Describing Every NFL Team’s Nightmare 2023 Season in 1 Sentence or Less | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

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Now that most NFL teams know generally what they’ll look like and what the competition will look like in 2023, we have a chance to take some time during these slower points in the offseason to look at some best- and worst-case scenarios.

In this case, let’s go around the league with the glass half empty.

Here’s a one-sentence-per-team look at 32 nightmares for 32 NFL squads in 2023.

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Buffalo Bills: With Leslie Frazier gone, Tremaine Edmunds now a Chicago Bear and Von Miller, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer all 32 or older, the defense doesn’t carry its weight in an extremely tough division.

Miami Dolphins: In what might be a make-or-break season in terms of his health, Tua Tagovailoa fails to remain healthy with a limited backup plan in place.

New England Patriots: In what might be a make-or-break season in general, Mac Jones fails to deliver and the Patriots realize they need to rebuild, bringing an end to the Bill Belichick era.

New York Jets: In his age-40 season, Aaron Rodgers shows us that his huge decline as a 39-year-old in 2022 was the beginning of the end and the Jets look ridiculous for investing in him.

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Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson fails to finish a third consecutive season, causing the Ravens to wonder if they mistakenly invested heavily in the talented but fragile quarterback.

Cincinnati Bengals: Big offensive line changes backfire for an offense that desperately needs the protection unit to finally come through in a major way for Joe Burrow.

Cleveland Browns: The extremely well-paid Deshaun Watson, who has started just six games since the end of 2020 and was thoroughly unimpressive in those 2022 outings, fails to regain his magic from 2017-2020 in Houston.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Kenny Pickett fails to improve significantly on a weak rookie season but Mike Tomlin and a strong defense cause them to win just enough games to leave them without a primo draft pick in 2024.

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Houston Texans: Nothing much short of an injury to C.J. Stroud or Will Anderson Jr. would be a nightmare scenario for a Texans team that likely just wants to see progress and reps from its key youngsters in 2023.

Indianapolis Colts: Ditto for a Colts team that ideally will lose plenty of games while seeing progress from Anthony Richardson, with the nightmare coming if they win enough to avoid great 2024 draft capital without any guarantees on Richardson.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Any major drop-off in performance from Trevor Lawrence, who is positioned to become a star in 2023 but could confuse the organization and its fans with a sudden dip in Year 3.

Tennessee Titans: Anywhere between six and nine wins along with a lack of playoff success, leaving them without substantial draft capital with Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry hitting free agency.

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Denver Broncos: Anything resembling 2022 for Russell Wilson and Co.

Kansas City Chiefs: Anything short of a deep playoff run, or, of course, an injury to Patrick Mahomes.

Las Vegas Raiders: Jimmy Garoppolo’s injured foot prevents him from delivering and the Raiders have quarterback issues in their first campaign post-Derek Carr.

Los Angeles Chargers: A Bolts team that often feels cursed fails to recover from a crushing playoff letdown against the Jaguars in 2022.

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Dallas Cowboys: Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott fail to get on the same page in the wake of Kellen Moore’s departure and the Dallas offense once again underdelivers.

New York Giants: Their gamble on intriguing-but-still-not-established quarterback Daniel Jones comes up snake eyes as the 2019 No. 6 overall pick fails to throw more than 15 touchdown passes for a fourth consecutive season.

Philadelphia Eagles: They suffer a Super Bowl hangover following the losses of Javon Hargrave, Miles Sanders, Isaac Seumalo and T.J. Edwards, among other veterans.

Washington Commanders: They get confirmation that Sam Howell isn’t the answer, but the defense is good enough to keep them semi-competitive and again outside of the top 10 in the draft.

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Chicago Bears: Justin Fields fails to develop further as a passer but he and an altogether improved roster keep Chicago from draft range for Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.

Detroit Lions: The injury bug again rocks a team that was good enough to make a playoff run in 2022 but ranked sixth in adjusted games lost at Football Outsiders.

Green Bay Packers: They’re wrong about Jordan Love but still too talented to land a primo draft spot for a shot at Williams or Maye.

Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins once again can’t get a so-so team over the top but is again good enough to prevent them from landing a high draft pick.

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Atlanta Falcons: The over-drafted Bijan Robinson can’t save Desmond Ridder, but he, Kyle Pitts and Drake London keep the Falcons from the top of the 2024 draft by helping them win too many games.

Carolina Panthers: For whatever reason, they don’t get a really good look at top pick Bryce Young.

New Orleans Saints: Derek Carr doesn’t revive his career in New Orleans, but the Saints are again good enough to land a top-end draft pick.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Neither Baker Mayfield nor Kyle Trask come through at quarterback for a team that probably realizes it should rebuild.

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Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray’s campaign is essentially ruined by his knee injury but they somehow also fail to land a top-three draft pick.

Los Angeles Rams: Matthew Stafford and the veteran core perform just well enough to delay a needed rebuild for a team that won’t contend in 2023 anyway.

San Francisco 49ers: At quarterback, Brock Purdy proves to be a one-year wonder, Trey Lance again fails to stay healthy and Sam Darnold fails to revive his nearly-dead career.

Seattle Seahawks: Geno Smith also shows the football world his shocking 2022 campaign was a fluke.