Tag: losing streak

Wisconsin stands in the way of Nebraska extending a record losing streak

Wisconsin stands in the way of Nebraska extending a record losing streak

The stakes are high for the Wisconsin Badgers (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten) road matchup against rival Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) on Saturday.

Both teams enter the game at 5-5, needing just one more win to clinch bowl eligibility.

Related: Everything Luke Fickell said about the Phil Longo firing, Badgers’ offensive plan moving forward

Normally, that would be enough stakes alone. But how each team has reached this point is significant to note.

Wisconsin was 5-2 through seven games after a win over Northwestern capped an impressive three-game winning streak. The season has somewhat tanked since then, with demoralizing losses to Penn State, Iowa and Oregon, respectively.

The Badgers fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo after the latest loss, signaling the current state of affairs in year two of the Luke Fickell era. Overall, the program is far from where many expected it to be.

The Nebraska side is somehow even worse. The Cornhuskers were 5-1 to start the year, headlined by a big win over Colorado. They appeared to be at the start of a resurgence in year two under Matt Rhule.

Since that point: 56-7 loss to Indiana, 21-17 loss to Ohio State, 27-20 loss to UCLA and 28-20 loss to USC. Nebraska brings a four-game losing streak into Saturday’s matchup.

That four-game losing streak means a bit more to Nebraska than Wisconsin’s losing streak does to its program. Nebraska has not made a bowl game since 2016. It is now a whopping 0-9 in games with bowl eligibility on the line during that time, including now 0-8 under Rhule — 0-4 in 2023, 0-4 in 2024.

The FBS record for consecutive losses with bowl eligibility at stake is 10 (Mike MacIntyre and Colorado from 2017-18 and Lou Holtz at South Carolina from 2002-04). Another loss for Rhule would bring him within one defeat of the record. Losses to both Wisconsin and Iowa to close the season would bring him to that mark.

That’s what Wisconsin has to play for on Saturday, other than the famous Freedom Trophy — that Nebraska has yet to possess. With a win, the Badgers would put Nebraska in a record category of programs to lose 10 straight games with bowl eligibility at stake. With a loss, Wisconsin would forever be the team that ended that record bowl drought.

There are larger Fickell vs. Rhule implications after both were high-profile hires before the 2023 season. But that conversation can wait until postgame. Just note: coaches that lose nine or ten straight games with bowl eligibility on the line usually don’t stick around for very long.

Wisconsin and Nebraska will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET, 2:30 p.m. CT from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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Dennis Allen is on his longest single-season losing streak

Seven games is the longest losing streak of Dennis Allen’s career, and it’s the most games he’s lost consecutively in a season:

The New Orleans Saints have lost seven games in a row, with the last game being to the Carolina Panthers. This is the hottest Dennis Allen’s seat has ever been from outside voices, and the pressure is mounting from the front office at this point.

This is the longest single season losing streak of Allen’s coaching career. As coach of the Raiders, he suffered six game losing streaks in both of his first two seasons but he never reached seven in one year.

Allen’s longest skid was 10 games and extended over two seasons. This led to his departure from Oakland. He hasn’t made it to 10 games, but it’s possible if Allen even makes it that far.

NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reported “everything is on the table after that loss” including a firing. The bye week always seemed like the point where a decision on Allen’s future would be made. This loss to Carolina could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

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Dennis Allen trying to avoid 2nd-longest losing streak of his career

A seven-game skid would stand out as the second-longest losing streak of Dennis Allen’s career. Can the New Orleans Saints afford that?

The New Orleans Saints haven’t won a game since defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. This week, the Saints travel to Charlotte to face the Carolina Panthers. Carolina owns the second longest losing streak in the NFL. The only team with a longer losing streak? The Saints.

New Orleans has dropped six games in a row. The loser of this game will have the longest losing streak in the NFL. If the Saints lose this game and extends this losing streak to seven games, it will stand alone as the second longest losing streak of Dennis Allen’s career.

Allen had a six-game losing streak in his first season with the Raiders. His longest losing streak spans over two separate seasons. Allen had the second six-game losing streak of his career in Year 2 with Oakland then lost the first four games of 2014.

