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3-Wide: Which NFL fan base is the most tortured?

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3-Wide is a weekly feature in which theScore's NFL editors debate the hot topics around the league. Grab a cold towel and brace for hot takes.

Which NFL fan base is the most tortured?

Dan Wilkins: LeBron James and the Cavaliers brought an end to Cleveland's championship drought this week after a grueling 52 years. Though the historic accomplishment is a weight off the shoulders of the entire area, the NFL's most tortured fan base still resides in northeast Ohio. Not only have Browns fans been limited to two playoff appearances since 1990, but they also went without NFL football between 1996, when the team moved to Baltimore, and 1999, when the current incarnation arrived. It doesn't get any worse than that.

Arun Srinivasan: Losing in the most devastating manner possible is inherent to the pathology of the Bills' fan base. The most impressive era in franchise history culminated in four consecutive Super Bowl losses, before the team's core disintegrated. Sporting the NFL's longest playoff drought, the Bills' last postseason appearance led to one of the most controversial endings in football history, dubbed "The Music City Miracle." The Bills are in desperate need of sustained success against all odds.

Joe Thomson: Lions fans have been tortured since the dawn of the 1960s and have the whammy card of an 0-16 season to throw down over other moribund franchises. Other terrible Lions facts: Zero Super Bowl appearances. One playoff win since 1959. Two transcendent offensive talents (Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson) that retired young with little team success. Three winning seasons over the last two decades and, of course, countless excruciating losses like the Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary from Week 13.

Which team is closest to winning its first Super Bowl?

Thomson: The Cardinals have a great chance to secure a franchise-first Lombardi Trophy after back-to-back playoff appearances and an offseason that saw them upgrade their pass rush. Arizona may have the best all-around roster top to bottom, and could follow the Broncos' blueprint of putting the onus on defense so Carson Palmer doesn't have to go out and win games on his own.

Wilkins: Cincinnati's playoff shortcomings have been well documented. The club has yet to earn a postseason victory in the Marvin Lewis era, despite qualifying for January football in each of the last five seasons and on seven occasions overall. But that can all change at any point. Let's not forget this was arguably the NFL's top team last season before Andy Dalton went down with injury. The Bengals could earn their first title as early as this season.

Srinivasan: Carolina posted a 15-1 record last year, led by MVP Cam Newton and standout performances from a host of All-Pro defenders. There's little, if anything, to suggest the Panthers won't be a leading contender for the Super Bowl once again, with most of their core pieces in their primes. Entering the 2016 season on the strength of last year's top-scoring offense, the Panthers could very well lift the Lombardi Trophy in February.

Which story involving the NFL should get a tell-all documentary?

Srinivasan: ESPN's brilliant documentary series "O.J.: Made in America" provided a compelling, exhaustive account of the former Buffalo Bills running back's life. To that end, an inside look at Aaron Hernandez's fall from grace after being charged with first-degree murder would provide fans with a fascinating look at one of the most baffling stories in recent memory. Hernandez ostensibly had it all as a productive member of the New England Patriots, and could grant us with insight into Bill Belichick's and Tom Brady's thoughts.

Thomson: Some type of in-depth analysis of the early 90's Cowboys should be done using Jeff Pearlman's "Boys Will be Boys" as source material. The dysfunctional-yet-successful team had incidents like Michael Irving stabbing a teammate in the neck with a pair of barber scissors, Charles Haley getting naked in team meetings, and a drunken owner picking a public fight with his head coach after winning the Super Bowl. With many of the participants in the craziness still prominent figures in and around the NFL, this may have to wait a few more years before people can start being honest.

Wilkins: We've all had enough of Deflategate, right? Then again, what if there were a tell-all series delving into how exactly this circus truly came about? For as much as we'd all like the saga to just go away, the football world would undoubtedly be drawn to such a feature. The two sides could come together and reveal the truth when litigation and the appeals of appeals of appeals are finally settled. Projected air date: 2095.

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