Every NFL Team's Biggest Early-Season Disappointment

It's safe to assume that a high number of NFL fans are highly disappointed in what's gone down early in this weird, wacky, COVID-19-impacted, injury-plagued NFL season. 

Some have more reason to be disappointed than others, but it's not difficult to find reasons for each team to feel at least a little bit let down by somebody or something. 

Here's a rundown of every team's biggest disappointment thus far. 

The Arizona Cardinals entered this season with plenty of hype surrounding a defensive front seven that contained last season's Defensive Player of the Year runner-up in Chandler Jones and one of this draft class' most talented, versatile and intriguing defensive players in Isaiah Simmons. 

But five games into the 2020 campaign, Jones has just one sack, while Simmons has recorded only seven tackles. Simmons was the team's No. 8 overall selection in April's draft, but he's been on the field for just 16.8 percent of Arizona's defensive snaps. 

"We're still trying to work him in," Cards head coach Kliff Kingsbury said earlier this month, per 
Kyle Odegard of the team's official website. "We want to put him in positions to be successful, to understand our scheme. It's a work in progress still."

That's not ideal when you're trying to contend in a tough division, and it's unfortunate Jones has started cold as well. 

When you're 0-5 despite the presence of a former MVP at quarterback and a future Hall of Famer in the receiving corps, there are likely plenty of reasons to be disappointed.

And while Matt Ryan hasn't been the primary problem for an Atlanta Falcons team that continues to stink on defense and just fired its general manager and head coach, his failure to lift the team is principally disappointing. 

Few expected the defense to be good this year, and nobody was raving about the offensive line or the running game. But Ryan is a four-time Pro Bowler and one of the 10 highest-paid players in the league, per Spotrac. 

He ranks 20th or lower among qualified passers when it comes to completion rate, yards per attempt, passer rating and QBR. He also has a 58.3 passer rating in the fourth quarter of one-score games, which isn't ideal considering Atlanta's choking habit.  

More specifically, the Baltimore Ravens have to be disappointed in their performance—and particularly that of reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson—in the only game they've played this season against a fellow prime Super Bowl contender. 

All four of their wins have come by at least 14 points, but the Cleveland Browns were a deer in headlights in Week 1, and the Houston Texans, Washington Football Team and Cincinnati Bengals are a combined 3-11-1 this season. 

Against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3, however, Baltimore gained just 70 passing yards in a crushing 34-20 prime-time loss at home. It was an indication that Jackson, who completed barely half his passes and took four sacks that evening, might still have a problem in critical games. 

The Jackson-quarterbacked Ravens are now 0-3 against the Chiefs and 0-2 in playoff games, which is tremendously concerning despite their 4-1 start this year. 

The 4-0 Buffalo Bills are getting it done. Quarterback Josh Allen is the league's third-highest-rated passer, the defense has registered multiple takeaways in three of their four games, and they're perfect following consecutive impressive victories over the Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas Raiders. 

But if we're to nitpick, we could look at a mediocre start from Buffalo's running game. 

That unit ranks close to the bottom of the league with 3.7 yards per attempt and entered Week 5 ranked 31st in DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) at Football Outsiders. Rookie third-round pick Zack Moss struggled before suffering a toe injury in Week 2, and sophomore third-rounder Devin Singletary has yet to rush for at least 75 yards in a single game. 

There's room for the Buffalo rush offense to grow, but if the Bills continue to underperform in that area, it will eventually cost them. 

Few would suggest Carolina Panthers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey isn't one of the sport's most dangerous offensive weapons, but the bar was raised substantially the moment the fourth-year back became the highest-paid player in NFL history at that position this offseason. 

That's why it has to disappoint Panthers fans that McCaffrey averaged 3.8 yards per carry in two Carolina losses to start the season before suffering a high ankle sprain that paved the way for backup Mike Davis to outplay him over the course of a three-game winning streak. 

That winning streak is good, and McCaffrey will eventually return and ideally dominate again sometime soon. But paying primo dollars for running backs is almost never a good idea, and the Panthers are reminding us of that reality right now. 