The streak stretched to 10 games in total and ended by him being fired. One could argue losing this game to the Panthers and extending this streak to seven games would be worth his second termination, but we’ll have to wait and see whether the Saints have more patience than their fans.

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One way or another, one of the NFL’s longest losing streaks will end in Week 9

One way or another, one of the NFL’s longest losing streaks will end in Week 9. Either the Saints or the Panthers will have a new lease on life:

Win, lose, or draw — one way or another, one of the NFL’s longest losing streaks will end in Week 9. Either the New Orleans Saints or the Carolina Panthers will have a new lease on life by Monday.

Because the New York Jets won on Thursday night and the New England Patriots pulled out a win last week, the Saints are in sole possession of the NFL’s longest active losing streak, having dropped six in a row. The next-longest losing streak belongs to the Panthers, who haven’t won a game in their last five tries.

The Saints need a win in the worst way. The goodwill their 2-0 start earned them has been burnt away by a monthlong losing skid. Even if it’s just the Panthers, who they beat handily to start the season, a win would do a lot to buy them some room to breathe. Right now New Orleans is just above Carolina at the bottom of the conference standings.

At the same time, the Panthers could really use a win, too. Bryce Young has struggled as badly as any former first overall draft pick could and his return to the starting lineup is hardly secure. Managing to beat the Saints, even if they’re badly injured in the secondary, would do a lot for him, too.

These are two bad teams, but that doesn’t mean they have nothing to play for at the season’s midway point. Pride, job security, and a long-shot playoff bid are still on the line. All that’s left to see is who comes out on top.

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Where the Saints check in on USA Today’s Week 8 NFL power rankings

Bad times seem to be only going to worse for the New Orleans Saints after five straight losses. Sunday’s game is their next chance to right the ship:

Bad seems to be only going to worse for the New Orleans Saints, who hit a five-game losing streak following their 33-10 loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday.

With this, the team has taken a major slide in the NFL Power Rankings for just about every national media outlet in existence. And that is rightfully so as the team seems to be declining in just about every possible facet of the game.

It’s not just poor performance either, as the the Saints have been riddled with injury across the board, including one that has led to the loss of veteran quarterback Derek Carr. The Saints have been forced in that situation not just to have to go to a quarterback who has less experience, but a complete rookie in Spencer Rattler.

It’s never easy for a signal-caller to start in their first NFL season, much less without notice due to an injured QB1, and the growing pains Rattler has experienced has been obvious.

With their latest loss, the Saints have slipped to No. 26 overall in the USA Today NFL Week 8 power rankings from Nate Davis.

The team was previously ranked at No. 25 the week beforehand.

“What shambles could QB Derek Carr be returning to?” Davis wrote. “The Saints lost their past two games at home by more than 20 points in each … matching the number of times such Superdome blowouts occurred during the entirety of former HC Sean Payton’s tenure. At least RB Alvin Kamara is sticking around after agreeing to an extension.”

The Saints will aim to get back on track when they hit the road to face the Los Angeles Chargers next week.

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Alvin Kamara on losing streak: ‘Everybody gets on the hot seat’

Alvin Kamara says five-game losing streaks put everyone on the hot seat. Unfortunately, everyone may not share that philosophy:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers put 50 points on the board a week ago. This week, Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos embarrassed the New Orleans Saints on Drew Brees’ induction night.

It’s been over a month since the Saints have been victorious. Since defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, the team has dropped 5 straight games.

Alvin Kamara understands what situation the Saints have put themselves in. Everyone should be under pressure, starting with Dennis Allen then trickling down: “The other reality of the business is when you start losing too much, everybody gets on the hot seat. The coaches, when coaches leave then players leave, then personnel.”

Who knows how hot Allen’s seat is, but it should be on fire.

Kamara articulated it perfectly. “When you get too many L’s and you don’t produce enough wins, everybody’s job is on the line.”

That’s how it should be. This is a results business. Allen’s results tell a pretty convincing story. He wasn’t successful in Oakland, and he hasn’t been successful in New Orleans.

The problem could be there’s not enough pressure being placed on Allen. The mediocrity of the Saints seems to be accepted. It’s been that way for a couple of years.

