Why Your Team Won't Win The Super Bowl

As the race to reach Super Bowl LI in Houston begins in earnest this week, here is a rundown of each team's shortcomings in its bid to play in the big game.

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Sep 9, 2016

Why Your Team Won't Win The Super Bowl

Arizona Cardinals

Sure, the Cardinals have the most stacked roster in football. But with the injury histories of Tyrann Mathieu and Carson Palmer, the Cards are playing with house money. When the Cardinals fall off the rails it will either be because of a major injury or Palmer unable to shake the ghosts of his nightmare four-interception performance in last year’s NFC Championship.

Atlanta Falcons

Unlike last season when they started 5-0, the Falcons face a crushing early season schedule. They will meet the Broncos and most of the NFC’s elite—Seahawks, Panthers and Packers—before Week 9. Like last year, the Falcons do not have the consistency on defense to topple even average offenses.

Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco struggled early last season, and coming off knee surgery he should not be trusted to produce. Nor should his talented but question-filled WR corps of Steve Smith (very) Sr., Mike Wallace, Kamar Aiken, and Breshad Perriman. Speaking of questions, who is the lead running back?

Buffalo Bills

Make it 17 straight seasons without a postseason berth, as the Bills cannot recover from a horrific preseason. They simply don’t have the megastars to compensate for season-ending injuries to rookie second-round pick Reggie Ragland and backup IK Enemkpali, as well as a four-game suspension to DT Marcell Dareus.

Carolina Panthers

It is inconceivable that Cam Newton will repeat his 35 TD MVP performance from 2015. Kelvin Benjamin returns from ACL surgery with many questions. And the Josh Norman-less secondary is going to have its fair share of issues.

Chicago Bears

When has Jay Cutler won anything other than mass ridicule? The Bears invested in upgrading their front seven this off-season but left their secondary shaky at best.

Cincinnati Bengals

It doesn't matter how masterful Andy Dalton is in the regular season, he and the Bengals have been ousted in the wild-card round SEVEN consecutive playoff appearances. Faces in Cincy have remained largely unchanged and so has the stigma.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns last won a playoff game in 1994. With a weak running game and regressing offensive line, the streak will stay alive.

Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott has the makings of a star, at least the preseason version. Let’s see how he does when the real games begin. Tony Romo missed 12 games last season. In that period, the Cowboys won exactly once.

Denver Broncos

Trust in Elway is a little difficult these days. The Broncos somehow went from a future Hall-of-Famer to a seemingly adequate replacement to whatever it is that Trevor Siemian is. They say defenses win championship but not when your quarterback is Trevor Siemian.

Detroit Lions

There is a reason the Lions were only scheduled for one night this season. The WR crew is improved but the offensive line is a huge question mark. Even if they reach their ceiling, the Lions are a wild-card team at best.

Green Bay Packers

Why did the Packers cut Josh Sitton two seconds before the season began? That decision will come back to bite them. Also, the Pack need Eddie Lacy to be effective AND Jordy Nelson to stay healthy. Good luck with one, let along both.

Houston Texans

Is Brock Osweiler the real deal? After recovering from back surgery, what version of J.J. Watt will we see? The fact that he’s unlikely to be even 85% dashes the Texans’ hopes in an instant.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts may have drafted center Ryan Kelly in the first-round but their offensive line remains its Achilles heel. Even owner Jim Irsay recently said he is “concerned like any fan out there.” Andrew Luck needs some semblance of a line to thrive.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Because G.M. David Caldwell went shopping en masse this season (Adding, most notably, DT Malik Jackson, RB Chris Ivory and drafting DB Jalen Ramsey and LB Myles Jack); the Jags should avoid a sixth-consecutive top five draft pick. But they are lacking that megastar to make them a viable playoff contender.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs pass rush will be a little less fierce in the early season as Justin Houston sits out the first six weeks on the PUP list as he recovers from a knee injury. And the Chiefs can never claim home-field given that Andy Reid will cost them 1.5 games due to poor clock management.

Los Angeles Rams

Todd Gurley can run for days (and he probably will) but the Rams have an ugly starting quarterback situation that is sure to derail any hopes. Have you seen Case Keenum play when he’s not being ultra conservative? The organization has to dismayed that No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff is not further along.

Miami Dolphins

Adam Gase’s arrival is a step in the right direction but it won’t get Miami its first playoff win since 2000. Ryan Tannehill simply does not have the talent to compensate for a WR corps that gets very thin after Jarvis Landry. The Dolphins’ defense was already full of holes, and added DE Mario Williams who was a disappoint in Buffalo last season.

Minnesota Vikings

If Sam Bradford/Shaun Hill, plus Stefon Diggs and rookie Laquon Treadwill don’t boast the weakest passing game in the league, it will be a surprise.

New England Patriots:

Jimmy Garoppolo will prove to be no Matt Cassel and the Patriots may emerge out of Brady’s suspension more scathed than they thought. 1-3, perhaps. Tom Brady will spend so much time during early season Sundays seething that once he returns he may be too overhyped.

New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees’s “real age” is about 50 for quarterbacks. More important to their doom is the lack of any significant upgrade to a secondary that allowed 284 passing yards per game.

New York Giants

The Giants’ much maligned offensive line will prove too much a barrier; there are no proven complements to Odell Beckham Jr. and their schedule is on the tougher side.

New York Jets

The Jets’ roster is impressive but Ryan Fitzpatrick is a liability. All the Jets had to do to gain a playoff berth last year was beat the lowly Bills in Week 17. Then Fitzpatrick blew it, throwing three interceptions on the team’s final three drives. How can he be counted on when the games have even higher stakes?

Oakland Raiders

Overhyped much. Reggie McKenzie’s crew may have the building blocks in place but Derek Carr is not yet Aaron Rodgers, nor is Amari Cooper yet Antonio Brown. While the Raiders don’t have any major holes, they certainly are not overflowing with All-Pro players.

Philadelphia Eagles

Carson Wentz supposedly was not ready. Then eight days before the season opener, the Eagles decided he was (or faked it when the Vikings offered them a first-round pick for Sam Bradford). Either way, young Wentz simply needs more time for his development, and to develop chemistry with the first-team offense.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers are no doubt close but the combination of little WR depth after Antonio Brown and a shaky linebacking crew will be their doom.

San Diego Chargers

Let’s see… according to Pro Football Focus, the Chargers have the fourth-worst offensive line in the NFL fronting Melvin Gordon who had a hugely disappointing rookie year, a 78-year old tight end and share a division with two of the AFC’s best teams. No thanks.

San Francisco 49ers

It's pretty hard to win any game, let alone the big game, when you field the NFL's worst roster. 49ers GM Trent Baalke should already be immersed in draft prep, though time will tell if Baalke is still around to do the drafting.

Seattle Seahawks

For a team perennially in the postseason, the Seahawks are trending downward. Super Bowl win in 2013, Super Bowl loss in 2014, Divisional round loss last season. The defense is still near the top in the league, and Russell Wilson will wow us weekly. But the post-Marshawn Lynch backfield is filled with too many question marks.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jameis Winston has a bright future, and there are exciting spots throughout this roster. But Winston’s protection may be shaky, especially given that Donovan Smith is one of the less impressive left tackles in football.

Tennessee Titans

Who else is even on this offense aside from Marcus Mariota? No one that screams playoffs, that’s for sure.

Washington Redskins

Even if Kirk Cousins shines for a second straight year, the Washington backfield is too murky to be trusted. And aside from Ryan Kerrigan, there is little pass rush in the nation’s capital.

Why Your Team Won't Win The Super Bowl