For NFL fans, there are few things more disappointing than seeing their team’s playoff hopes diminish by the midway point of the season. In 2024, especially, an alarming number of teams’ seasons were over before November arrived.
With less than half a regular season to go, here is a look at 10 NFL teams whose 2024 seasons are officially over.
Is your favorite NFL team’s season officially over?
New York Jets
Woof. Where to even start?
Aaron Rodgers’ return from a season-ending Achilles tear was supposed to make the Jets Super Bowl contenders. The midseason trade for Davante Adams, coupled with the firing of head coach Robert Saleh, was supposed to give this team a much-needed jolt after an ugly 2-4 start.
But nope, nope, and nope.
As hard as it is to watch, Rodgers is a shell of his former self. He’s missing on easy throws and throwing interceptions at a rate we aren’t used to seeing, especially for a guy with the best TD-to-INT ratio in history.
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Breece Hall was supposed to be a must-have for fantasy football, yet he’s hardly been an impact player in the ground game. Davante Adams is producing like a No. 3 wide receiver, and even Garrett Wilson isn’t having the monster year many expected.
Truth be told, Rodgers and the inept offense are wasting the efforts of what has actually been a top-10 defense this year. When your four-time league MVP and unofficial franchise decision-maker is the weakness, that’s a problem.
The Jets’ last remaining playoff hopes sunk when they were crushed by the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10, dropping them to 3-7 on the year.
At least it’s basketball and hockey season in the Big Apple now?
Dallas Cowboys
Most of us expected the Cowboys to take a step back thanks to Jerry Jones’ disastrous offseason, one in which he promised to have an “all-in approach.” But let’s be real. Even the biggest Cowboys haters didn’t think it would be this bad.
Where to start? After going undefeated at home in the regular season for nearly two full years, the Cowboys were beaten down and humiliated in their first four games at Jerry World. Like it’s historically bad with how they’re playing at home.
Even before Dak Prescott had to undergo season-ending surgery on his hamstring, the $240 million man was playing well below his standards. News flash: Bringing back Ezekiel Elliott to lead the ground game with Rico freaking Dowdle also blew up in Jerry’s face.
The worst part about all of this has to be the defense. Mike Zimmer was brought in to replace Dan Quinn after he left for the Washington Commanders’ head coaching vacancy. Quinn has the Commanders on a path to the postseason. The Cowboys D can’t stop a nosebleed. Go figure.
Dallas’ NFL season ended once Prescott was ruled out for the year following an ugly Week 9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons that moved America’s Team to 3-5 on the year. A week later, the Philadelphia Eagles humiliated them 34-6 at Jerry World.
Cowboys fans aren’t used to this, but it’s undoubtedly time to hop onto the #TeamTank Train and hope for a top-five pick. I mean, someone like Travis Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan, or Luther Burden would be a real difference-maker in that offense.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Remember when the Jaguars were 8-3 a year ago, coming off a trip to the Elite Eight and looking every bit like a Super Bowl contender? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Last season’s stunning collapse felt like a mirage for NFL head coach Doug Pederson’s group. The team was simply too talented to underachieve again, especially after bringing in new game-changers like LSU wideout Brian Thomas Jr., speedster Gabe Davis, and defensive end Arik Armstead.
We didn’t peg the Jaguars as an automatic playoff team in the crowded AFC, but we expected nothing worse than eight wins this year. But somehow, Trevor Lawrence and company are front-runners for the first overall pick of 2024.
On Jacksonville’s star-studded offense, only Thomas Jr. and Tank Bigsby have produced on a consistent basis. T-Law has inexplicably unraveled after signing a $275 million extension. Davis, Evan Engram, and Travis Etienne Jr. have been invisible for long stretches.
This year’s Jaguars honestly aren’t far off from the disastrous 2021 campaign under Urban Meyer as far as on-play goes. The worst part for owner Shad Khan? There’s no easy way out of this mess after handing Lawrence over a quarter of a billion dollars despite a miserable finish to last year.
We feel for ya, Jags fans. You really can’t have nice things.
Tennessee Titans
Unlike the first three teams to be mentioned on this list, expectations were relatively low for the Titans coming into this year. They lost franchise star Derrick Henry to free agency, and everyone knew DeAndre Hopkins would be traded before the deadline.
Will Levis was an unproven commodity coming into his sophomore year. The o-line was leaky, and Calvin Ridley was never going to live up to that mammoth $92 million deal he signed in free agency.
So, the Titans being near the very bottom of the standings is no surprise whatsoever. Unlike most other teams on this list, there are actually some positives here.
Tony Pollard has emerged as the new star running back in Music City as Henry’s successor, playing the best football of his career. And the defense is actually a top-tier unit with a chance to finish No. 1 against the pass.
The Titans are doing some things right in their rebuild, but lopsided losses to more competitive teams in the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Chargers showed that there’s still a long way to go.
Tennessee fans might as well hope for a tank job that would put them in a spot to get a top quarterback prospect like Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Georgia’s Carson Beck.
Also Read: Who Will Be The Difference-Makers In The Second Half Of The 2024 NFL Season?
New England Patriots
Like the Titans, everyone knew this would be a year of growing pains for the Patriots. Year one of the post-Bill Belichick era with a rookie head coach, quarterback and de facto GM. Not to mention the worst set of offensive playmakers in football.
The Pats turned some heads when they upset Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on the road in Week 1, but that turned out to be a flash-in-the-pan moment. New England proceeded to lose its next six games, all but assuring a top-10 pick.
The Patriots have mostly been non-competitive against tough competition, and it didn’t take long for head coach Jerod Mayo to bench veteran Jacoby Brissett in favor of rookie Drake Maye. The No. 3 pick of 2024 has shown some promise, but it’s clear there’s plenty of room for improvement.
The season ended weeks ago in Foxborough. It’s about gaining valuable experience and learning from it in year one of a full-scale rebuild.
Carolina Panthers
The good news: With a victory over the equally hapless New York Giants in Germany, Carolina surpassed last year’s total of two wins.
The bad news. The Panthers are still very bad at football.
Bryce Young hasn’t done anything to show that he can be the answer at quarterback, and it’s rather alarming that the offense has functioned better with Andy Dalton running it.
Since Carolina is sure to finish with a top-10 pick that will put them in a position to take a top quarterback prospect, they have no reason to give Bryce Young a third year at the controls. It’ll be time to start over behind center. Again.
The Panthers were far and away the NFL’s worst team a year ago. The good news is that they’re definitely not the worst team this year — but that’s still setting the bar awfully low. Carolina’s season was beyond saving when they started out 1-and-7.
Once again, expect major changes in the offseason.
Cleveland Browns
Expectations were high for a Browns team that finished 11-6 and made the postseason a year ago despite using five different starting quarterbacks.
It was reasonable to think that Deshaun Watson would finally show improvement at quarterback, too. But even before he suffered his season-ending Achilles tear against the Cincinnati Bengals, Watson was undoubtedly the worst NFL quarterback in the game.
A 1-6 record with five touchdowns, three interceptions, and 33 sacks taken while averaging a pathetic 164 passing yards a game. Good grief, if that’s what $230 million guaranteed can buy you.
Jim Schwartz’s defense propelled the Browns to the postseason last year, but the unit has regressed miserably this year. The ground game has been completely non-existent, even with Nick Chubb returning from injury.
The Browns waived the flag by moving out No. 1 receiver Amari Cooper and standout edge rusher Za’Darius Smith ahead of the trade deadline. So, at least they got some additional draft picks to help with an inevitable retooling phase.
The Browns’ difficult schedule also means that they’re in prime contention to finish with the top-five pick. Surely, they’ll take Deshaun Watson’s replacement, right?
Las Vegas Raiders
There was reason for optimism heading into Sin City this year. They finished 5-4 under interim head coach Antonio Pierce, highlighted by a road win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day.
The Raiders finished with a top-10 defense for the first time since 2002 and added ex-Miami Dolphins star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins in free agency. But since it’s the Raiders, of course, those good vibes were dashed quickly.
Their NFL season has been so bad that the big storyline has been Tom Brady joining the ownership group after having his bid for a minority stake approved. Yay.
Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell, and Desmond Ridder have played musical chairs at quarterback. The run game has been non-existent without Josh Jacobs, and the sluggish offense got even worse, predictably, after the Davante Adams trade.
It’s easy to forget that these guys were once 2-2 before dropping their next five games before the Week 10 bye. At the time of their off week, the Raiders allowed the third-most points per game at 27.9. So, we suppose the defensive dominance from 2023 was a mirage.
On the bright side, the Raiders have a realistic chance at coming away with Shedeur Sanders or Travis Hunter next year?
New York Giants
The good news for Jets fans in New York is that they’re still not as bad as their Big Apple NFC rivals.
The Giants decided to give Daniel Jones a sixth season behind center as if we didn’t know how that would go. They watched Saquon Barkley leave for the archrival Philadelphia Eagles in free agency, only to turn in an MVP-caliber year.
Sadly, Jones and the wretched offensive line have wasted excellent seasons from the likes of Malik Nabers, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Darius Slayton, Dexter Lawrence, and Brian Burns. A club with that level of talent on both sides of the ball can’t be this bad.
New York’s loss to Carolina in Germany was rock bottom, dropping the NFC East squad to 2-8 heading into their bye week. And honestly, their remaining schedule means New York would be lucky to finish better than 4-13.
Well, at least the Giants fanbase won’t have to watch Jones behind center anymore after this NFL season.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins’ playoff hopes were dealt a giant blow when Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills. He was sidelined for the next four games, and the Dolphins predictably cratered without a suitable backup QB in place.
The ‘Phins stood at 2-4 when Tagovailoa got the green light to return in Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals. They proceeded to lose their next two games and fall to 2-6, all but ending any realistic hopes of reaching the postseason.
So it’s too little, too late for Miami. To be fair, most teams don’t remain competitive when their starting QB misses significant time with injury. The Dolphins play in a tough AFC and can’t realistically expect to gain ground at this phase of the NFL season.
The 2-6 start doomed them. It’s about getting through 2024 and making the necessary roster improvements for next year.
Also Read: What Can We Expect In The Second Half Of The 2024 NFL Season?
