In the NFL, a loss is a loss; there are no moral victories in the win-loss column.

That having been said, it is interesting to look at teams (especially those who missed the playoffs) that might not have won many games this year, but were competitive… and with a few breaks in the game, might have put a “W” on the board.

First, let’s look at the teams that had the most one-score losses (losses by eight points or less). The Tampa Bay Bucs top this category; of their 11 losses in 2017, they have lost seven games by less than eight points.

Here’s a look at the number of one-score losses for each team this season (total losses are noted in parenthesis).

7: Tampa Bay (11)

6: Indianapolis (12); Chicago (10); N.Y. Jets (10)

5: Cleveland (15); N.Y. Giants (13); Houston (11); San Francisco (10); L.A. Chargers (7); Kansas City (6); Seattle (6)

4: Cincinnati (9); Detroit (7); Tennessee (7); Atlanta (6); Baltimore (6)

3: Oakland (9); L.A. Rams (4)

2: Denver (10); Miami (9); Arizona (8); Green Bay (8); Washington(8); Buffalo (7); Dallas (7); Jacksonville (5); New Orleans (4); Minnesota (3); New England (3); Pittsburgh (3)

1: Carolina (4); Philadelphia (2)

Let’s take this stat one step further. Through Week #16 (15 games for each team in the season), there have been 52 games that were decided by three points or less. The San Francisco 49ers has played in the most of those games with five.

Following are the number of losses for each team this season by three points or less.

5: San Francisco
4: Cleveland, L.A. Chargers, Tampa Bay
3: Baltimore, Chicago, Indianapolis
2: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, N.Y. Giants, Oakland, Seattle
1: Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Miami, New England, New Orleans, N.Y. Jets, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Washington
0: Arizona, Buffalo, Carolina, Dallas, L.A. Rams, Minnesota, Philadelphia

Stats on Tapp