After more than 40 years, the days of 16-game NFL seasons have now come to a close. This offseason, the league officially approved a measure that had been rumored for some time which would add a 17th game and 18th week to the regular season, the first expansion to the number of games played since 1978.
The Jacksonville Jaguars played fewer games than most NFL teams in this era as they didn’t begin play until 17 years after the league expanded from 14 games. Still, in spite of early success in the 1990s, the team’s struggles since have landed it near the bottom of the league in terms of win percentage. Overall, Jacksonville’s winning percentage since its inaugural season in 1995 is just .425, the 28th-best in the NFL.
With the NFL expected to add a 17th game, here's how every team fared during the 16-game era (1978-2020).
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— Kendall Baker (@TheKendallBaker) March 28, 2021
The Jags come in just above the Arizona Cardinals and just below the Cincinati Bengals. The lowest two spots go to the Browns and the Lions, the only two teams to go 0-16 in league history.
Jacksonville was late to the party in the 16-game era, but with a new regime (and franchise quarterback) coming to town, it will hope that it’s much higher on this list during the 17-game era.