Inspired by a recent article at The Athletic that asked various staff members to name the best and worst uniforms in every NFL franchise’s history, we’ve decided to share our opinion on the same subject.
This eight-part series kicked off with the AFC East and now we’re work alphabetically through the conference before moving onto the NFC. We’d love to hear your thoughts for each team in the comments, as well!
Baltimore RavensBest: 2018-25 Purple Alternate Pants
Until a redesign this offseason, the Ravens’ primary uniforms have remained largely unchanged throughout franchise history, so an argument can be made that their previous home or black alternates were their best look. But it was the introduction of purple alternate pants in 2018 that took the set to the next level, in my opinion, especially when paired with their standard black helmets, jerseys and socks.
Worst: 2015 Gold Alternate Pants
The Ravens unexpectedly introduced gold pants to their wardrobe ahead of a 34-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015 and seemingly burned them afterward, as they were never worn again. In theory, gold pants made sense since it was an accent color on the black helmets and purple home jerseys they were paired with and could have been a nice pop of color for an otherwise dark team, but they were more mustard than gold and simply didn’t work.
Cincinnati BengalsBest: Current Road Jerseys With Orange Pants
The Bengals have arguably the best helmet design in the league, but you couldn’t say the same thing about the rest of their uniform until their redesign in 2021. That was then followed by the addition of orange alternate pants in 2024, which they’ve worn with their black home, orange alternate and white road jerseys. The all-orange isn’t the most visually appealing, but orange helmets, white jerseys, orange pants and white socks should be their go-to road look.
Worst: 2004-20 Uniforms
It doesn’t matter if you choose the black home, white road or orange alternate jerseys, there was simply too much going on with Cincinnati’s previous uniform design. The “B” on the chest, the thick drop shadow numbers, the sleeve caps, the contrasting side panels on the black and orange jerseys, the shoulder yoke on the white jerseys and the multi-color stripes down the sides of the black and white pants all contributed to a look that did not age well despite its lengthy run.
Cleveland BrownsBest: Current Home Jerseys With Orange Pants
The Browns corrected a massive mistake when they returned to their traditional look in 2020, reintroducing a classic striping pattern to the sleeves that was worn by all-time greats such as Jim Brown, Paul Warfield and Webster Slaughter, among others. They weren’t quite perfect, though, until the franchise swapped its brown facemask for white in 2024. Pair their iconic orange helmets with brown jerseys and orange pants and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more timeless look.
Worst: 2015-19 Uniforms
The mistake I’m referencing, of course, was the Browns’ attempt to modernize their uniforms in 2015 when they swapped the classic stripes for a simpler design that was inspired by their two-color helmet stripes. They also used contrasting stitching throughout their jerseys, slapped a large “Cleveland” wordmark across the chest, had chainmail mesh fabric in the custom drop shadow numbers and placed a “Browns” wordmark inside the pants stripe – a true “Mistake on the Lake.”
Pittsburgh SteelersBest: 2018-19, 2023-24 Block Number Throwback Uniforms
The Steelers have largely fielded the same uniforms since 1968, with a black helmet that features their logo on the right side, black or white jerseys with a classic striping pattern on the sleeves and gold pants. They moved from block numbers to an italicized font and added their logo to the left shoulder in 1997, but when they’ve brought back the block font for special occasions in recent seasons, it becomes all the more apparent that they need to return on a full-time basis.
Worst: 2012-16 “Bumblebee” Throwback Uniforms
You have to give credit to the Steelers for celebrating their 80th season in 2012 with historically accurate throwback uniforms, but this design should have remained in 1933. The same could be said about the throwback uniforms that debuted last season, but at least the vertical stripes look like vintage sweaters and not a prison uniform. Pittsburgh also introduced new gold helmets in 2025 to further connect with the original design, whereas the “Bumblebee” set featured their standard black lids.
Photos courtesy of @Ravens, @Bengals, @Browns, @Steelers and @NFL on X/Twitter.