Everybody starts the season equal … or so they say. Reality is some teams have massive holes to dig out of from the past performances they have put on in recent seasons. These nine teams may think they can make a run at the playoffs. The reality is, though, they are more likely to be making a run at another high draft position.
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals added Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury and a group of young wide receivers after an abysmal season. Kingsbury has not won seven games in a season since 2015. Expect that dismal run to continue.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions seem to never find a way to get it right. Hard to believe last season was their first double-digit loss campaign since 2012. The NFC North was middling other than the Bears n 2018 and Detroit went 6-10. Expect Matt Stafford to continue to put up a lot of yardage and Matt Patricia to start to wonder why he left New England.
New York Giants
The Giants have had the second and sixth draft picks in the first round the last two seasons. That tells you how sad things have been for Big Blue. In four of the last five seasons, New York has lost 10 or more games. Given the quarterback situation and overall play that stands to become five of six in 2019.
Washington Redskins
Washington has been below .500 in four of the past six seasons. In the two seasons, above the break-even mark, they went 9-7 and 8-7-1. The quarterback situation is risky business if you go with rookie Dwayne Haskins. It simply doesn’t feel like Washington has much going for it other than the reverse gear.
Oakland Raiders
Oakland has finished with a win percentage greater than .500 once since 2003. That is once. That run includes 12 10-plus loss seasons. The Silver and Black have picked up Antonio Brown. Before you think that guarantees a lot of yardage, check Cooper, Amari. There is no reason to think Jon Gruden will turn a 4-12 team into a nine-win team in his second season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The best thing Tampa Bay has going for it is Bruce Arians. That’s reason for hope. However, it feels as if the Bucs are going to need to use another high draft pick on a quarterback unless the former Cardinals coach can miraculously turn Jameis Winston into a franchise guy.
San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco has gone 17-47 while suffering through four straight double-digit loss seasons. It took from 1981-92 for the 49ers to lose that many games in their glory years. A healthy Jimmy Garoppolo would provide impetus for extra offense and possibly a few more victories. It would be nice not to flirt with 10 losses, again, however, the NFL is not nice.
Cincinnati Bengals
After losing wild-card games for five consecutive seasons, the Bengals have had three sub-.500 seasons. Andy Dalton isn’t getting any younger and Zac Taylor still has to him at quarterback. Another mediocre to dismal year and expect Cincinnati and its new head coach to be looking for a franchise quarterback with a high draft pick in 2020.
New York Jets
New York adds Le’Veon Bell and Jamison Crowder to the offense, which should help Sam Darnold ignite more scoring drives. C.J. Mosley scored a rich contract, which led him to leave the Ravens. It simply doesn’t feel like there is enough overall to snap a three-season run with 34 defeats. Hiring Adam Gase is also not reason to rejoice after his 23-25 record in three years in Miami. Think about it: Gang Green went out and hired a coach who had a sub-.500 record in its division.
Carolina Panthers
Don’t get the feeling Ron Rivera is going to be able to have the Panthers shake the doldrums from last season. Carolina has gone up and down in seasons since 2012. That should mean 2019 will see a rebound. However, the thought here is that trend ends and another sub-.500 season is on tap.
