32. Cincinnati Bengals
(0-11. Last week: 32)
Remember all those horrible Bengals teams of the 1990s? The ones coached by Dave Shula and Bruce Coslet, drafting players such as David Klingler, Ki-Jana Carter and Akili Smith in the first round? Well, none of those teams ever started a season 0-11, but the 2019 Bengals have. In their 16-10 loss to a Steelers team that shifted between Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at quarterback, the Bengals once again looked outmatched. Quarterback Ryan Finley completed just 12 of 26 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown, and if Tyler Boyd hadn’t been making amazing, athletic catches out there, Finley’s stat line would have been far worse. That’s probably why head coach Zac Taylor announced Monday that the team will switch back from Finley to Andy Dalton, for whatever good that will do. And a defense coordinated by Lou Anarumo continues to be one of the NFL’s worst. The only good news is that Cincinnati has what looks like a lead-pipe lock on the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
31. New York Giants
(2-9. Last week: 30)
Well, at least Saquon Barkley managed to pull himself out of a nightmarish two-game slump that saw him gain just 29 yards on 27 carries. In the Giants’ 19-14 loss to the Bears, Barkley gained 59 yards on 17 carries. Not what you want from a running back you took No. 2 overall in the 2018 draft, but bad teams have to take what they can get. The Giants haven’t won a game since Sept. 29, and committing an oh-fer for October and November is the kind of thing that gets your head coach fired at the end of the year if there aren’t positive returns in December. In fact, as longtime NFL writer Gary Myers points out, the Giants and Mets last won on the same day. Of course, recent rumors aligning current Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to Big Blue might be out the window after Dallas was outcoached in about 17 different ways against the Patriots. General manager Dave Gettleman doesn’t have a lot to work with, and that’s his own fault to a great extent.
30. Miami Dolphins
(2-9. Last week: 29)
Baker Mayfield came into Cleveland’s Sunday game against the Dolphins with the lowest passer rating (76.8) in the NFL among quarterbacks who had played at least 50% of their team’s snaps. But Miami’s defense has been a cure for what ails struggling quarterbacks through most of the season, and that was also true for Mayfield, who threw three first-half touchdowns in a 41-24 Browns win that pushed Miami down to 2-9 for the season and further erased the goodwill of the team’s two-game winning streak in early November. When general manager Chris Grier and his staff put together their final draft board next year, defensive back and pass-rusher should be all over that thing. The Dolphins won’t really know what kind of defensive shot-caller head coach Brian Flores is until and unless they give him something to work with.
29. Washington Redskins
(2-9. Last week: 31)
Last week, the Redskins scored their first touchdown in four games in what turned out to be a 34-17 loss to the Jets, and the team’s social media account treated it like a playoff win.
‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️#NYJvsWAS pic.twitter.com/hgJFKKohtX
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) November 17, 2019
This week, in what turned out to be Washington’s first home win since Week 7 of last season, quarterback Dwayne Haskins was so excited about the improbable 19-16 win over the Lions, he missed the final play of the game because he was too busy celebrating with fans and taking selfies to find his helmet and get back in the game. Not a great look for a guy who completed 13 of 29 passes for 156 yards, no touchdowns and one interception and was missing open receivers all over the place, but the Redskins’ overcooked reactions to any manner of success show just how far the team has fallen.
28. Denver Broncos
(3-8. Last week: 25)
In Week 11, the Broncos put up a 20-0 first-half lead on the Vikings, only to lose that game 27-23 and become the first team in the past five years to lose after building a first-half advantage that large. Against the Bills on Sunday, it was as if the offense didn’t want to fly that close to the sun again. Buffalo’s excellent defense stifled the Broncos all day in a 20-3 beatdown. Brandon Allen completed just 10 of 25 passes for 82 yards and an interception, receiver Courtland Sutton caught just one pass on eight targets, and the Broncos finished the game with five straight three-and-out drives totaling 7, minus-3, minus-9, 7 and zero yards. Whatever room for encouragement came about through Denver’s perambulations through Minnesota’s vulnerable secondary completely disappeared against the Bills’ underrated defense.
27. Detroit Lions
(3-7-1. Last week: 22)
In NFL history, only one non-strike team has held the lead in each of its first 11 games, and won three or fewer — the 2004 Chiefs. That Chiefs team started their season 3-8 and wound up with a 7-9 record, so we suppose head coach Matt Patricia could tell his team that the 2019 Lions, who have now joined that short list, are capable of going on a nice run. However, the opposing arguments are comprehensive. Backup quarterback Jeff Driskel was completely lost against the Redskins’ defense (which is a severe indictment in and of itself), completing 20 of 33 passes for 207 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Detroit’s run game is nonexistent, and its man-based pass defense has fallen apart in a relative sense this season. This franchise fired Jim Caldwell as its head coach after the 2017 season because two straight 9-7 seasons weren’t good enough. What does the Ford family make of Patricia’s 9-17-1 mark through almost two seasons?
26. Atlanta Falcons
(3-8. Last week: 24)
In their last two games prior to Sunday, the Falcons switched up their defensive coaching responsibilities to great effect, with definitive road wins against the Panthers and Saints. That all fell apart against the Buccaneers, when Dan Quinn’s defense couldn’t do much to stop anyone, especially receiver Chris Godwin, who went off for 184 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches. Allowing a touchdown pass to 347-pound defensive tackle Vita Vea added insult to injury.
If you want an anatomy of a busted coverage, here’s Quinn explaining Godwin’s 71-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
🎯 BULLSEYE 🎯 pic.twitter.com/7FYiiSGgYR
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) November 24, 2019
“So in Cover 2, two-deep safeties, they hit a seam down the middle of the field. I thought [linebacker] Deion [Jones] was in a position to make a play on it,” Quinn said, via ESPN’s Vaughn McClure. “He didn’t make it. If you look back, I’m sure there’s correctable moments for a safety, whether that be for a landmark.”
Jameis Winston deserved credit for a great anticipation throw, but yeah — this looked a lot more like the Falcons’ defense did before the Week 9 bye. Not good at all.
25. Los Angeles Chargers
(4-7. Week 12 Bye. Last week: 23)
Philip Rivers led all quarterbacks with seven combined interceptions in Weeks 10 and 11, but it’s the situational nature of those interceptions that has essentially ended the Chargers’ season with losses to the Raiders and Chiefs. In the final two minutes of those games, Rivers threw two interceptions and completed just four of 18 passes for 77 yards and no touchdowns to his own team. This has been a problem all season, as Rivers has thrown four of his 14 interceptions with less than two minutes left in the Chargers’ games. It was an unthinkable notion even last season, but is it time for the team to move on from the player who has defined their offense since he became the starting quarterback in 2006? Rivers will be a 38-year-old free agent to start the 2020 league year, and right now, it’s tough to argue for his re-signing — or, for that matter, any other team taking a large-salary gamble on his future.