Three Surprise NFL Teams That Could Miss the Playoffs in 2024

It’s going to take a lot more than a hectic offseason that changed the landscape of the NFL to throw teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens of course.

All three will still be in action come playoff time, and there’s a good chance that at least one will make it to February for the Super Bowl.

But other teams that were serious contenders not long ago already find themselves in a precarious position, with the regular season set to kick off in less than four weeks.

Here are three teams that could miss out on the postseason in 2024:

Cincinnati Bengals

After losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl to cap the 2021 campaign and falling to Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game a year later, Cincinnati went 9-8 and missed out on the playoffs last season.

And things are only about to get worse for the Bengals.

Sure, you could blame quarterback Joe Burrow’s wrist injury as the root cause of Cincinnati’s struggles in 2023, and it likely was, but the Bengals allowed the 12th-most points per game in the league (22.6) and were in a stacked division that featured three playoff teams.

Both the Ravens and Cleveland Browns still pose a threat in the AFC North, and Cincinnati is now without running back Joe Mixon and hasn’t been willing to get a new deal done with star wideout Ja’Marr Chase.

Chase hasn’t been practicing because of the contract situation. So yes, Burrow might be back, but he’s going to have trouble leading an offense that could end up heavily relying on running back Zack Moss and receiver Andrei Iosivas.

Green Bay Packers

Jordan Love may have already made Green Bay fans forget Aaron Rodgers’ name.

Alright, that’s probably not the case. However, Love helped the Packers shatter expectations in 2023 in his first season as a full-time starter, with Green Bay landing a wild-card spot.

Love’s breakout season (4,159 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, 11 interceptions) earned him a four-year, $220 million extension this offseason, leading many to believe that the Packers are going to start dominating the NFC North once again.

Not so fast.

There’s a very realistic possibility that Green Bay has to settle for third place in the division. The Detroit Lions are currently the favorites to come out on top, and should No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams solve the Chicago Bears’ issues under center, they could be great, too.

Have no fear, Packers fans. Green Bay isn’t going to stay down for long. The future is still bright. However, this is the most competitive the NFC North has been in years.

New York Jets

Something about a 40-year-old Rodgers coming off a season-ending Achilles injury just doesn’t move us.

When the season is all said and done, we think it could even be running back Breece Hall, whom people credit with headlining the New York offense. Crazy, right? But Hall came just 6 rushing yards short of 1,000 a season ago, and he’s only expected to get better.

Don’t be surprised if the Jets have to lean on their defense to win a handful of games this season. Rodgers isn’t superhuman. And we understand that that can be a tough pull to swallow. Truth is, he’s going to slow down at some point, and we believe that time has finally come.