Battling it out for the Worst of the NFL

While the Patriots continue to distance themselves from the pack, and pundits and fans are left to argue over who's second best, a far more intriguing discussion has largely been left untouched.

Who is the NFL's worst team?

Plenty of teams could make their case here, but we'll limit our discussion to the following: Miami (0-9), New York (1-8), San Francisco (2-7), and St. Louis (1-8). And yes, I know that your favorite team isn't doing well either this year and should probably be included -- Oakland, cough cough, Atlanta, cough, cough -- but we don't have time to sit here and sift through the whole league.

We'll judge based on four categories: offense, defense, strength of schedule, and worst loss.

May the worst team lose!

Offense

Since somehow managing victories in the first two games, the 49ers have averaged a paltry 9.57 points per game. Injuries to Alex Smith and tight end Vernon Davis haven't helped anything, but bad is bad. San Francisco is also last in the league in yards per game by nearly 50. Everyone else on our list for discussion has performed at various levels of ineptitude, but they all shine in comparison to the 49ers.

Loser: San Francisco

Defense

If you're a struggling offense in the NFL, there are few other teams besides the Dolphins that you'd rather face. Miami is near the middle of the pack in defensive yards per game, but the Dolphins still manage to surrender an average of 28.6 points per game. The Rams and Jets are close in this category, coughing up 27.6 and 25.3, respectively. Perhaps a more telling statistic is the turnovers caused by these teams, or the lack thereof. The Dolphins have forced just 13 turnovers, the 49ers 12, but the Jets have them all beat here: New York has managed only 9 turnovers, or one per game. That's a far cry from the league-leader Detroit, who has 29 on the season.

Loser: New York. In addition to the high points per game and the low turnover numbers, the Jets' defense has forced a league-low 9 sacks.

Strength of Schedule (Weakest)
The Dolphins and Jets have it worst, easily. Both teams have already played conference foe New England and the New York Giants, and they both get to travel to Foxborough later this season. So pathetic though they may be, a tough schedule gives these teams somewhat of an excuse. Not so with the the 49ers and Rams. Playing in the NFC Worst truly leaves these guys without an excuse, and it certainly bolsters their respective cases for worst of the worst. San Francisco and St. Louis have faced nearly identical schedules up to this point, with the primary exception being the 49ers playing the Steelers and the Rams falling to the Cowboys.

Losers: We'll call this one a draw between San Francisco and St. Louis.

Worst Loss
For a team with only one win, the Jets have typically kept things interesting; excluding a Week 1 38-14 drubbing by the Patriots, New York hasn't lost by more than 11 points. The 49ers won their first two games, but that was just fools' gold. Reality bit hard when the Steelers crumpled San Francisco 37-16 in Week 3. NFC West division leader Seattle (5-4) is not a very good team, but the Seahawks managed to manhandle the Rams 33-6 three weeks ago. As the only team in the league without a victory, every loss is the worst loss for the Dolphins. But if you had to choose just one, losing to the otherwise-winless Jets is pretty bad.

Loser: Miami

Well, after reviewing the variables, the ruling on the field is that all of these teams are terrible, maybe even worse than you think. But despite a better record than some of the others, the 49ers are the league's fastest-sinking ship, and in my opinion, the worst of the worst.

One footnote to all this, however: the Dolphins' upcoming schedule only gets more difficult. In addition to traveling to New England, as I mentioned above, Miami has games at Philadelphia and at Pittsburgh remaining on its schedule. In a season in which the Patriots could go undefeated, how ironic would it be if Miami went winless? No wonder Don Shula has been so irritable!

Cast your vote! If you disagree with my assessment here, cast your vote in our poll to the right.