Through eight weeks of the NFL season there are still four undefeated teams. Naturally that means there are a lot of teams with poor records, more than usual. A few of those squads had high expectations coming into the year.
Who are the biggest disappointments in the NFL? We give you our top six.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills sit at 3-4 going into their bye week. I touted them a couple of times during the offseason and when they were at full health they showed flashes of what they could be. But they are extremely injured, missing their best quarterback in Tyrod Taylor, both starting wide receivers, Kyle Williams, and others. It still doesn’t completely change the fact that this team still seems like they are underachieving.
The defense has taken a step back under Rex Ryan. He changed a 4-3 to a 3-4 and now the defensive line has been griping about having to drop back into coverage. They are the most penalized team in the NFL. There’s still hope for them in a weak AFC, but first they’ll have to get healthy. LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams have yet to be healthy and looking good at the same time and who knows if Percy Harvin is going to comeback. Jim Scharwtz had a good thing going with that defense, especially the front four, Ryan may have changed it up to much.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens without a doubt are the most disappointing team in the NFL. They’re in unknown territory at 2-6, losing every game by one possession. The defense is one of the worst in the NFL, especially the secondary. With Terrell Suggs’ injury they’ve had to bring pressure in other ways but him being out shouldn’t affect them this much. Josh McCown and David Carr had career days against them. The offense is missing weapons too, depending on Steve Smith way too much. While they aren’t as bad as 2-6, they aren’t that far off. Breshad Perriman, the first round pick to replace Torrey Smith, hasn’t played yet. Flacco simply doesn’t have enough targets, but with that being said the defense has lost them the majority of games.
San Diego Chargers
The Chargers are underperforming exceptions, plain and simple. They’ve been destroyed by injuries, especially on their offensive line. It’s helped contribute to a run game that is pretty much nonexistent and way to much dependence on Rivers’ arm. The defense is porous. Hell, Oakland scored on their first seven possessions two weeks ago.
They are what their record says they are, and Rivers has even had to use a hard count at home this season. The offense line is really the main problem on this team. This was supposed to be the year with Melvin Gordon that the Chargers finally established a run game.
Detroit Lions
The Lions are the biggest disappointment of the NFC. They just fired their offensive coordinator but it’s still tough to image them making a big leap. Matt Stafford is having his worst season since his second year, something they have to be greatly concerned about. His stats look similar but a lot have been in garbage time. Their 45-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in London only proved this point.
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas is 2-5 but it’s tough to include them on this list because of their injuries. Any team loosing thier quarterback after their best offensive player is going to struggle. But even with a healthy Dez Bryant back, they only scored 12 points on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks — another struggling team.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are another team that has disappointed, possible just as much as Baltimore. They still lead the AFC South, but that’s like beating a one-legged man at a race. Rob Lazio breaks down the Colts here. I guess they still are favorites to win their division, so it’s not as bad as the Ravens, but let’s see if they can beat a non-AFC South team.
