It’s been a good year for last-place teams. Half of the teams that finished in last in their division last year are in playoff contention with a month left.
Only three of the last-place teams from last year have been terrible again this season: Browns, Bears and 49ers.
The rundown:
Dallas Cowboys (4-12): With 10-1 record, closing in on home-field advantage.
Chicago Bears (6-10): At 2-9, they’re going to be even worse this year.
Tampa Bay (6-10): At 6-5, a game out of first-place in the NFC South.
San Francisco (5-11): Riding a 10-game losing streak, they look unlikely to win more than three games this year.
Miami Dolphins (6-10): At 7-4, they’re tied for a wild-card spot right now.
Cleveland Browns (3-13): If they’re going to get a win this year, most likely it will come in their next game – at home against the struggling Bengals.
Tennessee Titans (3-13): At 6-6, they’ll be tied for first in the AFC South after Sunday if the Texans lose at Green Bay. Tennessee hosts Houston in the final week of the season.
San Diego (4-12): They really should be 7-4 – pissed away a couple of games. But there’s a flicker of a chance they’ll run the table and finish 10-6. Their three remaining home games are all against teams with winning records (Kansas City and the two pirate teams). The Chargers can play with all of those teams. Their two remaining road games are against teams that are out of it (Carolina and Cleveland).
—Ian Allan