The 2021-22 NFL season keeps hurdling along, and we can separate the contenders from the pretenders now. We can talk about the contenders later, but that’s not what this is about. Now it’s time to check out the worst of the worst from Week 8. Welcome to the NFL Powerless Rankings.
2 / 7
The Jets are the only among the powerless to have more than one win on the season after beating a stout Cincinnati Bengals team, 34-31, in Week 8. Not only did the Jets defeat the Bengals, but they did it with Mike White at QB, a guy who has less experience than rookie Zach Wilson.
Another performance or two like this, and Wilson may be watching from the sideline a bit longer, injured or not.
3 / 7
Houston got molly-whopped by the Rams on Sunday, scoring all 22 of its points in the fourth quarter when the game was well out of hand. Texans QB Davis Mills had another game full of empty calories, throwing for over 300 yards and a couple of TDs.
Houston’s defense is still putrid and gave up 467 yards to go along with that 38 spot in the first three quarters of this one. Nothing out of the ordinary, as no one expected anything from the Texans in Week 8, and they did not disappoint.
4 / 7
The Dolphins suffered another bad loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 8, falling 26-11. This Miami team was supposed to be ready to compete this season, and they get further away from that with each passing week.
The offense managed just 262 yards against the Bills, but you can’t place all the blame on second-year QB Tua Tagovailoa. It’s the entire offense that isn’t getting it done. Another top-five pick looks guaranteed at this point unless something changes quickly.
The trade deadline is one day away, so we’ll see if Tua is still a Dolphin come Nov. 3. If the Texans weren’t his likely destination, I’d say Tua should be all for it. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of days.
5 / 7
The Jags got their first win of the season a couple of weeks ago, before their bye, and came back in Week 8 only to get roasted by the Seahawks, 31-7. The outside drama around this team has calmed down a bit, but the play on the field is still subpar.
I don’t know how long Urban Meyer can deal with all this losing after all his years of winning on the college level. It’s going to be at least another year or two before this team is ready to compete for even a wild-card spot in the postseason. We’ll see if Meyer has the patience for that.
6 / 7
Could the Detroit Lions be the first team to go 0-17? They were the first to go 0-16 back in 2008, and this season isn’t looking great. They fell to 0-8 this week, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles, 44-6. Here’s how bad it is for the Lions. Jalen Hurts passed for 103 yards against the Lions. This is who the Lions are losing to these days. That’s just unacceptable.
