3 NFL Playoff Teams From 2018 Who Will Miss the Postseason in 2019
With the NFL Draft fast approaching, teams are looking to turn things around in 2019 in the hopes of making it to the Super Bowl. However, some NFL playoff teams from last season might have trouble replicating that success this year. It isn’t unreasonable to think these three teams will take a step back during the 2019 season.
Dallas Cowboys
- 2018 Record: 10-6
Jason Witten unretiring and returning to the Cowboys has been met with praise by Cowboys fans and fans of Monday Night Football. His return might not be enough for America’s Team.
Coach Jason Garrett is always on a tentative hot seat, and it looks like it will take another postseason berth for him to keep his job. Ezekiel Elliott is still one of the best running backs in the league, and the offensive line should play much better than they did last season.
However, the Cowboys have a tough 2019 schedule ahead of them, as they face the Packers, Vikings, and Rams at home. They also face the Bears, Saints, and Patriots on the road. With that tough schedule, it seems like Dallas will be one of the NFL playoff teams to miss the postseason next season.
Chicago Bears
- 2018 Record: 12-4
The Bears were a missed field goal away from the NFC divisional round, and although this will be Mitchell Trubisky’s second season in Matt Nagy’s offense, expect Chicago to take a step back on the field.
The running game should still be top notch, but the defense lost mastermind Vic Fangio when he took the Denver coaching job. Plus, a tough out of division schedule includes games against the Rams, Saints, Chiefs, and Chargers. Unless the Bears win all those games, they should hover around seven or eight wins as they fight to stay on top of a division.
Baltimore Ravens
- 2018 Record: 10-6
The Ravens made the first big move of the offseason, trading highly-paid Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco to the Denver Broncos. After selecting Lamar Jackson at the end of the first-round in 2018, Flacco became expendable. Once Jackson was inserted into the offense, the Ravens took off.
The former Heisman Trophy winner was a major threat running the ball, as he averaged nearly five years per carry. However, once the playoffs came around, the Chargers exposed Jackson’s shortcomings in the passing game. Baltimore’s defense is one of the best in the league, but if Jackson doesn’t improve his accuracy, then we see the Ravens winning less being one of the NFL playoff teams that will miss the mark in 2019.
Honorable mentions
There are two other teams, one in each conference, that we see taking a step backward in 2019, but their playoff chances aren’t as dire as the three we just mentioned.
New Orleans Saints
- 2018 Record: 13-3
The Saints and Hall-of-Fame quarterback in Drew Brees and were a blown call away from the Super Bowl. That should fuel the team for much of the season, but it is very rare for teams to finish with consecutive 13-win seasons. New Orleans has offensive weapons in Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas, but Brees is a year older (and a year closer to retirement), and the Saints’ schedule isn’t easy. They face six playoff teams outside of their division, and unless they go 4-2 in those games it will be hard to win 13 games again.
Los Angeles Chargers
- 2018 Record: 12-4
The good news for Chargers fans is that they face their toughest out-of-division opponents at home. The bad news is they face four of the best quarterbacks in the league. Playing the Texans, Steelers, Packers, and Colts won’t be easy, and if Phillip Rivers takes a step back in 2019, then we see the Chargers being one of the NFL playoff teams to miss the mark this season.
