Every NFL Team's Best-Case Scenario for Rest of the 2021 Regular Season
For every NFL fanbase, immense summer expectations have collided with reality over the first seven weeks of action.
Some of those expectations have become reality, of course. A certain hyped offseason team has since churned out a 7-0 record on a clear Super Bowl-contention pace.
But, "there are two sides to every coin" is an old adage for a reason. Reality has shattered high hopes for other fanbases, such as a 10-win team from a year ago that sputtered out of the gate to a 1-6 record.
Nearing the season's halfway mark, the best-case scenario for the rest of the regular season will look dramatically different for each team. In the case of contenders, that might be a deep playoff run. In the extreme other cases, it might mean proper development of a key piece of the future. In all cases, it stretches beyond simple final-record analysis.
Arizona Cardinals
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Best-case scenario: NFC West crown
The Arizona Cardinals are the 7-0 team hinted at in the intro.
After an 8-8 record last year in a tough NFC West, it was safe to expect another jump from Kyler Murray under center, and the team made huge win-now splashes, highlighted by the additions of major names like J.J. Watt and A.J. Green.
Arizona has mostly breezed to the undefeated mark with a plus-111 point differential. Murray has thrown 17 touchdowns against five interceptions while completing 73.5 percent of his attempts. The schedule includes wins over contenders like Tennessee, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Rams.
The obvious goal is the Super Bowl. But over the course of the season's second half, the best-case scenario is continuing this pace to secure the divisional crown and a high playoff seed. Easier said than done in the NFC West, where even the San Francisco 49ers came within one score of the Cardinals in a Week 5 encounter.
Atlanta Falcons
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Best-case scenario: Finding the offense and keys to the future
The Atlanta Falcons again tried to straddle the line between contender and rebuilder this offseason, most notably by trading Julio Jones but keeping Matt Ryan under center.
A 3-3 start was a predictable result, with the team's only wins coming against both putrid New York squads that have three combined wins and a one-win Miami team.
Since the Falcons aren't catching Tampa Bay in the NFC South and New Orleans looks good with Jameis Winston under center, the best possible scenario the rest of the way is forging a path that makes a rebuild as easy as possible.
Head coach Arthur Smith's offense has struggled thus far after his superb work as a coordinator in Tennessee. He's got the rest of the year to fine-tune the approach and keep getting the most out of fourth overall pick Kyle Pitts, who after four ho-hum showings has 282 receiving yards and a score over his last two games.
Baltimore Ravens
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Best-case scenario: Enduring the injury bug to compete for AFC North crown
A lucky streak amid a brutal case of the injury bug was always going to result in a crash for the Baltimore Ravens.
That appeared to come true in the team's Week 7 41-17 shellacking at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals. Lamar Jackson, the leading passer and rusher for the offense behind a line that has allowed 21 sacks, just couldn't do it all himself, and injuries let the Bengals exploit his defense.
Baltimore is easily one of the league's most injured teams with big names like defensive lineman Derek Wolfe, running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley and cornerback Marcus Peters on injured reserve—to name a few of the 13 names there.
This isn't to suggest the Ravens can't contend. But merely scraping by in the eight- or nine-win range might make more sense. They still have to deal with five more AFC North games in a division where each team has at least three wins. Plus, teams like Green Bay and the Los Angeles Rams remain on the schedule.
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Buffalo Bills
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Best-case scenario: Stay on track for a repeat
The Buffalo Bills sprinted out to 13 wins last year, only dropping games to Tennessee, Kansas City and Arizona.
Fast-forward to now: They're 4-2 with losses to Tennessee and Pittsburgh. That's still good enough for first place in the lousy AFC East, where the Bills already picked up a 35-0 win over Miami. Both of the team's losses, by the way, came by a combined 10 points.
With Josh Allen still playing at a very high level (15 touchdowns, three picks) and a top-two scoring defense only allowing 16.3 points per game, the end result could be a similar trajectory to last year.
The Bills won six in a row to close the season in addition to two playoff games before falling to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC title game. Except this year, the AFC is wide-open with the Chiefs floundering at 3-4 and no bona fide top dog—that spot could belong to the Bills.
Carolina Panthers
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Best-case scenario: Evening out
This is maybe the most boring best-case scenario of them all, but that's the sort of season the Carolina Panthers continue to have.
