14. Carolina Panthers (0-1)
The Carolina Panthers allowed 59 points to the Chicago Bears in Week 1. While the offense did plenty, the defense totally fell apart, and that's putting it lightly. If this remains an issue throughout the season, Carolina is going to take a huge step back this year.
And Bryce Young, while having a career-best season in 2025, is a rather limited QB overall. His physical stature is below-average, and the arm, while fine, isn't very special. Young's growth from 2024 into 2025 can't totally be discounted, but I struggle to see where the Panthers are able to gain a notable advantage over their opponents each week.
I could end up being way off on the Panthers, but I am not sure many have high hopes for the team. There's a lot of average all over the roster and very little great, which is an issue.
13. Washington Commanders (0-1)
The Washington Commanders have some major offensive line concerns, and those type of concerns can't really be fixed in the middle of the season. While we're not there yet, it's hard to envision how the Commanders suddenly see that unit playing better overall.
While Washington did end up giving the Philadelphia Eagles a run for their money, this team did only win five games last year and saw their franchise QB, Jayden Daniels, suit up for just seven of those games. Not only that, but it's not super clear if Dan Quinn is the long-term answer at head coach for this team, and beyond the offensive line and coaching concerns, the overall talent level of this team just isn't quite good enough to make sizeable progress in the NFC.
Washington might genuinely have the worst team in the NFC East right now, and that could remain the case as the 2026 season progresses.
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