The money set aside for McCaffrey could have been used in plenty of more fruitful ways, and the Panthers will likely feel that if Davis keeps crushing it or if McCaffrey can't replicate his 2019 success as his salary-cap hits skyrocket in the seasons to come.

That old cliche about the presence of two quarterbacks indicating you actually have zero quarterbacks? It looks as though it can be applied to the Chicago Bears, who entered the season with an intriguing quarterback battle between 2017 No. 2 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky and 2017 Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. 

Turns out, both peaked in 2017. 

Trubisky was benched in just his third start of the season in favor of Foles, who hasn't performed any better. In fact, Foles' per-attempt average is 0.5 yards lower, and his passer rating trails Trubisky's by 3.5 points. Both rank in the bottom eight in both categories, and the Bears are 4-1 despite possessing the league's seventh-lowest team passer rating. 

Eventually, though, inconsistent and unreliable play at the game's most important position is bound to catch up to Chicago. 

There's little doubt surrounding the Cincinnati Bengals' Achilles' heel early this season. 

Cincinnati looks improved, and rookie quarterback Joe Burrow appears to be the real deal. But the No. 1 overall pick has already been sacked a league-high 22 times behind an offensive line that remains a complete mess at both guard spots, as well as at the offensive tackle position opposite promising 2019 first-rounder Jonah Williams (currently occupied by a pylon named Bobby Hart). 

Now, pressure and sack numbers aren't always on the line. Burrow has been responsible for several of the hits he's taken. But the Bengals certainly haven't made life easy on their new franchise quarterback, and it's extremely concerning that he's on pace to take 70 sacks this season. 

That'd be the third-highest total in league history. 

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has bounced back, to an extent, from a sophomore slump. But the Browns are 4-1, they've averaged 37.5 points per game in four consecutive wins, and the improved defense contains early Defensive Player of the Year front-runner Myles Garrett. 

In other words, for the first time in decades, identifying a disappointing aspect of the Browns is a difficult and nitpicky task. 

Still, Browns fans likely expect more from their third-year No. 1 overall pick at quarterback. Mayfield ranks in the bottom 10 in football with a passer rating of 88.6. His 6.4 yards-per-attempt average ranks ahead of only a handful of qualified quarterbacks, and he got away with a pair of interceptions Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. 

"I'm very happy we won, there's no doubt about that," Mayfield said following that victory, per CBS Sports. "But I have to be a lot better. I think that was the worst game I've played thus far out of the five games. I have to be better, have to eliminate these mistakes."

The Browns haven't given fans many reasons to be disappointed, but Mayfield has a lot of room for improvement. 

It's amazing we're saying this about a "first-place team," but there's pretty much nothing related to the Dallas Cowboys that hasn't been disappointing. 

Quarterback Dak Prescott just suffered a season-ending ankle injury, running back Ezekiel Elliott is averaging just 4.1 yards per carry, the offensive line is in shambles without Travis Frederick, Tyron Smith and La'el Collins, and the depleted defense has surrendered a league-worst 36.0 points per game. 

The secondary misses Byron Jones, Chidobe Awuzie and Anthony Brown, the linebacking corps misses Leighton Vander Esch and Sean Lee, and up front, top pass-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence has just one sack in five games. 

Put it all together and Dallas has a league-worst minus-eight turnover margin. It's an utter dumpster fire, and it's a miracle the team is 2-3.

This was supposed to be the year the Denver Broncos would finally excel in the passing game. Second-year second-round pick Drew Lock shined late in his rookie season under center and looked to be more supported in 2020, as well. 

But even before he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 2, the cannon-armed Missouri product hadn't dazzled. His completion percentage is barely north of 60, and he's got a sub-90 passer rating. 

That's a small sample, but injuries are part of the realm of disappointment, too. 

In relief of Lock, Jeff Driskel and Brett Rypien have thrown more interceptions (six) than touchdown passes (five), which explains why the Broncos have the fifth-lowest team passer rating in the NFL.

