Just like in Wheel of Fortune where you can buy a vowel, we have several teams in PML that desperately need to buy themselves a victory. I am going to focus on coaches and their teams that are on a three or more-game losing streak and their likelihood of winning their next game(s).
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-8) -6 game losing streak:
Cammy and his Buccaneers were sitting at 2-2 before heading to Detroit in week 6 and the unthinkable happened.. Baker Mayfield drifted to the right, and he was completely blindsided by Aidan Hutchinson. This sack led to Mayfield’s injury and being sidelined for a few weeks, more specifically for four games, and this is where the Buccaneers started to plummet. Despite bringing in multiple quarterbacks, the team couldn’t find rhythm on offense. However, they have one of the highest passing offenses in the league, though they have thrown 20 interceptions between all three of their quarterbacks. Can you blame Cammy’s poor performance on his lack of depth at quarterback, his mismanaged roster situation, or the pieces around the quarterback position? Tampa Bay has a p*** poor cap situation that Cammy has since turned around, but as an 81 overall team, you don’t want to find yourself strapped for cap space. Baker Mayfield came back this week, but to no avail, despite throwing 59 times, Mayfield said he’d put some ice on his arm and be ready next week to take on the Colts, who coincidentally are also on this list.
2. Baltimore Ravens (2-8) -5 game losing streak:
The Baltimore Ravens are a team that are poised to make some noise in the AFC, they have a roster loaded with talent, and they one the fastest quarterback in the game, therefore, they are almost guaranteed to win the division, right? Especially in a division comprised of Curt, Mali, and Goose, Arod and his Ravens are the clear favourite, just has to be, right? Wrong. Arod has Lamar Jackson out here looking like Peyton Manning in his rookie season, straight interception after interception. Lamar has thrown 20 interceptions on the season, and it should be even more than that, but Arod has been subbing him out EVEN in close games that he still has a shot to win. No allegations needed, but there’s no excuse for this losing streak, no injuries or wayward suspensions to take the blame. Bengals, Chargers, Bye, Rams, then Jaguars. Week 15 seems to be so far away, but that’s Arod’s next potential win, that’s also a team that is on this list. Lamar Jackson wouldn’t be traded, but in alternate reality, if someone was willing to pay the get him off the NTL, and then pay what was necessary to acquire his services, then Arod should hop right on that. He can throw 20 interceptions with any quarterback; he might as well get a king’s ransom for Lamar early on in the cycle.
3. Indianapolis Colts (3-7) -4 game losing streak:
Aside from the overloaded Baltimore Ravens, we’re noticing a trend in the teams that are on losing streaks. Most of these teams are in the 80-82 overall range, which is more than good enough to compete in season 1, especially when you have a dominant back like Jonathan Taylor on your roster. CB has three wins on the season, all of which were against teams that have losing records (two against Jacksonville and one against Baltimore). Jonathan Taylor wasn’t available until week 7, but in weeks 1-6, the Colts were 3-3 with a close loss to the Rams, so what has gone wrong? Jonathan Taylor is averaging 147 rushing yards per game, less than a touchdown per game, and almost 6 broken tackles per game. For all tents and purposes, Taylor has been dominant but the Colts have a rookie quarterback leading their team. Anthony Richardson is averaging almost 6 rushing attempts per game, but he’s averaging almost three interceptions per game. CB has to adjust his offensive approach, he has a dynamic quarterback and halfback tandem, but isn’t using a run heavy approach. His offense could lead the league in total rushing yards if the turnovers were balanced, but his next five games are against teams that are .500 or less. If has a very strong chance to turn his season around, especially if the Texans drop a few more games. If you’re reading this CB, start milking the clock on offense, slow your approach down, and force defenses to load the box and carefully pick a part their blitzing schemes.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7) -4 game losing streak:
Oh the mighty have fallen. Tbandit was on cloud 9 last cycle with the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen at the helm, but even with superstar quarterback Trevor Lawrence (who has one of the best abilities for quarterbacks) he is struggling to find an identity on offense. The Jaguars are dead last in rushing yards per game, a bit mindboggling because Travis Etienne has the mobility and elusiveness to dominate on the field, especially with how this Madden favors the juke move. In their four-game losing streak, they haven’t narrowed the gap to one score, but they have a marquee victory over the 6-5 Buffalo Bills. Tbandit has the offensive weapons to take shot for shot down the field, but the turnovers are what is killing his team early on and he is struggling to keep focused in order to make a comeback. Lawrence has thrown 11 interceptions in the last four games, that can’t happen if the Jaguars want to succeed in PML.
5. New York Giants (2-8) -3 game losing streak:
Danny Dimes throwing dimes straight to the other team? Jones has thrown 25 interceptions this season and the Giants are struggling to move the ball in any capacity. Daniel Jones is one of the faster quarterbacks in the league, so why does he only have thirteen rushing attempts in 10 games? He has 287 passing attempts, which ranks for eighth most in league. The Giants are not established enough to be a down field passing offense, so why can’t they adjust to a pistol style offense? Great question. Burn has to be open to changing up his scheme to one that fits his players more efficiently. Daniel Jones is always going to sail his passes and the more attempts his has, the more passes he’s going to sail. Saquan Barkley is averaging just over 5 yards per carry, but he is ranked 19th in the league in carries. The Giants struggles are more playstyle not meshing than Burn not living up to his potential. Burn demolished Vet and the Commanders earlier this season, so the Giants should break their three-game losing streak this week, but in their last 6 games, they face opponents that are .500 or better, but on the brightside, when there’s opportunity, there’s potential.
6. Minnesota Vikings (4-6) -3 game losing streak
I know Arod and the Baltimore Ravens were expected to perform a lot better, but no one predicted Wimmy to be sitting at 4-6 after 10 games this season. Offensively, Kirk Cousins has the Vikings in synch, but the defensive struggles have been way too much to overcome. Minnesota is in the bottom five in three out of the four gradable categories on defense and Wimmy hasn’t shown much faith in talent on his defense, but he did ship out Harrison Smith for draft capital, but Smith could have helped his defense get a few stops needed to increase his win total. In his defense, every single loss that Wimmy has sustained has come from a team that is .500 or better and he is taking care of business against those teams that he is expected to defeat. The Vikings have a trap game this week against the Denver Broncos, and normally I’d say that Wimmy is favoured in that game, but we saw Denver come alive last week and pull off an upset and increase Courtland Sutton’s development trait. 4 of his last 7 games are against opponents that have a .500 or better record, so if Wimmy wants to stay in the playoff discussion, he is going to need to scheme up a defense that can take the ball away.
