Most NFL teams are who we thought they were, but a handful are better than the win-loss column wants you to think.
We’re past the quarter-pole of the NFL season, but a few teams aren’t totally being honest with us. Teams like the Browns and Chiefs are firmly and accurately on the right side of their respective spectrum.
Other teams are a lot better than the win-loss column indicates. Whether this is because of some bad bounces or players not playing up to snuff, the records are not accurate and these fans bases need to be alerted that we feel your pain.
Not everyone is as bad as their record suggests.
Record Should Be: 4-1
Games They Should Have Won: Week 4 vs. Jets
It’s not hard to figure out what the Jaguars are. Pundits will try to say it is, but the problem with Jacksonville is pretty straightforward: Blake Bortles.
Imagine how much better the Jaguars could be if they had anyone else under center. The defense is currently playing like a top unit but is undermined by the talking points surrounding Bortles. The first week of the season, the Jaguars turned into #Sacksonville with a 10-sack day. This past Sunday it turned into #PickSixonville, intercepting Ben Roethlisberger five times. Add into this a 44-7 win over the Baltimore Ravens and suddenly all three of the Jaguars wins look much better than the losses. If Blake Bortles is even slightly more lucid than he barely is, the Jaguars don’t lose to the Jets in overtime and are a 4-1 playoff contender.
Bortles is holding the Jaguars back to such a degree that it hurts to watch. The defense plays its heart out week in and week out, but until an actual quarterback arrives in town, true potential will never be met.