Some teams play for playoff seeding while others play out the string in 2019 while trying to see where they will land in the 2020 NFL Draft.
12.Carolina Panthers
The Panthers continued their tumble by getting crushed by the Falcons at home in Week 14. They have lost five in a row and mercifully removed Ron Rivera from the misery during the week.
11. Denver Broncos
Denver arguably is the best 5-8 team in the league. The Broncos have won two in a row and are looking good with Drew Lock at quarterback. Denver stunned Houston Sunday, racing to a 38-3 lead before winning by two scores.
10. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers are also in the 5-8 group. They have lost every game in 2019 by seven points or less. Talk about an oddity: a team that is three games under .500 has outscored its foes by 38 points. That’s because they wiped out hapless Jacksonville in Week 14 for their fifth win.
9. New York Jets
The Jets are playing themselves out of a Top 10 draft position if they don’t watch out. They got even with Miami for the first game this season by squeaking out an one-point victory in Week 14. They don’t have an easy road to the finish, facing Baltimore and Buffalo on the road sandwiched by a home game with the resurgent Pittsburgh Steelers.
8. Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan became the second-fastest QB to go over the 50,000-yard mark (Drew Brees was quicker) as the Falcons pummeled the Panthers. They are 4-9 and looking at finishing with road contests against San Francisco and Tampa Bay with a meeting with Jacksonville in the middle.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars
There can’t be much life left to the tenure of Doug Marrone in Jacksonville. The Jags have packed it in, as evidenced by their abysmal performance in a 45-10 loss to the Chargers at home Sunday.
6. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are in the sixth slot for now and have lost six in a row. The time Arizona was 3-3-1 is long ago and far, far away. Games with the Browns, Seahawks and Rams mean Kliff Kingsbury’s first season could end at 3-12-1
5. Detroit Lions
The Lions are tied with the Cardinals at 3-9-1 in record and they tied the Cardinals in their first game of the season. They dropped their sixth straight, this one to the Minnesota Vikings, and Matt Patricia is looking a lot smarter in New England than in Motown.
4. Miami Dolphins
Miami lost to the New York Jets in the rematch to wind up splitting the season series with AFC East also-rans. There are potential victories on the horizon as Miami goes back-to-back at MetLife, facing the Giants next week, then the Bengals before closing the season at New England.
3. Washington Redskins
Washington went back to its losing ways, falling at Green Bay. It is looking at a trio of divisional games to end 2019. Home to the Eagles and Giants before a finale at Dallas.
2. *New York Giants
The Giants bring Eli Manning out of the cobwebs for a MNF date with the Philadelphia Eagles. A win would put the Giants at 3-10 and bring Strength of Schedule into consideration for draft position. A loss
1. Cincinnati Bengals
Well, that was a short winning streak. Then again, if you wind up with a shot at either Ohioan Joe Burrow or Ohio State’s Chase Young, are you really losing anything by losing?
