10 NFL teams everyone thinks will be good this season, but won't be

If you’re betting on any of these franchises to have a deep postseason run in 2023, get your head checked

PublishedAugust 15, 2023

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Image for article titled 10 NFL teams everyone thinks will be good this season, but won't be — Photo: AP

Every team had a great offseason. All those gaping, even-the-blind-can-see problems your favorite team had no longer exist. Here’s where a path to greatness starts. Of course for most, that won’t be true. The heavy hitters didn’t go away and until your favorite players get hit in the mouth, all the offseason moves and coaching tweaks mean diddly squat. Some will prove to actually be good, but most will fall below the hefty expectations set for them.

So who are the pretenders? You know, those people the Foo Fighters were singing about? Well in the NFL, here’s your list of 10 teams that everyone thinks will be good this season, but will actually suck. While some of the teams on this list might not be obvious, some couldn’t be clearer, starting with the glaring example of a hype train that will go off course soon.

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New York Jets

The East Rutherford Aaron Rodgers experience has garnered more headlines this offseason than any other team. While acquiring a 4-time MVP isn’t an ordinary occurrence, and the Jets have an impressive roster, it’s not a certainty that New York still doesn’t finish in last place in the AFC East. The Jets are on the rise, but it’s still too early to think they can do anything other than maybe win one playoff game. As for the team they share a stadium with …

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New York Giants

Competing in the deepest division in football last season, the Giants were one of the final four teams standing in the NFC. And the addition of Darren Waller doesn’t cover up the other holes that have presented themselves this season in New York. The Eagles are still loaded, the Commanders got better and the Giants’ other NFC East rival is coming up next on this list. Thinking the NFC will be anything more than a two-horse race between the Eagles and 49ers is foolish. And the Giants are one of the teams that will feel that wrath the hardest.

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Dallas Cowboys

Every year is the one that Dak Prescott figures it out. This will be the season that Jerry Jones meddling in his franchise pays off with a deep run to the playoffs. Same shit, different year. And what have the Cowboys done to truly get better? Is Dallas good? Sure, are the Cowboys as good as anyone thinks they are? Absolutely not. Look for the Cowboys offensive line to crumble with how strong their division rivals’ defensive lines are.

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Denver Broncos

Sean Payton is in town after the Nathaniel Hackett disaster. Russell Wilson is still the quarterback. Denver is still in a division with the Chiefs and Chargers. And that’s four losses. And you can’t have a season where almost everything goes wrong and just blame it on the departed coach. Wilson has to step up, Denver’s defense has to step up, Payton has to get back in the groove of coaching in a new city, and much more. Too much is working against Denver.

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New England Patriots

After how the Patriots have dominated football for most of the 21st century, it’s just assumed Bill Belichick’s squad will be around at the end of the season. But with Mac Jones at quarterback? Yeah right. If the Jets aren’t going to be the last-place team in the AFC East, it’ll be the Patriots. Signing Ezekiel Elliott doesn’t change that. Could this be the end for the future Hall of Fame coach?

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Cleveland Browns

Somehow in a division with one great team, one good team and two average teams, only half of the average pair gets picked on. The Bengals and Ravens are immune, so why are the Steelers the target of stinkery? It should be the Browns instead. Pittsburgh has been the model of consistency for the NFL and the Steel City has enough talent to keep things afloat while Cleveland doesn’t.

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Minnesota Vikings

Having the best wide receiver in the league, and a near-unanimous choice for the No. 1 overall pick in your fantasy football drafts, Justin Jefferson (thank you for helping me be co-champ of my league last year) doesn’t cover up an overall team set-up. Still with Kirk Cousins at quarterback, the Vikings play in arguably the weakest division in the NFC, if not the entire NFL. And the Vikings still won’t sustain any long-term success.

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Indianapolis Colts

The most disappointing team in the NFL from 2022 is back on their bullshit. Jim Irsay doesn’t want to pay Jonathan Taylor and the only cover for having a shitty team is playing in the only division in the AFC without a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Even with the padding of playing the Texans, Jaguars, and Titans six times this season, the Colts still have the biggest question mark in the league at quarterback in Anthony Richardson. That’s true zero-or-hero territory.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The post-Tom Brady sights and sounds coming from Florida suck. Bakery Mayfield running the ship doesn’t have the same glamor and all the great things Brady brought won’t lead to pirate’s booty. Welcome back to the island of irrelevant creatures in the NFL. What bright spots do the Bucs have? Yeah, I don’t know.

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Seattle Seahawks

After Geno Smith has a career season, replicating that success is No. 1 on Pete Carroll’s to-do list for 2023. Bad news is that the opposition have had months to break down the film and adjust to whatever lightning in a bottle Smith found a year ago. Smith pulling off that feat again with basically the same roster around him isn’t likely, especially in a much-improved NFC West.

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