The Panthers were a bit of fool's gold to start the year at 3-0, including a tough NFC South win over New Orleans. But they've dropped four games in a row since, including winnable matchups with Philadelphia (21-18), Minnesota (34-28 in overtime) and the 2-5 New York Giants (25-3).
In that last loss, the Panthers yanked starter Sam Darnold from the lineup after trading for the 2018 first-rounder this offseason to replace Teddy Bridgewater, who was sent to Denver. It wasn't a bad idea given that Darnold is still just 24 years old and a top-three pick, but the team needed seven games to realize it may have made a mistake—this after picking up his option for 2022 that carries an $18.9 million cap hit.
Barring something dramatic, the best thing the Panthers can do is hope a younger, rebuilding team can start winning the close games while the front office eyes a quarterback change next offseason. Along the way, notable future pieces like second-round wideout Terrace Marshall Jr. can continue to develop.
Chicago Bears
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Best-case scenario: Properly develop Justin Fields
It sounds basic, but Matt Nagy and the Chicago Bears coaching staff has made it anything but.
Fields, the 11th pick this year, was supposed to learn with a clipboard in hand while Andy Dalton handled starting duties. But the veteran got hurt early, and Fields got thrown to the wolves.
In the most damning example, Fields completed six passes while taking nine sacks in a Week 3 loss to Cleveland. He's been far from perfect, and the offensive line in front of him is bad (league-worst 26 sacks allowed), but the offense continues to look like one designed for Dalton.
As NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah pointed out, Fields feasted on play-action looks, yet the coaches merely run it a quarter of the time. There's also minimal moving pockets, rollouts and designed runs that would accentuate the traits that made Fields such a high pick in the first place.
If the team doesn't find a new approach soon, the 3-4 third-place Bears will possibly hurt Fields' development before making a coaching change next offseason.
Cincinnati Bengals
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Best-case scenario: AFC North crown
Before the season, it was fair to suggest this would end up being "develop Joe Burrow" or something similar as the Bengals struggled.
But struggle they have not en route to a 5-2 AFC North-leading record coming out of a 41-17 beatdown of the Ravens in Baltimore. Burrow has looked mobile and unfazed by the serious knee injury he spent all summer rehabbing, completing 68.9 percent of his passes with 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Rookie wideout Ja'Marr Chase now has 754 yards and six scores on 35 catches, the most yardage ever by a rookie receiver through the first seven games. He's averaging 21.5 yards per catch, completely changing the complexion of the offense.
And the defense is upgraded, too, thanks in large part to 6.5-sack man Trey Hendrickson, the team's big free-agent signing.
With wins in Pittsburgh and Baltimore already and a top-end passer, the Bengals have a shot at winning the division and fighting for what seems to be a vacant AFC throne.
Cleveland Browns
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Best-case scenario: Remain afloat in hopes of a Baker resurgence
The best thing the Cleveland Browns can do is lean heavily on the ground game and cross their fingers for Baker Mayfield's return to form.
Mayfield suffered a shoulder injury in a Week 6 loss to the Cardinals that will require offseason surgery, though he'll try to play through it until then, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
With Mayfield sidelined, Cleveland moved the needle to 4-3 with a 17-14 win over a bad Denver team, rushing for 182 yards and a score while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Backup Case Keenum completed 21 of 33 attempts for 199 yards and one touchdown, averaging six yards per attempt.
Point being, the schedule gets much tougher against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and New England in the coming weeks before dates with Baltimore—one before and one after the Week 13 bye.
Prior to being sidelined, Mayfield completed 67.1 percent of his passes with just six touchdowns and three interceptions over the 3-3 start, so the hope in a stacked AFC North has to be that he can come back and be more of a threat than Keenum in order to keep defenses honest.
Dallas Cowboys
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Best-case scenario: Cruise control with limited injuries
The Dallas Cowboys are 5-1 in an NFC East where no other team has more than two wins.
Dak Prescott predictably popped off in his return after last year's ankle injury ruined his season, completing 73.1 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and four picks. Ezekiel Elliott has rebounded with 521 rushing yards (5.1 yards per carry) and five scores, and the offense has three targets with 350-plus receiving yards and three or more receiving touchdowns apiece.
Dallas' defense is also substantially better than last year, too, largely because of the immediate impact of 12th overall pick Micah Parsons at linebacker and cornerback Trevon Diggs' league-leading seven interceptions and 11 pass breakups. Making the switch from Mike Nolan to Dan Quinn at defensive coordinator didn't hurt, either.
