Week 2 in the NFL has concluded, leaving us six teams that have yet to taste victory this season. Of these six, there are three teams in particular that are not only surprisingly winless but are also in for a mighty struggle to meet those pre-season playoff expectations.
The Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars weren’t on anybody’s Super Bowl contenders list, and to be honest, I didn’t expect these teams to be in any way relevant come playoff time. What is surprising is the other three winless teams, as each had playoff expectations, and one in particular had aspirations of having home-field advantage come Super Bowl.
The Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints have an unenviable task ahead. Can these teams rebound from their dismal starts and salvage the season?
Oakland Raiders
Starting off the season with a loss at home to San Diego followed by a road beating in Miami does not bode well for the Raiders. The next three games on the schedule are matchups against Pittsburgh, Denver and Atlanta, after which the Raiders squad could realistically be 0-5. A look ahead in the schedule shows two winnable games in week 7 vs. Jacksonville and week 13 vs. Cleveland. Outside those two contests, it might be a long and ugly season for the silver and black.
With Darren McFadden struggling to mount a rushing attack, 54 yards in two games, coupled with the lack of serviceable receivers, this Raider offence is struggling. Carson Palmer hasn’t played horribly, he just hasn’t played well. Dropped balls and timely penalties have stalled offensive drives thus far, and prevented real scoring opportunities.
The Raiders don’t have enough talented playmakers to turn this pirate ship around. Expect the Raiders to languish at the bottom of the AFC West and be absolute non-factors as the season unfolds.
Kansas City Chiefs
Another AFC West team that is struggling to find their way is the Chiefs. After lopsided losses to the Falcons and Bills, the defence has given up a staggering 75 points thus far. Many NFL pundits had the Chiefs making the playoffs; some went so far as to give them the division title.
I think it’s safe to say that there will be no division title in their immediate future, and the playoffs at this point seem like a fantasy as well. With the Chargers and Broncos playing well, the Chiefs will need to find their winning ways immediately if there is hope of salvaging the season.
Looking ahead in Kansas City’s schedule, there are five winnable games remaining. Even if they sweep all five, they still need another four victories to put themselves in wildcard contention. This is just too much to overcome for the Chiefs, and they will disappoint with their third-place division finish.
New Orleans Saints
Is there any one team out there missing someone as much as the Saints are missing Sean Payton right now? To open the season with losses to Washington and Carolina and be 0-2, when most people expected the opposite, is alarming. The Saints defence is getting decimated. Currently ranked at or near the bottom in pass and run defence, the Saints aren’t stopping a thing. The Saints and Drew Brees are currently ranked as the second most prolific passing offence; however, the running game is almost dead last.
Most people expected the Saints to either challenge for the NFC South division or qualify for the playoffs as a wildcard team. The next four games for the Saints are against the Chiefs, Packers, Chargers and Buccaneers. If New Orleans doesn’t come out of that stretch at 3-1 or better, coupled with a loss to division rival Tampa Bay, then the wildcard dream is all but over.
The Saints have created more questions than answers so far this season: Can an interim to the interim head coach be fired by a suspended General Manager? Does Joe Vitt want to come back to this Saints team and guide them through to the conclusion of an irrelevant season? Based upon his value to the team, can Sean Payton negotiate a pay raise while on suspension? Will the Saints rebound to make the playoffs? That last one I can answer. No they can’t.