Dennis Allen probably isn’t on the hot seat, but therein lies the problem in New Orleans. Accepted mediocrity.

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3-game losing streaks have a direct tie to Saints playoff history

The New Orleans Saints have only had a three-game losing streak and made the playoffs in the same season once before. Will 2024 be a repeat?

After being dominated by the Kansas City Chiefs, the New Orleans Saints have lost three games in a row.

We’ve taken a look at how the Saints starting 2-3 is a bad omen for the season. Here goes an even worse trend. Over the last 15 seasons, the Saints have either had a three-game losing streak or made the playoffs but never both.

That last part may feel obvious. Teams who go into a three-game losing skid typically don’t make the playoffs. However, the interesting part is the fact New Orleans has had a three-game losing streak every time they missed the playoffs.

The Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009. New Orleans started 13-0 before losing the last 3 games. Ironically, that was the last time the Saints had a three-game losing streak and made the playoffs in the same season.

Since then the Saints made the playoffs 7 times: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020. New Orleans has gone through a three game losing streak at some point during every other season.

There’s still a chance for New Orleans to break this trend, There’s 12 games left in the season, but history says the New Orleans Saints will either go on a three game losing streak or be a playoff team. They’ve already done the former.

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Broncos chasing another (bad) NFL record with Chiefs losing streak

The Broncos have lost 16 straight games to the Chiefs. Will they catch the NFL record of 20-straight losses to a single opponent?

The Denver Broncos lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 18-9 in a Thursday Night Football showdown in Week 6.

That marked Denver’s 16th-straight loss to their division rival, a losing streak that dates back to the 2015 season.

With the loss, the Broncos passed the New York Jets for the longest active losing streak to a single team in the NFL. New York has lost to the New England Patriots in 15 straight games, so they’re not far behind Denver’s streak.

Both teams still have a few more seasons to go before being in danger of matching the NFL’s all-time record of 20 straight losses to a single opponent (the Miami Dolphins dominated the Buffalo Bills in the 1970s).

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson was asked about the streak after the team’s latest loss on Thursday.

“We don’t think about it,” Wilson said. “I think we came in knowing that it was going to be a battle. The past is the past, we were focused on today. We’ve got to play them in two weeks, so we’ve got to be ready to go again.”

Denver will get another opportunity to break the streak when they host the Chiefs in Week 8. The Jets, meanwhile, will go on the road to face the Patriots again in Week 18. Both teams are chasing NFL history, just not the kind of history they wanted.

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Chiefs DE Mike Danna resolved to see defense improve in Week 4 vs. Eagles

#Chiefs DE Mike Danna says the team is “looking onto the next challenge” as they try to rebound from a 2-game losing streak. | from @TheJohnDillon

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Perhaps the Kansas City Chiefs’ most effective defensive lineman in the matchup against Los Angeles, second-year defensive end Mike Danna looked every bit the part of a situational starter in the wake of Frank Clark’s crazy run of injuries. Though Danna still has some development time in the tank before he’ll be considered a finished product, he brings a physicality and veteran presence to the Chiefs’ locker room that is factoring more into the game plan by the week.

Speaking to the media after Sunday’s loss, Danna said that Kansas City will need to prepare better in the coming weeks during practice.

“All it takes is the preparation that goes into the week,” Danna explained. “Be ready when your number’s called. I’ve got 10 other guys that are trusting me out there to do my job, so when I go out there, I am as serious as a heart attack. I try to be a great teammate, be a leader and help guys when they need me. It’s been a blessing to be on that field with the guys, but coming out with the loss today, we’ve got to take it with a grain of salt.”

The way the team has prepared and played in the past two weeks hasn’t been enough to get them back into the win column. To that end, Danna preached sticking together and avoiding the blame game.

“We’ve got to go back to the drawing boards,” He continued. “We’ve got to stay together as a unit. That’s the most important. It’s an offense, defense, special teams game, so nobody’s pointing figures, we’re going to respond and we’re looking onto the next challenge”

Asked about securing the Chiefs’ only sack of the game, Danna responded by saying that it was an effort play that was made easier by some shoddy offensive line play by the Chargers.