Already 2-0 in the division thanks to blowouts against Philadelphia and New York, the Cowboys are good enough to just line up and keep doing what they're doing, and tough schedule breaks like a Week 11 showdown with Kansas City don't seem nearly as difficult now. If they can steer clear of the injury bug, the Cowboys could threaten to take the entire NFC.
Denver Broncos
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Best-case scenario: Pave the way for a rebuild
It was easy to tab the Denver Broncos as the biggest fluke of the early season after the team sprinted to a 3-0 record against lowly competition (both New York teams and Jacksonville).
Denver has lost four in a row since and wasn't really competitive in any of them except against the Baker Mayfield-less Browns.
It's clear the Broncos just don't have the ammunition to keep up in the AFC West, primarily because of the quarterback spot. Teddy Bridgewater has completed 70.1 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions, but he's averaged better than seven yards per attempt in just one of those four losses against tougher competition and thrown all of his picks during that stretch.
Big names like Von Miller, Bryce Callahan, Kyle Fuller, Melvin Gordon III and Bridgewater are all up for free agency after the season. It wouldn't be a shocker to see the team act as a seller at the trade deadline, opening up snaps for younger players and potentially better positioning itself for a high-end quarterback prospect in the 2022 draft.
Detroit Lions
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Best-case scenario: With the first pick...
While tanking is never openly advised, this one is too obvious. The Detroit Lions are owners of the league's most dramatic rebuild, and that's shown on the field to the tune of an 0-7 start.
As expected, Jared Goff hasn't been the answer under center after coming over in the Matthew Stafford trade. The Lions didn't just receive a pair of first-round picks in that trade because Goff has a big contract—it was also a big downgrade.
Goff, no longer uplifted by a great supporting cast with the Los Angeles Rams, has thrown eight touchdowns and six interceptions and been called out by head coach Dan Campbell.
Realistically, though, one glance at this roster during training camp revealed a bleak outcome would likely be in the cards. However, the silver lining is that the Lions can develop key pieces of the future (like seventh overall pick Penei Sewell) while earning the first pick before a massive roster overhaul next offseason.
Green Bay Packers
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Best-case scenario: Match last year's pace
A year ago, the Green Bay Packers lost just three games while securing a first-round bye. One of those proved ominous, though, as a Week 6 blowout loss to Tampa Bay foreshadowed losing to Tom Brady and Co. again in the NFC title game.
One offseason filled with Aaron Rodgers speculation later, the Packers are off to a 6-1 start in an NFC North where no other team has more than three wins. The lone loss, a blowout 38-3 embarrassment in the opener to New Orleans, always looms as potentially unsettling foreshadowing again.
But the reality is the Packers have looked dominant in most games since despite a pass rush that hasn't hit home as often as it should (18 sacks) while Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith miss time.
Taking the NFC won't be as easy as last year with Tampa Bay and Arizona looking great, too, but if the Packers can iron out some minor issues and stay relatively healthy, it remains a realistic goal.
Houston Texans
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Best-case scenario: Fuel the rebuild
This one will have more to do with off-field performance than results on the field. That makes sense considering the topic is a Houston Texans team that signed 20-plus players in free agency this past offseason while not making a draft pick until the third round, all in the midst of an organizational overhaul.
That figures to be the course of action again next offseason, as the vast majority of those new signings were one-year pacts. The best thing the Texans can do is move tradeable assets for rebuild assets.
Which means, of course, trading Deshaun Watson. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported several teams still have an interest ahead of the trade deadline, so acquiring multiple high-end picks would speed up the rebuild.
Giving as many snaps as possible to the young players on the roster would also help accelerate the process. The team is already 1-6, with the lone win coming against one-win Jacksonville in the opener. Continual losing stings, but the draft positioning sure won't, especially if it's bolstered by additional picks from moving tradeable assets.
Indianapolis Colts
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Best-case scenario: Wild card
The Indianapolis Colts might be best described as a wild card over the rest of the season.
The Colts started 0-3 and looked lost after resetting under center again, this time with Carson Wentz. But they've bounced back to a 3-4 record just outside the playoff picture, and that's likely good enough to stay in second place in a weak AFC South.
