6 NFL Teams That Need to Win Now Before It's Too Late

In the last three years, the New Orleans Saints have won more games than any other team in the NFL, but they've consistently fallen short in the playoffs.

Veteran Saints edge defender Cameron Jordan knows that as he enters his 10th season and quarterback Drew Brees enters his 20th, the Saints have to win now. 

"You know, there's nothing in me that is telling me that our team isn't close to a championship or being a championship-caliber team if you look at the last three years," Jordan said on SiriusXM NFL Radio this week, per Pro Football Talk. "You know, playoffs, playoffs, playoffs. Playoffs, NFC Championship, playoffs. This is something that we have to capitalize on."

But the Saints aren't alone. A handful of other teams should have similar senses of urgency heading into the 2020 season. 

New Orleans Saints

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Brees, 41, is the second-oldest position player in the NFL. He's fresh off the highest-rated season of his career, but quarterbacks usually decline abruptly. His arm isn't what it was, there's less margin for error at that age, and Brees would be looking to become the first-ever quarterback to win a Super Bowl at or beyond the age of 42.

That alone leaves the Saints with a closing championship window. 

But look beyond that. Jordan is 31, as is All-Pro linebacker Demario Davis. Incoming veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is 33, as is starting tight end Jared Cook.

Davis, Cook, standout safety Marcus Williams and star running back Alvin Kamara are all entering walk years, and Spotrac currently projects the Saints to be $47 million over the salary cap in 2021. That's the second-worst projected cap situation in the league. 

Put it all together and it might be 2020 or bust for the Saints, who are likely to look a lot different in about eight months' time.

New England Patriots

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The New England Patriots' window might have closed when Tom Brady, Jamie Collins Sr. and Kyle Van Noy departed as free agents in March. Those three vets were critical to the team's success in recent years, and Brady is the most decorated player in league history. 

But because head coach Bill Belichick is, well, Bill Belichick, and because there's a chance that Brady replacement Cam Newton could recapture the magic from his 2015 MVP season under the tutelage of Belichick and Josh McDaniels, it would be foolish to rule out the Pats for 2020. 

The disciplined, well-coached, still-talented Pats have a shot with Newton under center and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore still surrounded by talent on that side of the ball. But it'll have to happen now since the Newton experiment may be only a one-year trial and key veterans Dont'a Hightower and Joe Thuney are entering walk years. 

If the Patriots fail to contend this year, they'll likely consider a rebuild starting next spring. 

Green Bay Packers

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The moment the Green Bay Packers traded up to select quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of April's draft, speculation ran rampant regarding Aaron Rodgers' future. And rightly so. This is a fairly new regime that appears to be thinking about the future, and the 36-year-old Rodgers hasn't been the same since he fractured his collarbone in 2017. 

Since then, his completion rate has dropped by about three percentage points, and his passer rating has plummeted from 104.1 to 95.6. 

The Packers still won 13 games last season as a result of effective offensive balance and newfound pass-defense prowess, but they fell short of the Super Bowl for the ninth consecutive postseason. This 2020 team should be no worse than the 2019 version, but Rodgers has to become more of a game-changer, and an aging offensive line will have to hold up in front of him. 

If it doesn't happen this year, it might be much harder when they're expected to be low on cap space while trying to retain key players such as Kenny Clark, Aaron Jones, David Bakhtiari, Corey Linsley and Lane Taylor in 2021. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

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The Pittsburgh Steelers played Green Bay in Super Bowl XLV, which preceded long (relatively speaking) championship slumps for both of those illustrious teams. And like the Packers, the Steelers have now approached a now-or-never stage with an aging quarterback who is seemingly in decline. 

Ben Roethlisberger, 38, is coming off surgery to reattach three tendons in the elbow of his throwing arm. That injury cost Big Ben all but two starts in 2019, during which time he was the league's third-lowest-rated qualified passer while completing only one of 11 deep passes. In 2018, he led the NFL with 16 interceptions.

Does Roethlisberger have anything left? As stacked as the Steelers are on defense, their 8-8 campaign last year suggests they'll need better play at quarterback to make another run before the Big Ben era expires. 

The Steelers are financially married to Roethlisberger for a few more seasons, but Spotrac projects them to be in the league's seventh-worst salary-cap situation next offseason. That may make it difficult to retain key players such as Cameron Heyward, Alejandro Villanueva, Bud Dupree and JuJu Smith-Schuster, and the Steelers have an AFC-low 44 players under contract.

Indianapolis Colts

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Unlike every other team listed thus far, the well-managed Indianapolis Colts don't face an impending salary-cap crunch. However, their roster is old in so many critical spots that they might face an overhaul if all doesn't go right in 2020.

That starts with quarterback Philip Rivers, who is trying to revive his career in a fresh setting after his numbers fell off a cliff in his final season with the Los Angeles Chargers. The eight-time Pro Bowler will turn 39 in December, and his one-year contract in Indianapolis could be viewed as experimental.

Even if Rivers bounces back with more support in Indy, this isn't a long-term project. The Colts are gunning for it right now, with soon-to-be 32-year-old left tackle Anthony Castonzo essentially playing year to year after flirting with retirement this offseason.

We also blinked and top receiver T.Y. Hilton turned 30, while veteran defensive leader Justin Houston is approaching 32. There's a lot of youth and flexibility on this roster as well, but the Colts will need to capitalize on their veteran core soon.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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This isn't breaking news. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't sign the soon-to-be 43-year-old Brady so that they could compete in 2025, or even 2022. That move—and their decision to lure Rob Gronkowski out of retirement at the age of 31—was about 2020, 2021 if they're lucky. 

Only a few quarterbacks in NFL history have started games at Brady's age, and none of them experienced any success. Vinny Testaverde lost four of his starts and threw more interceptions (six) than touchdowns (five) as a 44-year-old in 2007, Warren Moon was a mess in his only two starts beyond the age of 42, and Steve DeBerg lost his only start at 44.

That's it. 

Gronkowski wasn't the same player he once was during the 2018 season, while key defensive players Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul and Lavonte David are all on the wrong side of 30. Gronk, Suh, David, top sack man Shaquil Barrett and star receiver Chris Godwin are all entering contract years, too. 

For Bruce Arians' team, it has to happen now.