Biggest Single Season Turnarounds in NFL History

With the New England Patriots now 11-2 and owners of the best record in the NFL, we could be on the verge of one of the biggest single season turnarounds in modern NFL history. The Patriots went 4-13 last season, which led to the firing of head coach Jerod Mayo.

Mike Vrabel, a former Patriots player, took over in January and the results are speaking for themselves. New England has won 10 straight heading into a bye week. The Patriots will face the Bills, Ravens, Jets, and Dolphins to close out the season. 

Running the table would put the 2025 Patriots in some seriously elite company. And the Patriots aren’t the only ones. First-year Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has his team tied for the best record in the NFC at 9-3. The Bears have won five straight and eight of nine to become one of the surprise teams of the season.

Both the Patriots’ and the Bears’ turnarounds are remarkable, but are they among the best in the history of the National Football League? We’ll let you decide. Here are five of the biggest season turnarounds in NFL history.

Miracle on 33rd Street

When the team was located in Baltimore back in the 1970s, the Colts went through some turmoil before pulling off one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history. In 1974 under head coach Howard Schnellenberger, the Colts got off to an 0-5 start.

It was so bad that Schellenberger, who would go on to lead the Miami Hurricanes to a national championship in 1983, was fired after three games. Joe Thomas would finish the ‘74 season and the Colts ended up just 2-12 (the NFL played 14 games per season up until 1978). 

Joe Thomas, the Colts general manager, took over as head coach for the remainder of that disastrous season. He also hired a guy by the name of Ted Marchibroda to come in and be the next Colts head coach.

In 1975, the Colts won their season opener but lost the next four games. However, instead of disaster, Baltimore would win nine games in a row to complete the 2-12 to 10-4 turnaround. Colts fans called it the Miracle on 33rd Street, which was the home of Memorial Stadium and the Baltimore Colts. 

Note: The Colts lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

All the Way to the Super Bowl

During a strike-shortened 1987 NFL season, the Cincinnati Bengals took their share of lumps. The Bengals, coached by Sam Wyche, went just 4-11 in ‘87 but came back with one of the best seasons in NFL history.

Led by QB Boomer Esiason, the Bengals ended the 1988 season with the NFL’s best record – 12-4. Then, Cincinnati beat Seattle (still in the AFC at the time) and Buffalo to earn a trip to Super Bowl XXIII. It was the franchise’s first trip to the big game. Cincinnati would not make it back until 2021 and the Bengals remain one of the twelve teams that has never won a Super Bowl.

Regardless, the turnaround from 4-11 in 1987 to 12-4 in 1988 was remarkable and is among the greatest of all-time.

No Manning Leads to A Lot of Luck

If you remember the time frame, the Colts were in the midst of a nice run in the early 2000s with Tony Dungy as the head coach and Peyton Manning at quarterback. In 2011, the Colts put the franchise tag on Manning, but he never played a down after undergoing neck surgery.

Jim Caldwell was in his third season as the Colts head coach after having taken over when Dungy retired. Caldwell had to turn to formerly retired QB Kerry Collins and backup Curtis Painter, neither of whom was anywhere near the talent that Manning was.

The results, of course, were disastrous. The Colts, who had gone 10-6 in 2010, went 2-14 in 2011. Caldwell was let go and in came Chuck Pagano. Unfortunately, Pagano had some health issues and had to receive treatment for cancer. 

In comes interim head coach Bruce Arians. All he did was go 9-3 on his way to being named the NFL Coach of the Year. The Colts wound up 11-5 and second in the AFC South. They made the postseason but lost to Baltimore in the wild card round.

All Hail the Chiefs

It’s almost hard to believe, but the Kansas City Chiefs of 2012 were a franchise in turmoil. They had gone 7-9 in 2011, fired head coach Todd Haley and hired Romeo Crennel. The 2012 Chiefs then bottomed out and went 2-14. That led to Crennel going one-and-done. 

If you didn’t know, the 2013 NFL season was the very first for Andy Reid as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. Reid would lead one of the best turnarounds ever. After that 2-14 season, the Chiefs came back with Alex Smith at quarterback. 

The 2013 Chiefs went 11-5 and took second in the AFC West. They made the postseason as a wild card but were beaten by the Colts in a thriller, 45-44. In the 12 seasons since Reid took over in Kansas City, the Chiefs have been to the playoffs in all but one year.

Back Above Water in 2008

The Miami Dolphins were drowning in 2007. If you’re old enough, you may remember the head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2006. That would be … Nick Saban. Yes, Saban was the Dolphins head coach for a minute – two seasons, 2005 and 2006 – before resigning to take the job at Alabama.

Enter Cam Cameron. He was a well-respected coach, especially as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Unfortunately, he was not a head coach. Plus, the Dolphins had some issues off the field that led to a horrible 1-15 season in 2007. 

Of course, Cameron was fired which led to the hiring of Tony Sparano. What Sparano and the 2008 Dolphins did was nothing short of amazing. Miami started the 2008 season 2-4 but then caught fire. The Dolphins won nine of their final ten games to finish 11-5, completing the 10-game turnaround. 

Miami won the AFC East title in 2008, completing a worst to first in the division. The Dolphins would lose in the wild card playoffs to Baltimore 27-9. Interestingly, Miami would not make it back to the postseason until the 2016 season.