By Enrique Ortega / (@kike_ortega_)
The first five weeks of this season have passed and there are quite a few disappointment teams in the NFL that initially looked like they could contend for the playoffs and fight their way to the Super Bowl, but they have come up short. In the National Conference we have the New York Giants, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers; while in the American Conference the largest group with Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs.
The disappointing NFL teams thus far
National Conference
The New York Giants They promised to return to the postseason with the great offense they had by signing Kenny Golladay in free agency and the return of Saquon Barkley from the knee injury. But the team has not been able to stay healthy and everything ended up exploding on Sunday in the loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Injury Update: Daniel Jones is ruled Out with a concussion. Kenny Golladay is ruled Out with a knee injury. pic.twitter.com/Q4hq19onr4
– New York Giants (@Giants) October 10, 2021
With a 1-4 record and without knowing who will be able to continue on offense with the injuries of Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard. It is not an encouraging outlook at all and with a defense that has not been that of last year, the season looks practically lost.
Another of the teams that has suffered severe and numerous injuries are the San Francisco 49ers and it is unfortunate, because it was put as a team with the highest aspirations. Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance will be out, at least, for next week and without the two starting QBs it looks very complicated. The running offense hasn’t worked out, and the outlook is bleak with his current 2-3 record in a highly competitive West Division.
Kyle Shanahan told reporters that QB Trey Lance has a sprained left knee that could cause him to miss some time. 49ers have a bye this week.
– Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 11, 2021
On defense, the absence of Robert Saleh, who left to be the Jets head coach, has been noted. Plus, there have already been injuries that have made one of the league’s best talent defenders vulnerable. With a losing record, and although they could recover some of their QBs after the bye week, they would have to be perfect to catch up with the Rams and Cardinals in the leadership of the division.
Finally in this conference are the Chicago Bears, who are 3-2, although things look better now that Justin Fields has taken control of the team as QB. The outlook is encouraging for Chicago, as long as Fields stays on the field. And the defense has been increasing that level that little by little approaches the tradition of the Monsters of midway.
The problem for this team will continue to be the questionable decisions Matt Nagy makes as head coach. The team has him to compete for a postseason berth, but they will have to keep up with the Green Bay Packers, an issue that looks somewhat complicated.
American Conference
Las vegas raiders They are a total disaster now that Jon Gruden has come out for his unpresentable comments from several years ago. Being left without a head coach, it seems like a season that started with a lot of hope and is now a total unknown. Their 3-2 record continues to help them to be a team that aspires to the playoffs, but there will have to be patience with what comes in the immediate future.
– Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 12, 2021
Without Gruden and an impromptu coaching staff, significant motivation will have to be expected as the Raiders remain a competitive team in one of the most-fought divisions this year. They will have to continue clinging to their defense, which has been the great surprise of the season.
Another of the biggest disappointment teams in the NFL at the moment are the Miami dolphins, who were supposed to take the next step to return to the playoffs. The offense is one of the weakest in the tournament, having a nil running attack and it doesn’t help that Jacoby Brissett had to replace a languid Tua Tagovailoa.
With a single win, Miami looks like a team bust this year. They could still be alive if they beat Jacksonville in London on Sunday; however, offense remains that weak point that ranks among the four worst teams in the league’s offensive rankings.
The New England Patriots, For their part, they have not ended up convincing, and with a losing record (2-3) the outlook is not at all encouraging. This does not detract from the fact that Mac Jones has been able to establish himself as the QB of this team and responding to the pressure of being a rookie. However, the offense has not ended up on pace, despite the different free agents they signed.
The defense continues to be the most interesting point of the team, thus demonstrating the great value of Bill Belichick as a head coach. The Pats give that feeling that they could compete for a Wild Card spot, but they will have to at some point fire up the offense to make it effective.
One of the most surprising cases in this article of disappointment teams in the NFL at the moment is the Kansas city chiefs, who with a losing brand have a serious problem in defense. They have averaged more than 30 points in the first five games, plus Patrick Mahomes has been hesitant with several intercepted passes and the running game has been unable to help. As if that were not enough, he will have Clyde Edwards-Helaire out for at least the next three weeks.
The breaking point for Kansas City must be to avoid receiving so many points. From there, the team will be able to show its best version and begin to win games, something urgent because with a 2-3 record they are already far behind in the West Division with respect to the division leader, Los Angeles Chargers.
Finally, the Pittsburgh steelers They had an important victory to dream of lifting this season. The problem continues to be his offensive line, which has no improvement and leaves both Ben Roethlisberger via the air and Najee Harris via the ground having few opportunities to make the offense effective.
For now, they will have to hold on to the defense being the lynchpin to stay in the fight with their 2-3 record, at the bottom of a division with Baltimore and Cleveland as favorites to take the divisional title.
Which of these disappointing NFL teams will be able to change their uncertain start in 2021 and be candidates to be protagonists in the next playoffs? We read you in the comments under this article and on our social networks.