Through four weeks of the 2025 NFL season, there are only three teams still seeking their first win of the year. The Jets, Saints and Titans sit at the bottom of the league standings at 0–4, struggling to find their footing early.
None of these teams had very lofty expectations heading into the season. Both New York and New Orleans changed head coaches in the offseason, with Aaron Glenn taking the Jets’ vacancy and Kellen Moore stepping into the Saints’ role. As for Tennessee, Brian Callahan’s second season hasn’t gotten off to the start he’d been hoping for with the draft’s No. 1 pick Cam Ward under center.
Let’s take a look at what’s gone wrong for each of these teams throughout the first month of the season.
New York Jets
Biggest Weakness: Discipline
The Jets’ loss in Week 4 to the previously winless Dolphins was a prime example of why this team is struggling. Running back Breece Hall had a rather fitting quote to sum up the team’s woes, saying, “Teams shoot themselves in the foot, then we come back and shoot ourselves in the head.”
On Monday night, New York was penalized 13 times for 101 yards. They’re averaging eight penalties and 72.8 penalty yards per contest. When Glenn took over as the franchise’s new coach, he said one of his primary areas of emphasis would be to improve the team’s discipline. However, it doesn’t look as if he’s had much success. Penalties, as they have in years past, continue to drag down the Jets and take them out of contention in what would otherwise be potentially winnable games. This team constantly seems to beat itself, perhaps more so than any other organization in the NFL.
Penalties aren’t their only issues. The Jets, as a team, are terrible at tackling. PFF gave them a 37.5 tackling grade, the second-worst mark among NFL teams. New York already has 45 missed tackles, including 16 in their narrow loss to the Buccaneers in Week 3.
New Orleans Saints
Biggest Weakness: Non-Explosive Offense, Discipline
The Saints’ offense, as a whole, is not very good. Spencer Rattler has been serviceable under center to start the year, with five touchdowns and only one interception through four games. He appears to have made some real strides from last season, but he still doesn’t look confident when it comes to taking shots down the field. His 5.2 yards per pass attempt ranks 28th among qualified quarterbacks, and he’s only completed four passes of 20 or more yards all year.
New Orleans has averaged just 16.5 points per game, which ranks 27th in the NFL. It hasn’t scored more than 21 points in a game and has been held to 13 points twice. Despite Moore being an offensive-minded coach, he’s not been able to get much out of the Saints’ passing attack.
And much like Glenn and the Jets, Moore doesn’t have his team playing with much discipline. The Saints are averaging 8.8 penalties per game, one of the worst rates in the NFL, and are averaging 63 penalty yards per game. They’re also the only team PFF has graded worse than the Jets when it comes to tackling.
Tennessee Titans
Biggest Weakness: Passing Offense, O-Line
Cam Ward is off to a rough start. The No. 1 pick has two touchdowns and two interceptions in his first four games and is completing only 51.2% of his passes. He’s also fumbled twice and has been sacked a league-high 17 times. No team has scored fewer than the Titans, who are averaging only 12.8 points per game, and only the Bengals have gained fewer yards on offense.
Much of Ward’s early woes can be attributed to Tennessee’s offensive line. Ward has been pressured 66 times, third-most in the NFL behind Dak Prescott and Joe Flacco. It’s naturally not an easy transition for a rookie quarterback to adapt to the speed of an NFL game. Ward hasn’t received enough help from the guys in front of him, making his adjustment to the pros even more difficult.
As long as Ward faces pressure in the pocket, the Titans will continue to struggle offensively.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Assessing the Biggest Problem With Each Winless NFL Team.
