NFL Power Rankings: 3 Bottom Feeders That Remain Hopeless

The NFL is a unique sport. You need 11 men to be on the same page giving maximum effort at the same time or the result is disastrous. Once the losses start to pile up, the effort and focus begin to erode.

With only one game to go, there are three teams that have blatantly thrown in the towel and have already begun to plan for their January 2^nd vacation.

In other words, these are the three teams you are hoping to play in the last week of the season.

28. Cleveland Browns

The most vanilla team in the NFL, Cleveland is once again an afterthought in the AFC.

They’ve lost five in a row and have found a variety of ways to blow games recently. The Bengals erased a 10-point late-third-quarter deficit in the end of November. They couldn’t pressure a one-legged Ben Roethlisberger and blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead against the Cardinals.

In summary, this team has a defense capable of keeping Cleveland competitive, but the offense is incapable of scoring points when the game is on the line.

The Browns need to reevaluate if Colt McCoy is going to be their quarterback of the future.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Coach Raheem Morris is a dead duck.

His team hasn’t been competitive in two months. They are currently riding a nine-game losing streak that has featured a plethora of blowouts. In fact, they have lost their last four by an average of 23.5 points a game.

The worst part about it? Two of those losses were to the previously horrific Carolina Panthers and the incredibly awful Jacksonville Jaguars. The effort on both sides of the ball has vanished since their 4-2 start, and it’s going to cost their head coach his job.

32. St. Louis Rams

A six-game losing streak has likely sealed the fate of Steve Spagnuolo, and the team really hasn’t even been competitive.

Aside from a garbage-time touchdown against the Bengals to keep the final score only a TD difference, the Rams have gotten blown out in four of their past six games.

The offense has been absolutely dreadful. They have scored over 20 points a grand total of once this season. That’s why they are ranked dead last in the NFL, averaging 11.1 points per game, which is 2.6 points lower than the next worst team.

After going 7-9 last year, this was a colossal step back that will cause a ton of coaches to lose their jobs. 

Eric Ball's Week 17 NFL Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers (14-1)

2. New Orleans Saints (12-3)

3. New England Patriots (12-3)

4. San Francisco 49ers (12-3)

5. Baltimore Ravens (11-4)

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4)

7. Houston Texans (10-5)

8. Detroit Lions (10-5)

9. Atlanta Falcons (9-6)

10. Cincinnati Bengals (9-6)

11. Denver Broncos (8-7)

12. Oakland Raiders (8-7)

13. New York Giants (8-7)

14. New York Jets (8-7)

15. Philadelphia Eagles (7-8)

16. Dallas Cowboys (8-7)

17. Tennessee Titans (8-7)

18. Chicago Bears (7-8)

19. San Diego Chargers (7-8)

20. Seattle Seahawks (7-8)

21. Arizona Cardinals (7-8)

22. Buffalo Bills (6-9)

23. Kansas City Chiefs (6-9)

24. Carolina Panthers (6-9)

25. Miami Dolphins (5-10)

26. Washington Redskins (5-10)

27. Minnesota Vikings (3-12)

28. Cleveland Browns (4-11)

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-11)

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-11)

31.  Indianapolis Colts (2-13)

32. St. Louis Rams (2-13)