Panic or Relax: Which NFL Teams Are in Serious Trouble?

With six weeks of NFL games finished, certain teams are feeling the pressure of sluggish starts or a particularly bad loss.

Week 7 marks a great opportunity for struggling squads to evaluate what's going wrong and determine what they can do to shake off their slumps. Some teams, like the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars, didn't carry high hopes to begin with and are likely looking toward the 2021 NFL draft.

But others are still in the playoff picture, and we're here to determine whether it's time for them to panic. These franchises aren't leading their respective divisions and are struggling to meet expectations—whether those are from the preseason or of a more recent variety. 

Let's take a look at six of the most notable.

Minnesota Vikings

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Editor's Note: After publish, the Minnesota Vikings traded Yannick Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 conditional fifth-round pick per ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

The Minnesota Vikings were expected to compete for the NFC North title after playoff appearances in two of the last three seasons. Instead, they are sitting in last place at 1-5 after a brutal blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons. 

The previously winless Falcons exposed the Vikings' poor pass defense, and Minnesota gave up costly turnovers. Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan had his best game of the year, completing 30 of 40 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Kirk Cousins posted some garbage-time touchdowns, but he still threw three interceptions in the 40-23 loss.

Cousins has had yet another inconsistent season, tossing 11 touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions. Some games he's looked like the franchise quarterback the Vikings paid for at $33 million per season, but in others he's folded. He posted a passer rating of just 15.9 while throwing for only 113 yards and three interceptions in a 28-11 Week 2 loss to the Colts.

The defense hasn't looked much better. The unit is giving up 32 points per game, ranking 31st, while only forcing five turnovers. With Cousins regularly turning the ball over and the defense struggling to get takeaways, Minnesota is 30th in turnover differential. 

Although the Vikings have faced tough competition, that their only win has come against the 1-5 Houston Texans, who already fired head coach Bill O'Brien, is telling. Minnesota heads into its bye week with its next three games all against NFC North opponents, and these will be crucial if the Vikings want to gain any ground in the division.

However, they haven't shown any signs of consistency, and the upcoming slate could be the death knell for any playoff hopes. 

Verdict: Panic 

Philadelphia Eagles

Rich Schultz/Associated Press

A spirited comeback Sunday almost saw the Philadelphia Eagles force overtime against the Baltimore Ravens. However, a failed two-point conversion with less than two minutes remaining squashed those hopes, moving them to 1-4-1.

Shockingly, the Eagles are still sitting in second place in the NFC East. Both the New York Giants and Washington Football Team are 1-5, but neither looks capable of vying for the division title.

Injuries have played a big part in the Eagles' early-season struggles. The physical setbacks continued to pile up in Sunday's loss, with ESPN's Chris Mortensen reporting that running back Miles Sanders is expected to miss Thursday's game against the Giants with a knee injury, while tight end Zach Ertz is expected to miss three to four weeks with an ankle issue.

In more positive injury news, two key weapons are soon expected back for Carson Wentz and the Eagles offense. Both rookie receiver Jalen Reagor (thumb) and tight end Dallas Goedert (ankle) are eligible to return from injured reserve, although there's no guarantee they'll be ready to play Thursday. 

Offensively, the Eagles have started to find their groove, scoring at least 25 points in each of their last three games. The emergence of wide receiver Travis Fulgham has provided a much-needed boost to the passing attack, while rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts is getting more involved, racking up 26 yards on just three touches Sunday.

With Dak Prescott likely out for the year because of an ankle injury and Andy Dalton taking over under center for the Cowboys, the division couldn't be more wide open. And once Sanders, Reagor and Goedert are back, the offense should be a lot more explosive.

Verdict: Relax

Los Angeles Chargers

Brett Duke/Associated Press

Los Angeles Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert took over in Week 2 after a pregame injury to Tyrod Taylor and pushed the Kansas City Chiefs to the brink in a 23-20 loss.

But despite Herbert's subsequent strong play, the 1-4 Chargers haven't won since Week 1 and are sitting in last in the AFC West. That's disappointing for a team that was hoping to move up in the division after finishing in the basement with a 5-11 record last year. 

Still, in four games against some tough opponents, the former Oregon Duck has completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 1,195 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions, posting a strong 107.1 passer rating.

Unfortunately, that hasn't been enough to offset massive losses on both sides of the ball. Melvin Ingram III, Chris Harris Jr., Derwin James, Mike Pouncey and Austin Ekeler have all spent time on injured reserve this year.