The Detroit Lions' 29th-ranked scoring defense is a bigger reason for their 1-3 record than quarterback Matthew Stafford, but few had big expectations for that D. Stafford? We all knew that if the Lions were going to experience success this year, the veteran quarterback had to be at his best. 

And there was reason to believe that would be the case. After all, Stafford ranked in the top five in passer rating, passing touchdowns and yards per attempt before he was shut down as a result of a back injury midway through the 2019 campaign. Detroit was in contention at that point, and it all went down the drain sans Stafford. 

But he was healthy again entering this season. And yet through four games, he's got the league's fourth-lowest qualified completion percentage (60.6) and a sub-median passer rating of 93.8. 

He just hasn't been a superhero despite superhero pay and the expectation that he'll eventually live up to his draft hype and talent. 

Last season, Green Bay Packers edge defenders Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith formed one of the top pass-rushing duos in the NFL. The two 2019 free-agent additions combined for 25.5 sacks and 60 quarterback hits, which made it easier for the Packers to get away with deficiencies when defending the run. 

But this year, while Za'Darius already has five sacks and eight quarterback hits in four outings, Preston has registered just half a sack, a single quarterback hit and only three pressures. That's despite the fact that he's been on the field for 92 percent of Green Bay's defensive snaps. 

Now, that has something to do with Preston is dropping into coverage far more often than ever thus far. But the 27-year-old is getting playmaker money and failing to make plays. 

Not a lot has gone wrong for the 4-0 Packers this season, but they do need to get more out of a rusher not named Za'Darius. 

Obviously, already-fired Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien was a tremendous disappointment during an 0-4 season-launching run to conclude his tenure in Houston. But O'Brien had already become a punchline with myriad confounding moves as the team's general manager. 

So let's instead target an offensive line that has been the subject of plenty of investment and attention in recent years but continues to let Texans fans down. 

Deshaun Watson continues to be one of the most-pressured quarterbacks in the NFL, which is wild considering left tackle Laremy Tunsil is the highest-paid offensive lineman in league history and the rest of their key starters were either first- or second-round picks (Nick Martin, Tytus Howard, Max Scharping) or expensive free-agent pickups (Zach Fulton, Senio Kelemete). 

Tunsil, Martin and Howard all performed well in a Week 5 Houston victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the hole they've dug thanks in part to that unit's unreliable play might already be too deep. 

Maybe veteran quarterback Philip Rivers gives the Indianapolis Colts a better chance than 2019 starter Jacoby Brissett, who could never get over his big-play allergy. But the team certainly expected to get more out of the eight-time Pro Bowler when it handed him a one-year, $25 million contract this offseason.

The 38-year-old has thrown five interceptions to four touchdown passes in five games, which is a big reason the Colts are just 3-2 despite excellent defensive play and the presence of a stable offensive line. 

Rivers has a bottom-10 QBR along with the league's fourth-worst passer rating in the fourth quarter of one-score games. He's thrown killer fourth-quarter picks in both of Indy's losses, which is extremely characteristic and a sign that a new setting won't allow this leopard to change his spots. 

Rivers is who he is, which at this point is a mistake-prone, unreliable, all-around-mediocre quarterback.

There weren't really any high expectations surrounding the gutted Jacksonville Jaguars this season, but Jags fans probably entered a rebuilding season hoping for signs of a bright future on either side of the ball. 

Take the pass rush, which parted with veterans Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue in the offseason and was thus looking for some immediate signs of life from rookie first-round edge defender K'Lavon Chaisson. 

The LSU product sure looked polished coming out of the SEC, but Chaisson has just one sack, two quarterback hits and four total pressures in five games. That's despite playing more than half the defensive snaps thus far in Jacksonville. 

"I mean it's no secret behind it. I'm not getting there," Chaisson said earlier this month, per James Johnson of Jaguars Wire. "That was the purpose of me getting here. That's the purpose of the head coach [Doug Marrone] and general manager [Dave Caldwell] taking a chance to get me in the first round [was] to get after the quarterback and I haven't been getting there on a consistent basis and that's something I need to get better in every day and every week."

