The 2019 NFL season should be a promising one. There are several NFL teams looking to make a push at the Lombardi trophy. Patrick Mahomes made fans jaws drop with his insane arm strength, and some familiar faces are with new franchises. Let’s look at a few teams who routinely underperform, so today we will go over the five NFL teams we think will have an average 2019.

Detroit Lions

• 2018 Record: 6-10

Heading into the second season of the Matt Patricia era in the Motor City, the Lions look to get back into the playoffs in 2019. The team struggled at times on both sides of the ball, but Matthew Stafford should improve his 2018 numbers. He threw 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season, with a QBR of 50.9. 

The Lions defense was ranked in the middle of the pack in points allowed last season, giving up 22 per game.

Stafford is 30 years and is still one of the top QBs in the NFC, but it will take more than that to fight off the Vikings, Bears, and Packers. In a tough division, the Lions have average written all over them.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• 2018 Record: 5-11

Can Tampa Bay win with Jameis Winston as their quarterback? Last year after his suspension, Winston struggled to move the ball down the field. That resulted in DeSean Jackson requesting a trade, so the offense will look vastly different this season. Gerald McCoy also moved on, going to the division rival Carolina Panthers. 

The schedule doesn’t do the team any favors, and they could be looking at a 2-6 start to the season. Tampa Bay plays the Saints, Rams, and the Panthers twice in the first six weeks of the season.

Pittsburgh Steelers

• 2018 Record: 9-6-1

Pittsburgh’s offense will look drastically different from its 2018 outfit. Ben Roethlisberger is a year older, Le’Veon Bell is now a New York Jet, and the teams shipped Antonio Brown out to Oakland. When healthy, you can argue that Bell and Brown were the two best players in the league at their respective positions.

James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster will look to fill their shoes at the top of the depth chart, but we think the Browns and Ravens will be a lot better than advertised next season, which means the Steelers could fall squarely within the realm of average NFL teams in 2019.

Washington Redskins

• 2018 Record: 7-9

When Dwayne Haskins slid to the No. 15 pick of the 2019 NFL draft, fans in the D.C. area were ecstatic. Haskins was viewed by many as the top QB prospect in the draft, even if Kyler Murray was the consensus top pick. The offense should improve under Haskins, as the Redskins averaged just 17 points per game last season, fourth-worst in the NFL.

Washington has a rough start to the season, with games against the Eagles, Cowboys, Patriots, and Bears in the first five games. The only winnable game is against the Giants, which could be a game against two rookie QBs after Daniel Jones went No. 6 to the G-Men.

The nation’s capital has an improved squad, but the brutal early schedule and tough division could keep Washington from showing any improvement record-wise in 2019.

Denver Broncos

• 2018 Record: 6-10

Is Case Keenum as good as we thought he was? Having two very good wide receivers in Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas, and a heralded undrafted rookie running back in Philip Lindsay couldn’t get the Broncos to a winning record. So, Keenum is out and Joe Flacco is in for Denver. Linebacker Bradley Chubb is in his second season and looks like the steal of the 2018 NFL draft, and everyone knows how dominant Von Miller can be.

A few consistent games from the offense could see the Broncos get to .500, but we think they will finish 7-9. Denver faces four 2018 playoff teams (the Bears, Chargers, Chiefs, and Colts), the improved Raiders, and surging Browns in the first nine games of the season.

Which NFL teams do you expect to be average in 2019?

After going over our list of NFL teams we think are destined to be average, which one stands out to you? Denver coach Vic Fangio has a tough task in his first season, and it the same goes for Bruce Arians in Tampa. Check out our NFL section for more news and information from around the gridiron.