-plus games in the following season. The best turnarounds in NFL history always included a playoff berth, and two ended with a Super Bowl victory.

Honorable Mentions (1970-99)

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Don Shula reversed the course of the Dolphins' franchise in 1970.

1970 Miami Dolphins

In their final AFL season, the Dolphins trudged to a 3-10-1 record. They hired Don Shula, who guided Miami to a 10-4 mark before a loss to the Oakland Raiders in the Divisional Round. The bigger story is three straight Super Bowl trips—and two wins—in the three seasons after this turnaround.

1975 Baltimore Colts

Baltimore fired Howard Schnellenberger after an 0-3 start in 1975, and general manager Joe Thomas finished out the year for the 2-12 Colts. The next season, Ted Marchibroda oversaw a surge to 10-4 and an AFC East title. However, the Colts fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round.

1976 New England Patriots

The next year, New England had a swift improvement of its own. The Patriots went 3-11 in 1975 and jumped to 11-3, ultimately falling to the Raiders in the Divisional Round.

1982 Los Angeles Raiders

After managing a 7-9 record in 1981, the franchise moved from Oakland to Los Angeles. The Raiders finished 8-1 in the strike-shortened 1982 campaign and won the AFC West, but they lost to the New York Jets in the Divisional Round.

1991 Denver Broncos

Denver lost three Super Bowls from 1986 to '89, and a 5-11 season in 1990 added to the disappointment. The Broncos improved to 12-4 in 1991 because they flipped a 2-7 mark in one-score games to 8-3, winning the AFC West. But they lost to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game.

Honorable Mentions (2000-19)

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Brian Urlacher helped the Bears snap a six-year playoff drought in 2001.

2001 Chicago Bears

The Cade McNown Experience ended in 2000 when the once-prized quarterback went 1-8 in a 5-11 season. But as Jim Miller merely steadied the offense, the Brian Urlacher-led defense became a force. The Bears allowed the fewest points per game (12.7) in the league while winning the NFC Central at 13-3. But the Philadelphia Eagles eliminated Chicago in the Divisional Round.

2001 New England Patriots

Given the result, this one is worth mentioning. The Patriots went 5-11 in Drew Bledsoe's last season as the full-time starter. Tom Brady replaced him in 2001 and keyed an 11-win campaign that ended with a Super Bowl victory. The reason it's an honorable mention? The threshold was seven-win turnarounds. The only other team mentioned that didn't meet the criteria was the 1982 Raiders (strike-shortened season).

2004 San Diego Chargers

San Diego totaled 12 wins in 2002 and 2003 combined but matched the mark in 2004. Drew Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson sparked the 12-4 record and the franchise's first AFC West title in a decade. However, the Chargers lost to the Jets in the Wild Card Round.

2012 Indianapolis Colts

It's really this simple: Peyton Manning missed the 2011 season. The Colts' nine-year playoff streak snapped with a frustrating 2-14 campaign, but it resulted in the No. 1 overall pick of the 2012 NFL draft. They picked Andrew Luck, who propelled them to 11-5 after they shipped Manning to Denver. The Baltimore Ravens knocked off Indianapolis in the Wild Card Round.

2013 Kansas City Chiefs

Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn both finished 1-7 as starters in 2012—a 2-14 season. After firing Romeo Crennel, the Chiefs hired Andy Reid and acquired Alex Smith. The new pairing led Kansas City to a 9-0 start, though a 2-5 end to the regular season preceded an epic collapse to Luck and the Colts in the Wild Card Round.

2016 Dallas Cowboys

Collarbone and shoulder injuries kept Tony Romo sidelined for 12 games in 2015, and the Cowboys trudged to a 4-12 record. But when a compression fracture sidelined Romo in 2016, Dallas turned to rookie Dak Prescott instead of Matt Cassel. Long story short, it was an upgrade. Prescott helped the Cowboys finish 13-3 with an NFC East crown before the Green Bay Packers won the Divisional Round clash.

10. 2008 Miami Dolphins

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The Patriots had no answer for Ronnie Brown in the debut of the WIldcat offense.

Only a Week 15 overtime win against the Baltimore Ravens prevented the Dolphins from an 0-16 finish in 2007.

But the next season was an entirely different story.

Miami hired Tony Sparano, signed quarterback Chad Pennington and selected left tackle Jake Long with the No. 1 pick of the draft. The revamped offense also brought back Ricky Williams alongside Ronnie Brown, who memorably torched the Patriots with five total touchdowns in the debut of the Wildcat offense.

The Dolphins finished 11-5 and won the AFC East thanks to a Week 17 triumph against the Jets. Miami fell to the Ravens in the Wild Card Round, but it was still a stunning year.

T-8. 2006 New Orleans Saints and 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars

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Drew Brees

Different circumstances, same results.

One year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, the Saints put together a remarkable 2006 season. They hired Sean Payton and signed Drew Brees, and that coach-QB duo helped New Orleans move from 3-13 to 10-6 with an NFC South title.