In the Kansas City Chiefs' first loss in more than 11 months, the defense couldn't get off the field against the Las Vegas Raiders. In that particular loss, the entire D struggled against Derek Carr and Co., but more often than not, the run defense has been the most vulnerable unit on the Kansas City roster. 

That group ranked 27th in DVOA entering Week 5 and shouldn't be in much better shape after allowing Raiders backs Josh Jacobs and Devontae Booker to rush for 139 yards on 30 carries Sunday at Arrowhead. 

Linebacker Ben Niemann has struggled, and veterans Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson haven't stood out, either. Kansas City's safeties don't typically excel against the run, and interior defensive lineman Chris Jones is obviously much more oriented toward the pass rush. 

As a result, the Chiefs are one of just six teams surrendering more than five yards per carry on the ground.

A lot has gone right for the Las Vegas Raiders during their inaugural season in Nevada. They're 3-2 with victories over teams that are otherwise a combined 10-2 this year, the offense looks strong, and the defense is no longer a major liability. 

Still, it has to be disappointing that their highest-paid defensive player, high-profile offseason addition Cory Littleton, is tied for the league lead with nine missed tackles and has allowed completions on 14 of the 20 passes into his coverage. 

"The only thing I can do is do what is coached to me and try to put on the best performance I can," Littleton said earlier this month, per Luke Straub of Raiders Wire. "So far, it hasn't been that great."

You have to appreciate the honesty from the former Pro Bowler, but he'll need results on the field soon so that he can help the rest of the guys around him make more plays for a D that still isn't getting enough sacks or takeaways.

Injuries and typical Charger-like breaks from the football gods are the primary reasons for the Los Angeles Chargers to be disappointed early this season. They're 1-4 with four consecutive one-score losses on their record, but that's nothing new. 

More quantifiable is their potential disappointment in sophomore defensive lineman Jerry Tillery, who sacked Burrow on the seventh defensive snap of L.A.'s season but hasn't recorded a quarterback takedown since.

The first-round Notre Dame product also registered five quarterback hits in his first two games but has just one in his last three outings combined. 

Tillery was hardly a factor as a rookie, but his snaps have increased significantly in Year 2. There's still room for the 24-year-old to become a special player, but he's been MIA far too often thus far in his career with the Bolts. 

The Los Angeles Rams cruised to such an easy victory over the Washington Football Team in Week 5 that their defensive weakness on the ground wasn't exposed. But Los Angeles has still surrendered 4.7 yards per carry in 2020, and that run D ranked 28th in DVOA through four weeks. 

While three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald is a force, that mainly works to bolster the pass defense. And while second-year part-time linebacker Troy Reeder excels against the run, starting linebackers Micah Kiser and Kenny Young are vulnerable across the board. 

Both are third-year middle-round picks (Young in Baltimore, while Kiser is homegrown) who have seen their snaps skyrocket with Cory Littleton and Clay Matthews gone. But neither appears ready for a major role, and it shows. 

It's early, though, and both have dealt with injuries. This isn't worthy of panic and is admittedly a nitpick for a team that is a bad call in Buffalo short of a 5-0 start.  

While second-year back Myles Gaskin has had some nice moments early this season for the Miami Dolphins, he, Matt Breida and Jordan Howard are averaging fewer than four yards per attempt behind an offensive line in transition.

Expectations might not have been sky-high for that position group, but the team's 3.7 yards per attempt make life that much harder on bridge quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the revamped line.

That unit, which is riding out growing pains with rookie starters Austin Jackson (who is now on injured reserve) and Solomon Kindley, has been problematic. But few expected it to dominate, whereas Breida and Howard are proven veterans who possess decent resumes but have yet to show up.

That's mildly disappointing for a team that is beginning to look solid elsewhere.

