The 49ers were favorites to repeat as NFC champions and get back to the Super Bowl, but with a rash of key injuries hitting the offense early, San Francisco has started 1-2, falling twice on the road after winning its home opener vs. the Jets.
San Francisco has struggled to put it all together without Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle, so there is some injury excuse for falling to the Vikings and Rams back-to-back. It’s a different story for the Cowboys and Browns, also 1-2.
The Cowboys went 12-5 and won the NFC East last season. The Browns went 11-6 and earned an AFC wild-card berth last season. Now, both teams are 1-2 to start the 2024 season and facing uncertainty over respective returns to the playoffs.
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Since Dallas won at Cleveland in Week 1, it’s fallen to both New Orleans and Baltimore at home, where it went 8-0 in 2023. The Browns didn’t look good at home on offense with Deshaun Watson vs. the Cowboys or the Giants in Week 3. In between, they were fortunate to beat a bad Jaguars team late on the road.
The most shocking aspect is beyond Watson and Dak Prescott playing mediocre, as both defenses have been downright disappointing. The Browns were the No. 1 total defense last season, while the Cowboys were No. 5. Both teams have had major dropoffs early.
Can any of those three teams with high expectations turn it around before their fans revolt? Here’s breaking down whether the 49ers, Cowboys, and Browns’ breakdowns are short-term anomalies or things that will linger long enough to cause some or all to miss the playoffs.
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The NFL’s most disappointing teams after Week 3
San Francisco 49ers (1-2)
Brock Purdy and the offense did the job of revving up vs. the reeling Rams defense on the road in Week 3, but the team blew what looked like a surefire 24-14 fourth-quarter lead with a lot of defensive breakdowns.
The good news is Purdy is key backups Jordan Mason and Jauan Jennings took control of the game with McCaffrey, Samuel, and Kittle out. However, Brandon Aiyuk was once again held in check as he still tries to live up to a massive contract. Much of that development was positive after the clunker the offense turned in vs. the Vikings last week.
Unfortunately, the defense wilted at key times, giving up too many big plays and not stopping the run in clutch situations for a Rams’ offense that also was shorthanded without top receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. The pressure and coverage let down despite Nick Bosa, Charvarius Ward, and others.
The 49ers will get back on track right away with a home game against the shaky Patriots in Week 4 before hosting the limited Cardinals in Week 5. They also can cool off the Seahawks in Week 6 before ramping up for the Super Bowl 58 rematch with the Chiefs at home in Week 7. They should be closer to full strength then.
Seattle is 3-0 and holds a two-game lead over San Francisco, Arizona, and Los Angeles, who are all 1-2 after Sunday. The Seahawks, however, have benefited from taking down three weakened teams in the Broncos, Patriots, and Dolphins to start the season. The 49ers have had it tougher with the Jets, Vikings, and divisional rival Rams.
There’s plenty of time for the 49ers to get rolling 2023 style and surpass the Seahawks at some point while the Cardinals and Rams inevitably fade.
Verdict: The 49ers win the NFC West again, but they are in real danger of not being the No. 1 seed again.
Dallas Cowboys (1-2)
The Cowboys being 0-2 at home and losing by a combined 72-44 is most concerning. Looking back, their Browns win wasn’t as impressive at it felt at the time. The Eagles are only 2-1 to lead the NFC East, but the Giants have the same 1-2 mark and the Commanders go into Monday night’s game at Cincinnati at 1-1.
There’s not much time to dwell on losing to the Ravens and Saints back-to-back in Dallas. They need to play at the Giants, who also just beat the Browns in Cleveland, on Thursday night in Week 4 before facing the 3-0 Seahawks in Seattle.
The Cowboys have the talent on paper to turn it around. They paid a lot of money to the passing combination of Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, but there’s no reliable running game, a shaky offensive line in major personnel transition, and not much receiver-wise after Lamb and the tight ends.
Micah Parsons is waiting for his big-money extension, but he’s not helping the defense play well either. The defense is built best to rush the passer and get big plays out of that in coverage. But that doesn’t work with a terrible run defense, which the Cowboys have shown so far. Their front four has been pushed around, and the big-play mojo is gone minus banged-up corner Da’Ron Bland.
Losing Dan Quinn as the coordinator has hurt big-time. The offense is still operated by coach Mike McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer, but the personnel got weakened — a cost of needing to do top-of-market business with Prescott and Lamb. All that has been evident against better teams, which the Saints and Ravens are.
The Cowboys by the numbers are not good in critical areas. They still have a pair with the Eagles in the NFC East and also on the schedule are the Steelers, Lions, 49ers, Texans, and Bengals.
Verdict: The Cowboys are not making the playoffs, even as an NFC wild card.
Cleveland Browns (1-2)
The Browns offense has been pitiful in the Dawg Pound this year. They scored a combined 32 points vs. the Cowboys and Giants, and they escaped in Jacksonville by scoring only 18 to beat the Jaguars.
There are offensive line injury issues and Nick Chubb isn’t there to lead the rushing attack. Watson doesn’t have David Njoku healthy at tight end. Amari Cooper was off to a slow start, and although Jerry Jeudy has helped, the team remains thin and inconsistent at wide receiver. Watson continues to struggle with pressure, and the downfield passing game has dissipated. The boo birds in Cleveland had good reason to call for a change to Jameis Winston.
The Giants came in with Daniel Jones, a QB struggling more than Watson. They were there to do two things — throw often to rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers and run often with new feature back Devin Singletary. Myles Garrett saw the front put little pressure on Jones and also give up chunk runs to Singletary. Garrett was rendered a non-factor by a maligned offensive line before aggravating a foot injury that could keep him out of action.
The Browns aren’t getting necessary returns from their highest-priced stars, a commonality between them and the Cowboys. They are 1-2 while the Steelers are 3-0. The Ravens are better than their 1-2, and the always cold-starting Bengals will look to get to that mark on Monday.
Cleveland has the worst QB situation in the division, and it’s underachieving most on defense. There’s dysfunction all over this version of the Browns. The schedule doesn’t help. The Raiders, Commanders, and Broncos are the only favorable games,,,,,, and two of them are up next. Watson is sinking this ship in a hurry.
Verdict: The Browns are not making the playoffs, even as an AFC wild card.
