Copyright Yardbarker
Times are tough for most New York football fans. The New York Jets and New York Giants are a combined 4-15 this season and are both undergoing major organizational changes. The Jets are set to undergo another extensive rebuild after trading key defensive players Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams for three future first-round draft picks, while the Giants just fired head coach Brian Daboll following another fourth-quarter meltdown. Between the two franchises they have just three playoff appearances since the start of the 2011 season, and all of them belong to the Giants. Both franchise have been perpetual cellar-dwellers in the NFL, going through revolving doors of head coaches, general managers and quarterbacks. They are both among the most perpetually lost franchises in the four major North American men's sports leagues. Let's take a quick look at some of the others that are aimlessly wandering the sports world right now. Cleveland Browns (NFL) Nothing says perpetually lost quite like the Browns. Since their return to the NFL in 1999 they have cycled through 12 different head coaches, dozens of starting quarterbacks, made the playoffs just three times, won only a single playoff game and even had a two-year stretch where they went 1-31, including only the second 0-16 season in league history. More recently, they made one of the worst trades in NFL history when they sent away multiple first-round draft picks for Deshaun Watson and gave him a fully guaranteed $250M contract that has quickly turned into an albatross. That move coincided with them dumping Baker Mayfield. He is now an MVP-contender for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pretty much every move they make backfires. After making the playoffs in 2023 they are just 5-21 through the first 10 weeks of this season. Buffalo Sabres (NHL) The Sabres entered the 2025-26 NHL season riding a 14-year playoff drought, and there is nothing to indicate it is going to end anytime soon. They are the Browns of the NHL in terms of consistent incompetence. Their playoff drought is the longest in NHL history. Given that it is a league where half of the teams make the playoffs, it is staggering they have not lucked into a spot at least one time over the past decade-and-a-half. Even worse, several players that were supposed to be core players in Buffalo ended up leaving the team via trade and almost immediately won Stanley Cups elsewhere. That list includes Ryan O'Reilly (who won with the St. Louis Blues) , Jack Eichel (with the Vegas Golden Knights) and Sam Reinhart (with the Florida Panthers). Head coaches and general managers have changed. The only constant is owner Terry Pegula. Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB) The Pirates have already squandered two years of Paul Skenes' career and seemed destined to waste what limited time they have with him before they inevitable trade him. Since winning the World Series in 1979 the Pirates organization has had just 11 winning seasons in 46 years and no postseason series wins in that time. Los Angeles Angels (MLB) Speaking of squandering great players. The Angels had Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on the same team for years and never had a winning record or made the playoffs. Their playoff drought of 11 years is now the longest active one in the Major Leagues. Charlotte Hornets (NBA)
