NFL Power Rankings: Just how bad are the worst teams in the league?

We're through three weeks of the NFL season, and while there's a whole lot of football left to be played, we're beginning to get the lay of the land around the league. Josh Allen might never throw an incompletion again. Mad scientist Brian Flores has the Vikings firing on all cylinders. And apparently, the Packers can keep rolling no matter who's at quarterback.

But we're not here today to talk about the pleasant surprises and success stories. We're here today to talk about the other side of the coin: The teams who have gotten off to a slow start to their 2024 seasons. Below is a ranking of every 1-2 and 0-3 team in the NFL. Some names we expected to see on here at the start of the season; some we very much did not. Who's at the bottom of the barrel, and who might be able to turn things around? Read on to find out.

16. Baltimore Ravens (1-2)

Baltimore finally got into the win column against the Cowboys in Week 3, likely saving its season in the process. But no matter how good the Lamar Jackson-Derrick Henry running game looked, another near-collapse in the fourth quarter has to ring some alarm bells about this team's ability to finish games. There's still a ton of talent here, but the defense appears to have taken a step back without Mike Macdonald, and the vibes remain curiously off.

15. San Francisco 49ers (1-2)

I'm not as worried about the offense; Brock Purdy struggled to make plays without his star-studded supporting cast, but they'll get healthy eventually, and Kyle Shanahan remains the best in the business. More worrisome is a defense that appears thinner than ever, with new DC Nick Sorensen unable to find answers thus far.

14. Los Angeles Rams (1-2)

There's a big drop-off from the top two in these rankings, with the next handful of teams relatively interchangeable. I'll opt for the Rams here, largely because I trust Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford more than any other coach-QB combination below them. The defense is awfully rough right now, though, and the schedule does them no favors.

13. Indianapolis Colts (1-2)

If you want to argue that Indy deserves to leapfrog L.A., be my guest. But I'm inclined to chalk up last week's defensive performance as a Shane Waldron Special, and I'm still waiting to see Anthony Richardson take the next step to become more reliable in the passing game. Until that happens, and until this defense does it two weeks in a row, I have a hard time taking them too seriously.

12. Cincinnati Bengals (0-3)

Our first 0-3 team! Perhaps this is too rosy, clinging too firmly to preseason expectations. Not even Lou Anarumo can fix what's wrong with this run defense, and the odds are against any team digging out of this hole to make a playoff run. But amid all the consternation about this rough start, let's not forget that Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase are starting to look like their old selves — and Tee Higgins has barely gotten warmed up yet. This offense is a legitimate strength, and the best single unit among all the teams below them on this list.

11. Arizona Cardinals (1-2)

I was tempted to bump Arizona even a little higher, but while Jonathan Gannon's defense has made some strides early on, it's still a well-below-average unit. Still, the Cardinals' close loss in Buffalo looks better with each passing week, and while the offense stalled out against the Lions in Week 3, it's encouraging that the defense kept them in the game. With Marvin Harrison Jr. rounding into form, this still feels like a team that could make some noise if it gets everything clicking at once.

10. Atlanta Falcons (1-2)

Kirk Cousins certainly looks better than he did in Week 1, and the schedule has been tough so far; there's a world in which Atlanta converts one of those fourth downs against Kansas City and we're talking about them very differently. But I cannot trust this defense, and I do not trust Cousins to carry Atlanta if this running game remains stuck in neutral.

9. Denver Broncos (1-2)

Bo Nix played his best game as a pro against the Bucs in Week 3, but until his passing chart stretches more than five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, I'm going to have a tough time believing that this offense can work consistently. Denver's defense is legitimately salty, and Nix can be fine as long as they provide him with good game scripts. The minute the Broncos get behind, however, look out, and that puts a hard ceiling on their success.

8. Chicago Bears (1-2)

I have been and remain a Caleb Williams believer — it's hard being a rookie in the NFL, especially behind this offensive line — but it may already be time to have a conversation about Shane Waldron. That doomed option play on fourth and goal feels indicative of a larger identity crisis on offense, and while it could conceivably all click into place as the season goes along (and the team gets healthier), it feels like this team might still be a year away.

7. Miami Dolphins (1-2)

It's a testament to my respect for Mike McDaniel, Tyreek Hill and the gang that Miami is even this high right now, because woof, that was ugly in Seattle. Skylar Thompson was clearly not a viable solution even before leaving due to injury, and with Tua Tagovailoa out until at least Week 8, it's hard to imagine how this team stays competitive. Maybe put Tyreek in the backfield, turn the clock back to 2008 and run the Wildcat?

6. Cleveland Browns (1-2)

With a skittish Deshaun Watson under center, the one thing the Browns couldn't afford is a rash of offensive line injuries — so, naturally, Jedrick Wills, Wyatt Teller and James Hudson III all went down in Sunday's loss to the Giants. Jim Schwartz's defense was bound to regress at least a little bit from last year's heights, and it seems clear at this point that the offense isn't good enough to pick up that extra slack.

5. New England Patriots (1-2)

Speaking of struggling offenses: Poor Jacoby Brissett never had a chance against a ferocious New York Jets pass rush in Week 3. The win in Cincinnati and near-upset of Seattle were fun, but it feels like we saw last Sunday just how thin the margin for error is with this team — and how bad things can get when the dam breaks. This offense just doesn't have many answers right now.

4. Las Vegas Raiders (1-2)

Yes, I know, the Raiders come in ahead of a team that just waxed them in Week 3. I still think there's some juice to this defense, although it's not great that things appear to crater whenever the banged-up Maxx Crosby isn't on the field. At this point, why shouldn't Antonio Pierce hand the keys to Aidan O'Connell? We know what Gardner Minshew is; we probably know what O'Connell is, too, but at least there's a little ostensible upside there. (Of course, finding a run game would help either QB.)

3. Carolina Panthers (1-2)

Welcome to the winner's circle, Dave Canales. Andy Dalton's sensational performance in Week 3 served as a reminder that this supporting is not, in fact, all that bad, and that Canales knows how to design an offense. There will surely be rougher days to come, and this defense certainly won't look as good against teams that aren't the Raiders, but we've now at least shifted from "performance art" to "normal NFL team," and that's a start.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3)

It's fully time to panic in Jacksonville, with the defense a MASH unit and Trevor Lawrence seemingly regressing every week under Doug Pederson's tutelage. The offense was the more concerning part of the Monday night blowout in Buffalo; Josh Allen did Josh Allen things against a banged-up defense, but it's alarming how little plan Jacksonville's braintrust seemed to have on the other side of the ball, and how many unforced errors Lawrence made.

1. Tennessee Titans (0-3)

For the first time in what seems like forever, a team other than Carolina has a credible claim to being the worst in football. Tennessee has scored just 48 points so far this season, and Will Levis' turnovers grow increasingly baroque with each passing week. At this point, the goal for the Titans should be just trying to play a functional 60 minutes; we can worry about finding wins later.