32. Cincinnati Bengals
(0-9. Last week: 32)
The news during the week of Cincinnati’s bye was the team’s decision to bench longtime quarterback Andy Dalton in favor of rookie Ryan Finley. That move backfired, as the fourth-rounder from North Carolina State looked overwhelmed against Baltimore’s defense, completing 16 of 30 passes for 167 yards, one touchdown pass to a teammate, and one touchdown to Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters. But the real story of this game was the same as it’s been all season for the Bengals — their complete inability to deal with any opposing offense. Lamar Jackson had a career day running around and through a defense that had no clue how to stop him and throwing against a helpless secondary. Dalton was never great for the Bengals this season, but he’s not the primary reason they’re the lone winless team in the NFL. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s first year at this position could well be his last unless something — anything — improves.
31. Washington Redskins
(1-8. Week 10 Bye. Last week: 30)
The Redskins have done a lot of dumb things since Dan Snyder became the team’s owner in 1999, but the team’s handling of left tackle Trent Williams might be the dumbest of all. Following the seven-time Pro Bowler’s issues with the team’s diagnosis of a tumor on his head, which team physicians insisted wasn’t a big deal, Williams requested a trade. That request was denied, and the Redskins have now placed Williams on the reserve/non-football injury list, which means the team doesn’t have to pay the remainder of his 2019 salary. Williams likely will (and should) file a grievance with the league, and the Redskins have looked awful all the way through this mess. A 1-8 season is one thing, but the losses this franchise takes off the field remain the most embarrassing.
30. New York Giants
(2-8. Last week: 25)
In several ways, Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones impressed in his team’s 34-27 loss to the Jets on Sunday. With his second game with four touchdown passes, Jones inched closer to Deshaun Watson and Fran Tarkenton as the only quarterbacks with three such games as rookies (per NFL Research). Jones also led the Giants in rushing for the second straight game, with 20 yards on three carries. But Jones’ three fumbles — one of which was returned 25 yards for a touchdown by Jets safety Jamal Adams — put him in the league lead at 13. Not good. Also not good is the production from franchise running back Saquon Barkley over the past two games — 29 yards on 27 carries, including just one yard on 13 carries on Sunday. Barkley had 100-yard games against the Cowboys in Week 1 and the Bills in Week 2, but ever since then, it’s been diminishing returns. Not that the Giants are anywhere close to postseason relevance, but they’d better figure out their running game problems quickly.
29. New York Jets
(2-7. Last week: 31)
One week after what was absolutely Adam Gase’s worst game as a head coach (and that’s saying something) in a loss to the Dolphins, Gang Green got a little bit of much-needed traction in a win over the Giants. Not that the win was pretty — Gregg Williams’ defense allowed four touchdown passes to rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, and Jets quarterback Sam Darnold completed just 19 of 30 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown — but Darnold and Le’Veon Bell ran for touchdowns, and safety Jamal Adams returned a Jones fumble for a 25-yard touchdown. Winning ugly is an irrelevant concern for a team with this much of a deficit in talent and coaching acumen; the mere ability to come out ahead on any scoreboard should be seen as a plus — except for the extent to which it allows Gase to keep his job.
28. Atlanta Falcons
(2-7. Last week: 29)
Where did this come from? The Falcons’ defense has been a sieve throughout this season, especially in coverage, and the pass rush has been far from impressive. But in their 26-9 win over the Saints on Sunday, Dan Quinn’s defense put it all together. Atlanta had six sacks of Drew Brees, adding 11 quarterback hits, and limited the future Hall of Famer to 32 completions in 45 attempts for 287 yards and no touchdowns. It was a remarkable upset of a division rival that was favored by 13½ points pregame, and while it’s likely too late to salvage anything this season, a few more performances like this might save Quinn’s job.
27. Cleveland Browns
(3-6. Last week: 28)
How did Cleveland beat the Bills? It’s kind of a mystery. At one point in the first quarter of this game, the Browns had eight straight plays from the Buffalo 1-yard line and failed to score. Credit Freddie Kitchens for some originality there, we guess. Baker Mayfield did connect for touchdown passes to Jarvis Landry and Rashard Higgins, with Higgins’ 7-yarder as the game-winner, and Cleveland premiered a two-halfback set with Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb that could be highly effective as the season goes along — the Browns went with the two-back set on 28 of their offensive snaps. Given Chubb’s effectiveness as a runner to all gaps (he gained 116 yards on 20 carries against Buffalo’s defense) and Hunt’s versatility, the addition of more and better personnel packages should help an offense that had become stale and ineffective through most of the season — although it still has obvious issues in the red zone.
26. Miami Dolphins
(2-7. Last week: 27)
Two straight weeks and two straight wins for the team that was allegedly tanking, though nobody thought to convince head coach Brian Flores. The Dolphins are playing undermanned but tough under current management, and their 16-12 win over the Colts is a good example of how one such team can take advantage of another’s dire straits. The Colts were without starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett and top receiver T.Y. Hilton, and Miami’s defense picked off backup Brian Hoyer three times. Draft position is not a concern for Flores — he’s said all along that he and his charges are out to win every game, and that’s just as true now when it’s actually happening as it was when such things seemed impossible. This win took the Dolphins from a 66% to a 12% chance to land the first overall pick, per ESPN, but the Dolphins are defining their future in a different way — by succeeding improbably in the present.
25. Denver Broncos
(3-6. Week 10 Bye. Last week: 26)
With a quarterback situation that has moved from Joe Flacco to Brandon Allen, you’d expect Denver’s offense to be a warmed-over disaster, though Allen looked pretty good in his first start against the Browns in Week 9. A reason to be optimistic for beleaguered Broncos fans who probably struggle to remember what a functional passing game looks like? That’s on the defense, which comes as no surprise, as first-year head coach Vic Fangio is one of the best defensive shot-callers of his era. The Broncos came into their bye week ranked third overall, behind only the Patriots and 49ers, in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted defensive metrics, and several Broncos defenders are enjoying career seasons. Perhaps no Denver defender has been more effective than safety Justin Simmons, who’s been in lockdown mode against the pass all season and provides outstanding run support when needed. Someone in Denver’s front office needs to wrest the quarterback decisions away from John Elway sooner rather than later, but at least the Broncos are cooking on one side of the ball.