After eight weeks of the NFL season, some teams are doing great, while others so much. There are a couple of NFL teams to tank the rest of the season, even if their current record may say otherwise. While this may not mean they are the worst teams in the league, they just do not look like they will succeed the rest of the season. Between certain team issues and the strength of their remaining schedule, here are my top five NFL teams to tank the rest of this 2022 season.
NFL Teams to Tank: Houston Texans
Record: 1-5-1
The Houston Texans may be one of the more obvious teams to tank this season. While they can potentially have unexpected wins, it is highly unlikely they will get anything going this season. Their potential wins could be against either the Indianapolis Colts or Jacksonville Jaguars. It is not that those teams are worse than the Texans, but being divisional rivals they tend to be more competitive.
After the trade deadline, Texans wide receiver, Brandin Cooks was not traded as the receiver wanted. Cooks have been very open in the media about his frustrations, and while it can be taken only week by week, he will be listed as inactive against the Philadelphia Eagles for Thursday Night Football. A tweet depicting Cook’s anger about not being traded can be read here, where he stated “Crossed the line playing with my career.” Without Cook, the Texans’ offense will continue to struggle.
The offense has only scored an average of 16.6 points per game according to ESPN. Quarterback Davis Mills has thrown for just 1,502 yards. He has also thrown six interceptions and been sacked 16 times this season. While being sacked this many times insinuates the offensive line is not the best, Mills will need to avoid turning the ball over in order to not give their opponents too many opportunities to score. Whether it is Mill’s, the offensive line, or his receivers, the offense just is not clicking.
The run game has also been nonexistent. The top running back is Dameon Pierce who has 539 rushing yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry according to Pro Football Reference. This is not horrible, but for being the top running back for the team it just is not enough to win this year.
The Texans’ defense statistically is not bad, giving up an average of 22 points per game, according to ESPN. The defensive line is definitely the highlight of this team. They total 15 sacks this season. Five come from defensive end Jerry Hughes. As for turnovers, the team has a total of seven interceptions and three fumble returns. If the offense scored more, the Texans could be a better team. Unfortunately, I do not see many wins for them throughout the remainder of the season and they are one of the NFL teams to tank this season.
NFL Teams to Tank: Detroit Lions
Record: 1-6
The Detroit Lions are another obvious pick seeing how their season has been going. As much as their offense has been scoring a lot of points, their defense gives up way too many. On the day of the trade deadline, Detroit traded away tight end T.J. Hockenson, who leads the team in reception yards. While they received a good deal for him, losing a top receiver is difficult, and feels as though they are giving up for the season as well. This makes the Lions one of the NFL teams to tank this season.
On average, the Lions’ offense scores 24.7 points per game, according to ESPN. The offense is not the issue though when remembering opposing teams average 32.1 points per game against the Lions. The poor defense makes it difficult to win any games and is the reason Detroit is one of the NFL teams to tank the rest of the season.
Quarterback Jared Goff has completed 159 out of 249 pass attempts for a total of 1,904 yards, according to Pro Football Reference. Goff has also thrown 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. At the rate the season is going, there is a high chance that the Lions will end up with the first overall draft pick, maybe the second. While I would argue Goff is not the reason for the team’s failure and the defense is, drafting the future quarterback for this team would be a smart decision.
Rookie defensive end Aidan Hutchinson has been a great addition to this team. Hutchinson has a total of 4.5 sacks and 18 total tackles, according to ESPN. Hutchinson leads the team in sacks, but he cannot be the entire defense and definitely he needs help. Where they are right now, I do not see the team winning many more games, and that is why they are one of the NFL teams to tank this season.
NFL Teams to Tank: Chicago Bears
Record: 3-5
The Chicago Bears definitely had higher hopes going into this season. They started 1-0, beating the San Francisco 49ers. Their other two wins were against the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots. I am not arguing that the Bears are a bad team, but they are not going to win many of their games to finish the season. There is a good chance that they will beat the Detroit Lions, who they will be facing twice, and maybe the New York Jets. The trade for wide receiver Chase Claypool does help Chicago in the long run, but I am not sure if it will help this season.
The largest issue for the Chicago Bears is the inability to score points. Of course, there are exceptions to this, such as the 33 points they put up vs the Patriots. But they are not consistent with this each game. According to ESPN, Chicago averages 19.4 points per game. They are getting better at scoring points, but it is coming too late in the game. Based on their upcoming schedule, the Chicago Bears are one of the NFL teams to tank this season.
