5 NFL teams that could go from worst to first in 2026 🤔

Let's get to the NFL because boy do we miss it and we're reminiscing back on the Patriots squad that we saw in 2025. It was a quick turnaround 2024, four wins, last in the division. Turn it around year one under Mike Braybill and it is 13-4. They go all the way to the Super Bowl from worst to first in the division. I think we've seen this blueprint, this film before being last in the division and then turning things around and winning a Super Bowl. Doug Peterson was able to do it with the Eagles 2016 to 2017. That was quite the run and then also a turnaround in Duval going 3-14 in 2021. Last place, the basement of the AFC South and then turning things around and going 9-8 in that 2022 season. Well we have a treat here on CBS Sports HQ. I know we were talking about Doug Peterson and of course he's with us here in studio alongside the mayor of Jacksonville, Pete Prisco. Pete, I have to assume you had something to do with this. No, I was asked to come in and spend some time with Doug and we were going to evaluate some teams and talk about teams possibly going from last to first. Exactly and this is something that you've been able to do. So before we get into the teams, I just want to know mindset. When you're a coach coming in and the team is last, what kind of mental fortitude and what does that take to really go in there and say, hey I'm not going to listen to the outside noise. I'm not going to listen to the media and I'm going to turn this thing around and just know in your heart of hearts that it's actually possible. You know, I think the biggest thing for a first-time head coach that goes in and trying to take over an organization is not listening. As you mentioned, not listening to the outside noise because so many people have so many opinions and they go they need to do this. They need to do that. We got to change here. We got to run this style of offense or defense and so you have to go in and I did this in Philadelphia and in Jacksonville with your own belief and your own set of standards and really kind of focusing on that and really believing in that because I feel like too if you don't, you're going to get swayed one way or the other you know to maybe make some poor decisions. Then ultimately, who's the guy behind center? You know, I think that's important for a first-time coach that's going in. You're trying to make that turn around. Who's the signal caller? Who's your offensive coordinator? Who's going to be in his ear? Who's calling plays? All that structure, that's a lot for a first-time guy going in trying to turn a program around. But I mean and it doesn't happen often and the reason it doesn't and you probably agree to this is the fact that guys are learning new offenses, new system and it takes them a while to get acclimated to what you guys wanted to do. It does. When I took over in Philadelphia, they were under Chip Kelly, you know, for three years so it was a very similar but way different offense than what we brought, you know, myself and Frank Reich in Philadelphia and the same thing you know in Jacksonville bringing a very similar style with Press Taylor and myself bringing an offense in and Trevor at the time had now been under about three or four different coordinators going all the way back to college so he's learning a whole new system and trying to install that and it takes time and you've got to do, you know, your work up front you got to make sure your players that's why OTAs are so important and all the NFL teams just went through OTAs especially these, you know, new first-time head coaches that are that are taking over these programs. So you know what you do? You run a lot of bubble screens that year. Oh yeah. Yes, we have outside noise not listening to. You know, Pete's had a thing or two to say in this studio. About everybody. About everybody, yes. You are consistent if anything, doesn't it? It's the critiques are not just for one team, it's all across the board. Okay, we're going to talk about teams that can go from worst to first in their division. So we're getting a look at fourth place teams. You got the AFC on the left, the NFC on the right and not all of these teams are in the same situation. Some plagued by injuries, others it's a brand new quarterback. So they're all very different and we're going to pinpoint about five of them and just talk about teams have the best shot of going from worst to first and we're actually starting off with the Lions. They went nine and eight last season and Doug, it feels like injury. That was the biggest thing here but not that far removed from that NFC championship team that we saw where they had a lot of juice and Dan Campbell was really able to turn this thing around and what a year or two. Yeah, you know, I'm not worried about the Detroit Lions quite honestly. Jared Goff is back and I don't think their issues really are on offense. I think what happened last year was defensively and how the injuries that just