Quick Fixes That Could Save Season for NFL's Fading Former Superteams

Historically, NFL teams need to get to 10-6 to make the playoffs. Of the 12 teams to make the playoffs last year, four—the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals—are below .500.

The Bengals, who are 3-6-1 and lost receiver A.J. Green and running back Giovani Bernard to injuries last week, can no longer get to double-digit wins. For all intents and purposes, their season is over.

The three other teams in that group still have a chance, although slim, to make a push to the postseason heading into Week 12 of the season. There are still some clear adjustments those teams can make to help their chances down the stretch, but they need to make them immediately, and they need to stick to their guns.

As we enter the final third of the season, we'll break down the single most influential tactic each of those teams can do to help their odds of keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Carolina Panthers: Keep playing Mario Addison

The stumble out of the gate for the Carolina Panthers was no accident. Until their Week 8 game against the Arizona Cardinals, their starting defensive line of Charles Johnson, Kawann Short, Star Lotulelei and Kony Ealy registered just 2.5 sacks over a six-game span.

They couldn't get after the quarterback, which wasn't an option after they'd lost Josh Norman, their star cornerback from last season's NFC championship team, to free agency in the offseason. Someone needed to step up on the defensive line to make everyone's life easier, and, recently, that has been Mario Addison.

In the last three games, despite not starting, Addison has notched five sacks—double what Carolina's entire starting defensive line accumulated over the first seven games of the year. With 6.5 sacks on the season, he's now recorded six or more sacks in each of the last three years—despite starting zero games during that stretch—and is on pace to set a career high in the statistic.

Now more than ever, it's clear that Addison needs to see the field more, as he's the team's top pass-rusher. Addison had to prove himself coming into the league, coming out of non-power Troy University, as an undrafted free agent and a player who bounced around on four rosters in less than two calendar years to start his career.

He's now a 29-year-old. He's earned the benefit of the doubt, especially considering his production in limited reps, to warrant a full-time starting job.

Weeks	Snap %	Sacks	Wins	Losses
1-7	37.6	1.5	1	5
8-11	50.4	5	3	1

The Panthers have quarterback Derek Carr, Russell Wilson, Philip Rivers, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston remaining on their schedule. Those are some of the most notable quarterbacks in the NFL right now, and none of them have won fewer games than Carolina this year.

If they want to get going, they'll have to do so now. At bare minimum, they need to get Addison on the field on every third down.

Green Bay Packers: Play more two-high safety looks on defense

Against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, the Washington Redskins were able to post two of the NFL's five 100-yard wideouts from Week 11. In the past three weeks, the Packers have been torched by the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans and Redskins—three teams still in playoff limbo.

How is this happening? Green Bay simply doesn't have the horses to keep up with receivers in one-on-one situations downfield.

"

.@KirkCousins8 goes DEEP to Jamison Crowder...

Dropping a dime for the TD! #GBvsWAS https://t.co/8FCIZGxlnf

— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2016"

Look at Jamison Crowder's production against the team. He caught a long bomb for a touchdown against Quinten Rollins, a second-year player who, according to Mock Draftable, is in the bottom quarter of cornerbacks in terms of 40-yard-dash time. 

"

SO clutch!
On 3rd and 7...@KirkCousins8 drops another dime to Jamison Crowder.

53 YARDS. #GBvsWAS https://t.co/MoE6LPiu7s

— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2016"

He also burned linebacker Joe Thomas for 53 yards, setting up a one-yard touchdown run on the next play.

The Packers are simply getting too cute.

In the last two offseasons, the team has lost Davon House, Tramon Williams and Casey Hayward to free agency at the cornerback position, and with the loss of Sam Shields to the injured reserve list, there's no question that they are thin at the position. With that being said, the Packers have put their cornerbacks, who are untested or unathletic relative to the rest of the starters in the league, in one-on-one situations too often in crucial moments.

Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers needs to realize that he has to pull a man out of the box, inviting the offense's running game, and play with two high safeties on passing downs during the homestretch of the 2016 season. Their cornerbacks need safety help over the top; there's no way around that.

If they don't, this week's Monday Night Football contest might be a "get-right game" for Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz, and it may also bring the end of the Packers' run under general manager Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy.

Arizona Cardinals: Get the passing game going

According to Football Outsiders' DVOA numbers, the Arizona Cardinals have the third-best defense in the league, matching their 2015 ranking—a year when the team went 13-3. What's the cause for their drop to 4-5-1 then? Their passing offense.

Even their running game is ranked 11th-best in the NFL according to DVOA. If you would have entered the year saying that Carson Palmer's efficiency was going to be holding the Cardinals back, just one year after Palmer was one of three players to receive an NFL MVP vote, you would have been laughed out of the sports world.

Arizona's 26th-ranked passing offense, per DVOA, is nothing to joke about. Since Palmer's finger injury against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015, he's thrown 17 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

During the 2015 season, prior to his injury, he threw for 31 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. Those splits are significant enough for a difference between a 12-2 and 6-7-1 record.

Whatever confidence that Palmer or the Cardinals lost after his injury last season, they need to regain it. Arizona's passing game is the anchor holding Palmer's team under .500.

For the most part, they have the same pieces that they had during their 12-2 start in 2015. It's on the team as a unit, from the players to the coaching staff, to pull it together for the final six games of the season.

Use a variety of man-beating concepts. Hold deep routes off from Palmer for a few weeks while he's still struggling with interceptions. The diagnosis is clear: They're losing because of their ability to move the ball through the air.

If these teams want to make a splash in January, they need to get these corrections figured out in late November. If they want to be the long shots to dig themselves out of a hole, like last year's Kansas City Chiefs, who started 1-5 and made the playoffs, then they have no time to waste.