Second-year quarterback Justin Fields has only seven passing and three rushing touchdowns. After eight weeks this number should be higher than ten touchdowns unless a player has missed time due to injury or other circumstances. According to Pro Football Reference, Fields totals 93 out of 159 pass attempts, for 1199 yards.
Fields also rushed for 424 yards this season. With the addition of Claypool, there is a good possibility that he completes more passes; however, that does not mean Chicago will win many more games this season. Hopefully for Chicago, they can maintain their run game which has done well this season, with Khalil Herbert leading the team with 563 yards according to ESPN.
Linebacker Roquan Smith has definitely been a highlight for the Chicago Bears’ defense. Smith totals 83 tackles and 2.5 sacks, according to ESPN. Smith also has two interceptions. Aside from that, there has not been anything too special about this Bears’ defense. Opposing teams average 22.6 points against Chicago which is not terrible, but it is no way to carry a team. Unless the Bears’ offense scores more points, they are an NFL team to tank for the rest of the season.
NFL Teams to Tank: New Orleans Saints
Record: 3-5
Picking a team that is a part of the NFC South is difficult because The New Orlean Saints could potentially win the division based on how those four teams are looking. This may be a more risky pick, but I do believe the Saints will be one of the NFL teams to tank this season.
Recently, Adam Schefter shared in a tweet that head coach, Dennis Allen shared that wide receiver Michael Thomas most likely will be out for the remainder of the season. While this does impact the team, Thomas is not the top receiver on this team anymore. It has been Chris Olave with 547 total yards, according to ESPN. Despite still having potential this season, the Saints are one of the NFL teams to tank the rest of their games.
The defense has been consistently the strength of this team. The defense has a total of 531 total tackles according to ESPN. Tyrann Mathieu has been a great addition to this Saints team, and possibly a reason their defense is doing so well. Mathieu has two interceptions and one fumble return this season according to Pro Football Reference. The defense cannot carry this team though, the offense will need to produce more. The leading scorer on the Saints is Wil Lutz, the kicker. As much as Kickers deserve love, they should not be the top scorer on a team. This makes New Orleans one of the NFL teams to tank this season.
NFL Teams to Tank: New York Jets
Record: 5-3
It is difficult to put the New York Jets on this list of NFL teams to tank for the rest of the season. A 5-3 record for New York is really good. The team has not had five or more wins since the 2019 season. Unfortunately for the Jets, their upcoming record is tough, and with injuries, they are one of the NFL teams to tank for the remainder of the seasons.
Quarterback Zach Wilson has completed 78 out of 142 pass attempts for 1,048 yards according to Pro Football Reference. He has only thrown three touchdowns and five interceptions this season. Three of the interceptions came from the week eight game vs the New England Patriots. These interceptions were a result of very poor decision-making by Wilson as opposed to great defensive plays.
This is not to speak down on the defenders of the Patriots, they followed through and made the play. The issue was that Wilson threw the ball to the defenders instead of throwing it out of bounds where no one could get to it. Wilson’s poor decision-making is why the Jets are one of the NFL teams to tank for the rest of the season.
The injuries should be noted, Breece Hall being out for the season damages the offense. Hall led the team in rushing yards, with 463 yards and four touchdowns according to ESPN. The team has other players who need to step up, but it does make things difficult. The Jets also had guard Alijah Vera-Tucker go down with an injury to be out for the remainder of the season. This definitely impacts Wilson, losing a key offensive lineman.
The Jet’s defense has done pretty well, but with the offense having to consistently punt the ball, or turn the ball over, the defense gets too fatigued. The defense has forced nine interceptions and 21 sacks. Rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner has done an outstanding job this season with 12 pass deflections and one interception. With the offense unable to stay on the field, the New York Jets are going to be one of the NFL teams to tank for the remainder of the season.
Although there are teams who have worse records that could make the list of NFL teams to tank the rest of the season, I chose to look at some who are not as obvious based on their record. It has been an unpredictable NFL season so far, and anything can happen, but these five are the NFL teams to tank for the remainder of the season.
For more NFL content:
Check out my top five super bowl contenders after eight weeks. Also, check out my most recent article which is part of my Underestimated Player Spotlight series.