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0 out of 6
Ed Zurga / Associated press
And just like that, September is over for 88% of the 32 NFL teams.
Yes, it’s been a short month into the NFL’s longest season, but we’re already on the verge of being able to bury some teams. The two New York teams, for example, are a 0-6 combined. The 0-3 Jacksonville Jaguars also appear uncompetitive, and it’s hard to see the fiery but deeply flawed Detroit Lions recovering from their 0-3 start.
But those teams were not to be on the playoff table in 2021. The teams listed in this article absolutely were. And while none of them can be left out of the Super Bowl or playoff equations so soon, it’s time to start worrying about each of them after the tough losses in Week 3.
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Gene J. Puskar / Associated press
We probably shouldn’t be flabbergasted that the Pittsburgh Steelers lost their first two home games and scored 17 or fewer offensive points in each of their first three outings. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is simply not the player he was now that he’s 39, and his supporting cast is a shell of himself after the offensive line and defense lost several pieces keys during the 2021 offseason.
Still, most of Pittsburgh’s high school kids weren’t alive the last time the Steelers had a loss record. They’re still in contention, and many of us thought they would still be this year just because Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin, TJ Watt and Co. have the record.
But two losses against Las Vegas Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals in back-to-back home games? That’s a terrible omen, especially since they needed the unbearable heroism of special teams to beat the Buffalo Bills in Week 1.
Week 3 marked their most unbalanced loss to the Bengals since 1995.
The Steelers could easily be 0-3. The defense was already down before Watt got injured, and the offense is a mess. Doesn’t bode well for a next stretch against Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns.
I’m sure they’re going to put it up every now and then on either side of the ball and dig deep for a few wins, but it’s starting to look like they’re going to be closer to the Cincinnati lineup than to Cleveland or Baltimore in 2021.
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David Berding / Getty Images
The Seattle Seahawks are a veteran team with a superstar quarterback in his prime. They can absolutely bounce back from a 1-2 start. In fact, they did just that before releasing record-winners in 2015, 2017, and 2018.
Problem is, NFC West looks absolutely fucked up, with the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers going 8-1 to start.
Seattle continues to put too much on Russell Wilson’s shoulders in a division with almost no margin for error, and it’s fair to wonder if he has the talent in the trenches to keep up with whatever Wilson’s heroism is.
It’s also how the Seahawks lose. Blow up a home game in front of the 12th man? Losing a double-digit margin to a Minnesota Vikings team you haven’t lost since 2009? This featured a scoreless second half as Wilson tried to carry the whole squad. It wasn’t good, and it set them on course to be underdogs in San Francisco in Week 4 (and maybe even at home against the Cruise Rams in Week 5).
If they can’t find a way to win at least win and maybe even those two games, they’ll be playing catch-up in the division all season.
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The Indianapolis Colts are 0-3 for the first time in a decade. The offensive line is nowhere near what it used to be, new quarterback Carson Wentz is already in bad shape, and they are already behind the Tennessee Titans in the tiebreaker after a failed Week 3 loss to their main rival of the AFC South.
The Jaguars and Houston Texans are unlikely to count, but an early 2.5-game gap between Indy and Tennessee in the south will be extremely difficult for the Colts to overcome.
It’s a shame, because they have so much talent on both sides of the ball. They are a well-trained and well-managed team, and there was some hope that Wentz would bounce back from an abysmal 2020 season now that he has reunited with his former offensive coordinator, Frank Reich. But it was a Murphy’s Law-like start for the Colts, who can now be without key players. Quenton Nelson and Kwity Paye for a while due to ankle and hamstring injuries, respectively.
Not ideal given that two of their next four games are in Baltimore and San Francisco.
They’re looking for a 2-5 start right in the eye, and AFC South isn’t likely to send multiple teams to the playoffs.
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Emilee Chinn / Getty Images
The Chicago Bears may not have entered 2021 with Seattle-level expectations in the NFC, but they were a playoff team last year, the defense is full of talent and the presence of rookie quarterback Justin Fields has created excitement this summer in the Windy City.
And while they managed to beat the Bengals in a tight Week 2 affair at Soldier Field, two losses in September to the Rams and Browns could indicate it will be a long year at Chicago.
Fields was completely passed taking nine sacks and completing just six assists in his first career start Sunday in Cleveland. It was one of the NFL’s most ineffective offensive performances in years, with Chicago scoring just six first downs and gaining just 47 yards of total attack (the lowest total for an NFL team since 2004).
Regular starter (for now) Andy Dalton could continue to run out of time with a knee injury, but he’s unlikely to carry this team in depth anyway. Soon they’ll hit a stretch against the Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 49ers, Steelers and Ravens. Before that’s over, we’ll likely conclude that this will be a year of retooling for the Bears.
5 out of 6
Ed Zurga / Associated Press
Now is not quite the time to panic for Patrick Mahomes and two-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. They overcame worse than a 1-2 start, but the reality is they could easily have gone 0-3 if the Browns could keep their wheels on the track in a close Week 1 game at Arrowhead.
Plus, AFC West is really bringing it this year. The Denver Raiders and Broncos are 6-0 combined, which puts them both within two games against Kansas City. And after beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead on Sunday, the rising Los Angeles Chargers also have a 1.5 game lead over KC.
The Chiefs have a particularly big target on the back right now. Everyone brings their A-game, and each opponent is extremely aggressive against them. This makes it difficult when you’re adjusting to a new offensive line and have some exploitable flaws in defense.
Now, after a potentially tricky road game against the Philadelphia Eagles, they will have three straight games against the 2020 playoff teams (Buffalo, Washington and Tennessee).
At the very least, AFC West won’t be a walk in the park for Mahomes and Co. in 2021.
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After an off-season spending spree, the widely held expectation was that the New England Patriots would once again be a contender after a year under the radar to kick off the post-Tom Brady era.
But New England have now opened the season with back-to-back home losses following a messy Week 3 loss to the New Orleans Saints, and there’s a very good chance the record at Gillette Stadium will go down to 0. -3 when Brady and the Buccaneers come to Foxborough next Sunday night.
A 1-3 start and a potential three-game deficit in the AFC East would be hard to bounce back. Add to that they already had three home games on the books, and Bill Belichick’s side would have big trouble getting into what should at least be a lighter stretch against the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys. and the New York Jets.
But if the Pats succeed in these games like they did in that horrific 15-point, three-turnout loss to the Imperfect Saints, nothing will be easy.
They are already fairly clear underdogs in the AFC East.
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