The 15 Biggest One-Season Fall-Offs in Sports History
In a matter of one year or tournament, these athletes and teams went from being at the top of their game to falling apart at the seams.
Image via Complex Original
Sports are so unpredictable. One season, an athlete or team can seem unstoppable and the very next year, you're stuck wondering where it all fell apart. Take a club like Manchester United for example. In what became Sir Alex Ferguson's last season as the club's manager, United finished on top of the Premier League with a 28-5-5 record (89 points). In their first season and only season with David Moyes at the helm, the Red Devils and their fans were in pure and utter hell as they witnessed their beloved squad struggle all season long. But, have no fear United fans, you're not alone. In fact, there are a couple more examples of athletes and teams taking nosedives after a solid season the year before.
From the likes of Donovan McNabb and Albert Haynesworth joining the Washington Redskins and experiencing an absolutely dreadful statistical decline to Tiger Woods' fall from grace, here are The 15 Biggest One-Season Fall-Offs in Sports History.
RELATED: The 25 Biggest Fall-Offs in Sports History
Chad Johnson
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2010: 67 catches, 831 receiving yards, 4 TDs
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2011: 15 catches, 276 receiving yards, 1 TD
In the summer of 2011, Chad Johnson was dealt by the Cincinnati Bengals to the New England Patriots for a 2012 fifth round pick and a 2013 sixth round pick. Following an underwhelming season with the Bengals where he caught 67 passes for 831 receiving yards and four touchdowns, the Patriots took a chance on Johnson having a bounce back year and possibly becoming Tom Brady's new favorite target. They could've never imagined how terrible this idea was. In what became the worst season of his career, the man formerly known as Ochocinco would disappear from entire games and when he was out on the field, Brady and Chad could never get on the same page. One year later, Johnson was released by the Pats.
France World Cup Soccer Team
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 1998: 3-0-0 in Group Stage, Champions
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2002: 0-1-2 in Group Stage
When their country hosted the World Cup in 1998, the French National Team didn't let their fans down. They went undefeated in the Group Stage which featured Denmark, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. The team continued winning in the Knockout Stage and eventually found themselves in the Championship Game where they easily beat Brazil, 3-0. In 2002, expectations ran high for a possible repeat run, but their fans were quickly let down after the squad didn't even make it out of the Group Stage, finishing in last place. To make matters worse, the team didn't even score a single goal in the competition.
Andruw Jones
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2007: .222, 26 HRs, 94 RBIs
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2008: .158, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs
The Los Angeles Dodgers should've seen Andruw Jones' last season with the Atlanta Braves as a sign of (bad) things to come. After struggling mightily to keep his batting average above the .200 mark, Jones supplanted those bad numbers with a solid 26 homers and 94 RBIs by the end of the year. Once the offseason rolled around, the Dodgers still took their chances on the Curacao native, offering him a ridiculous two-year/$36.2 million contract. When he showed up to the Dodgers facility, Jones was 20 pounds overweight and out of shape. After only one season in L.A., the 31-year-old was released after hitting .158 with 3 homers and 14 RBIs. That's it? Yeah, that's it! Jones did boost his power numbers back up to the teens in each of the next four seasons, but that horrendous average was the root of his downfall.
Manchester United
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2012-13: 28-5-5 (89 points), 1st in Premier League
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2013-14: 18-6-11 (60 points), 7th in Premier League
As we explained in the intro, last season was the final one under manager Sir Alex Ferguson for Manchester United. The club played well in the Premier League, finishing in first place. The following year, David Moyes took over and could never fill the big shoes left behind by Ferguson. And while a tough season of making adjustments and getting acclimated to a new system are expected, this season was so bad, United didn't even want to take a chance that Moyes could turn the ship around if he was given another year. The Red Devils sent him packing and named Ryan Giggs the interim manager.