When the schedule eased up a bit after the first three games, softer opponents and Wentz getting on the same page with his offense combined for good showings. He's now thrown eight touchdowns and no interceptions over his last four games as he starts to look more comfortable after foot surgery and a trip to the reserve/COVID-19 list derailed his summer.
The Colts have a plus-nine turnover differential (second in the league) and continue to get healthier after the recent return of T.Y. Hilton from neck surgery. The schedule features plenty of layups, too, including games against Houston, the New York Jets and two against Jacksonville. Continuing to trend upward could mean a playoff berth, even if the Colts aren't catching Tennessee in the division.
Jacksonville Jaguars
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Best-case scenario: Positive momentum
This was always the goal for the Jacksonville Jaguars entering the season. With it firmly established that the AFC title game in 2017 was a fluke as the franchise's only peak above .500 since 2007, this year was unquestionably about development and improving on that one win from 2020.
That said, it hasn't been easy for the Jaguars to gain traction. First pick Trevor Lawrence has had to learn on the fly with a less-than-ideal receiving corps, completing just 59.7 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Jacksonville also lost first-round pick Travis Etienne to a Lisfranc injury before the season along with top wideout DJ Chark Jr., who fractured his ankle in Week 4. To make matters worse, head coach Urban Meyer, when not looking like a deer in headlights on the sideline, had to deal with the repercussions of some debatable decision-making off the field.
In spite of this, the Jaguars are 1-5 and more or less on par with their preseason projections. Lawrence has shown some amazing flashes, so this year is about developing him and the core, and making sure Meyer is the right guy for the job while trying to pick up a few more wins.
Kansas City Chiefs
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Best-case scenario: Right the ship
Here's one most didn't see coming.
The Kansas City Chiefs are only 3-4 and enter Week 8 after a 27-3 loss at the hands of Tennessee. Patrick Mahomes has thrown nine picks, more than his six over 15 games last year and five across 14 contests in 2019. An offensive line bolstered by free-agent signing Joe Thuney and big trade acquisition Orlando Brown Jr. has been a mess, and the defense coughs up 29 points per game and sits dead-last with eight sacks.
Barring a stunning, near-historical turn of events, the Chiefs aren't going to scrap for the AFC's top seed. They're third in the AFC West as it is and still have tough non-divisional opponents on the schedule against Dallas, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
That's life at the top, though. Win like the Chiefs have to earn a tough schedule, falter and a losing record is the result. If Mahomes can tone down the turnovers and work more within the offense while the line and defense build better chemistry, the playoffs aren't even close to being out of the equation.
Las Vegas Raiders
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Best-case scenario: AFC West crown
The Las Vegas Raiders haven't won the division since 2002 and have one playoff appearance in that span.
So yes, it's pretty great the best-case scenario is taking the AFC West this year.
With the Chiefs floundering at 3-4, the Raiders have jumped out to an eye-opening lead at 5-2 despite the distraction of Jon Gruden stepping down as head coach. That does come with a bit of a disclaimer, though, as the win over a contender like Baltimore is offset by a divisional loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Regardless, the offense is very explosive with Derek Carr completing 67.7 percent of his attempts with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions, while the defense has a pressure rate of 27 percent, a top-10 mark in the league.
That's a recipe for a playoff berth and more in today's NFL, even in the face of a tough-looking stretch to finish the season. It gives this team a now-or-never vibe, especially after the coaching change.
Los Angeles Chargers
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Best-case scenario: Sweep and take the AFC West
It speaks to the stunning depth of the AFC West that two teams were ready to step in as possible division winners as soon as Kansas City lost a step.
But the Los Angeles Chargers might be the favorite.
The Chargers are already 2-0 in the AFC West and 4-2 as a whole. They got the best of Kansas City on the road in Week 3 with a 30-24 win. They followed that up with a 28-14 dismissal of Las Vegas the next week. The only blemishes on their record have come against contending Dallas and Baltimore teams.
With Justin Herbert again looking elite (14 touchdowns, four picks), this time behind an upgraded line, and the defense generating more pressure than most teams to contribute to their No. 4 ranking in passing yards allowed, a clean sweep of the AFC West is still on the table.
That would mean flirting with seven or eight wins before accounting for easy games against the likes of Houston, Philadelphia and the New York Giants.
