We are now heading into week three of the NFL season. Some teams already have a reason to panic down at 0-2 starts. However that does not always spell the end of the road as two teams in 2015 made the playoffs with 0-2 starts. Who has the best chance to capture a playoff birth after going win less in the first two games?
Cleveland Browns:
There are 8 teams in total with 0-2 records. Cleveland on one hand has absolutley no chance of recovering from this deficit. The Browns will now start their 5th quarterback in their past 5 games when Cody Kessler takes the field this Sunday. Kessler is no where near ready and probably shouldn’t have even been drafted. Cleveland of course wasted a 3rd round pick on the former USC quarterback. It’s tank time in Cleveland and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson should be ready to pull the Eli Manning card and refuse to go there when the Browns get the first pick.
Jacksonville Jaguars:
Jacksonville has made me look pretty bad this season after I picked them to win the AFC South. The Jaguars still have a chance to make the playoffs simply because the AFC isn’t filled with quality teams. The biggest problem I see when watching Jacksonville is the lack of leadership. It is clear they are in need of a head coaching change. The Jags will need to right the ship at home vs. Baltimore this week.
Miami Dolphins:
Miami had a brutal schedule to overcome after dealing with the Seahawks and Patriots in back to back weeks. The good news is Miami only suffered one possession losses in each defeat offering some hope to the season. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill looks more confident than ever with Adam Gase in charge of play-calling. I wouldn’t count out Miami this season as they will need to come up big in divisional games against the Jets and Bills.
Buffalo Bills:
I can’t expect the Bills to make any sort of magical comeback in 2016. Buffalo has already fired their offensive coordinator Greg Roman who I thought did a nice job with Tyrod Taylor. The Bills now have a downgrade with play-calling and cannot seem to figure out how to play defensive despite having the Ryan brothers coaching up that side of the ball. It’s over for Buffalo. Expect Rex Ryan to be canned by the end of the season.
Indianapolis Colts:
This is simply embarrassing. I feel very bad for Andrew Luck that he has to deal with this team. In back to back weeks to defense has given up over 30 points. The entire coaching staff and personnel department should be fired. The positive news is maybe the Colts will be bad enough to land a top draft pick to deal it away for a quarterback needy team to replenish the roster.
Washington Redskins:
All hope is not lost in Washington as the defending NFC East champs can recover, especially in that division. So far it appears Kirk Cousins has regressed as defenses have seemed to figure him out. It is possible he is the worst quarterback in the division. The Redskins do have good leadership in Jay Gruden and have a talented enough roster to pull things together in a hurry.
New Orleans Saints:
The Saints could easily be 2-0 suffering loses of 4 points combined between 2 games. Anytime you have Drew Brees you feel like you’re always in striking distance. The problem is the defense is hot garbage. New Orleans obviously won’t win the division with Carolina sitting in the NFC South but they should be able to possible get into wild card discussion if they can find a way to bounce back.
Chicago Bears:
I think it might be time to officially move on from the Jay Cutler era. This team is a mess on both sides of the ball. The only player worth anything on the offensive side is Alshon Jeffrey and guard Kyle Long. Chicago is going to struggle to score all season long and could be contenders for the number one overall pick this year.
