Week 16 Powerless Ranking: Season’s beatings

It’s that time again to check in on the teams that can’t get out of their own way. We’re in the home stretch of the 2022 NFL season, and it’s been unpredictable, but there are always those teams we expect to disappoint their fan base. Now let’s get into the powerless ranking for Week 16.

Teams on the doorstep: Atlanta Falcons (5-10), New Orleans Saints (6-9), Las Vegas Raiders (6-9), Cleveland Browns (6-9)

The Rams got a pretty good draw this week, facing the down-on-their-luck Denver Broncos and beating them senseless, 51-14. Giving credit where it’s due, Baker Mayfield looked like the 2020 Cleveland version of himself, passing for 230 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. L.A. was bitten by the injury bug early and often this year, and you’ve got to think if they can get healthy in the offseason and make a few moves in free agency, they’ll be right back in the hunt next year.

If the Colts retain Jeff Saturday (pictured) after this run as interim head coach, someone needs a check of their mental faculties. Indy is a subpar team with no hope at the QB position. The Colts lost 20-3 to the Chargers Monday night with Nick Foles running the show throwing three picks and looking like a guy who hadn’t taken a serious snap in ages.

Jim Irsay, stop with the retreads. It’s time to find a young QB in the draft and start over from scratch. The veteran quick fix has not worked, and it’s time to find a long-term replacement for Andrew Luck. This team has some talent but lacks what’s needed in the two most important spots: quarterback and head coach. With the potential of netting a top-five pick this year, the Colts need to seriously consider taking one of the top QBs in the draft if they’re available. 

It feels like it should only be a matter of time until we hear the news that Kliff Kingsbury (pictured) has been ousted as head coach in Arizona. Even when primarily healthy, this team has underachieved, and Kingsbury is at the center of it. Arizona lost a low-scoring battle that went into overtime against an over-the-hill Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.

Back-up quarterback or not, the Cardinals could’ve won this game and failed. Scoring just 16 points rarely gets it done in the NFL. Most Cardinals fans feel it’s time for a coaching change, but we’ll see if ownership has the guts to make such a move after the contract extension they forked over to Kingsbury in the offseason. 

Chicago was outmanned and overmatched against Buffalo, as this game got away from them in the second half. The Bears went into the locker room at halftime with a four-point lead — 10-6 — and only scored another three points the rest of the game. It’s been a rough season, but the Bears have made progress, with Justin Fields (pictured) finally turning a corner and taking charge of the offense. If they can continue to build this offense around Fields and begin to rebuild the defense, there could be a vast improvement from this Bears squad. 

After being close for several weeks, the Texans finally got win No. 2 of the season and are still in the driver’s seat, just barely for the first pick in the draft. They beat the free-falling Tennesse Titans, 19-14. Houston might want to be careful since the Bears are on their heels for the No. 1 pick, although it’s pretty much guaranteed that Chicago wouldn’t take a QB with that pick. So, the Texans are probably in good shape and should have their choice of the top collegiate passers available next spring.

This team has played hard for Lovie Smith (pictured) all year and held the Titans to 14 points in Week 16. They’ve been so close in so many games that it’s good to see them finally get that second win of the season. Davis Mills (pictured, previous slide) has played alright at times but hasn’t done nearly enough to justify Houston passing up a QB early in the draft.

The Broncos don’t have the worst record in the league, but at this point of the season, they’re one of the most disappointing teams based on expectations entering the year. Week 16 finally capped it off with a 51-14 loss that led to the firing of Nathaniel Hackett. No one was shocked by this; most thought it should’ve come earlier in the season.

Hackett (pictured) was supposed to come in and, with Russell Wilson, have the Broncos in contention for the AFC West — at the very least. The only thing Denver contended for all season is a top-five draft pick — which belongs with Seattle because of the trade. But Hackett’s gone, and there’s still the Wilson problem. He threw another three INTs in the loss to the Rams and barely completed 55 percent of his passes. It’s time to write a blank check and present it to Sean Payton. They can’t blow a coaching hire in back-to-back years.