Hear us out on this one, because it's not as though quarterback Kirk Cousins is the Minnesota Vikings' weakest link, and it's not as though he's been a liability. He's a big reason why Minnesota beat Houston in Week 4 and hung with the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5.

But those who expected the 32-year-old to become more consistent are likely disappointed.

Cousins has posted two 118-plus passer ratings, two ratings in the 90s and one epically bad 15.9 rating. And while that horrible Week 2 performance against the Colts was an outlier even for him, he's prone to duds.

Only Carson Wentz has thrown more picks than Cousins, who is the league's ninth-lowest-rated passer. That won't cut it, especially considering his $33 million average annual salary.

Even before he was diagnosed with COVID-19, New England Patriots two-time All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore was having trouble providing a satisfactory encore to a brilliant 2019 campaign in which he was named Defensive Player of the Year.

Gilmore intercepted a league-high six passes in 2019 but has just one pick this year. He defended an NFL-best 20 passes last year but is on pace to record just eight this season. And after surrendering just 5.9 yards per target in 2019, that rate has shot up to 9.1.

It's a small sample, and the 30-year-old is by no means the biggest problem on the roster.

Still, the margin for error in New England is smaller than it has been in decades following an array of offseason losses, and Gilmore's regression has been noticeable, disappointing and at least a little concerning.

It's hard to be disappointed in a player merely for being injured, which is why star New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas might have taken a backseat in this spot to slow-starting pass-rusher Cameron Jordan.

But while Jordan made a significant impact with a half-sack, 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit in his best game Monday night against the Chargers, Thomas was absent, not because of his ankle injury but for disciplinary reasons.

The two-time All-Pro got into an altercation with a teammate in practice this weekend, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. And without him, the Saints nearly lost to the inferior Bolts.

Thomas should be back after the Saints' Week 6 bye, but it's fair to be disappointed in his actions when he was on the brink of a return. It sure seems as though head coach Sean Payton is.

The New York Giants were dealt a blow when veteran left Nate Solder opted out of the season, and rookie first-round pick Andrew Thomas' poor play has only exaggerated the pass protection problem.

Thomas, who has a 57 grade from Pro Football Focus, has surrendered four sacks in five games. But he's been responsible for a lot more pressure than that. He was beaten on the edge consistently and glaringly in Sunday's loss to the Cowboys, and he's looked increasingly unprepared to start.

"It might be time to start getting worried about the Giants' left tackle," Zack Rosenblatt of NJ Advance Media wrote Monday.

Considering Thomas was the No. 4 pick after two seasons as an All-American in the SEC, that's disappointing.

New York's other 0-5 team also would like to get something more out of a first-round rookie offensive tackle, but Mekhi Becton has been far from the largest disappointment for a team that should be disappointed in its young quarterback, its seemingly doomed head coach, its high-paid running back, its revamped offensive line and even a defense that's been gutted.

We'll go with the quarterback.

Sam Darnold has not been dealt a good hand. Adam Gase, Le'Veon Bell, the atrocious line and the organization in general have not properly supported him, but quarterbacks drafted third overall are expected to rise above issues that often accompany rebuilds and at least flash more than Darnold has.

The third-year USC product has a 59.4 completion percentage, more interceptions (four) than touchdowns (three) and the third-worst passer rating in the NFL. It was painful to watch during the first four weeks, so much so that the trade buzz surrounding the now-injured 23-year-old has already become deafening.

How could it be anyone else for the Philadelphia Eagles?

Sure, the entire team has disappointed during a 1-3-1 start, but most of that has to do with a ridiculous number of injuries. And again, franchise quarterbacks—especially those who make more than $30 million per year—need to be capable of carrying teams almost regardless of circumstances.

Carson Wentz has failed to do that. It's often looked as though he's had the yips, and the numbers back that up. The 27-year-old former MVP candidate is the league's lowest-rated passer thanks to an NFL-high nine interceptions and a completion percentage of 60.

Wentz hadn't thrown more than seven picks in a season since he was a rookie in 2016. It's startling and concerning for a player in his prime with a Pro Bowl on his resume and elite physical tools.

