Has any team gone 0-18?

The Longest Losing Streak in Pro Football History

It’s rare in sports to see a team face total defeat over an entire season—let alone three. But Dayton, Ohio’s early professional football team, holds a dubious distinction: one of the longest winless runs in pro football history.

The Dayton Triangles, one of the founding members of what would become the NFL, ended their run with a painful collapse. After their last victory in 1927, the team spiraled into a deep slump. Over the next three seasons, culminating in their final year of 1929, they managed only ties and losses. Most notably, in their last two full seasons, they went a combined 0–18–1, failing to secure a single win.

While not technically going 0–18 in one season, their final two campaigns add up to one of the most staggering records in professional football lore. The Triangles’ downfall wasn’t just about talent—it reflected the instability of early pro football, where small-market teams struggled with finances, player turnover, and growing competition.

By 1930, the franchise was sold and relocated, eventually becoming the Brooklyn Dodgers (not to be confused with the baseball team). Dayton’s story is a quiet footnote in NFL history, but a telling one. It reminds us that long before the Super Bowl era, the league was a fragile experiment—where even pioneers could fade quietly into obscurity.

So, has any team gone 0–18? Not exactly in a single season—but Dayton came heartbreakingly close over two, marking the end of an era with more losses than wins, and more silence than glory.