JD_KaPow
jimnabby
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Football Outsiders is running a great series on the "Dynasties of Heartbreak," those teams that have torn out the hearts of their fans the most over a period of years. This isn't bad teams: this is good teams that keep not making it to the top. The methodology is in the first piece:
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/ramblings/2022/bengals-introduce-dynasties-heartbreak
Basically, you get points for (1) a good regular-season record, (2) a high DVOA, (3) a deep run into the playoffs, and (4) how close your final loss is. So the biggest-scoring single season is the 2007 Patriots, who went undefeated, had a huge DVOA, made it to the Super Bowl, and lost a close game. But you get penalized for actually winning a Super Bowl in nearby years (hard to have much sympathy for Patriots fans when they were winning SBs before and after 2007).
The 1978-85 Cowboys check in at #34 on the list, riding a lost SB and three straight lost NFCCGs. They'd be higher except they get penalized for the SB win in 1977. The dynasty ends in '85 because they had back-to-back losing seasons after that (you have to actually be good to be a dynasty). They're written up here:
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/ramblings/2022/dynasties-heartbreak-31-40-cry-eagles-cry
The 2003-2021 Cowboys are at #11 and still going. Since the Campo years, Dallas hasn't had two losing seasons in a row, which is why this one goes on so long. You can read about them here, if it's not too painful:
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/r...s-heartbreak-11-20-schottenheimer-comes-short
They haven't released the top 10 yet. Seems pretty obvious to me the '90s Bills will top the list.
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/ramblings/2022/bengals-introduce-dynasties-heartbreak
Basically, you get points for (1) a good regular-season record, (2) a high DVOA, (3) a deep run into the playoffs, and (4) how close your final loss is. So the biggest-scoring single season is the 2007 Patriots, who went undefeated, had a huge DVOA, made it to the Super Bowl, and lost a close game. But you get penalized for actually winning a Super Bowl in nearby years (hard to have much sympathy for Patriots fans when they were winning SBs before and after 2007).
The 1978-85 Cowboys check in at #34 on the list, riding a lost SB and three straight lost NFCCGs. They'd be higher except they get penalized for the SB win in 1977. The dynasty ends in '85 because they had back-to-back losing seasons after that (you have to actually be good to be a dynasty). They're written up here:
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/ramblings/2022/dynasties-heartbreak-31-40-cry-eagles-cry
The 2003-2021 Cowboys are at #11 and still going. Since the Campo years, Dallas hasn't had two losing seasons in a row, which is why this one goes on so long. You can read about them here, if it's not too painful:
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/r...s-heartbreak-11-20-schottenheimer-comes-short
They haven't released the top 10 yet. Seems pretty obvious to me the '90s Bills will top the list.