Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season has already begun. For Super Bowl hopefuls like the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants (yes, really), the march toward the playoffs continues. For rebuilding franchises like the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans, it's already time to play for next year.
In between these two ends of the spectrum is a swatch of teams good enough to chase the playoffs but very close to letting the season slip away.
Below, you'll find a look at seven teams on the brink of collapse as midseason draws near. We'll examine what's gone wrong for these disappointing squads, what needs to change and why collapse may be imminent.
Teams are listed in alphabetical order.
Cleveland Browns
We'll kick things off with a team most probably didn't expect to make the playoffs in 2022. The Cleveland Browns finished last season with an 8-9 record and will play the bulk of this year without new quarterback Deshaun Watson—who is serving an 11-game suspension for violation of the personal conduct policy after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault or misconduct.
Still, the Browns are a team loaded with talent. From Nick Chubb and Amari Cooper to Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney and Denzel Ward, the Cleveland roster is littered with former first-round picks and Pro Bowlers. However, the Browns sit at 2-5 because they've struggled to operate as a complete team.
Cleveland has experienced exactly one blowout loss this season—to the New England Patriots—while losing its other four games by a combined nine points.
"I think you guys understand how frustrating it is when you try to win in this league, you come close and you don’t get it done, that is really frustrating," head coach Kevin Stefanski recently told reporters.
Of course, Stefanski has to bear much of the blame here. The Browns have regularly failed to execute on offense, have experienced multiple blown plays on defense and have averaged more than six penalties per game.
The Browns are undisciplined and incapable of making the plays necessary to win close games. That's a coaching problem.
Hypothetically, Cleveland could go on a late run once Watson returns. However, that's not guaranteed, considering Watson hasn't played in two years. Regardless, the Browns probably aren't making the playoffs if they're 3-8 or 4-7 upon Watson's return.
If Cleveland falls to the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, they'll be 2-6 and looking at another lost season.
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a team that many expected to be playoff-relevant in 2022. Denver had the league's third-ranked scoring defense last season. It has an offense loaded with weapons like Javonte Williams, Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and oh yeah, it added quarterback Russell Wilson in the offseason.
Unfortunately, Wilson hasn't made the Broncos a Super Bowl contender. Instead, his play has been shockingly bad. The nine-time Pro Bowler has completed just 58.6 percent of his passes, tossed a mere five touchdowns and posted a miserable 83.4 quarterback rating.
That's not much better than the Browns are getting out of placeholder Jacoby Brissett (82.3 rating).
While Wilson—who missed Week 7 with a hamstring injury—has been Denver's biggest problem, he's not its only one. Williams is out for the year with a torn ACL, and rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett appears to be in well over his head.
Hackett has mismanaged game situations repeatedly and can't get his offense (32nd in scoring) with any semblance of a rhythm. Yet, the Broncos are still backing their coach.
"I believe in Nathaniel. I support Nathaniel 100 percent," general manager George Paton told Troy Renck of Denver7. “He’s been in this seven games as a head coach. The scrutiny he’s faced is unprecedented."
It will be interesting to see just how much support Hackett has if the 2-5 Broncos fall to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Sunday. The 5-2 Chiefs and 4-3 Los Angeles Chargers are quickly separating themselves from the rest of the AFC West, while Denver is bringing up the rear.