Biggest Problem NFL's Struggling Teams Must Fix in Week 3 to Turn Season Around

Parity is alive and well in the NFL. Through two weeks, 23 of the 32 teams in the league have won at least one game.

Nearly half of the league (14 teams) sit at 1-1 with at least some reason to believe they are in the playoff race. That leaves nine teams sitting pretty with a 2-0 start and another nine who have stumbled out of the gate to an 0-2 opening.

Balanced. As all things should be.

That balance is bound to separate as we get deeper into the season, though. An 0-2 start hasn't necessarily been a death sentence. A team that has lost its opening two games has made the playoffs in seven of the last 10 seasons.

However, time is running out to get things back on track. While teams like the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers were expected to be out of playoff contention this season, these struggling teams have things to fix immediately if they want to get in on the playoff hunt.

Here's what they need to address right now.

Chicago Bears: Misuse of Justin Fields

AP Photo/Peter Joneleit

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields (1) makes a pass attempt during an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Peter Joneleit)

Justin Fields might eventually become a better pocket passer, but that's not what he is built for.

Last season, the 24-year-old was the most explosive runner in the entire league, per Next Gen Stats metrics, which included runs of 10 yards or more and runs in which the top speed was higher than 15 miles per hour.

Someone might want to get those numbers in front of Chicago offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. So far, the Bears have given the quarterback just four designed runs, per PFF.

Trying to turn Fields into a classic pocket passer is a mistake. Getsy should be following the blueprint laid out by the Eagles with Jalen Hurts, which included plenty of designed runs and RPOs to get the ball out of his hands quickly and simplify decision-making.

Only two of Fields' 66 passing attempts have been on RPOs, which is the same amount as Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford, per Pro Football Reference.

With the Chiefs up next in Week 3, the Bears have to make serious changes to give Fields his best chance to succeed.

Cincinnati Bengals: Lackluster Run Fits

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Germaine Pratt attempts to tackle Gus Edwards

The story surrounding the Cincinnati Bengals has mostly revolved around Joe Burrow and the pesky calf injury that kept him out for most of training camp before he reaggravated it in Week 2.

There's not much the Bengals can do about that directly. They have to let their training staff manage the injury and make wise decisions about the quarterback's workload until he is healed.

However, Burrow's injury struggles don't do much to explain how porous the run defense has been. Through two weeks, only the Pittsburgh Steelers have given up more rushing yards than the 386 the Bengals have ceded on the ground.

They've faced two strong rushing teams in the Browns and Ravens, but this is a team that has been stout against the run and mostly returns the key players.

"Yeah, there's always concern when we've given up as many yards as we have," defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said, per Jay Morrison of Pro Football Network. "But it's still the same players in place, and we've been top five in the league. I would be really concerned if I saw guys getting knocked off the ball and this, that, and the other. But I'm not seeing that. So we've just got to fit these things better."

To Anarumo's eye, the Bengals aren't getting blown off the ball. However, the run fits are clearly in need of fine-tuning.

The team's Week 3 game against the Rams is going to be key. Los Angeles is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry, and the Bengals have an extra day to prepare for the Monday night contest.

Los Angeles Chargers: Limiting Big Plays

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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 25: Head coach Brandon Staley of the Los Angeles Chargers looks on from the sidelines against the San Francisco 49ers during the third quarter of a preseason game at Levi's Stadium on August 25, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Brandon Staley has been known for a defense that tries to limit big plays. As one of the many branches of the Vic Fangio coaching tree, he likes to play two-high safeties and force teams to drive the field with the run game and short passes.

It's a philosophy that can sometimes be exposed, but the general idea of bend-don't-break defense is not new.

However, playing that style requires limiting big plays, which is something the Chargers haven't done to this point. Two explosive passing plays last week were key in the Titans coming back to force overtime and ultimately win the game.

Treylon Burks got loose for a 70-yard catch to get inside the five-yard line in the second quarter when the Chargers were up 11-0. Then, there was a 49-yarder to Chris Moore in the fourth quarter that set up another Titans touchdown.

When the Dolphins' passing game went for 466 yards against the Chargers, there was some reasonable understanding. Tua Tagovailoa is dangerous when healthy and throwing to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Ryan Tannehill, Burks and Moore are a clear step down from that trio.

This is not the weakness to have with Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison playing host to the Chargers in Week 3.

