fbpx
Skip to main content

Ten biggest disappointments in the NFL so far

NFL stars

Three quarters of the 2016 NFL season is already in the books. And, along with the happy times, high-scoring games and winning records, the bad naturally follows.

Unfortunately, not every team has found the success that this year’s Dallas Cowboys have enjoyed. Just check in the with Carolina Panthers who would surely love a redo.

Nevertheless, the playoff picture is slowly forming while other clubs are scrambling just to save face. As the regular season begins its descent, here are 10 of the NFL’s most disappointing developments thus far.

1. Seattle’s failure to score touchdowns at critical times

Russell Wilson

The Seattle Seahawks are flying high and lead the NFC West by three wins. They should be a shoo-in to win the division at this rate. But, Seattle’s postseason success depends on the team not flushing games down the toilet.

Here are a few examples.

In Week 12, the Seahawks managed only five lousy points in an ugly loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If it weren’t for a safety and a field goal, the Seahawks would have been completely shut out. Back in Week 7, the Seahawks had that bizarre 6-6 overtime tie game against the Arizona Cardinals. Again, no touchdowns were scored. Lastly, in Week 2, Seattle put up a putrid effort in a 9-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

The team is going to have to avoid these type of performances if it wants to have a successful postseason. Seattle will look to rebound from last week’s head-scratching loss when it hosts the Carolina Panthers in Week 13.

2. The AFC North

The AFC North is far from the sexiest division in the league with only 15 combined wins after 45 games. Just for the sake of comparison, the AFC West has tallied 29 total wins.

The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied atop the division with equal 6-5 records. Both teams have struggled to bring their best performances to the table multiple times this season.

The woeful Cincinnati Bengals (3-7-1) own the third spot. For the first time since 2011, Cincinnati is no sure bet to advance to the playoffs. It would take some miraculous events to shift the tide to see the Bengals play in a wild card game. Injuries to key playmakers haven’t helped.

Lastly, are the winless Cleveland Browns. Most would have thought this floundering club would have scraped up at least one win after 12 games. But, since Cleveland’s defense is giving up 400 yards and 29.3 points on average, the offense simply cannot compensate. As a standalone team, the Browns are an utter disappointment.

However the rest of the season pans out, it would be quite surprising if any AFC North team made it out of the wild card round.

3. Houston, we have a problem

Houston currently leads the AFC South with a 6-5 record. This looks all fine and dandy on paper. But the Texans’ standing is primarily due to the valiant efforts of their defense.

The Texans defense ranks No. 6 in the league. But their 31st-ranked passing offense is a different story. Brock Osweiler isn’t exactly earning that fat paycheck in his first season as a starter.  He is struggling with his new team, as evidenced by the 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions the starter has put up. The young signal caller is also completing just 59.5 percent of his passes for an average of 210 yards per game.

What is more disturbing is that a handful of Osweiler’s bad performances have come against some of the league’s poorer pass defenses.

https://twitter.com/JaysonBraddock/status/803325621929738242

Thankfully, running back Lamar Miller is helping keep the offense patched together. The Texans’ run game ranks fifth-best in rushing yards per game. But because of Osweiler’s inability to move the Texans downfield efficiently, the team has scored only four times on the ground.

If the Texans stay afloat and make it postseason, Osweiler is hardly the quarterback to advance his team far in the playoffs.

4. The Vikings offense is almost literally MIA

After 11 games, the Minnesota Vikings offense ranks as the absolute worst in the league. In a story much like the Texans, Minnesota’s defense has come to the rescue to help the team maintain its status as a playoff contender.

However, Sam Bradford doesn’t have the same excuses that Osweiler has. He is a seasoned former first-round draft pick for starters. Sadly, his 12 passing touchdowns don’t match his pedigree.

While Bradford continues to struggle, the Vikings’ run game is nearly invisible. Between the revolving door at running back, the team is averaging just 71.1 rushing yards per game.

As a result of all of this, the Vikings are averaging only 19.8 points per contest. In their last last six games, the team has scored 20 points or more just twice. If postseason goals are on the agenda, the Vikings’ offense needs to kick things into overdrive very quickly. Perhaps a late-season, return of Adrian Peterson could be the ticket.

5. Chicago’s Bad News Bears

Courtesy of Aaron Doster, USA Today Sports Images

Besides Weeks 4 and 8, the Bears have lost every other game of the season. Injuries have been a major factor and the Bears currently house 14 players on injured reserve.

And while the injuries poured in, Alshon Jeffery got slapped with a four-game suspension for his alleged use of PED’s. He is eligible to return by mid-December. By then, that will be too late to salvage the season.

