Ranking the Five Worst NFL Teams

By Tucker Harlin

Everyone who covers a league capacity loves to discuss the five to ten best teams in that sport and rank them in order.

Myself and the fine fellows on Neutral Zone (11:30 AM-1 PM, Sundays on Fanrun Radio) thought to create the antithesis of the Top 5 NFL teams but rather the worst teams from best to worst.

There are far more than five bad teams in the NFL this season, so this list required some thought.

This is my attempt to rank the five worst teams in the NFL.

5. CINCINNATI BENGALS

I know what you’re thinking. How are the Cincinnati Bengals, part of the trio of winless teams in the NFL, not at least #3 in these rankings?

The answer is the offense. Cincinnati finally has its two best receivers in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins healthy, and Zack Moss is starting to come into his own at running back.

The problem is the play of the defense the last two weeks. Patrick Mahomes and particularly Jayden Daniels did most of what they wanted to against a rough looking pass defense the Bengals fielded.

The Bengals are by far the most hopeful of the 0-3 teams in the league, but a shot at a playoff appearance becomes substantially harder to make against teams like the Steelers and Ravens in the AFC North

4. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

Promoting Antonio Pierce to head coach from his interim role was a horrible mistake. That rarely works in any level of football, unless of course your name is Dabo Swinney or Phillip Fulmer.

The other pressing issue for the Raiders is the quarterback situation.

The Raiders were too deep in the draft to select a franchise quarterback, so they brought Gardner Minshew in from free agency instead.

Minshew is Ryan Fitzpatrick without the Ivy League education. An outstanding personality who can win you a game or two before getting clobbered the third week and continuing life as a journeyman backup the following season.

Taking for a quarterback is the only optimal strategy if you’re having to choose between Minshew and Aidan O’Connell

3. CAROLINA PANTHERS

The Panthers took down the Raiders 36-22 in Week 3, taking some of the focus away from them as the worst franchise in the NFL.

Through three weeks it appears there are two problems in Carolina.

The first and worst issue with the Panthers is their ownership. David Tepper is throwing his drinks on the fans who are angry at him for making horrible decisions for the franchise that keep them from sniffing a playoff berth.

If the Week 3 win is an indicator of anything, the second problem is Bryce Young. Carolina went from pitiful in the first two weeks with Young at quarterback to terrorizing the Raiders with Andy Dalton manning the controls on offense. The surrounding pieces on the offense had far and away their best games of the season.

The combined strength of the rest of the NFC South is too insurmountable for the Panthers to have any playoff discussions.

2. TENNESSEE TITANS

There are a multitude of problems with the 2024 Tennessee Titans.

The glaringly obvious problem is the banana peel and mayo enthusiast himself, Will Levis. The guy who threw three interceptions in Neyland Stadium back in 2022 has appeared in all three games for the Titans this season, not the one you saw light up the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football last season.

Levis has been bad about rolling into pressure when reading his options downfield. But Levis isn’t the sole cause of the offense’s struggles.

The Titans drafted J.C. Latham to cure their woes at the left tackle spot this offseason. Latham has been nice to start the year, but now it’s Nicolas Petit-Frere and the right side of the line that’s come unglued.

Defense wasn’t a problem until Malik Willis, the guy the Titans released a month ago, torched it in Week 3.

The Titans also surrendered a blocked punt in each of the first two weeks, the exact failure for which former special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman was canned for midseason in 2023.

1. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

I really thought about putting the Jaguars and Titans at 1A and 1B, but the Jags are locked into marriages they desperately want out of.

The first problem is head coach Doug Pederson.

Retreads don’t tend to work unless the guy’s name is Bill Belichick or Andy Reid. Doug Pederson won a Super Bowl in Philadelphia, but he literally gave up against what was the Washington Football Team in a tight fourth quarter with playoff implications on the line.

Pederson found his way to the playoffs through an atrocious AFC South in 2022, but with he’s crumbled with a competitive Texans team in the division the last two seasons. Pederson’s seat is among the warmest in the league.

The second issue is Trevor Lawrence.

The Jags signed Lawrence to on a $275 million contract and named their stadium after him just for him to go out and finish with a 19 QBR in a 47-10 loss at Buffalo last week.

A bit of a loser situation.