Minnesota Vikings: Ball Security

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Kirk Cousins

This one's a bit reductionist, but what else is there to say?

The Vikings are 0-2 with two losses by a combined nine points. But it's the turnover differential that informs the score differential right now. The Vikings have one takeaway with seven giveaways through two games.

The offense has done a lot of good things. Kirk Cousins has thrown for over 300 yards in both starts, and Justin Jefferson has 309 yards receiving. Jordan Addison has already shown flashes of being an elite No. 2 receiver, while T.J. Hockenson is building on last year's breakout campaign.

But all of that gets erased if the offense continues to cough up the football.

The defense is a common scapegoat for the Vikings. It doesn't have the same star power as the offense and it's, admittedly, not a great unit. However, it is 21st in ESPN's defensive efficiency, while the offense ranks 20th.

Obviously, the defense needs to be better. Minnesota has to find a way to go from a team that's flirting with the bottom-third of the league and become at least average.

But this is a team whose offense is always going to be the engine. Right now, it needs some tuning to ensure it isn't giving away extra possessions.

New England Patriots: Slow Starts for the Offense

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Mac Jones

No team has thrown more passes than the New England Patriots through two weeks. They can win with Mac Jones at quarterback, but that's not how they are going to do it.

The 25-year-old has 96 pass attempts through the first two weeks of the season. While he's played reasonably well given the circumstances, the optimal situation for the Pats involves more balance in which Rhamondre Stevenson and the running game takes some pressure off of the signal-caller.

Unfortunately, the game script hasn't really allowed for that. The Patriots have yet to take an offensive snap with a lead. Eight of their offensive plays have come in a tied game and 141 have come while trailing.

We still haven't seen this offense play with a lead. That's with a defense that limited the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles to 24 and 25 points, respectively. Those are two of the most dynamic offenses in the league.

Edge-rusher Matt Judon summed up the issue in his post-game press conference after the loss to Miami:

"We just have to play how we play in the second half from the first play [of the game]. We have to get the crowd involved from the get-go. When we come out there on the field, we have to come out with some energy. We have to have some juice. We can't wait until we're down 17, we can't wait until we are down 13 to try to make a comeback—it's too hard in this league."

The Jets defense is no easy matchup, but offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien has to find a away to get this offense going from the jump.

New York Giants: Ineffective Blitzing

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Kayvon Thibodeaux

The Giants aren't technically one of the 0-2 teams in the league, but when you lose the first six quarters of the season 60-0 and need a field goal with under a minute left to beat the Cardinals, that qualifies as a struggling team.

Don "Wink" Martindale is synonymous with aggressive, blitzing defenses. His defenses aren't always the most efficient, but they are going to make life miserable for a quarterback in general.

For instance, the Giants had the highest blitz percentage in the league last season and banked the sixth-highest pressure percentage as a result. They had 41 sacks and got pressure 24.3 percent of the time.

The problem comes when all of that blitzing doesn't bring much in return. The Giants have blitzed on 42.1 percent of the time, which ranks third in the league right now, but they are the only team that has yet to register a sack.

Because the Giants aren't getting home when they dial up pressures, they are also one of five teams that doesn't have an interception yet, either.

Martindale's defense has to live up to his reputation for creating chaos and capitalizing.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Lack of Play-Action and Deep Passing Game

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Kenny Pickett

Watching Matt Canada call a Steelers game is an act bound to lead to frustration and confusion.

From jet sweeps that go nowhere to a run game that has never gotten going under the offensive coordinator, he currently sits on one of the hottest seats of any coordinator in the league.

The biggest source of frustration might be how they are attacking defenses in the passing game, though.

Despite having a wide receiver in George Pickens who emerged last season as a dangerous deep threat, his average depth of target is just 11.0 on 17 targets after averaging 14.5 last season.

That number is heavily impacted by the fact that Kenny Pickett has just four throws with more than 20 air yards so far, per Sports Info Solutions.

But perhaps even more frustrating is the lack of play-action. After watching all the success Kyle Shanahan has had with similar quarterbacks in an under-center, play-action-centric passing game, the Steelers are 32nd in play-action rate and under center 21 percent of the time, per 33rd Team.

Incorporating more deep throws would allow Pickens to take over as the primary receiver with Diontae Johnson out. More play-action would cut down the amount of field that Pickett has to read and simplify the passing game.