Best & Worst NFL Uniforms 1/2

Arizona

There are no cardinals in Arizona. Though a winner for a St. Louis team (and dating all the way back to 1960), this is a total non-starter for any team in the Southwest. They need an entirely different mascot. 

Best

1960-current (but only in St. Louis, mind you)

Worst

2002-current (I call them the Fighting Santa Clauses)

Atlanta

Atlanta has had variations on a similar theme (black/red/white) since their inception in 1966. The uniforms that have worked best for them include plenty of color contrast. Those that don’t do not.

Best

1966-1970 (basically)

Worst

2003-2008 (it’s liked they dressed in trash bags)

Baltimore

Awful uniforms. Terrible mascot. Colors that do not go together. Tenuous associations with the city itself. Complete lack of tradition. (And, yes, I do miss my Colts. See Indianapolis, below, for more.)

Best

1999-current (in various combinations)

Worst

 1966 (the only year when they combined this 
terrible color combo with the extra lame logo)

Buffalo

It’s kind of a stupid name, but it’s been around for over 60 years, so I guess we’re all kind of used to it by now. As for the unis, they’ve all been basically blue shirts and white pants, with helmets that are either white or red. I personally like the designs that do a better job balancing all three colors.

Best

1981-1983

Worst

2002 – 2010 (yes, I do hate this mono color trend)

Carolina

A pretty classic look for such a new team. Good use of baby blue – not a color you see all that much. Also, one of the few “threesomes” I really like. I’m sure the fact that this is my home town team has nothing to do with these judgments at all.

Best

2002-current

Worst

2012-current (hate it, hate it, hate it!)

Chicago

This classic basically goes back to the ‘30s. The only real debate has been whether to have white or black pants on the away uniforms. I prefer the latter – just adds a little interest.

Best

1984-current

Worst

2004-2011 (there is some historical 
precedence for this, but it’s still just wrong)

Cincinnati

Basically a rip-off of the Browns, it’s still a pretty good look. They’ve done some tweaks with yokes and such like over the years, but it’s still really basically the same design. Very creative helmet, by the way.

Best

1981-2003

Worst

2004-2005 (It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!)

1968-1980 (just so lame I had to include it too)

Cleveland

Actually a bit boring, but just such a classic, you gotta love it. The only real debate in the past 60-some seasons has been whether to wear white or orange pants. I must admit – the white is pretty classy.

Best

1950-1974, 1984-current

Worst

2013

Dallas

I can’t stand these guys, but you gotta admit, this is one of the best unis of all time. There have been many variations over the years, but they’ve all been so subtle that they don’t really amount to much.

Best

1965-current (pretty much)

Worst

1960-1963 (“The devil is in the details.” – Mies van der Rohe)

Denver

The Broncos have had two basic looks in their 50-odd years. Though the current look is very sharp, the old ones weren’t too bad either. I’m throwing them in here for old times’ sake.

Best

1997-current

Honorable Mention

1968-1996

Worst

1960-1961 (yup, these are those things you 
saw on throwback day a couple of years ago)

1962-1965 (just so horrible I had to include it too)

Detroit

Another all-time classic, the basic colors have been pretty much the same since the Lions’ first year in Detroit, 1934. You gotta admit, blue and silver/grey is just a great combination. Nice logo as well.

Best

1961-current (with various shades of blue)

Worst

1948 (just the one year though)

Green Bay

Hard to beat this baby. What I like in particular about this one is that the Packers have never felt any temptation to mess with it. Except for names on the back and numbers on the shoulders, they haven’t changed things one whit since 1961.

Best

1961-current

Worst

1923-1924 (blends in well with the mud, I guess)

Houston

Without a doubt, the most boring mascot in the league. I mean, yeah, Houston is in Texas. But so is Dallas. Why aren’t they the Texans? And how about the other teams in the league? If they used the same logic, we’d have the Atlanta Georgians, the Philadelphia Pennsylvanians, the Kansas City Kansans, and the New York New Yorkers. This team needs a complete mascot redo. And the unis are a tad on the boring side as well.

Best

2002-current

Worst

2007-2009 (like a big glass of tomato juice)

Indianapolis

I absolutely love this uniform (simple, clean, classy), but have a very hard time cheering for this team. Let me explain … As a young lad, I lived in Baltimore. Johnny Unitas was the quarterback. Gino Marchetti was on the D line (and owned the restaurant down the street). Alan Ameche was a very recent memory. Raymond Berry. Lenny Moore. Need I say more?

Best

1958-current

Worst

1953-1955 (hard to believe, I know)

Jacksonville

It’s a fairly new team, so we can’t expect much. That said, the original incarnation is not that bad. Extra points for being the first team to try a little teal. I have a sneaking suspicion the Ravens tried to copy these guys.

Best

1995-current

Worst

2004-current (I guess because black is slimming, huh?)

Kansas City

A surprisingly small number of teams have featured a more-or-less pure red-and-white scheme. The Chiefs are also one of a handful of teams who have consistently committed to the white-top, dark-bottom away combo. Finally, I also really like the yellow accents. It’s surprisingly hard to do red and yellow without looking like a McDonalds.

Best

1968-current

Worst

N/A!!!