Top 10 NFL Survivor Bad Beats Ranked (Since 2010)
We dig into the history books to find some of the worst survivor losses you will ever see. If there was any doubt, we have a new No. 1.
by Jason Lisk - Oct 6, 2025
Emari Demercado has cemented himself in survivor lore (Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire)
What are the worst NFL survivor beats of all time?
With apologies to anyone who had entries on the infamous Leon Lett Thanksgiving game in 1993, we don’t have reliable data on which teams were being picked in survivor pools that far back. Our internal data goes back to 2017, and Survivor Grid provides popularity numbers from 2010 onward. So that’s the window we’ll focus on here.
But what actually qualifies as a bad survivor beat? It takes more than just losing a game. The worst of them combine heartbreak, chaos, and a few cruel twists. Some of the ingredients often include:
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Blowing a big lead
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Mounting a comeback that gives false hope before collapsing
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Committing key turnovers at crucial moments
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Suffering a game-changing injury
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Missing a kick (or kicks)
Based on our research, there’s one game that stands above the rest. It’s the clear-cut #1, and it’s not particularly close. Compare our top choice to the rest of the list and see if you agree.
#1 Arizona Cardinals (vs. Tennessee Titans) – Week 5, 2025
Popularity: 26% (1st)
The Arizona Cardinals were up 21-3 less than 20 minutes into the game, had a 21-6 halftime lead, and that score remained in the fourth quarter. Those facts alone would probably qualify the game for inclusion somewhere on this list, even if we didn’t yet know how they lost the game.
Any one of the things that happened in the second half would likely have put it in the discussion for No. 1, just standing on its own merits. The sheer volume of nonsense, though, makes this a game that will be hard to top for a long time.
Let’s start with Exhibit A: missing out on a scoring chance late in the third quarter. At Tennessee’s 20-yard line, Kyler Murray took a snap off his facemask, which the defense recovered.
Oh, but that’s just getting us started. Then, we had Emari Demercado breaking a long touchdown run that should have sealed the win, and put Arizona up 28-6. Except he released the ball before crossing the end zone.
Well, you know what happened from there. The football gods on Olympus took notice, said that nonsense had to be punished, and proceeded to work up a doozy. The Titans, a team that might have been less than a quarter from getting their coach fired, sprang to life and scored. They did miss the extra point, but that just added to the late drama.
When Tennessee got the ball back down 21-12, this is how they scored to bring it within two points with 4:39 remaining.
At that point, it was pretty obvious what was going to happen. But the Arizona coaches did their part by running the ball twice on 2nd and 3rd and long to punt it back to the Titans. Apparently, they had never watched an NFL game in their lives.
Cam Ward hit Calvin Ridley on a long pass, and the Titans actually had to take a knee to run off the clock. The final kick went through. The Titans won 22-21, sealing what was one of the craziest comebacks ever.
Cardinals vs. Titans Highlights
#2 San Francisco 49ers (vs. Arizona Cardinals) – Week 5, 2024
Popularity: 15% (2nd)
Arizona was also involved in a pretty crazy finish in the previous season. San Francisco kicker Jake Moody suffered a high ankle sprain in the second quarter, and the 49ers were down to their punter as the backup kicker. San Francisco was still up 23-10, but not having their kicker would loom large. They never scored again.
The 49ers were still up late and had a chance to go up two scores, but Jordan Mason fumbled on the goal line with about six minutes left. The Cardinals went on a long drive, including a fourth-down conversion, and scored just inside the two-minute warning to take the lead.
49ers vs. Cardinals Highlights
#3 Cincinnati Bengals (vs. NY Jets) – Week 8, 2021
Popularity: 47% (1st)
You might remember this as “the Mike White game.” Even though White threw for 400 yards, the Bengals were still up 31-20 with less than 5 minutes left. The Jets scored two touchdowns in the span of a minute, with an interception in between on a deflected pass.
The final insult was that Cincinnati had a chance to get the ball back at the two-minute warning on 3rd and 11, when a swing pass was going nowhere. The officials threw a flag for a personal foul when the defensive back went in low with the helmet, and RB Ty Johnson lowered his helmet into the tackle. It was a dubious call, and the Bengals never got the ball back.
#4 Kansas City (at Indianapolis Colts) – Week 3, 2022
Popularity: 25% (1st)
The Chiefs had to sign kicker Matt Ammendola to replace an injured Harrison Butker, and it did not work out.
Ammendola missed an early extra point, which impacted the rest of the game. Kansas City still had a halftime lead and led 17-13 entering the final quarter. Twice, they had the ball in scoring position. On one, they tried a fake field goal that failed, and on another, Ammendola missed a 34-yard kick.
That left the door open, and the Colts finally ran through it with a Matt Ryan TD pass to Jelani Woods with 24 seconds remaining. The Chiefs still managed to get the ball past midfield and had timeouts left, but a pass down the seam to Juju Smith-Schuster was deflected for a game-ending interception.
#5 Pittsburgh Steelers (at Oakland Raiders) – Week 14, 2018
Popularity: 26% (1st)
The Steelers led 14-10 at halftime, but QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a rib injury and did not return to start the second half. The game devolved into a defensive struggle with backup QB Joshua Dobbs in.
