Every NFL Team’s Secret Bad Habit Exposed
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
Every NFL team has that ONE thing. That pattern they just can’t seem to break, no matter how hard they try… or how many times it burns them.
Some of these habits are funny, others are painful, and a certain subsection is just flat-out baffling.
But here’s the thing… fans already know what their team’s bad habit is. They’ve lived it, screamed at their TVs about it, and taken to social media to post about it!
Today, we’re going through all 32 NFL teams and calling out their favorite bad habit. Let’s dive in.
What are the bad habits for each NFL team?
Arizona Cardinals Ownership Futility
The Bidwill family has owned the Cardinals since 1972. In that time, they’ve had just 11 seasons above .500… That’s right around 20% of the time… Yikes.
There have been brief glimpses of hope, but they never last long because the franchise’s dysfunction always leaks in and kills the seed of success before it can really bloom. Some franchises have bad luck. The Cardinals have bad ownership.
Atlanta Falcons: Misusing Stars
This one dates back to the days of Julio Jones—when Atlanta simply could not get one of the best receivers in the league the ball in the endzone!
Now it is guys like Drake London, Bijan Robinson, and Kyle Pitts… super athletic, talented playmakers—that any team would kill for, but Atlanta can’t quite figure out how to utilize properly.
Baltimore Ravens: Losing in January
Lamar Jackson is a two-time MVP. One of the most electric players in football. In the regular season, he’s nearly unstoppable versus other NFL teams.
But January hits… and something changes.
The turnovers spike, the efficiency drops—and the Ravens lose their identity—and, unfortunately, quite a few playoff games in the process.
Buffalo Bills: Losing to the Chiefs when it Counts
Josh Allen is a top-five quarterback, and Buffalo has made the playoffs consistently…
But there’s one problem… Kansas City.
The Bills are 0 and 4 against the Chiefs in the playoffs, while going 4 and 1 against them in the regular season. They can beat KC when it doesn’t matter. When does it? Heartbreak every single time.
Luckily for Bills fans, they won’t have to worry about Mahomes and co. In the 2025 postseason!
Carolina Panthers: Impatient Ownership
David Tepper bought the Panthers in 2018. Since then, he’s fired three head coaches—Rivera, Rhule, and Reich. Then he forced the team to trade up to draft Bryce Young first overall in 2023—only to push for his benching in Year 2.
I respect that Tepper wants to win now. But every time he forces the issue, it sets this NFL team back further.
Chicago Bears: Ruining Young Quarterbacks
Chicago is where quarterbacks go to die.
Caleb Williams’ father actually said that before the draft, and though Caleb has a chance to buck the trend, he wasn’t wrong. We just saw it with Mitch Trubisky… let’s hope the talented USC quarterback isn’t the next victim.
Cincinnati Bengals: Bringing in Players With-Off-the-Field Issues
Back in the mid-2000s, the Bengals had a… let’s call it a reputation problem… It seemed like half their roster had a rap sheet. It has gotten a little bit better, but this NFL team can’t seem to shake the trend fully, a la their decision to keep Jermaine Burton in January of ‘25.
Cleveland Browns: Churning and Burning Quarterbacks
Here’s a stat that will make you sad… the Browns have started 42 different quarterbacks since 1999.
Forty-two. Insane…
The Factory of Sadness keeps churning. And until they figure out the quarterback position, nothing changes.
Dallas Cowboys: Living in the Past
America’s Team hasn’t reached an NFC Championship since 1995, and they are going to spend the 2025 postseason on their couches yet again.
But that doesn’t stop Jerry Jones from continuing to say “this is our year,” even though it hasn’t closed since the turn of the millennium.
Denver Broncos: Can’t Draft Wide Receivers
Since Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker in 2010, the Broncos have whiffed on nearly every wide receiver they’ve drafted, with Courtland Sutton in 2018 being the lone exception.
Cody Latimer. Carlos Henderson. Jerry Jeudy. KJ Hamler. All busts. Now it looks like Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin are the latest disappointments.
Detroit Lions: Heartbreak
The Lions are good now. Really good. But they still find ways to rip your heart out.
In 2024, they blew a 17-point halftime lead in the NFC Championship—the largest comeback in conference championship history.
In 2025, as the one-seed with 15 wins, they lost to the six-seed Commanders after Jared Goff threw four interceptions.
The talent is there now for this NFL team. The results are better. But Detroit is still Detroit when it matters most.
