Inside the 5: Teams looking worse than expected entering NFL Week 4
With Inside the 5, we take a detour from narratives and focus on five teams who have been letdowns thus far heading into NFL Week 4.
After three weeks of the 2018 season, you’d think that we’d have a good grasp on the league entering NFL Week 4. We’ve certainly learned some things and been surprised to this point. However, the one certainty that we have right now is that nothing is certain. Whether we’re talking about preseason expectations being wrong or teams like the Miami Dolphins or Chicago Bears currently leading their respective divisions, things are still wild and totally variable right now.
That’s the overwhelming narrative heading into NFL Week 4. Things are wild right now in terms of how the standings sit, but things appear open to change in a big way. 16 games, ostensibly, is a short regular season. While that may be so, there’s still a lot that can happen over 13 games with changes still to be made. After all, is there anyone not more optimistic about the Cleveland Browns now that Baker Mayfield is the starting quarterback?
Instead of looking at teams with optimistic outlooks going forward, we’re instead going to look at teams that have more questions than answers at this point. Amidst all of the surprises that we’ve seen heading into NFL Week 4, there are many teams that have come into the season and been far more disappointing than we would have expected.
For Inside the 5 for NFL Week 4, we’re going to look at one narrative instead of five and dive into five teams that fit that narrative. With that, let’s take a look at five teams that have been letdowns after the first three weeks of the regular season.
New England Patriots (1-2)
For years at this point, we’ve accepted one truth in the NFL tirelessly: If the New England Patriots have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, they’re going to be fine. While that still may be the case and there is a road to turn things around, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the first three games have been wholly disappointing for the Patriots and have rightfully caused some fans to start panicking.
New England’s one win on the year to this point came in a tight one against a Houston Texans team that is quite bad, it would seem (and that we’ll be hearing about shortly). Since then, they’ve fallen to the Jacksonville Jaguars and then getting destroyed by a previously winless Detroit Lions team last week. The defense has been bad with an inability to pressure opposing quarterbacks, but the more worrisome part is the lackluster offensive play.
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Maybe this all turns around with Julian Edelman returning from suspension soon and with Josh Gordon coming into the fold. Having said that, things haven’t looked good for this offense thus far, and that was supposed to be the bread-and-butter of this team. Until we see it turn around, you have to say that this has been a letdown start for the Patriots.
Dallas Cowboys (1-2)
After cutting Dez Bryant and having Jason Witten surprisingly retire this offseason, there were undoubtedly concerns about the Dallas Cowboys entering the 2018 season. It seemed as if Dak Prescott and the passing game might have their struggles. However, the redeeming quality was still the offensive line and Ezekiel Elliott running behind them, in addition to an improving defense.
Through three weeks, the concerns about the Cowboys offense have only grown as opposed to being quelled in any way. Prescott, who took a step back in 2017 from his rookie year, has taken yet another step back. What’s more, the offensive line hasn’t been nearly as dominant as they’d hoped it be without Travis Frederick in the lineup. Even with the defense playing well enough, this team just can’t score with any kind of consistency.
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Questions are already flying about whether or not Prescott is an actual franchise quarterback, and those queries are valid after what we’ve seen. Regardless of what the answer is there, it’s clear that this Cowboys team doesn’t have nearly the ceiling that many thought they might in 2018.
Houston Texans (0-3)
One of the narratives entering the 2018 season was how fierce the battle in the AFC South was going to be. It was a prevailing belief that any of the four teams in the division had a chance to win it. After three weeks, we can definitively say that’s not the case, because, my word, this Houston Texans team looks absolutely awful.
With JJ Watt returning to the defense and Deshaun Watson coming back to quarterback the offense, the hope was that this Texans team would take a step forward this season. The biggest question mark, though, was if the offensive line would hold them back. Through three games and as many losses, that line has done more than just keep them from being good — it’s, in fact, made them almost entirely hapless.
As good as Watson is, he can’t do anything if he’s getting blown up on every play, which has largely been the case this season. There are going to be exciting moments from this team because they do have playmakers on both sides of the ball. Exciting moments don’t amount to success, however, and I don’t see much of that coming for the still-winless Texans at this point.
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1-1)
The Pittsburgh Steelers have just one loss on the season, which makes them better than any of the other four teams that we’re talking about as letdown teams entering NFL Week 4. Having said that, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the Steelers have been far from inspiring to this point. In fact, I would go as far to say that they’ve looked quite bad to start the year.
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If the Cleveland Browns had been starting Baker Mayfield since Week 1, I firmly believe that the Steelers would have a second loss on their record as opposed to a tie tacked on at the end. They followed that tie up by being dismantled by the Kansas City Chiefs offense. And though they looked better on Monday Night Football in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the defense almost let them down again as the Bucs fought back to make it close in the second half.
This Pittsburgh defense might be one of the worst overall units in the league and the offense without Le’Veon Bell is simply lesser, even if that still makes them a good unit. This was a team that many expected to be runaway winners in the AFC North and, as of right now, that doesn’t remotely appear to be the case.
Arizona Cardinals (0-3)
With Josh Rosen finally taking over, there’s at least a chance that this one could turn around for the Arizona Cardinals. However, what we have seen to this point with Sam Bradford leading the offense has been wholly awful. The offense has been completely devoid of an identity while the defense, largely, has been gashed time and again.
Coming into this season, no one was expecting the Red Birds to be Super Bowl contenders by any means. However, with David Johnson and other talent on offense and some pieces like Patrick Peterson and Chandler Jones on defense, they seemed like a team that could vie for something like an 8-8 record on the 2018 NFL season. That, however, has not been the case at all.
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Maybe offensive coordinator Mike McCoy will involve Johnson more in the offense with Rosen taking over, which can only help an almost wholly stagnant unit to this point. As things stand entering NFL Week 4, however, the Cardinals have been far worse than anyone could’ve expected.