The 2014 NFL season is only six weeks old, but that means we’re a third of the way through the regular season. Enough football has been played that we can comfortably say who the NFL’s biggest disappointments. It’s hard to imagine any of these three teams that were supposed to challenge for division titles making the playoffs now.
1. New Orleans Saints
The Saints were talked about as a Super Bowl contender in the NFC before the season. Drew Brees was back, the defense was supposed to be stout, and the passing game was supposed to thrive. Yet, the Saints have been all over the place this season. They started out by losing to an Atlanta Falcons team that has, in subsequent weeks, been exposed as a fraud.
New Orleans then barely scraped by a really bad Tampa Bay Buccaneer team at home in overtime. Tampa Bay, the same team that allowed 38 first-half points against the Baltimore Ravens this past week, very nearly beat the Saints in the Superdome. New Orleans scored only 20 points against the Minnesota Vikings at home. The Saints lost to the Cleveland Browns. They didn’t even belong on the same field as the Dallas Cowboys. They’ve been terrible, not just average. No one saw this coming at all.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
It’s not that the Steelers are losing games, at least not all the time. It’s the way in which the Steelers are losing some of their games, and it’s the teams the Steelers are losing to. Pittsburgh should never, ever be getting blown out by the modern-era Cleveland Browns.
The opponents the Steelers are losing to should also cause concern for the organization and coach Mike Tomlin. The Steelers lost at home to a bad Buccaneers team. As was the case with the Saints above, the Bucs should not be giving any decent team much of any trouble. It is just about impossible to claim that Pittsburgh has a bright future in 2014. The organization continues to sink in the AFC North and the NFL as a whole.
3. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins have a lot of talent, as shown by their opening day win over the New England Patriots. If you recall, Miami entered Week 15 of the 2013 season with an inside track to the playoffs as well. This team has the ability to be a playoff team, and it has had its chances to reach its goals.
However, the Dolphins collapsed at the end of last season, and this year, they are continuing to let games slip through their fingers. This past Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, Miami had the Pack on the ropes, leading by four late in the game. However, cautious play calling caused the Dolphins to punt. Later, Miami called timeout when Green Bay, lacking timeouts, faced 4th & 10 on its final possession of the game. Miami coach Joe Philbin gave Green Bay a chance to design a play as the Packers converted the fourth down and scored a touchdown with three seconds left to win the game, 27-24. Miami is in big trouble as far as the playoffs are concerned, and that in itself is a big disappointment for a team that should have challenged for the AFC East crown.