Green Bay Packers: Neglecting Special Teams
The organization just doesn’t care about Special Teams. And it keeps costing them.
Both in the regular season, where they’ve ranked towards the bottom of the league for years… and the postseason, where the third unit has cost them big-time… like the botched onside kick in 2014 or getting a field goal and punt blocked in 2014.
Houston Texans: Power Tripping Execs
The Texans have a habit of giving the wrong people too much power. Bill O’Brien convinced ownership to let him be head coach AND general manager.
He promptly traded DeAndre Hopkins—one of the best receivers in the league—for a washed running back and some mid-round picks.
Then there was Jack Easterby, a former team chaplain who somehow worked his way into the front office and had ownership’s ear on football decisions. The inmates were running the asylum. Houston’s problem isn’t talent…
It’s trusting the wrong people to run the organization around it.
Indianapolis Colts: Can’t Quit Veteran Quarterbacks
Andrew Luck retired in 2019. And ever since, the Colts have refused to actually develop a young quarterback.
Instead? They’ve brought in Philip Rivers at 38. Matt Ryan. Joe Flacco. And in 2025, Daniel Jones… then Philip Rivers AGAIN! This time, at 44 years old—59 months since his last NFL snap—because Jones tore his Achilles.
Yes, they tried and failed with Anthony Richardson, but at some point, the Colts have to figure out how to get a quarterback of the future.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Hiring Crazy Coaches
The Jaguars have had five head coaches since Shad Khan bought the team—and let’s just say—they have a type… crazy.
Urban Meyer lasted 13 games before the scandals caught up to him—kicked his kicker, got caught at a bar with a woman who wasn’t his wife, and lost the locker room completely.
Doug Pederson threatened to fight a reporter… then Liam Coen showed up to Duval with one of the most bizarre Duuuvaaal cries we’ve ever seen!
Kansas City Chiefs: Expecting Mahomes to Figure It Out
The Chiefs have won three Super Bowls. Nobody’s feeling sorry for them.
But their approach to skill position players is… interesting—to put it lightly. They’d rather just let Mahomes try and figure it out rather than invest in the kind of talent to make his life easier!
And to his credit, he has done a pretty good job to date, but as we’ve seen in 2025, he is only human, and KC might be wise to put some real supporting pieces around him.
Las Vegas Raiders: Drafting Fast Receivers
Al Davis had a type. Fast. Very fast.
He drafted the fastest player at the combine in his final three drafts from 2009 to 2011. Darrius Heyward-Bey went seventh overall in 2009—ran a 4.30—picked before Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin.
And his son Mark seems to have continued the trend, like we saw when he took Henry Ruggs and his 4.27 speed 12th overall in 2020.
What makes it all the more painful is they took Ruggs over CeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson… Yikes. Speed is great for each NFL team. But you have to actually be able to play football, too.
Los Angeles Chargers: Chargering
The term “Chargering” exists for a reason… It seems that, regardless of the players on the field, the coaches calling the plays, or even the city they play in, this team always finds a way to lose in the most shocking fashion.
There is perhaps no better example than the 2010 season, when the Chargers finished first in offense AND first in defense… and missed the playoffs because they had the worst special teams in the NFL.
Los Angeles Rams: Mortgaging the Future
While they’ve softened on it a bit the last couple of years, trying to get younger, the Rams’ philosophy is clear… They have no issue trading all of their draft capital for stars. Win now. Worry about the future later.
And it worked! They won Super Bowl 56, but when it goes wrong… it goes wrong in a major way, like 2022, when they were 5 and 12 and looked every bit the part of one of the oldest teams in the league.
Miami Dolphins: Can’t Win When It’s Cold
South Beach is warm. Beautiful weather year-round. Perfect for football… unless you have to play anywhere else in January.
The Dolphins are 0 and 10 in games under 40 degrees since 2017… and more often than not it isn’t close… instead, they look sad and cold, and get their doors beat off.
No wonder this team can’t win once the NFL playoffs come around!
Minnesota Vikings: Losing in the NFC Championship Game
The Vikings have lost six consecutive NFC Championship games, which makes for the longest streak in the NFL.
Six times they were just one game away from the Super Bowl—and it always seems to be in heartbreaking fashion, time and time again… like the Wide Right overtime loss in ‘99 and a couple of walloping’s mixed in.
New England Patriots: Drafting Wide Receivers that Never Pan Out
New England cannot draft wide receivers to save their lives.
