There are currently five undefeated teams in the NFL—the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers). For my money, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the best non-undefeated team, but which team has been the biggest NFL disappointment so far this season?
There have been a number of teams that have underachieved based on preseason expectations this season, including the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks.
The good news for the Colts is they play in the weak AFC South and they should still win the division. They will ultimately be judged based solely on how they do in the playoffs. If they fail to reach at least the AFC Championship game, then their season will be a complete failure. The Chargers, Lions and Saints have certainly fallen short of expectations, but they weren’t truly in the conversation as teams that could potentially make a deep postseason run.
The Cowboys have had to deal with injuries to key players (including quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant, who have each missed significant time this season), and there is still a possibility they could win the less than stellar NFC East. The Eagles haven’t found their stride yet, but they have looked good at times during the season, and they also could possibly win the NFC East. The Seahawks started last season 3-3 before winning nine of their last 10 games and making it to the Super Bowl. They are currently 3-4 and, while it is far from certain, they are still capable of getting into the playoffs.
That leaves the Baltimore Ravens as the biggest disappointment so far this season. They went 10-6 last season and made it to the divisional round of the playoffs before they lost to the Patriots. I had the Ravens as a wild card in my preseason predictions, but John Harbaugh’s team is currently 1-6, which gives them a win percentage of 14.3% so far this season. The Ravens are not only realistically out of playoff contention (there is no way they win the division or secure a wild card spot), they currently reside in last place in the AFC North, which means the Ravens trail the Cleveland Browns. If the season ended today Baltimore would select before Cleveland in the 2016 NFL Draft. No one saw that coming before the season started.
Baltimore ranks almost right in the middle of the pack on offense, averaging 356.1 yards per game (14th) and 23.0 points per game (14th). On defense they have struggled more, allowing opponents to average 385.4 yards per game (25th) and 26.9 points per game (26th). They have been OK on offense, but their defense has been subpar throughout the season. They did lose linebacker Terrell Suggs to a season ending injury in Week 1 against the Broncos, but their defense just hasn’t looked good this season. Despite that, the Ravens have played all really close games this season.
Every single one of the Ravens’ games have been decided by single digits (an average of 4.71 points per game), and they have played in two overtime games this season. The largest margin for any of their games this season is eight, when they lost, 26-18, to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7. The Ravens have simply been unable to win close games this season. If Baltimore could have won their overtime game at home against the Browns in Week 5 and just two of their other close losses, they would be 4-3 and right in the thick of things. Instead, they failed to win all but one of their seven close games, and their season is basically over heading into Week 8.
Some may think the Ravens having played all close games this season means they are playing good football and therefore they are not as big of a disappointment as some other teams. I disagree. I believe this statistic makes Harbaugh’s team even more of a disaster. A team that has been a perennial member of the playoffs should be able to find a way to win close games, but the Ravens have failed to do that this season.
Harbaugh has been the head coach in Baltimore since 2008 and his teams have missed the playoffs just once (2013) in that time. 2015 will mark the second time Baltimore has missed the postseason in eight seasons and that is surprising.
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