Los Angeles Rams
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Best-case scenario: Sticking in the race
Hearing the Los Angeles Rams are 6-1 and looking predictably great after the arrival of Matthew Stafford would suggest they're legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
But the Rams are only second in the NFC West behind 7-0 Arizona.
Normally, that wouldn't seem like such a big deal. But when the Rams hosted the Cardinals in Week 4, Arizona laughed the Rams out of the building in 37-20 fashion. The Cardinals got two touchdown passes from Kyler Murray, ran for another two scores at a clip of 5.4 yards per carry and held Stafford to 6.8 yards per attempt—his next-lowest this season is 8.2, as he's reached 9.0 or better five times.
And sure, maybe that was just an off game for the Rams. But the Cardinals aren't showing any signs of slowing down, and taking them down in a Week 14 Monday night matchup in Arizona won't be easy. Meaning, the best case is staying in the thick of the divisional race and making a playoff run, but finishing atop the NFC West may be wishful thinking.
Miami Dolphins
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Best-case scenario: Get a verdict on Tua Tagovailoa and Brian Flores
After 10 wins last season and a stockpile of draft picks to flesh out a contending core, the Miami Dolphins have started 1-6.
Along the way, Tua Tagovailoa, the fifth pick in 2020, has already missed three games. And when he's not struggling to uplift a bad team while learning on the fly, he's had to field questions about Miami possibly trading for Deshaun Watson.
Tagovailoa has shown flashes of being a franchise quarterback, especially while throwing six touchdowns and three picks over his last two outings. But the Dolphins need to use the rest of the season to see if he's really the long-term answer and, if so, use the remaining schedule to properly develop him.
As for head coach Brian Flores, the erratic performances and major drop-off aren't a good look. Neither is a "meh" overall return on that stockpile of draft assets, including 2020 first-round offensive tackle Austin Jackson grading miserably at Pro Football Focus (51.3) and 2020 first-round cornerback Noah Igbinoghene doing the same (49.0).
If the Dolphins don't flip the script and finish respectably, it might be time to move on from the coaching staff, too.
Minnesota Vikings
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Best-case scenario: Remain in the hunt
The Minnesota Vikings are one of the more difficult teams to figure out this year.
Minnesota lost close games to contenders Arizona and Cincinnati but also escaped the winless Detroit Lions by just two points. Kirk Cousins has thrown 13 touchdowns and two interceptions, but it just hasn't been enough to separate the Vikings from their opponents in all but one game.
It's fair to say the Vikings are underperforming, yet they are lucky enough to still sit at 3-3. They won't catch six-win Green Bay, but a playoff spot remains a very real possibility, especially if the team can develop a killer instinct and distance itself from beatable opponents.
Two dates with Green Bay, plus encounters with Baltimore, Dallas, and both L.A. teams remain on the slate, though, so the Vikings are almost out of time.
New England Patriots
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Best-case scenario: Gradually unleash Mac Jones as development continues
The New England Patriots don't project to catch the Buffalo Bills over the long term in the AFC East, but a second-place finish while properly developing Tom Brady's successor isn't the worst outcome.
The Patriots have been all over the place during a 3-4 start, coughing up Miami's only win of the season, coming within two points of Tampa Bay, taking Dallas to overtime but also only escaping Houston by three points.
Along the way, rookie passer Mac Jones has slowly become a serious breakout candidate. Over his last four games, he's completed better than 70 percent of his passes for 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns against three interceptions.
It feels like a gradual ascension for this year's 15th pick right as Bill Belichick and Co. open up the playbook. That might not be enough to make a playoff push in a stacked AFC, but another offseason of aggressive free-agency spending and smart drafting around a rookie quarterback contract could make 2022 the target contention year.
New Orleans Saints
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Best-case scenario: Dominate the non-Tampa Bay divisional opponents
Good news for the New Orleans Saints: Jameis Winston is doing just fine as Drew Brees' replacement.
Bad news for the New Orleans Saints: They're still in the same division as Tom Brady and Tampa Bay.
The Saints have started 4-2, besting a contender in Green Bay and getting a win in Seattle as Winston has thrown for 13 touchdowns and just three picks. But the two losses have been wildly disappointing—a Week 2 blowout at the hands of Carolina and a Week 4 overtime loss to a 2-5 New York Giants team.
