I don’t think any of those teams are quite bad enough to go 0-16. I could see the Colts doing it without Luck, but assuming he can come back at moderate effectiveness at some point, they should be able to steal a game.
For now, I’ll go with the Jets to lose it all.
I don’t think the Bears are historically terrible, they have a solid defense and running game and when Trubisky gets under center I think they will at least have a couple good offensive games. That said, they look to be on track as the most injured team in the league for the 3rd year running and ending with sub-4 wins is absolutely in play. My lust for Darnold was off the charts last year so if they end up with a shot at him after drafting Trubisky, it’ll be a really painful irony. I’m sure they’ll trade back for picks, which could be an excellent thing, but damn that scenario scares me.
And we have a Winner!! The Browns getting blown out at halftime by the Andrew Luck-less Colts. People who’s teams are mediocre don’t know how good they have it. How a team can be so relentlessly bad year after year I have no idea.
Management. If a team is eternally bad it’s because of the owner’s box.
Bears pick up their first win, over the Steelers. This is why I don’t bet NFL football aside from the random $20 or pitcher of beer.
Classic trap game, on the road the week before a rivalry game. Both the Ravens and Steelers got caught.
But, at the end of 4, losing by only 3. I would not be betting on Cleveland taking the egg this year.
This year, I don’t see any team going winless or even coming close.
The Bungles look bound and determined to steal a road W today too. knocks wood
Bah. They scored a couple of ultimately meaningless touchdowns with under 8 minutes to go to make the final score look a lot closer than it was. They were never in any real danger of tying it or taking the lead.
Man, Cincinnati dodged a bullet there. If they can keep up with the meltdowns, they may have a good shot at some serious suckitude. Next week is the big zero-zero match-up in Cleveland. One of these two is ultimately going to fail at the utter failure.
Late update because my infant son demanded my attention, then my wife hijacked the computer to watch a movie.
Aaaaand… we’re down to five teams. Here sorted by point differential:
“Los Angeles” **Chargers **: -19 (-3,-2,-14)
Cleveland Browns : -20 (-3,-14,-3)
San Francisco 49ers : -25 (-20,-3,-2)
Cincinnati Bengals : -27 (-20,-4,-3)
New York Giants : -33 (-16,-14,-3)
It’s hard to believe the Jets and Bears won their games. Jets management must be pissed. The Bears even tried literally not scoring touchdowns but still beat the Steelers. The Saints winning out over an increasingly dysfunctional Panthers squad is comparatively expected.
After two close losses, the Chargers finally lose in style, but it took the best team in the league to do it.
The Browns give what looked like a broken Colts group a win. I guess a tie was too much to hope for.
The Bengals just look wonderfully snakebit. The defense looks OK, but damn that offense is just, WOW.
Ah, the Giants. Just… yup. Made my Eagles-fan buddy happy.
There are a few reasons why I think (as a 49er fan) the Niners could do it. On offense there is no O-line and no WRs and a not-even-mediocre QB. The defense has been hit hard with injuries and a D-line full of 1st Rounders has generated less pressure than hurricane eye. Their October schedule is brutal (4 road games, 3 at 10am and a home game vs the Cowboys interrupting those). By the time the December full of cupcake opponents gets here they could be down to third stringers.
Oh, and although it’s too early to really include 1-win teams, I’d like to point to two honorable-mentions. The Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts fill the coming week’s Sunday Night slot; with only 3-point “victories” over 0-3 teams in each’s win column. LoL
The Browns and the Bengals play each other twice. It is rather difficult to tie a team twice, so I think one of them will have to ooze out of the zero-win column.
Do ties still exist in the NFL?
They do, yes. But the teams still have to play all the way through a full OT period without letting the other one score (as I recall, there were two ties in consecutive weeks last year, which is kind of rare – the Hawks/Cards tie was especially breathtaking). Remember, these are both teams that seems to be making a concerted effort to not win. If one of them cannot manage to lose to the other, clearly their game plan is even more flawed than we thought.
Oct 1: Bengals @ Browns
Oct 8: Chargers @ Giants
Nov 12: Giants @ 49ers
Nov 26: Browns @ Bengals
Dec 3: Browns @ Chargers
So, realistically, I think only two of these teams have a proper shot at pulling in zero wins.
And keep in mind that if they do tie twice, their records would be treated the same as 1-15 as far as the NFL is concerned, including determining where the team is in the draft order. (A team with 1 tie and 15 losses is treated as having 1/2 win and 15 1/2 losses.)
There was a time when ties were “ignored,” so a team with 2 ties and 14 losses would be considered 0-14, but that changed in the mid-1970s at the same time that regular-season overtime was added.
The Browns getting blown out at the half again by another winless team. They just look really bad. I do think 0-16 is a real possibility.
Yeah, I was wrong.
To be fair it’s common to look at the Browns on paper or look at a couple games and think, “They’re not that bad.” Especially earlier in the season.
But the Browns always find a way. They will eventually have that moment where they make you realize that yes, they are that bad.