The NFL's Three Most Tortured Fanbases During Week 1

Drew Thirion|published: Wed 16th September, 15:24 2026

Cleveland Browns fans celebrate after quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) connected with wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans at Huntington Bank Field, Dec. 7, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.

The NFL season has gotten underway, and we’ve seen some teams make some massive statements in week one. On the other hand, we’ve also seen some teams put up some stinkers.

Here are the three teams that I feel are the most miserable after week one and will be looking forward to fighting for the number one overall pick throughout the year.

#1 Cleveland Browns

When you’re compiling a list of the most miserable fans in sports, you have to start with the Cleveland Browns. Fortunately for the Cleveland faithful, they’re pretty used to being miserable on Sunday.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Deshaun Watson is one of, if not the worst, quarterbacks in the league; he’s still an egomaniac, and he’s due $120 million over the next two seasons. Everyone knows how horrible the quarterback situation is, and it’s an embarrassment to their fans that they’re still trotting him out there. However, the Browns were still expected to be one of the better defenses in football.

Well, Trevor Lawrence turned that defense into Swiss cheese, and instead of feeling like they were a quarterback away from competing, they’ll now have way more issues to fix this upcoming offseason, all while working around Watson’s $80 million cap hit.

#2 Tennessee Titans

Tennessee quarterback Cam Ward (1) scrambles under New York’s pressure during their season opener at Nissan Stadium Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026.

When compiling this list, I almost put the Titans at number one, because they might be in a worse position than the Browns. Cleveland at least knows that they don’t have the fix at QB in-house; the Titans thought they did with Cam Ward.

In a week one matchup against the New York Jets, they made one of the worst teams in football last season look like they could fight for a playoff spot this year. Geno Smith completely outperformed Ward, and the Titans might have the worst offensive and defensive lines in the NFL. Tennessee will play Ward every game they can this year, and hopefully he shows some potential to become a number one in the NFL, but I’m concerned he’s a lot closer to being a Jameis Winston than even a Baker Mayfield.

#3 Atlanta Falcons

Sep 13, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski during the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

While I don’t believe the Falcons are the third-worst team in the NFL, their fans are easily some of the most cursed in the sport. Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix aren’t the most exciting QB1 options, but they’re certainly better than Cooper Rush.

The Falcons at least have Bijan Robinson to make Sundays a little less painful, but the team feels sort of directionless. Kevin Stefanski is once again part of an organization with some talent, but not enough to contend for the playoffs.

What’s the plan moving forward for the Falcons? Robinson only has so much tread on his tires, and defense wasn’t entirely inspiring against a 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers. It’ll be interesting to see if the Falcons decide to blow it up or try to get over the hump of a 7-8-win ceiling.

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