Still, if the Saints can split the season series with Carolina and bulldoze 3-3 Atlanta twice, it should keep them on a good pace behind 6-1 Tampa Bay (at least splitting there would be ideal too, of course). It's also imperative to clean up against the bottom two teams in the NFC South since the first wild-card spot seems to clearly belong to the NFC West.
If nothing else, the Saints have a 27-year-old Winston who can be the long-term starter beyond this year. But with Michael Thomas on his way back and the Saints looking competitive, there's reason to hope for a playoff spot.
New York Giants
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Best-case scenario: Position themselves for the Daniel Jones replacement
This has always felt like the last chance for Daniel Jones with the New York Giants. The 2019 draft's sixth overall pick who managed just 11 touchdown passes over 14 games in 2020 has just five over seven games this year.
Jones is far from the only problem in New York, as key pieces around him like Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay haven't been able to stay healthy. But being drafted that high creates the expectation that a signal-caller can uplift the talent around him—the Giants are 2-5.
New York appears to be aware it's staring an awkward fifth-year-option situation and even extension negotiations in the face. The front office traded down in the first round in April so that Chicago could take Justin Fields at No. 11, picking up the Bears' 2022 first-round pick.
That ammunition, paired with other draft picks after another losing season, could be enough of a trade package to enable the Giants to choose whatever quarterback prospect they desire at the top of the next draft.
New York Jets
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Best-case scenario: Protect a developing Zach Wilson
Sounds simple, but it sure isn't.
The New York Jets were never going to win a ton of games in 2021 as Zach Wilson, this year's second overall pick, learned on the fly. That has been reinforced by miserable 1-5 start in which the only win was an overtime affair.
Even worse, Wilson suffered a PCL injury that will keep him out for two to four weeks during a humiliating 54-13 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 7.
Wilson's tally before the injury was a 57.5 completion percentage with four touchdowns and nine interceptions behind a line that permitted 19 sacks. Some of those sacks were the scramble-happy Wilson's fault, of course, but the Jets just weren't in a position to surround him with more talent in a single offseason.
So the task is simple the rest of the way: Get Wilson back out there when he's ready, and let him develop alongside important long-term pieces like first-round guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and second-round wideout Elijah Moore...and try to keep him upright.
Philadelphia Eagles
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Best-case scenario: Get a verdict on Jalen Hurts (and Nick Sirianni)
At this point, the best possible thing the 2-5 Philadelphia Eagles can do is make a definitive decision on the quarterback position by season's end.
The team used a 2020 second-round pick on Jalen Hurts and, after naming him the starter this year, has seen him complete just 61.2 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Hurts hasn't continually blossomed, and first-year head coach Nick Sirianni's reputation as an offensive mind doesn't appear to be helping. And we can conclude that the Eagles had their doubts about Hurts because they signed Joe Flacco in the offseason before trading for Gardner Minshew. Now, The Athletic's Zach Berman even thinks Minshew could see multiple starts at this rate.
It's important for the Eagles to determine if Sirianni can realize some of that offensive hype regardless of who lines up under center. And it's even more important for the Eagles to reach a verdict on Hurts considering the team owns three possible first-round picks. If the season ended today, they'd own the sixth pick, the second pick (from Miami) and the 13th pick (from Indianapolis), which jumps from a second- to a first-round selection as long as Carson Wentz plays 75 percent of the Colts' offensive snaps or 70 percent and the Colts make the playoffs. Philadelphia could have its pick of the quarterback litter.
Pittsburgh Steelers
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Best-case scenario: End the farewell tour on a high note
This is it for the Ben Roethlisberger era in Pittsburgh, right?
The Steelers welcomed Big Ben back as the starter again this season, as any reasonable franchise would do, particularly when the alternative is Mason Rudolph or Dwayne Haskins. But over the first few weeks, he looked like a guy any reasonable franchise would bench—had he not been a legend of said franchise.
Roethlisberger has been steady during a two-game winning streak to even the Steelers' record at 3-3. But even those wins came against 3-4 Denver and a Russell Wilson-less Seattle team, and a .500 mark is only good enough for last place in a stacked AFC North.
Flirting with .500 the rest of the way is probably the best-case scenario at this point with Big Ben sitting on just seven touchdowns and four interceptions, the running game averaging fewer than four yards per carry behind a bad line and the defense only registering 15 sacks (seven of those by T.J. Watt over five appearances).
Looking at the forecast, they've still got five encounters with a stacked division, plus games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee and Kansas City, so it's easier-said-than-done territory.