The team has plenty of time to reverse course, but it will be a lot harder to make the playoffs given how well the rest of the division is playing. The Chiefs are looking like Super Bowl contenders once again, while the Las Vegas Raiders are turning heads with a 3-2 record that included a big Week 5 win over Kansas City. Even the Denver Broncos aren't going away quietly, moving to 2-3 with a victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday.

As well as Herbert is playing, injuries across the board and a loaded division will be too much for the Chargers to overcome.

Verdict: Panic

New England Patriots

Steven Senne/Associated Press

Growing pains were to be expected for the New England Patriots with quarterback Tom Brady leaving for Tampa Bay and Cam Newton taking over. Still, the team was looked at as at least a fringe playoff contender before the season.

But Patriots fans are probably nervous after an 18-12 loss to the Broncos put them at 2-3.

For the first time since 2002, New England has a losing record in October or later. While that may be concerning for most teams, head coach Bill Belichick has generally found ways to shake off slow starts and make a playoff run.

The team has had to establish a new offensive identity under Newton. Designed quarterback runs have been a new wrinkle in offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels' game plan, with Newton running for 225 yards and five touchdowns in four outings. 

But working out the offensive kinks became much harder when Newton was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list in early October. In their one game without him, they only scored 10 points in a loss to Kansas City, while backup quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer threw three interceptions.

Newton's return against the Broncos wasn't the sharpest. The offense mustered 288 total yards while turning the ball over three times and giving up four sacks, leading to just 12 points. 

Still, the defense has been keeping the Patriots afloat with 10 takeaways while allowing a modest 22 points per contest.

With five more divisional games to play, including two against the winless New York Jets, the Patriots have plenty of time for Newton and the offense to start rolling.

Verdict: Relax

San Francisco 49ers

Scot Tucker/Associated Press

After back-to-back losses to the Eagles and Dolphins, the San Francisco 49ers looked a lot more like the team that played in the Super Bowl last year in a relatively convincing 24-16 Week 6 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. 

Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns against the Rams, looking much healthier than he did the previous game when trying to return from a high ankle sprain that had sidelined him since Week 2.

Given everything that's happened to the 49ers this season, a 3-3 start has to feel like a win.

Still, injuries are a huge problem. After trading DeForest Buckner to the Colts in the offseason, the 49ers are down another few key contributors on their defensive line, with both Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas suffering torn ACLs. Meanwhile, defensive end Dee Ford is on IR with a back injury, and All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman suffered a setback in recovering from a calf injury that's kept him out since Week 1. 

Their schedule is also concerning, as they face the Patriots, Seahawks, Packers and Saints in their next four games. All of those teams have high hopes for this season with a combined record of 14-6, even if the Patriots and Saints have had hiccups.

The NFC West is a notoriously difficult group and doesn't feature a team below .500. The Seahawks are particularly concerning, since they're 5-0 and still have two games to play against San Francisco.

This upcoming stretch will tell us a lot about the 49ers, but it feels like this team isn't nearly healthy enough to make another Super Bowl run.

Verdict: Panic

Cleveland Browns

Don Wright/Associated Press

A 38-7 blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers might have Cleveland Browns fans worried that their strong start raised false hopes for a playoff-caliber team.

While their 4-2 record is still respectable, that puts them third in the AFC North behind the undefeated Steelers and 5-1 Ravens. Sure, the expanded playoff format—which allows an extra team per conference—helps, but the Browns would rather move up in the AFC North instead of leaving their postseason hopes to chance.

The Browns have shown plenty of promise, particularly with their running game. Averaging 169.5 yards per contest on the ground, Cleveland has the league's No. 1 rushing attack. It's already run for 1,000 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry with eight rushing touchdowns.

Of course, the ground game took a big blow in early October when Nick Chubb injured his knee in the win over the Cowboys. Chubb was expected to miss several weeks, although ESPN's Adam Schefter reported it could be as long as a month-and-a-half. 

On the bright side, the Browns offense still has plenty of weapons. Running back Kareem Hunt is a solid backup, rushing for 387 yard and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is having a strong season with 319 receiving yards and four total touchdowns, already matching the latter mark from 2019.

Cleveland's upcoming schedule should give the Browns an opportunity to gain ground in the division. Their next five opponents have a combined record of 7-20-2 and include the Jaguars and Bengals.

If this were any other Browns season, Sunday's loss would have been a knockout blow. However, with a 4-2 record and an easy upcoming slate, this might be the year the Browns make it into the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Verdict: Relax