6 confusing NFL teams who could be great or terrible this season

August 26, 2024

Right now, we have a pretty good idea of who the good teams in the NFL will be and who are still preparing for the future. But in 2024, more than ever, there will be a ton of teams that just don’t make sense — teams that you wouldn’t be surprised to win five games, or even 11 games. That’s partly because of the balance of the NFL right now, but also because some teams have made some decisions over the past eight months that are so outlandish that they’re almost impossible to understand.

The aim here is that we think Whether these teams are good or bad, we have to admit we have no idea what to expect from them this season.

Los Angeles Chargers

There is no doubt Chargers They hired the right coach at the right time, and Jim Harbaugh’s hard-line, all-out football returned to the NFL just as teams were beginning to value guard play and defensive tackles above all else.

What makes this so puzzling is the amount of change the Chargers have undergone in such a short amount of time: One of Harbaugh’s first acts upon taking over was to essentially fire the team’s top two receivers, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, and then have Austin Ekeler leave with them.

It was a strange choice when they had one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Justin Herbert but had very few people to throw him passes to. In all seriousness, his No. 1 receiver in 2024 is going to be Joshua Palmer, but other than that there are a lot of unknowns.

Don’t get me wrong, this approach from Harbaugh could really work in the long run, but until then, we’re simply left with a confused team.

New York Jets

Do you know if the Jets are going to be good? Whatever you said, it’s a lie.

The truth is, Aaron Rodgers is a total unknown at this point. A 40-year-old quarterback can fall off a cliff in an instant. That’s assuming you’ve actually seen them play. Now, Rodgers is coming off a season-ending injury with very little known about the caliber of the team other than potential. And that team will either be a huge success or a total failure. There’s not much room in between.

Rodgers, for better or worse, had a lot of control over the offensive line around him. He handpicked many of the players on this roster, which made for a pretty interesting lineup. This team looked pretty good on paper with the additions of Mike Williams at WR and Tyron Smith at LT, but it remains to be seen if this combination will ultimately pan out.

It all depends on how well Rodgers plays. PackersIf they can get top-tier performance out of him, the Jets could be one of the best teams in the AFC, and if he takes a big step back, a .500 win rate might be the best the Jets can hope for.

Either way, it’s very confusing.

New Orleans Saints

A year ago, many people, including me, New Orleans Saints And soon, New Orleans was crowned the NFC South champion. While the other three teams in the division faced interesting quarterback situations with Atlanta using Desmond Ridder, Tampa Bay using Baker Mayfield, and Carolina using Bryce Young, New Orleans looked to be in the most secure position at the game’s most important position with the addition of Derek Carr.

That’s all for now.

Now, Carr is hoping to make good on his 2023 commitment. Las Vegas RaidersThe Saints were certainly able to fulfill that promise.

But would we bet on that? Absolutely not. This roster still has plenty of questions, mostly along an offensive line that has been plagued by injuries. Plus, after last year, are any of us really convinced that Carr is the answer at QB? Maybe the promise of mid-draft rookie Spencer Rattler will answer that question.

And then, of course, there’s the annual question: “What exactly are they going to do about Taysom Hill?”

This team makes absolutely no sense.

But it forces us.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A year ago, the Buccaneers surprisingly won a laughably bad NFC South division thanks in large part to a miraculous offensive turnaround that saw Baker Mayfield throw for 4,000 passing yards, earn a Pro Bowl selection and spark bounce-back seasons from Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

But the problem with 2024 is that we don’t know how this will work without the brain trust. Offensive coordinator Dave Canales left to become head coach at Carolina, bringing with him WR coach Brad Idziak. In the wake of those departures, the Buccaneers hired Liam Cohen, a young and dynamic coach. Cohen was most recently Kentucky’s offensive coordinator and prior to that, the Bulls’ offensive coordinator. Los Angeles Rams.

At this point, everyone is picking the Falcons to win the division, but the Buccaneers have a very solid roster with very little turnover. It all depends on how they manage the coaching transition. This makes this a pretty tough team to analyze, with both success and failure on the horizon.

Dallas Cowboys

The water is wet. Taxes have to be paid. The Cowboys are a mess.

That wasn’t the case before, but over the last two years Dallas has slowly become a completely luck-based organization. There seems to be a lack of confidence in the instructions coming down from the top of the team, and it shows in their decision-making.

Is Dak Prescott the quarterback Jerry wants? Is CeeDee Lamb the No. 1 he wants? Does Mike McCarthy even think he’s a coach he can win with? For these reasons, it seems like the Cowboys have a shot at winning the NFC East or finishing in the top five of the draft.

The problem with a lack of confidence is that it can seep everywhere within an organization. Jerry’s insecurity may have poisoned the well, and we don’t know if Lamb will play football this year.

Cincinnati Bengals

The time has come to decide whether or not Cincinnati BengalsIt feels like such a long time ago when they were playing in a Super Bowl and establishing themselves as one of the most promising young teams in the league.

The Bengals are coming off a second straight season of underachieving, an injury to Joe Burrow and contract issues with Ja’Marr Chase that the team has to deal with.

Will the 2024 Bengals still be one of the AFC’s top teams, ready to challenge the Chiefs for the best team of all time, or will they be destined to be lost in the shuffle of a tough AFC North division where any team can win? That question hinges in large part on whether Burrow can bounce back from injury and prove he’s still a top-five quarterback in the NFL.

I can’t think of any surprises with Cincinnati, but it’s disappointing considering the promise they showed a few years ago.