Gilbert Arenas
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2009-10: 22.6 PPG, 7.2 APG, 41.1 field goal percentage
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2010-11: 10.8 PPG, 3.9 APG, 36.6 field goal percentage
After returning from his season-long suspension for that incident involving then-teammate James Crittenton, Gilbert Arenas showed signs of a strong turnaround year, averging 17.3 points and 5.6 assists per game. Then, after 21 games, the Wizards dealt him to the Orlando Magic and the decline began. Agent Zero struggled at every facet, shooting 34 percent from the field and 28 percent from beyond the arc. Arenas played one more year with the Grizzlies but the numbers kept dipping and soon, Gilbert was out of a job.
Tiger Woods
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2009: No. 1 overall, 6 Majors won, 3 2nd place finishes
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2010: No. 128 overall, 0 Majors won, 0 2nd or 3rd place finishes
For the early part of his career, Tiger Woods seemed unstoppable. Then, on Thanksgiving 2009, ex-wife Elin Nordegren discovered that Woods was cheating on her with many, many, many women. Like, people legitimately lost count after you couldn't count them with two hands! The incident proved to be something Tiger couldn't shake as his overall ranking slipped from No. 1 in the world to No. 68 after winning a grand total of zero Majors. The following year, Eldrick once again struggled. But then, Tiger found a new snow bunny and things are looking on the up and up!
Andre Agassi
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 1996: No. 8 ranking, 3 titles won
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 1997: No. 110 ranking, 0 titles won
If the name Andre Agassi doesn’t instill some iota of American pride, you may or may not be missing a pulse. The man is an athletic deity, and one of the most respected athletes in tennis history. Agassi, in his prime was undoubtedly the greatest. In 1996, Andre even managed to bring home a Gold medal from the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
The following year for Agassi was tragic. A nagging wrist injury became problematic, he played only 24 matches the whole year, and sank to a world ranking of 110. In Agassi’s biography, he’d later admit that he’d been addicted to meth for the entirety of 1997. All those who know Andre Agassi’s legend are aware that he would later stage an incredible comeback, but back in ’97, we were certain it was a curtain call for one of the greats.
Indianapolis Colts
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2010: 10-6, 1st in South, Wild Card Playoffs appearance
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2011: 2-14
It was once argued that Peyton Manning should have received the 2011 NFL MVP award...without having played a single snap. Why? Because during the 2011-2012 season, the team was an unrecognizable disaster without him. Previously 10-6 with Manning at the helm, the Colts dropped to 2-14 the next season. Why? Indianapolis can thank Peyton's neck surgeries for that. Not close to playing shape, Peyton was ruled out for the 2011-2012 season. The Colts signed Kerry Collins, who championed the team to its worst record since 1991. Maybe Gooddell should've given Peyton that MVP trophy.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2009-10: 61-21, 1st in Central Division, East Conference Semifinals appearance
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2010-11: 19-63
Plain and simple, the Cleveland Cavaliers missed LeBron James. After several successful years where the team fell short of reaching the mountaintop, the Cavs (and the entire world) saw 'Bron 'Bron state that he was taking his talents to South Beach. With a team full of decent role players and no star, Cleveland kept losing and losing and losing. They even hold a record for the longest losing streak in NBA history with 26.
J.R. Smith
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2012-13: 18.1 PPG, 42.2 field goal percentage, Sixth Man of the Year
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2013-14: 14.5 PPG, 41.5 field goal percentage
From China's Zhejiang Golden Bulls, to the bright lights on Broadway, 2012 was J.R. Smith's arrival. During the regular season, J.R. was nothing short of electric, and his in-game heroics landed him a Sixth Man of The Year trophy. So where the hell did it all go wrong? Earl's exodus may have began with his playoff elbow to Jason Terry's head (and overall disappearance in the 2013 postseason), but it was the 2013-2014 season that cemented his ludicrousness. Between questionable shot selection, overall selfish play, and Shoelace-Gate, J.R.'s clown antics have been more than indicative of New York's self implosion. Who knows where he'll be this year?