“[It is] just effort man. Effort and getting after the QB,” Danna said, “Coaches always say pass rushers keep rushing, so when I didn’t get him the first time, I knew I had to keep going. Ended up with a gift in my hand.”

For now, though, Danna is focused on next week and how he can help the team bounce back against head coach Andy Reid’s former team in Philadelphia. The Eagles are a force to be reckoned with, but Danna seemed confident as ever in the Chiefs’ ability to make progress week to week, even if it’s only incremental.

“It’s always about flipping the page, taking on the next challenge,” He said of the mentality after the game. “We can’t sit and dwell about this too long. We’ve got to let it soak in, but we go watch the tape, watch the film and we take that with a grain of salt and we bounce back. We take on Philly and we respond.”

If Danna becomes the player that coaches described through the preseason, the defense will be on track to turn itself around in no time. His performance in Week 3 was a step in the right direction, but there is still plenty of room for development in his game. The former fifth-round pick is getting serious consideration for a consistent role on a defense that desperately needs fresh blood to step in and stop the bleeding.

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Celtics hopes for second seed in danger with recent rut continuing

The Boston Celtics will have to turn things around in a hurry if they hope to have a chance at winning the East’s second seed with how they’ve played of late.

Kemba Walker took the Boston Celtics loss Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder to heart, but in truth his recent spate of mediocre games is far from the only problem Boston has right now.

It’s true the UConn product hasn’t managed to find his footing since returning from a sore knee that kept him out of action for much of February. It’s also true that a late turnover by the Bronx native ultimately cost the Celtics their game against the Thunder.

Yet, there are other players on that team, and the blame rests on them as well.

Effort levels have been substandard on both ends of the floor, as noted by unofficial team captain Marcus Smart after Boston’s loss to the Utah Jazz on Mar. 6.

Injuries have been plaguing the team, with a player seeming to go down for each one that comes back.

With one of the least productive benches in the NBA in terms of offense, when one of those players is Walker, forward Gordon Hayward, or shooting guard Jaylen Brown…

…the results speak for themselves.

All that said, good luck trying to convince Walker not to take it personally. “It’s frustrating,” said the former Husky after the Thunder loss (via The Athletic’s Jay King).

“That’s the second time it’s happened in three games. So I just have to be better and just find a way to hold onto the basketball,” he added, referring to a tie-up at the end of regulation against the Brooklyn Nets on Mar. 3 that put Boston’s opponent in a position to win the game in overtime.

And while Boston should do better if Walker plays better, it needs more from the rest of the team as well if it is to have any chance at all at catching the Toronto Raptors for the No. 2 seed in the East.

To maximize their chances and minimize the wear of a long, hard slog in the early rounds of the postseason, the Celtics cannot afford to lose more winnable games — if that ship has not already sailed.

“This is a low for us,” Hayward opined Sunday evening. “We have to try to build ourselves, crawl ourselves back out of it. I think we’ll find it again. We’re still the same team. We’ve just got to lift each other up, find ways to win basketball games again.”

The bravado of earlier in the season has mostly disappeared, and with it the communication and chemistry driving their earlier success.

And while there is time to right the ship, there is not much room for error with 19 games left in the season.

The sky is not falling, and Boston is still in a good position to have what almost anyone would call a successful season by almost anyone’s standards in October of 2019.

But this is not 2019, and the path to the banner is as open in the East as it has been at any time in the last decade. Perhaps with his eye on that ultimate prize, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens sounds his usual calm self when it comes to the recent skid.

“[Y]ou can feel like you’re on top of the world one week and you can feel like the sky is falling the next. That’s the hardest part about the NBA is that’s just the way it goes. We’re in a way right now where … we just don’t sustain it the way that we have and the way that we know we can.”

“I’ve lived this before with most of our good teams [going] through stretches like this — and usually two or three a year. This is our second one. Hopefully we can nip that in the bud and not have a third one,” he added.

Stevens is not wrong given the team’s final stretch will soon get much easier than in recent games, with only seven of those remaining 19 games against teams with a winning record.

But Boston will need to recover their health and their chemistry if they are to make the most of this special season they’ve put together after the wreckage of the season before.

Given the resolve we’ve seen from this group so far, it doesn’t seem too surprising Stevens isn’t especially concerned.

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