San Francisco 49ers
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Best-case scenario: Properly develop Trey Lance
Things have played out how most would expect for the San Francisco 49ers when it comes to the Jimmy Garoppolo-Trey Lance dynamic at quarterback.
Mainly, the veteran has struggled while his starting opportunities have an expiration date, the team has underperformed at 2-4, and fans' clamoring for Lance continues to surge.
And it's hard to blame the 49ers faithful for wanting the third overall pick that the team traded up to get to be on the field. After starting 2-0 thanks to layups against winless Detroit and two-win Philadelphia, San Francisco has lost four in a row. Over his last two starts, Garoppolo has failed to reach the 200-yard mark while throwing for two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Like Justin Fields in Chicago, starting full-time once he's back from a knee injury won't always be pretty for Lance. The 49ers won't catch the two teams that already have six or more wins in the division, but head coach Kyle Shanahan is an offensive guru who can be trusted to mentor the high-upside potential franchise signal-caller.
Seattle Seahawks
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Best-case scenario: Remain afloat until Russell Wilson returns
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is eligible to return from injured reserve in Week 10, and that's something that could indeed happen right away, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
There's just one problem: The Seahawks are fading fast at 2-5 and in last place in an NFC West with seven-win Arizona and six-win Los Angeles.
Wilson returning to play the hero is a nice story, and the Seahawks get a much-needed break with a Week 9 bye. Plus, Week 8 is a game against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. But that Week 10 game is a road trip to Green Bay, and right after that is a divisional matchup against the Cardinals, who could very well still be undefeated.
Not only can finger injuries be fickle for a quarterback, but it's clear based on Seattle's record that Wilson's superb 72.0 completion percentage, 9.6 yards per attempt and 10 touchdowns against just one pick haven't been enough. Getting him back could lead to a respectable finish, but the Seahawks will likely have to confront an offseason of Wilson trade rumors again if they continue to underperform.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Best-case scenario: Vie for the NFC's top seed
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady won't get a shot at undefeated Arizona, so the 6-1 defending champs will have to hope the Cardinals cool off while they keep the train on the tracks.
Continuity is the name of the game after an offseason in which the front office did a superb job of keeping the championship crew together. Brady has almost looked casual in throwing for 21 touchdowns against three interceptions at the age of 44. His complementary elite defense has allowed more than 30 points once.
The Buccaneers are already 1-0 in the NFC South, 4-1 in the NFC and have a plus-86 point differential, the third-best mark in the league. Some weaker foes in the NFC South, plus a soft schedule against NFC East opponents (they already beat the main threat, Dallas), largely guarantee a top playoff seed.
Tennessee Titans
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Best-case scenario: Sweep the AFC South
The AFC South is the gift that keeps on giving for a contender like the Tennessee Titans.
Tennessee is already 2-0 in the division this year on the way to 5-2, notching wins over Indianapolis (25-16) and Jacksonville (37-19). The former is 3-4 on the season, and the latter only has a single win, which matches Houston at the bottom of the division.
If the Titans can get a clean sweep, which they should, they're already looking at nine wins. But it does depend on which Titans team shows up...the one that got spanked 38-13 in Week 1 by Arizona or the one that has bested Buffalo and Kansas City in recent weeks.
Either way, the Titans go as far as Derrick Henry can take them, as Ryan Tannehill has thrown for more than one score in a game just once this season and has just seven touchdowns and five picks overall.
Washington Football Team
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Best-case scenario: Finish strong in the NFC East
A year ago, Washington backed into the playoffs with a losing record while Dallas struggled without Dak Prescott.
This year, Prescott and the Cowboys are dominating a bad NFC East at 5-1, while Washington has matched Philadelphia and the New York Giants with just two wins in seven tries.
But Washington is 1-0 in the NFC East thanks to a win over New York. Granted, that was a one-point escape of a miserable team, but it's something. If Washington can take care of business against the bad divisional teams and put up a fight against Dallas, anything is possible in the NFL.
But Washington will have to clean up quite a bit, as its minus-64 point differential is the worst mark in the division. Taylor Heinicke has folded to the tune of two touchdowns and four interceptions over his last three outings against elite offenses that required him to keep up, and the defense is hemorrhaging a league-worst 30 points per game.
A bad division once again is reason to believe, but Washington needs everything to go right.
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