Prior to the start of the regular season, a plurality of Bleacher Report NFL experts predicted Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson would be the league's breakout player of the year.

They misspelled Chase Claypool.

While the rookie has exploded, Johnson—who was the subject of plenty of offseason hype after producing on a 1,028-yard pace during the final quarter of the 2019 season despite poor quarterback play—has been a ghost. He's caught just 15 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown.

To be fair, the intriguing 2019 third-round pick has perhaps been limited by a toe injury and a concussion, and he left Sunday's game with a back injury.

It's been a remarkably disappointing season for the injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers, so there were a million different ways to go. And we thought long and hard about quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo after he was benched midway through a horrendous Week 5 performance against the Dolphins.

But Garoppolo wasn't 100 percent healthy Sunday and was superb on paper before suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 2. Instead, we'll gently call out rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who has received plenty of opportunities to shine with the receiving corps depleted but hasn't come through.

The Arizona State product has caught just 12 of the 22 passes thrown his way for 153 yards and has yet to score. That works out to a mediocre average of seven yards per target, and he's yet to catch a pass of more than 20 yards.

San Francisco will need a lot more from the 25th pick—and soon.

The Seattle Seahawks are the NFL's only 5-0 team, so we don't have a lot to work with. Still, four of their wins have come by one score, and they've allowed 25-plus points in all but one game.

The defense is vulnerable, primarily because the pass rush hasn't been consistently effective enough to compensate for injuries in the secondary. Seattle ranks in the bottom 10 in football with nine sacks and a pressure rate of 17.9 percent and fourth-worst with a sack rate of 3.6 percent.

That's not on one particular player, but it's hard not to be especially disappointed in second-year edge-defender L.J. Collier, who has just one sack and three quarterback hits in five games.

Maybe the TCU product is finally set to take off after recording his first sack Sunday night, but Seahawks fans would almost certainly like to see a lot more from him.

Considering he's 43 years old, and that a 43-year-old has never experienced sustained success at the quarterback position in this league, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady isn't off to a bad start with his new team.

The most decorated player in NFL history has thrown 12 touchdown passes to four interceptions and ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of completion percentage, passer rating and QBR for a team that has been productive on both sides of the ball.

That said, the hype surrounding Brady's arrival was so extra that a lot of folks have to be disappointed by his seven yards per attempt and two pick-sixes. On Thursday, he struggled and even seemed to commit a major gaffe by losing track of the down in a key moment as the Bucs scored just 19 points in a loss at the Bears.

Tampa Bay is on the right track, but Brady has been the closest thing to disappointing.

We're dealing with a particularly small sample with regard to the Tennessee Titans, who have played just three games because of an organizational COVID-19 outbreak.

And while that is probably the Titans' chief source of disappointment so far, we can call out a run defense that has surrendered a league-high 5.8 yards per rushing attempt this season.

A lot of that damage came when Vikings back Dalvin Cook owned the Titans front seven in Week 3 with 22 carries for 181 yards, though Tennessee also surrendered 102 yards on 16 carries to the Jaguars' James Robinson in Week 2, and Melvin Gordon III and Phillip Lindsay of the Broncos combined for 102 yards on 22 carries in Week 1.

That doesn't fall on one particular player, but safety Kevin Byard has missed four tackles already, and linebacker Jayon Brown hasn't been himself yet either.

The Washington Football Team's 1-4 start is not entirely the fault of second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr., but the No. 15 pick out of Ohio State is the most disappointing aspect of the squad.

Haskins failed to lift a bad, banged-up team on his shoulders before getting benched. It was an awfully quick hook considering Haskins had practically no support from a terrible offensive line and a receiving corps lacking depth, but you expect something special when you use a top pick on a quarterback, and Haskins still possesses the league's worst QBR by a wide margin.

Considering that he appeared to be making progress when he posted a 131.3 passer rating in his final two games as a rookie, that's quite disappointing.

He needs another shot at some point, but for now, Haskins represents a poor investment by a franchise in the gutter.