It’s becoming increasingly apparent that some teams in the NFL are really bad at being bad.
Throughout this entire season, the Miami Dolphins have been the leading contender for the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL draft, as they opened the year by trading away many of their top players and stockpiled draft picks for the upcoming seasons. It was pretty obvious that they planned on tanking, ie. losing as many games as they could this season in order to ensure that they would have as high of a pick as possible when April rolls around.
The New York Jets had high hopes early on but quickly fell due to the health status of QB Sam Darnold, also were in contention for the No. 1 pick in Week 10, as were the Atlanta Falcons, both of whom had 1-7 records going into Sunday.
Things aren’t quite going as planned, it turns out; the Dolphins picked up their second win in a row by defeating the Indianapolis Colts 16-12 on Sunday, giving them a 2-7 record on the season, and the Jets found a way to beat the NY Giants, giving them a 2-7 record. Even the Falcons walked away with an impressive upset victory over the New Orleans Saints, which may be the most surprising outcome of all.
Though the outcomes were highly unlikely, it was extremely welcomed by a few other bottom-feeding teams in the NFL, including the Washington Redskins and the Cincinnati Bengals. As it stands now, here are the standings at the bottom of the barrel.
Cincinnati Bengals: 0-9
Washington Redskins: 1-8
New York Jets: 2-7
Miami Dolphins: 2-7
Atlanta Falcons: 2-7
New York Giants: 2-8
Cleveland Browns: 3-6
There are still a number of games to be played obviously, but the movement near the bottom of the league was palpable on Sunday, and it could potentially go a long way in deciding the draft order this April.