In 2017, the Jacksonville Jaguars matched that turnaround. While winning the AFC South, the "Sacksonville" defense ranked second in the NFL in points allowed per game (16.8) and sacks (55).

Unfortunately for both the 2006 Saints and 2017 Jags, they lost in their conference title games.

7. 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers

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Pittsburgh didn't plan on starting Ben Roethlisberger so quickly, but an elbow injury to Tommy Maddox in Week 2 necessitated a change.

And it worked out OK.

The first-round pick went a perfect 13-0 that season as the Steelers boasted the NFL's stingiest defense. The unit surrendered the fewest points (15.7) and yards (258.4) per game, guiding Pittsburgh to a 15-1 record and AFC North crown.

Although the Steelers lost to New England in the AFC Championship Game, the Roethlisberger era officially began in 2004 and was punctuated by Super Bowl wins in 2005 and 2008. 

6. 1988 Cincinnati Bengals

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During a 4-11 season in 1987, the Bengals found themselves on the wrong side of seven one-score margins. They mustered just 19 points per game, the offense's worst mark in seven years.

But the next year, that changed dramatically.

Boomer Esiason put together a career-best season, throwing 28 touchdown passes and winning league MVP honors. He guided the offense to an NFL-best 28 points per game. Cincinnati started the year 6-0, finished 12-4 and won the AFC Central.

The Bengals came up just short in Super Bowl XXIII, falling to Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers 20-16.

5. 1999 Indianapolis Colts

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Peyton Manning tossed a league-worst 28 interceptions as a rookie. The next season, he nearly trimmed the number in half and—voila!—the Colts flipped from 3-13 to 13-3.

That 10-game difference is the largest swing in league history.

Hall of Fame running back Edgerrin James made his NFL debut in 1999, running for an NFL-best 1,553 yards. Marvin Harrison doubled his production with a league-high 1,663 yards, and the Colts won their first AFC East title in 12 years.

Unfortunately for Indianapolis, a 19-16 letdown to the Tennessee Titans ended the season in the Divisional Round.

4. 2015 Carolina Panthers

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Although the Panthers entered 2015 as two-time defending NFC South champs, they trudged to a 7-8-1 record in 2014, winning a laughably bad division that accounted for 22 wins for the entire season.

This time around, however, Carolina ripped off a 15-1 year with MVP-winning quarterback Cam Newton leading the way.

Newton accounted for 4,473 yards and 45 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions, helping the Panthers become the 18th team to score 500 points in a season. Carolina opened the year 14-0 before a loss to the Atlanta Falcons ended the undefeated run.

The Panthers clipped the Seattle Seahawks and obliterated the Arizona Cardinals to reach Super Bowl 50 but lost to the Broncos.

3. 2019 San Francisco 49ers

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Jimmy Garoppolo and Kyle Shanahan

Midway through Kyle Shanahan's first season as head coach, the 49ers traded for Jimmy Garoppolo. The partnership paid off with a 5-0 finish to 2017, but a knee injury in Week 3 of 2018 ended Garoppolo's year and sent the 49ers spiraling to 4-12.

Garoppolo's return to the field coincided with the rise of a tremendous defense. En route to a 13-3 record, the Niners scored the second-most points and ceded the second-fewest yards in the NFL.

San Francisco cruised to playoff wins over the Minnesota Vikings and Packers to win the NFC for only the second time in 25 years.

Patrick Mahomes' fourth-quarter comeback lifted the Kansas City Chiefs to the title, but the Niners had only the second-ever nine-win improvement that ended in a Super Bowl appearance. 

2. 1981 San Francisco 49ers

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From 1978 to '80, the 49ers totaled 10 wins. But in 1981, they finally handed the keys to young quarterback Joe Montana.

He merely started a dynasty.

Under the direction of Bill Walsh, the Niners surged to 13-3 and won the NFC West. Montana led the league's seventh-best offense, and future Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott—then a rookie—highlighted a unit that surrendered the second-fewest yards and points per game in the NFL.

San Francisco's 26-21 triumph over Cincinnati in Super Bowl XVI marked the first of the franchise's four titles in the 1980s.

1. 1999 St. Louis Rams

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When the St. Louis Rams went 4-12 in 1998, quarterback Kurt Warner barely played and star wideout Isaac Bruce missed 11 games. During the ensuing offseason, they traded for running back Marshall Faulk and drafted wide receiver Torry Holt.

It wasn't clear at that moment, but St. Louis had assembled the "Greatest Show on Turf." Only two teams in NFL history ever scored more points than the Rams' 526.

Warner amassed 4,353 passing yards and 41 touchdowns, taking home league MVP honors. Faulk topped 1,300 yards on the ground and 1,000 as a receiver. Bruce paced the receivers with 77 catches for 1,165 yards and 12 scores, while Holt and Az-Zahir Hakim combined for 1,465 yards and 14 scores.

But the defense also excelled, giving up only 15.1 points per game during the regular season.

St. Louis memorably edged the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV when linebacker Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line as time expired.