NFL Teams That Are Rising and Falling at Midway Point of 2014 Season

Regardless of how good or bad certain NFL teams start, some of them manage to either bounce back or trickle by the time they reach the halfway point of the season. Coaches want to get consistency out of their players to try to avoid losing streaks, but it happens sometimes in football.

Like any other NFL season, and in typical NFL style, some teams have rebounded while a couple teams find themselves in need of a strong second half. Some teams have even fallen a couple of spots in their division standings and know they have little room for error moving forward.

In this slideshow, we find three teams who are on a hot run and three teams who are slipping after a good start. Be sure to comment below with your thoughts.

Rising: New England Patriots

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Starting record: 2-2

Current record: 7-2

When the Kansas City Chiefs blew out the New England Patriots, many columnists and even fans questioned if this spelled the end of the Patriots and if Tom Brady is done. In fact, there were plenty of rumors about Brady being traded by the Patriots after the debacle in Kansas City on Monday Night Football.

Since then, the Patriots have not lost a game, winning five straight. Brady has thrown 18 touchdowns and just one interception during that span.

Just when people began writing off the Patriots, they find themselves with the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Falling: Dallas Cowboys

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Starting record: 6-1

Current record: 6-3

Being 6-3 is a record plenty of NFL teams would want and gladly trade the Dallas Cowboys for it. But for the Cowboys, they were a one-loss team and you could have made a case as to why they would reach the Super Bowl.

Dallas recently fell to Washington and Arizona and played without Tony Romo against the Cardinals. The Cowboys even lost the lead in the NFC East, now owned by the Philadelphia Eagles.

We have seen teams start really hot only to finish at .500 to conclude the season. The Cowboys have been consistent in finishing at .500 the past three seasons and want to avoid it after an impressive start.

Rising: Pittsburgh Steelers

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Starting record: 3-3

Current record: 6-3

The Pittsburgh Steelers would alternate wins and losses each week through the first six games. Now, Pittsburgh has found some consistency and currently rides a three-game winning streak.

The defense has struggled the past three games, allowing 80 points combined. However, Pittsburgh’s offense has made up for it by scoring 124 points total and at least 30 points in each of the last three games.

Moving forward, the Steelers still have the Jets, Titans, Saints and Falcons to play on their schedule, giving them a good chance at finishing with at least nine or 10 wins and making the playoffs.

Falling: San Diego Chargers

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Starting record: 5-1

Current record: 5-4

The San Diego Chargers were one of the hottest passing teams in the NFL, led by Philip Rivers under center. The Chargers were 5-1 and had scored 30 or more points in four of their five victories.

The last three weeks San Diego has run into a wall, dropping three consecutive games.

Most recently, the Dolphins shut out the Chargers 37-0 as Rivers threw three interceptions, making it one of the worst games of his career.

If the playoffs began today, the Chargers would miss the playoffs.

Rising: Kansas City Chiefs

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Starting record: 0-2

Current record: 5-3

The Chiefs suffered an embarrassing season-opening loss to the Titans in Week 1 and lost plenty of starters after two games. But a couple of injured starters eventually returned, and some backups rose to help the Chiefs.

Kansas City has won five of its last six games, quietly becoming one of the hottest teams in the NFL.

Justin Houston, who has limited opposing quarterbacks and has quickly gathered 12 sacks, primarily leads Kansas City’s No. 1 pass defense.

If the postseason kicked off today, the Chiefs would get in as a wild-card team.

Falling: Carolina Panthers

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Starting record: 3-2

Current record: 3-5-1

After a decent start to the season in a weak NFC South, the Panthers find themselves winless in the last four games, tying with the Bengals and scoring few points in their last three games.

The good news is that the Panthers are barely behind the Saints, who lead the division with a 4-4 record. More good news is that the Panthers have some winnable games coming up, facing Atlanta twice, as well as Minnesota, New Orleans and Tampa Bay. Eight or nine wins might be enough to win the division.

The bad news, however, is that the Panthers have struggled against some bad offenses. In fact, the Panthers themselves have struggled with scoring, averaging just a little under 20 points per game.

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