5 Teams Whose Fans Should Panic After Week 14
There are only three games left of this NFL season, but there’s still plenty to panic about with the playoffs and draft picks on the line.
Las Vegas Raiders
It seems like every week the Raiders end up on this list. While they’re not the worst of the NFL struggles, they can’t seem to get out of their own way. Right now they play to the level of their competition but that’s the problem. If they play a bad team, they show up as a bad team. They play a playoff contender, and they look like a playoff contender. The only problem is, they could easily lose in both scenarios. At 7-6, they’re not mathematically eliminated just yet but it would take a colossal collapse from the rest of the NFL for them to have a chance. Beating the Colts would have them tied with the rest of the wild card teams, but now they’re on the outside looking in with three games left.
Kansas City Chiefs
It would be easy to put the Miami Dolphins on this list after the game with the Chiefs, but KC deserves to be on here more. Miami would take an early lead which they’d overcome on a 28 point swing, but the Dolphins would aggressively come back in the second half. KC was up 30-10 at one point and would only go on to win 33-27. The Dolphins would also show the Chiefs that Patrick Mahomes is human and force 3 interceptions. For a team that hasn’t had multiple turnovers all season long, an opponent getting four should be a big deal. Playoff teams will scout this game and find out how to attack the Chiefs’ offense in the postseason.
More NFL Talk: 5 Teams Whose Fans Should Panic After Week 13
Pittsburgh Steelers
While the Buffalo Bills are making a strong push as top competitors in the AFC, the Steelers need to be on upset alert come the postseason. Right now they’re 11-2 and are picking the wrong half of the season to struggle. The rest of the AFC seems to be surging and while falling out of the playoffs is unlikely, slowing down while the rest of the conference heats up should raise a red flag.
Cleveland Browns
If the Cleveland Browns were to win their Monday Night Football matchup, we could be having a very real talk about them winning the division. While Baltimore isn’t completely out of the playoff picture, they’ve got the hardest route. Cleveland needed to stomp out any hopes of their future playoff berth. Baltimore could get hot and if the Browns can’t hold off division opponents during the regular season then potentially facing two on the road to the Super Bowl should worry fans. The Ravens might have got lucky, but luck wins football games.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers haven’t really found their footing since their appearance in the Super Bowl. Winning in the NFL is tough, but staying competitive is even tougher. Yes, injuries have derailed their season, but there’s not a team out there that isn’t suffering injuries. They weren’t completely out of the division race, but a loss this past weekend makes them a long shot for the playoffs.
With three weeks left of the NFL season, is there a team that can avoid panic mode for an entire season?
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