Since 2000, the Patriots have drafted 18 wide receivers and, really, only Deion Branch and Julian Edelman turned into stars—and Demario Douglas has been serviceable.
The rest of the lot—like N’Keal Harry, their first-rounder in 2019, and Tyquan Thornton, who went in Round 2 of 2022, however, is a mess.
New Orleans Saints: Ignoring the Salary Cap
New Orleans Saints: Kicking the Can Down the Road. The Saints spent years pushing cap hits into the future to stay competitive during the Drew Brees era. Now the bill has come due.
They’ve been in cap hell for three straight offseasons—cutting veterans, restructuring deals, doing whatever it takes just to field a roster. Brees got his ring. But the franchise is still paying for it… literally.
New York Giants: Scared of Change
The Giants hold on too long… Every single time they do it!
Tom Coughlin stayed two years past his expiration date. Eli Manning got a few more seasons than he should have.
And don’t get me started on Daniel Jones and Brian Daboll!
It feels like New York sees the writing on the wall… and then waits another year to read it without fail.
New York Jets: Wasting Premium Draft Picks
Speaking of graveyards… the Jets have turned squandering premium draft picks into an art form.
Sam Darnold went third overall in 2018. Zach Wilson went second overall in 2021, making the Jets’ first team since 1967 to draft two quarterbacks with top-3 picks within four years… yet here they are in 2025 still staring down a top draft pick and without a franchise quarterback anywhere in sight.
Philadelphia Eagles: Letting their Top Coordinators Walk
The Eagles have a coordinator problem disguised as a Super Bowl hangover problem.
After winning Super Bowl 52, they lost their offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, and their defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz. By 2020, they went 4-11-1.
After losing Super Bowl 57, they lost Shane Steichen to the Colts and Jonathan Gannon to the Cardinals. Got bounced in the Wild Card.
After losing Super Bowl 59, they lost Kellen Moore to the Saints—and now their offense is in shambles.
This NFL team can get to the mountaintop, but they can’t figure out how to retain the guys that got them there!
Pittsburgh Steelers: Can’t Quit on their Coaches
The Steelers have had three head coaches since 1969. Chuck Noll. Bill Cowher. Mike Tomlin. That’s it.
Tomlin has never had a losing season in 18 years, which, yes, is great…
But here’s the flip side… he hasn’t won a playoff game in eight years. The stability is admirable, but at some point, you have to wonder if being “too loyal to fire” is actually holding the franchise back.
San Francisco 49ers: Relying on Injury Prone Stars
Kyle Shanahan is one of the best coaches in the league—and always seems to make do with what he’s got- but the 49ers could make his job a whole lot easier if they stopped relying on stars that can’t stay on the field.
Last year it was McCaffrey… this year Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and even Brock Purdy!
It is endless! No wonder they always seem to come up short come playoff time.
Seattle Seahawks: Ignoring the O-Line
Back when Seattle had Russell Wilson, they never once prioritized protecting him…
And people thought that it was part of their strategy to lean on his mobility… but in the time since, this NFL team remained in the bottom quarter of the league consistently, regardless of who their quarterback was, and continued to let their quarterbacks get beaten up.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Can Only Win in the NFC South
The Bucs keep winning the NFC South. The problem is… they keep winning it ugly—then get chased out by real competition in the playoffs.
In 2022, they won the division at 8 and 9, with a losing record. In 2023, they won at 9 and 8. And in 2024, they won 10 and 7. Four consecutive NFC South titles, a franchise record, is great… but this just points to a decent team winning a bad division.
Tennessee Titans: Chasing Out Stars
The Titans have a propensity for chasing out their best players… the trend started with guys like Steve McNair and Vince Young, who went from Rookie of the Year, to the scrap heap in the blink of an eye.
Then it was Derrick Henry and Head Coach Mike Vrabel.
It is no wonder that the heartbreak continues year after year in the Music City.
Washington Commanders: Addicted to Veterans
Under new ownership, the Commanders have developed a clear strategy: sign as many old veterans as possible and hope they have one more good year left.
Their defense is headlined by Bobby Wagner, who at 35 doesn’t run like he used to but… You guessed it! uses smarts to compensate.
Zach Ertz, another 35-year-old, is one of their go-to guys over the middle.
Eerily reminiscent of the days when they would swing big with guys like Albert Haynesworth and Deion Sanders… I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.