It remained scoreless until late in the fourth, when the Raiders took the lead. Roethlisberger came back in, playing through the cracked ribs, and led a go-ahead drive with just over two minutes left. However, the Raiders were able to go on a long drive, with Derek Carr throwing a fourth-down touchdown pass with only 21 seconds left.
All hope seemed lost, but then the Steelers hit a “hook-and-ladder” pitch to Juju Smith-Schuster, who ran down the sideline for 43 yards, bringing the ball to the Oakland 22-yard line with a chance to tie.
On the kick attempt, Chris Boswell slipped and then kicked the ball into his linemen, clinching the loss. This was a week in which the three most popular picks all went down.
Steelers vs. Raiders Highlights
#6 Washington Commanders (vs. Dallas Cowboys) – Week 12, 2024
Popularity: 15% (3rd)
In one of the wildest games of 2024, the Commanders and Cowboys combined for 41 points in the fourth quarter after scoring only 19 total in the first three.
Washington was on the ropes down 20-9 late, but the Commanders scored to make it 20-17 with 3:02 remaining. Then, Kavontae Turpin of Dallas returned the kickoff for a touchdown to immediately put Washington back down by 10.
The Commanders scored again by taking a quick field goal on second down, but still needed a stop. They got it after an unsuccessful onside kick and had only 33 seconds left to score a TD. Improbably, QB Jayden Daniels hit WR Terry McLaurin for an 86-yard touchdown.
But then, Austin Seibert missed the extra point, breaking hearts everywhere after it looked like Washington had pulled off a miracle to send it to overtime.
#7 Kansas City (vs. Chicago Bears) – Week 5, 2015
Popularity: 26% (1st)
The Chiefs led 17-3 at halftime and still led 17-6 halfway through the fourth quarter. Chicago went on a long drive and scored with just over three minutes remaining to cut it to 17-12.
Kansas City went three-and-out, and Chicago again started driving. A key pass interference penalty extended the drive in the final minute.
With just 23 seconds remaining, Jay Cutler bobbled a snap, reached down and picked it up, and flicked it toward the side of the end zone while about to get hit, finding Matt Forte for the game-winning TD.
#8 Green Bay Packers (at Cleveland Browns), Week 3, 2025
Popularity: 16% (3rd)
The Packers led 10-0 late in the fourth quarter. The Browns got a field goal to get within one score, and then Packers QB Jordan Love threw a costly pick right near the goal line, allowing the Browns their only offensive TD of the day.
Green Bay still got in field goal range at the end, but the go-ahead kick was blocked backward toward midfield, where the Browns took over.
Cleveland hit one pass and got it spiked in time for rookie kicker Andre Szmyt to hit a 55-yard walkoff for the Browns’ only lead of the day.
#9 Dallas Cowboys (vs. Arizona Cardinals) – Week 16, 2010
Popularity: 13% (3rd)
The Dallas Cowboys were facing an Arizona Cardinals team down to their third quarterback, rookie John Skelton.
The Cardinals went up 14-0 early on two pick-sixes.
Things got even worse for Dallas when QB Jon Kitna was ruled out at halftime and Stephen McGee got his first NFL action. Dallas, though, battled all the way back, and with 1:41 left, McGee hit Miles Austin for a long touchdown. The Cowboys went up 26-24, but then missed the extra point.
You know what happens when a survivor favorite misses the extra point late. Skelton hit Larry Fitzgerald on 4th and 15 to keep Arizona’s hopes alive, and they hit a field goal at the end to win it.
This was just one of the three most popular survivor picks to all lose in the penultimate week of the season, including the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Vikings, in a game that was moved because of a blizzard.
#10 New England Patriots (vs. Arizona Cardinals) – Week 2, 2012
Popularity: 43% (1st)
The Patriots were the most popular pick of Week 2 as they faced a hapless Arizona team at home. But they fell behind 20-9 and looked to be in trouble late. However, New England got a field goal and a touchdown (but failed on the two-point attempt to tie it). Then, on third down inside the two-minute warning, it looked like Patriots’ devil magic struck. RB Ryan Williams of Arizona fumbled, and the Patriots recovered inside field goal range with a minute remaining.
Danny Woodhead ran for a 30-yard touchdown, but it was called back for holding on Rob Gronkowski. The Pats then played it conservatively, with Brady running into the pile to set it up in the middle of the field for Stephen Gostkowski, who yanked it hard left to send all those who just wanted to get an early survivor win by playing the Pats out of their pools.
Patriots vs. Cardinals Highlights
(Dis)Honorable Mention
- Los Angeles Rams (vs. San Francisco 49ers) – Week 5, 2025
- New Orleans Saints (vs. Kansas City Chiefs) – Week 3, 2012
- Las Vegas Raiders (vs. Los Angeles Rams) – Week 14, 2022
- Seattle Seahawks (vs. Washington Commanders) – Week 9, 2017
- Cincinnati Bengals (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Week 5, 2010
- San Francisco 49ers (vs. St. Louis Rams) – Week 13, 2012
- Indianapolis Colts (at Jacksonville Jaguars) – Week 1, 2022