Chris Johnson
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2010: 316 carries, 1,364 rushing yards, 11 TDs
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2011: 262 carries, 1,047 rushing yards, 4 TDs
When you become one of only seven people to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, the only place to go is down. That's why we gave Chris Johnson the benefit of the doubt by not pointing out the near 700-yard decline in his rushing total the following season. But then, things just kept getting worse. After a 2011 season where he only eclipsed the century mark in a game four times, CJ nearly fell short of 1,000 rushing yards. Thankfully, in that last game against the Texans, Johnson was able to squeak out 61 yards to put him at 1,047 for the year.
Albert Haynesworth
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2008: 51 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 3 fumbles forced
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2009: 37 tackles, 4 sacks, 0 fumbles forced
Albert Haynesworth wasn't just a fall-off, the former defensive star was a straight up nosedive. After a second consecutive Pro-Bowl nomination in 2008, Haynesworth left the Tennessee Titans to test free agency. The Washington Redskins bit and signed Haynesworth to a then record breaking seven year, $100 million dollar contract (with $32 million guaranteed). Big boy was rolling in it. So much so, that Haynesworth seemed to forget that his newly signed contract implored him to actually play football. Before the Redskins '09 season began, Haynesworth refused to attend offseason workouts, showed up doughy and out of shape, and failed to pass the team's physical. He got it together and played, often while criticizing the Redskins defensive scheme and coaching staff. In 2010, the Redskins put Big Al' on the restricted list for conduct detrimental to the team. He had played 8 games and recorded just 2.5 sacks, and was promptly released. After bouncing around from the Patriots to the Buccaneers, Albert Haynesworth's career fizzled out into one of the biggest busts in NFL History.
Fernando Torres
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2009-10: 18 Premier League goals
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2010-11: 9 Premier League goals
In January 2011, Fernando Torres was transferred to Chelsea after he put together a couple good seasons with Liverpool. In fact, Chelsea believed in Torres so much that they shelled out the sixth highest transfer fee ever of £50 million for his talents. For the remainder of the season, Fernando scored one goal and amassed a very unimpressive goal-less streak of 24 games. Eventually, the striker was demoted from the starting 11 to a substitute. After one season under his belt with his new club, Torres picked it up a bit, however, it wasn't really close to his output with Liverpool.
Mike Hampton
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2000: 15-10, 3.14 ERA
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2001: 14-13, 5.41 ERA
Prior to the 2000 season, Mike Hampton actually posted a career-best in wins (22) and ERA (2.90) in his last year with the Houston Astros. The following year as a member of the New York Mets, Hampton experienced a drop-off in numbers, but his stats were still pretty respectable and he boosted his stock after two impressive starts in the NLCS (16 innings, zero earned runs). During the offseason, Hampton signed an eight-year/$121 million contract with the Colorado Rockies and that's when the implosion began. In his first season, Hampton barely stayed above .500 in the win/loss column (15-14) and his ERA...5.41!
Donovan McNabb
Previous Season (Year) Stats and Accolades: 2009: 267/443 (60.3 percent), 3,553 passing yards, 22 TDs, 10 INTs
Fall-off Season (Year) Stats: 2010: 275/472 (58.3 percent), 3,377 passing yards, 14 TDs, 15 INTs
Donovan McNabb is the winningest quarterback in Philadelphia Eagles' history, a fact even more appalling when one takes a look at the man's 2009-2010 career plummet. Donovan was the leader of the 'Dirty Birds' for 11 seasons, in which he led Philly to eight playoff campaigns, and a Super Bowl appearance. It was the end of the 2009 season that did it. A fall to the Dallas Cowboys handed Donovan McNabb his first ever first-round playoff loss. Amid much controversy, he was traded to the Washington Redskins the following season. McNabb put up a miserably inconsistent 6-10 campaign with the Redskins, and was relegated to third-string by the end of the regular season. From riches to rags in the blink of an eye.