NFL Power Rankings: Who Are the League's Worst Teams?

Welcome to the reverse power rankings. As we approach the halfway point in the season, which teams are sinking without a trace?

Franchises with losing records are now forced to reassess their goals for the year. Playoff dreams become faint, distant memories. Pride becomes the focus of both players and coaches. Nobody wants to suffer the embarrassment of an 0-16 record, do they?

Owners may quietly disagree with this. Stanford's Andrew Luck—the prize of the 2012 draft—sits on the horizon. Conducting a stealth "Suck for Luck" campaign from the front office gives a team hope for the years ahead and an opportunity to clean house.

Stephen Ross and Jim Irsay would never admit to it, but their teams may be locked in a secret battle for inferiority.

Let's take a closer "Luck" at the race for last place.

8. Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville was close to making the eighth spot in the list, but after an upset special over the Baltimore Ravens—as ugly as their 12-7 victory was—it would have been too harsh to include them this week.

The 3-3 Cleveland Browns take their place, a team that shouldn't be feeling too good about themselves right now. Two of their victories have come against winless teams (Miami, Indianapolis), and their dismal 6-3 defeat of the Seattle Seahawks last weekend—where they lost Mohamed Massaquoi and Benjamin Watson to concussions—has ravaged their offensive depth.

Colt McCoy may mature and develop into an accomplished quarterback one day, but with a lack of veteran quality to throw at the receiver position, his growing pains will continue until the end of the season, and possibly beyond.

Throw in the trust issues between Peyton Hillis and the front office over a contract extension, and you have a bleak outlook for a set of fans who have waited a very long time for a competitive Browns team.

7. Seattle Seahawks

Last season, Pete Carrol's Seahawks earned the dubious honor of being the first divisional champion with a losing record in NFL history.

They needed to improve this year; that was never in question. Could you honestly argue, though, that their offseason acquisitions have made them a better team?

Failing to agree to terms with Matt Hasselbeck on a contract extension is one thing, but replacing him with Tavaris Jackson was always likely to blow up in Carrol's face. He was a horrible backup in Minnesota, who, at best, played like a poor man's Vince Young or Matt Cassel.

I actually like Carrol. He will always have his critics, but he's a likeable guy and a great motivator with the type of attitude needed to keep a losing team pulling in the right direction.

But with no consistency at quarterback—and a hapless Charlie Whitehurst currently fighting with the controls—things are likely to get worse before they get any better.

The Seahawks take on the Bengals, Cowboys and Ravens over the next three weeks. All three play tough defense, and the supporting cast will be expected to up their game (Sidney Rice) or play through pain (Marshawn Lynch) to survive their schedule.

6. Arizona Cardinals

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the common thread linking the eight teams in this list is a lack of production at the quarterback position.

Is Kevin Kolb the answer for Arizona? Right now, fans would be forgiven for feeling that Andy Reid fleeced their team on that trade.

A five-year veteran in the league, Kolb was expected to be a plug-and-play acquisition, connecting with Larry Fitzgerald early and often and taking the pressure off of Beanie Wells.

Not only has Kolb underwhelmed in a Cardinals uniform, but the man they gave up in the deal—cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie—is sorely missed.

Patrick Peterson will undoubtedly develop into a leading talent in the NFL, but having been forced into battle earlier than expected in his career has left him victimized on a regular basis.

5. Denver Broncos

Fans and haters of Tim Tebow went home happy last Sunday, as the college great delivered an ugly comeback win over the Miami Dolphins to improve to 2-4.

Don't place too much stock in the win; anyone who endured the horror show of the first 55 minutes in Miami will worry when Tebow has to face tougher opponents, starting this Sunday when Ndamukong Suh and friends visit Mile High with the Detroit Lions.

Good vs. evil? More like good vs. bad.

Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil provide a platform for the future of this team, but the present is less than bright if the team relies on a college-style offense to move the chains. Was Kyle Orton really worse than this?

4. Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are paying the price for the Brad Childress era, who, by massaging Brett Favre's ego for two seasons, failed to address the long-term need at the quarterback position.

Christian Ponder may well evolve into the solution in Minnesota, but his rookie year ought to be rough. Who does he have to throw to? Sidney Rice was never replaced, and without a reliable receiving threat, defenses can stack the box to defend Adrian Peterson.

Defending the pass has been a real problem this season, which in a division with Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler, is likely to be a weakness that rivals will continue to exploit.

The Vikings have too much faith in their young quarterback and too much talent elsewhere to think about Andrew Luck. But a top-10 draft pick for a cornerback or wide receiver may well be the shot in the arm this team needs in the future.

3. St. Louis Rams

This is a bit of a surprise.

With one of the brightest young talents at quarterback in Sam Bradford and a host of youthful draft picks on defense, expectations were high. Well, higher than their 7-9 record from last season, anyway.

Defending the Rams for a second, their schedule has been brutal—with losses to the Eagles, Giants, Ravens, Packers and Cowboys already in the books.

Bradford has struggled with injury, too, and with one of the thinnest receiving corps in the league, the front office should already be scouting college talent at the position.

After this Sunday's visit by the Saints, the Rams face the Browns, Cardinals (twice) and Seahawks (twice) over the next six weeks. Redemption will come at some stage for Steve Spagnuolo's men—but at 0-6, the Andrew Luck conversations will follow them for a little while longer yet.

2. Indianapolis Colts

If you were Jim Irsay or Bill Polian, would you change anything right now?

Your team is 0-7. The season is dead and buried. Your future Hall of Fame quarterback will be 36 years old by the time he recovers from neck surgery.

Would you want the team to play for pride, or suck for Luck?

The way they're playing right now, it doesn't really matter what Irsay or Polian think. I'm sure the defense isn't as bad as they showed in Louisiana on Sunday night, but the 62-7 defeat to the Saints lacked heart and confidence.

In previous weeks, I had given Jim Caldwell credit for keeping the team motivated and competitive in close losses to good teams. They don't have the easiest schedule, and no team could replace the production that Peyton Manning delivered on Sundays.

Scrap that—right now, this team is a mess, and the players are quitting on Caldwell. Jacksonville and Carolina at home are the only two matchups that appear to give the Colts a chance to avoid 0-16.

1. Miami Dolphins

Sorry, Dolphins fans, but I guess you saw this coming. Your team tops the charts this week—and probably every week until the end of the season.

Miami was 15-0 up on the Denver Broncos with five minutes to go last Sunday, yet somehow managed to grab defeat from the jaws of victory.

For the myriad experts and analysts that predicted a solid year for the Dolphins this season, their demise has been a real shock.

As for the fans, the paper bags and Andrew Luck posters are displayed with varying degrees of humor and mock pride. They know that sweeping changes are needed, but most would be happy to wait for the end of the year before rocking the boat. After all they've endured, missing out on Luck too would be plain cruel. 

Not so with Stephen Ross and Jeff Ireland. Following the news that Tony Sparano is putting his house on the market, we can expect a change before the season's out. But don't expect a new head coach to fix Brandon Marshall's stone hands, or generate production from Matt Moore or J.P. Losman.

The Dolphins may target home games against the Redskins and Raiders in a bid to avoid imperfection this season, but the question remains: Is it worth it?