No one likes to stomp on dreams. Part of the fun of being an NFL fan, after all, is buying into your favorite team's upcoming season, no matter how unlikely a Lombardi Trophy run may seem. And yet, every single year, somebody's gotta finish last. Or at least close to it.
That's why we've identified five teams that have us more concerned than most. So concerned, in fact, that we wouldn't be stunned if they ended 2024 near the very bottom of the standings. Buckle up, and if you happen to root for these particular franchises, just be thankful they now have this additional motivation!
Note: Strength-of-schedule rankings courtesy of Sharp Football Analysis.
Cleveland Browns
2023 finish: 11-6 | 2024 schedule: 3rd hardest
By several key measures, the Browns boasted the No. 1 defense in the NFL in 2023. That'll help. What won't is an offense that may well be worse off than it was a year ago, when an aging Joe Flacco briefly picked up the pieces of an injury-racked quarterback room. Yes, Deshaun Watson is back, but for how long? Even if he's upright and steady -- two things that haven't been the case for years -- Kevin Stefanski's otherwise encouraging staff will have to overcome injuries across the offensive line, as well as to ground-game centerpiece Nick Chubb. Throw in the unpredictable chemistry between Watson and new wideout Jerry Jeudy, who wore out his welcome with the Denver Broncos, and the combustion potential is real. That's not even accounting for a tough AFC North featuring two popular Super Bowl picks in the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.
Las Vegas Raiders
2023 finish: 8-9 | 2024 schedule: 9th hardest
In terms of raw talent, the Raiders actually boast some of the game's top players at individual spots, be it Davante Adams out wide, Christian Wilkins on the interior or Maxx Crosby off the edge. Rookie tight end Brock Bowers should enhance the offense as well. New coach Antonio Pierce will be trying to prove he's got more than an interim spark, however, and he'll be doing so with some combination of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell at quarterback. Both guys are scrappy, but there's a reason their offseason competition lasted all the way to the preseason, where even Pierce seemed reluctant to crown a winner. It'd be one thing if this group played in the NFC South. In the AFC West, where the Kansas City Chiefs are a juggernaut and the Los Angeles Chargers should be improved, win streaks could be particularly hard to come by in Sin City.
New England Patriots
2023 finish: 4-13 | 2024 schedule: 2nd hardest
There is tangible excitement around Drake Maye, the first-round quarterback with enough mobility to raise the floor of a long-sluggish Patriots offense. Maye will begin the 2024 season on the bench, however, as new coach Jerod Mayo lets old friend/journeyman Jacoby Brissett weather the inevitable hits behind a battered and seemingly incomplete O-line. Are there enough pieces to recreate a Bill Belichick-era, ground-and-pound approach that at least makes New England a tough out? Maybe. But this was always going to be a tough setup for a rookie signal-caller, and the difficult schedule in a crowded division only adds to the foreboding aura of a franchise once considered the NFL's gold standard. Patriots fans can at least look forward to 2025, when the team is projected to have plenty of cap space to outfit Maye with proper protection and weapons.
New York Giants
2023 finish: 6-11 | 2024 schedule: 13th hardest
At this point, it almost feels like overkill to project the G-Men as a laughingstock. Their entire offseason, it seems, was spent talking about and/or trying to replace one of their longest-tenured captains: Daniel Jones, the quarterback who's been a healthy and/or winning starter for exactly one of his five NFL seasons. Two years after his apparent redemption under Brian Daboll, we're back to square one, with the former first-rounder desperate to overcome an offensive lineup best described as "work in progress." Electrifying rookie Malik Nabers certainly adds juice, and Brian Burns helps rounds out an underrated front seven. The secondary is another story entirely, as is Jones' track record as a protector of the football. Throw in the star power of rivals like the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, and another "reset" could soon be in order.
New Orleans Saints
2023 finish: 9-8 | 2024 schedule: 5th easiest
The best thing working in their favor for 2024 might be the fact two of their three NFC South rivals just as easily qualify for this list: The Carolina Panthers are simply hoping Bryce Young looks competent under new coach Dave Canales, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are betting a lot on Baker Mayfield to sustain his slightly above-average 2023 production. Even so, perhaps no NFL team is more ripe for a rebuild than the Saints. At full speed, vets like Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis can make a difference. But the real X-factors -- quarterback Derek Carr and coach Dennis Allen -- are practically synonymous with sub-.500 wild-card flirtation. If their banged up and shuffled O-line doesn't hold up, and Allen's perennially feisty "D" starts to show its age, those already-modest expectations could plummet in a hurry.