Meanwhile, quarterback Jay Cutler is once again manning the clipboard on the sidelines due to yet another injury. This leaves Matt Barkley likely to remain under center for the foreseeable future.

The team is a wreck and on a three-game losing streak. With little chance to improve their cellar-dweller status in the NFC North, the Bears are truly one of the NFL’s most-disappointing clubs at practically every level.

6. New York Jets quarterback saga

The revolving door of Jets quarterbacks over the past fews seasons has left the team with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center once again.

With the exception of his last game, Fitzpatrick has not lived up to last season’s standards. In 10 games, Fitz has passed for only 10 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions. The Jets have scraped up only three wins due to some of Fitzpatrick’s lousy performances.

The veteran signal caller is signed for the rest of this season and a bad finish could see him out the door in 2017.

Behind Fitzpatrick is Geno Smith who is on IR and has likely played his last snap as a Jet. Youngsters Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg have yet to prove they’re even worth a look during the regular season. That’s how bad things have become for this disappointing squad. Heck, maybe it’s time to give Mark Sanchez a call once again.

7. San Francisco keeping close par with odds-makers predictions

Chip Kelly

Prior to the start of the season, odds-makers projected that the 49ers were not favored to win a single game. In keeping fairly close with that prediction, the 49ers have scoured up only one win. That came nearly three months ago in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams.

49ers fans now depart games week after week bummed that their team just lost again. Despite the switch to Colin Kaepernick back in Week 6, San Francisco’s offense still ranks in the bottom five of the NFL.

And while the offense is trying to gain headway, San Francisco’s defense seems to have its own plans. As it stands, the defense is giving up a unforgivable average of 424.5 yards and 31.3 points to its opponents each week.

If San Francisco cannot muster wins against the banged up Bears and hapless Jets in the upcoming two weeks, it would only solidify the need for a major team overhaul.

8. What went wrong with the Jacksonville Jaguars?

The Jaguars invested in some pricey defense upgrades during the offseason. They also drafted wisely and got their 2015 first-round pass-rusher back.

Therefore, Jacksonville was all the talk of being the team to beat in the AFC South in 2016. After all, these defensive enhancements could only help Jacksonville’s young, up-and-coming offense, right?

Now, those who hyped up the Jags might want to keep hiding under the covers. The Jaguars are nestled in a the bottom of their division with two lonely wins. Quarterback Blake Bortles is tied for a league-high in interceptions with 13. And the Jags’ rushing offense that has scored only four times ranks within the bottom 10 of the entire league.

With an offense that is always lagging behind, it takes away from any of the Jaguars’ defensive efforts. Currently, opposing teams are walking out the door after scoring 26.6 points on average per game.

Next up for the Jags are three meetings against some of the NFL’s most brutal defenses. This leaves little hope for the Jacksonville squad to attempt to move up the food chain.

9. Cam Newton’s lost mojo

Cam Newton

Newton was one of the most jovial and up-tempo players to watch last year. There was dancing, cool touchdown celebrations, group selfies and at least 45 footballs given out to excited young fans.

The Panthers were on cloud nine as they piled up 15 regular season wins. Now, Newton and the Panthers sport the worst record in their division (4-7) with not much hope of making the playoffs. On top of losing more than winning, Newton just seems to have lost his pizzazz.

He wears his heart on his sleeve at his post-game pressers and is not in the best of spirits after losing a game. While Newton cannot be solely blamed for the Panthers’ struggles, he can be called out for his sagging numbers.

Super Cam is completing only 55.9 percent of his passes which is down almost four percent from last season. He is also on course to finish 2016 with 26 total touchdowns compared to the 45 he scored last year.

Something is amiss here and there is not much time left in the season for Newton to rediscover his mojo.

10. Green Bay Slackers defense

The Packers as a whole are not the dynamic team they usually are at this point in the year. Situated in third place, Green Bay is two games behind the first-place Detroit Lions in the NFC North. Go figure.

Admittedly, Aaron Rodgers and the offense have had issues. But it is Green Bay’s defense that is largely contributing to the team’s woes. A slew of injuries has not helped and the Packers defense has allowed an average of 26.5 points game. The team has also managed just 11 takeaways in as many games.

Green Bay got back on course and snapped its four-game losing streak by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12. But as a prime example of what’s going on here, watch All-Pro linebacker Clay Matthews look silly attempting to tackle a mobile Carson Wentz.

It is because of plays like this we can see why the team’s strategy is to keep Rodgers and Co. on the field as long as possible to dominate the clock. As a result, Rodgers currently leads the Packers in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. That is not necessarily a good thing for Green Bay’s multi-million dollar veteran quarterback.

We will see soon enough if the Packers have turned the corner or if their victory Monday evening was just a fluke.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: