The 2023 NFL season had it all: Pleasant surprises, highlight reel plays, officiating controversies, Oscar-worthy game endings and…a whole lotta letdowns.
Several teams and players entered the year with so much hype and promise, only to fall well short of expectations. So without further ado, let’s dive into the 10 biggest disappointments of the 2023 NFL season.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence had a breakout sophomore season under new head coach Doug Pederson and guided the Jaguars to their first AFC South division title in five years.
The Jaguars continued the magical run by erasing a 27-0 deficit against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round en route to a 31-30 victory. Jacksonville gave the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chief a scare in the Divisional Round, but fell short 27-20.
Still, the future was ultra-bright in Duval County. Lawrence was a rising superstar. Calvin Ridley was about to join a prolific supporting cast consisting of Travis Etienne Jr., Christian Kirk and Evan Engram.
With Josh Allen, Travon Walker, Andre Cisco and Tyson Campbell rounding out a talented young defense, the Jaguars had all the pieces to be a Super Bowl contender this year.
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Well, they looked like one for 11 weeks. The Jaguars were sitting pretty at 8-3 with six weeks to go and looked poised for a second straight division crown…only to unravel and collapse entirely out of nowhere.
The Jaguars inexplicably lost four games in a row, with Lawrence becoming a turnover machine and the defense failing to stop a nosebleed. After defeating the Carolina Panthers in Week 17, Jacksonville needed only a win against the hapless Tennessee Titans to secure the division.
But the Jaguars kept getting in their own way, committing mistake after mistake after mistake in a stunning 28-20 loss. The Houston Texans’ win over the Indianapolis Colts allowed CJ Stroud and company to steal the division crown instead, while the Jaguars missed the postseason with a 9-and-8 record.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this for a team loaded with so much talent on both sides of the ball. What in the world happened?!
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers ended a four-year playoff drought last year with a 10-and-7 record. But as we just touched base on, they completely choked that 27-point lead against the Jaguars in the Wild Card Round.
Nonetheless, the pieces were there for the Bolts to at least be a playoff team again.
Justin Herbert was gonna take it to another level with Kellen Moore as his new offensive coordinator, and the presences of Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler were gonna ensure consistent offensive efficiency. Not to mention the arrival of rookie and 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston.
Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Derwin James and Asante Samuel Jr. were also going to ensure that the defense stayed afloat. Or so we thought.
Williams suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 3, but Allen stepped up with another 1,000-yard season despite missing four games. Johnston, however, was hardly a factor with 431 receiving yards and two TDs.
Ekeler was awful in his contract year, finishing with only six total touchdowns after racking up 38 over the previous two seasons.
Herbert himself missed the final four games with a finger injury, but he too wasn’t his normal self throughout the year — averaging 241.1 passing yards per game — nearly 40 less than his career average.
The defense was a mess once again under Brandon Staley. A humiliating 63-21 blowout loss to the Las Vegas Raiders was the last straw for ownership, who fired Staley and GM Tom Telesco after the game. The Bolts finished a miserable 5-and-12 — the franchise’s worst record in 2014.
Third-Year Quarterbacks
There was a time where the 2021 NFL quarterback class was viewed as one of the deepest and most talented ever. Several teams were positive that they had just found their new franchise signal-caller. Grandpa Simpson can tell you all about it!
Now that we’ve had three years to evaluate it? Woof. Allow this stat from the good folks at The 33rd Team to sum it up for you:
Mac Jones is done in New England. Zach Wilson should never take a snap for the Jets again — not even in practice as Aaron Rodgers backup. Trey Lance didn’t get a single snap as the third-stringer in Dallas.
Justin Fields has been inconsistent at best. Ditto for T-Law, who was once viewed as a generational QB prospect. Even Kyle Trask, Kellen Mond and Davis Mills — all picked in the mid-60s — have become afterthoughts.
It’s just unbelievable, really, to think that all these ultra-talented QBS — namely the first-rounders — have either failed to or have yet to establish themselves as long-term starting QBs…except for Lawrence.
But again, we all thought Lawrence would be an established MVP-caliber superstar by now. Instead, he had one awful season, one very good season and one…underwhelming season.
Aside from Lawrence, the rest of the QBS selected that year may entirely find themselves holding clipboards on the bench.
Washington Commanders Defense
Nobody thought the Commanders would be a Super Bowl contender this year. But if the defense played up to its usual standards, many figured they could have at least vied for a wild card berth after falling just short of the postseason a year ago.
Instead, the Commanders went from the No. 7 scoring D in the league to dead-last. After allowing just 20.2 points per game a year ago, the Commanders allowed 30.5 per game.
Washington also ranked last in total yards allowed and passing yards allowed.
The so-called vaunted pass rush? Uh, let’s just say that Montez Sweat led the team with 6.5 sacks…and he was sent to the Bears ahead of the trade deadline. Daron Payne, coming off a career-high 11.5 sacks, had just four. Chase Young was traded to San Francisco ahead of the deadline, too.
The Commanders limped to a 4-and-13 finish, mercilessly costing head coach Ron Rivera his job.
How this D went from championship-level to one of the absolute worst ever, despite mostly the same personnel, is behind us.
Derek Carr
With Tom Brady retired and out of the NFC South, the path was there for the New Orleans Saints to reclaim the division they dominated for most of the previous decade.
Following his release from the Las Vegas Raiders, Carr signed a lucrative four-year deal worth $150 million with the Saints. With the best QB in the division, coupled with a soft schedule, the pieces were there for New Orleans to return to the playoffs.
Unfortunately for the Saints, Carr did not play up to his usual standards with his new team. He was hot-and-cold all season long and left three separate games to injury. The offense then seemed to perform better in those three contests when Jameis Winston took over.
Carr also had several childish temper tantrums and teammates at his receivers and offensive linemen throughout the year.
The Saints won their final two games to finish 9-and-8, but it was too little, too late. Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the division via tiebreak with an identical 9-and-8 record.
Most of New Orleans’ top stars performed up to their usual standards this year. Carr didn’t, and it’s largely why the Saints just missed the postseason for the third straight year.
Cincinnati Bengals Defense
Losing Joe Burrow for the final seven games with a wrist injury was a tough blow, but backup Jake Browning played just fine in his place. Browning won four of seven starts and gave Cincy every chance to stay alive in the postseason race.
It was the Bengals defense, not Burrow’s injury, that cost Cincy a third straight playoff berth.
Only Washington gave up more total yards than Lou Anarumo’s unit. And after finishing sixth in scoring defense a year ago, the Bengals D ranked 21st this year. Their usually stingy secondary also finished 28th, allowing 248.4 through the air per contest.
Trey Hendrickson has 17.5 sacks, and defensive backs Cam Taylor-Britt and Jordan Battle all had excellent seasons. Yet the Bengals D sunk to the bottom of the league rankings and cost this team a playoff spot.
Even if Burrow is healthy next year, this defense must improve if the Bengals are to rebound in 2024.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos 8-and-9 record wasn’t exactly the “disappointment” here. It is how the season played out — and the hole Sean Payton dug up for them.
The Broncos gave up 2023 first and 2024 second-round picks to the Saints to acquire Payton. His job was to simply fix Russell Wilson, whom Denver gave a $245 million extension to a year earlier.
After a 1-and-5 start, Wilson finally began turning it around and led Denver to five straight W’s. They were in the playoff race at 7-and-6 with four games to go before suffering back-to-back losses, and then the fire had erupted.
Payton benched Wilson for Denver’s final two games in favor of Jarrett Stidham because of injury guarantees on the star QB’s contract. If he got injured, Denver would have owed Wilson $37 million in guaranteed money for 2025.
So the Broncos are basically running Wilson out of town after giving up a king’s ransom to the Seattle Seahawks for his services. Wilson regains his Pro Bowl-like form, and coach Payton still stubbornly sits him for the rest of the season?
Payton’s me-first approach bought Denver eight wins. Enough to stay in the playoff race – but not enough to make the postseason. And also not bad enough to pick in the top-10.
Not to mention that Denver lacked a 1,000-yard receiver or rusher for the fourth straight season. Wasn’t coach Payton supposed to be an offensive genius?
So congrats to the Broncos then. In one year, they gave up a package highlighted by three firsts and three second-rounders for Wilson and Payton. And that’s gotten them where, exactly?
Atlanta Falcons Offense
It’s easy to blame the quarterbacks and Arthur Smith. But truth be told, almost everyone on Atlanta’s offense underperformed this year.
Workhorse running back Bijan Robinson at least came as advertised with 1,463 yards of offense and eight total touchdowns. Drake London had more receiving yards compared to his rookie year, but he also had three less receptions and two less TDs.
His performance was not at all consistent, though. London had seven games with 40 or less receiving yards.
After a disappointing sophomore year, tight end Kyle Pitts didn’t fare much better in 2023. He caught 53 passes for 667 yards and three touchdowns — a far cry from his breakout 2021 season in which Pitts had 1,026 receiving yards.
We know Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke aren’t the best quarterback duo…but how do you underachieve with that much star power and a top-tier offensive line? And how does an offensive-minded coach like Smith fail to get the most out of this group?
A third straight 7-and-10 finish cost Smith his job. Mind you, it’d be nice if the front office could get him a half-decent QB.
Bryce Young
Nobody was saying that Young had to be an MVP and lead the Panthers to the playoffs in his first year. But certainly, we all thought the first overall pick of 2023 would leave a much better first impression.
Young was paired with an offensive-minded genius head coach in Frank Reich and had Adam Thielen, Miles Sanders, Chuba Hubbard, DJ Chark and Hayden Hurst headlining a solid set of weapons.
Carolina also played in football’s worst division and had one of the league’s weakest schedules. The pieces were there for Young to have, well, a not-so-disastrous rookie campaign.
But disastrous it was, folks. Young lost 14 of 16 starts and completed 59.8 percent of pass attempts for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while taking 62 sacks.
And before you complain about the coaching staff and Young’s supporting cast? Riddle us this: Why did Andy Dalton — starting in place of an injured Young — play lights-out in Week 3 against the Seattle Seahawks with 361 passing yards, two touchdowns and no picks?
Reich was fired after a 1-and-10 start. Making matters worse, the Panthers wound up giving away the first overall pick of 2024 to the Chicago Bears.
Certainly, Carolina didn’t have a 2-win season on its mind when it sold the farm to the Bears last year so they could get Young.
Kansas City Chiefs Offense
Over Patrick Mahomes’ first five seasons as the Chiefs starting QB, the team twice finished as the league’s No. 1 scoring offense. They finished no lower than sixth in that category.
But inexplicably, the defending champions’ offense was an issue all season long. Incredibly, it was the Chiefs’ defense that propelled the team to 11 wins and an eighth straight AFC West division crown.
KC ranked 15th in scoring offense with 21.8 points per game, and they were ninth in total yards for. He missed two games, yes, but Travis Kelce failed to reach 1K receiving for the first time since 2015.
Mahomes finished with 27 passing TDs — 14 fewer than what he tossed a year ago. His 14 interceptions were also a career-worst.
Then the receivers. After Kelce and Rashee Rice, Justin Watson was the team’s receiving leader with 460 yards. Then you remember Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropping a game-winning TD against Philly. And Kadarius Toney’s offside penalty that cost them a win over the Bills.
The Chiefs offense was always a juggernaut and fireworks-filled show under Mahomes and Kelce Reid. But Mahomes, Kelce and the veteran receivers all played well below their usual standards.
If the Steve Spagnuolo-led defense didn’t go from “solid” to elite-elite, the Chiefs could have very well handed the division to the Denver Broncos.
What do you think was the biggest disappointment of the 2023 NFL season?
