Best & Worst NFL Uniforms 2/2

Miami

Another team that has managed to “keep the faith.” The only question with them has been whether to go with the aquamarine pants or the white ones. Really tough call. There is also a question of exactly what color aquamarine to go with. Personally, I definitely prefer the lighter one.

Best

1966-current

Honorable Mention

1989-current

Worst

2002-2004 (though the orange shirts are pretty bad too)

Minnesota

Purple’s not the best color. That said, these might be the best we can get here. And they date all the way back to 1961 to boot. Who woulda thunk that? Oh yeah, the horns are a classic as well.

Best

1961-current

Worst

 1964, 2007, 2010, 2013 (like a big can of grape soda)

New England

I have a real weakness for the classic uniform, but the current one is probably the best new one out there. The silver helmet is particularly nice.

Best

 2000-current

Honorable Mention

 1962-1989 (though with some years featuring red away pants)

Worst

1993-1999 (not too bad – just too much like the Giants)

New Orleans

A pretty winning color combination, along with a great logo. The only question has been what shade of gold to go with (though they did have several years where they went with white instead – gasp!).

Best

1967-1973, 1986-current

Worst

2001, 2006-current (all the charm of a Hefty bag)

NY Giants

After 40 years in the wilderness, the Giants finally returned to their roots in 2005, resurrecting a classic uniform that dates back to the early ‘50s. Overall, a nice combination of red, white, and blue – especially for the away uniforms.

Best

1953-1965, 2000-current (more or less)

Worst

1966-1999 (not that bad – just kinda boring; lame logo as well)

NY Jets

Just a nice, clean look. Gotta have the white shoes for this to really work though. You know, I can’t see this uniform without thinking of Broadway Joe.

Best

 1966-1977, 1998-currrent

Worst

2002-current (look like pajamas)

1978-1997 (the white helmet is so much better)

1964 (but not this white helmet)

Oakland

These guys own this color combination. Nobody else has even bothered to try. Even that brief sojourn in LA didn’t manage to change anything. Except for going to all-black socks in 1982, nothing – I repeat, nothing – has changed for 50-plus years.

Best

1963-current

Worst

1960-1962 (I think I see why they don’t trot these out on throwback day)

Philadelphia

The basics – green and white, eagle wings – haven’t changed in 60 years but, man, have they rung the changes on those basics. White pants, silver pants, green pants. White shirts, green shirts, black shirts. White helmets, green helmets. White wings, green wings, silver wings.

Best

 1954-1968, 1974-current

Worst

2003-2004 (worst color combo ever?)

Pittsburgh

Well, you sure can’t go wrong with the old Black and Gold. And that basic design goes all the way back to the ‘40s. Still don’t understand why they have the logo on only one side though.

Best

1968-current

Worst

1941 (they had a dozen others to pick for throwback day –
why did they go with the jailbreak look?)

St. Louis

Like with several teams these days, we’ve got an older variant with brighter colors and a newer one with more muted hues. Everybody seems to be going with the latter, so I guess I’ll be my contrarian self and go with the former. And, yes, I love the ram horns on the sides of the helmets.

Best

1973-1979

Worst

1937 (could this be?)

San Diego

Compared to their older look, their current dark-and-white is just so boring. Honestly, there just isn’t enough sky blue in the NFL. Everyone, though, has navy blue.

Best

1966-1973

Worst

 2003 (you know how I feel about his stuff, right?)

San Francisco

Another classic combo that this team just seems to own (kind of like their friends across the Bay). May possibly be my all-time favorite. Except for some subtle color changes, things really haven’t changed in 50 years.

Best

1962-current

Worst

1946

Seattle

I blame these guys. I don’t think there’s anyone else who’s been so into mono colors, garishness, and constant innovations. I also thought their original uniforms (which they kept for a good 25 years) were not that bad at all. Clean, classy but with some real visual interest as well. I thought they did an especially nice job with the somewhat odd color combo of blue and green. Finally, I also thought that design was very well anchored to the locale. Ah well, what do I know?

Best

1976-2001

Worst

2009 (a color suitable for Skittles, not football uniforms; 
and combining it with dark blue isn’t going to help any)

Tampa Bay

Any change these guys made from their original look would have been an improvement. Yup, those orange and white numbers gets my vote for worst NFL uniform ever. Their new one, though, is pretty nice. Not a traditional look at all (is “pewter” just another way to say “a darker grey”?), but it still works pretty darn good.

Best

1997-current

Worst

1976-1996 (like a big Dreamsicle)

Tennessee

Here’s a new team that reached back into the NFL’s past to come up with their look. I believe Tennessee was the first team to resurrect yokes. And the name harkens back to the early ‘60s, when the Jets went by that name. Finally, the logo’s pretty cool, and the dark/light blue color combo is very inventive.

Best

1999-current

Worst

2006-2008 (you knew this was coming, right?)

Washington

The basics haven’t changed since the 1930s, but there sure have been a lot of variations. Which color “burgundy” should we use? Do we combine that with yellow or white? And don’t even get me started on the helmet …

Best

1972-1978, 2010-current

Worst

 2008-2009 (am I that predictable?)

1959-1971 (though the middle one is not that bad)