2 weeks Ago By Joe Tansey
The Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans have established themselves as the two worst teams in the NFL through eight weeks. Carolina is not capable of making any progress on offense no matter who is starting at quarterback for it. Tennessee is in the same type of situation as Carolina, and its offensive situation got more dire with DeAndre Hopkins' departure to Kansas City prior to its Week 8 clash with the Detroit Lions.
Carolina and Tennessee will likely be locked in a battle for the top pick until Week 18. The New York Jets are a surprise team in the top five of the projected draft order after their stunning loss to the New England Patriots. No one expected the Jets to be closer to the top pick than the postseason after eight weeks, but that might be the franchise's reality in 2024.
1. Carolina (1-7) 2. Tennessee (1-6) 3.
New England (2-6) 4. New York Jets (2-6) 5. Jacksonville (2-6) 6.
New Orleans (2-6) 7. Las Vegas (2-6) 8. Cleveland (2-6) 9.
Miami (2-5) 10. New York Giants (2-5) 11. Cincinnati (3-5) 12.
Los Angeles Rams (3-4) 13. Dallas (3-4) 14. Indianapolis (4-4) 15.
Tampa Bay (4-4) 16. Seattle (4-4) 17. San Francisco (4-4) 18.
Chicago (4-3) 19. Arizona (4-4) 20. Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) 21.
Atlanta (5-3) 22. Denver (5-3) 23. Baltimore (5-3) 24.
Philadelphia (5-2) 25. Pittsburgh (5-2) 26. Minnesota (5-2) 27.
Buffalo (6-2) 28. Green Bay (6-2) 29. Washington (6-2) 30.
Houston (6-2) 31. Detroit (6-1) 32. Kansas City (7-0) Carolina and Tennessee were not competitive in Week 8.
The Panthers lost by multiple touchdowns to the Denver Broncos and the Titans let the Detroit offense do whatever it wanted. Carolina will likely go into its Week 11 bye with a 1-9 record, despite two easier matchups against the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants. Those are winnable games, but the Panthers offense has not inspired any confidence that it can score multiple touchdowns in a single game, regardless of if Bryce Young or Andy Dalton is at the helm.
The Titans' most winnable game left on the schedule comes at home against the Patriots in Week 9. After that, it's hard to find any victories for the AFC South side. It still has five divisional games left and matchups against the Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers.
A loss on Sunday would make 1-16 a reality for the Titans. The Jets would have the No. 4 overall pick if the regular season ended after Week 8.
Nothing has gone right for the AFC East side despite the litany of changes made in the last few weeks to try to push things in the right direction. The Jets could realistically be 2-7 after Thursday night's clash with the Houston Texans. They face the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts in the two games after Thursday prior to their Week 12 bye.
Aaron Rodgers and Co. will fight to try and get back into the postseason hunt, but for now, there's the potential that the Jets simply aren't good enough and end up at 2-9 or 3-8 going into their bye..