plagued that team, you know, really the last couple of seasons and that's what you saw last year in Detroit and these guys are going to be back. I think they, you know, again with Jared running the helm there and getting back on the field with his guys. I knew they did lose some top quality players that helped them get to one of the top teams in the NFC but not worried too much about Detroit. Dan Campbell is going to get these guys fired up and I'm looking forward to seeing them rebound this year. The question becomes though, you mentioned the defense. Now Terri Ann Arnold obviously isn't there now so the cornerback position, which has been a problem, is still a concern for them. The other thing is they're moving Penae Sewell from right tackle to left tackle. He's going to be fine there but now how did he play the rookie at right tackle? How's that all work out? The other issue is the division. The division is brutal. I mean, you look at that division from top to bottom. You're talking about the Bears on the way up, the Vikings get Murray and then you have the Packers who are coming back and they have a ton of talent so it's tough in that division. It's going to be hard to go from last to first but of all these teams, I think they have the best chance. I agree with you. It's one of the better divisions, one of the top divisions I think to really watch this upcoming season and how this whole thing unfolds and what Chicago did last year and the opportunities they have and the additions they've made. Listen, this is the time of year where there's a lot of speculation, there's a lot of hype, there's a lot of excitement around every organization in the National Football League but I think to your point, I think you focus on this division and Detroit and Chicago and Green Bay. Green Bay's got to rebound just a little bit. They're eager to get back to the postseason obviously and try to win a championship up there and then Minnesota. Minnesota is trying to figure out some quarterback situations a little bit and we'll see what Coach O'Connell does with those guys. Yeah and he's certainly the quarterback whisperer we've said time and time again. Yeah, Pete has been very firm on his stance on that quarterback situation. Okay, so we're going from the Lions to a team in the Giants where it's Jackson Dart. They also dealt with their fair share of injuries. Brian Dayball is out. It is Harbaugh's team now and I feel like this one's a little bit more of a reach a bit, Pete, especially when we think of the Eagles. The Cowboys have a lot of promise this coming year. Also, Jaden Daniels with the Commanders. There's a lot of hope, if you will, around the other teams in the division, but what makes you think that the Giants could potentially be a team that could have a turnaround? Well, it's all in Jackson Dart. If he takes the next step, they're going to be a competitive team in the division. I don't think they're going to go from last to first. I don't think that's possible. I think the Cowboys are going to be really good this year and the Eagles are going to be back. So, I don't think it's going to happen, but if he takes the steps which we think he can take, which is stay in the pocket more. It's dangerous out there when you're running around and throw the ball on time and in rhythm. I think they're going to be better offensively and defensively. They're going to have a lot of guys and go get the quarterback and we know that that's what they want to do with Harbaugh as the coach. So, I think they're going to be much improved. I just don't think they're going to be good enough to go from last to first. I would agree with you. I think Matt Nagy has experience. He's been around Pat Mahomes. He's been around Coach Reid. He's seen championship style of football. Coach Harbaugh has done the same thing in Baltimore. They've championship style. So, I think this is going to be a tall task obviously and let's make sure that Jackson Dart stays healthy for 18 games and let's make sure that they're running the football to your point. I think that's something that Coach Harbaugh really leans on heavily even with Lamar Jackson that he had in Baltimore. Still leaned on the run game quite a bit and I think that's where they're going to go this year and that's the only way to really help a young quarterback kind of settle into year two. I feel a lot better about them if Nabors was all the way back. He had the second procedure about two months ago and they don't know when he's going to be back. If he was back all the way, he'd feel much better about the Giants. Yeah, absolutely and we're going to go and talk about the Browns because also a new head coach here. They hired Todd Munkin after firing Kevin Stefanski and this quarterback room, I feel like it's perplexing and we say that year after year. We don't really know the situation right now or who is going to start. Deshaun Watson, Shador, what the deal is but what about the Browns? I mean they've had, I don't want to get these stats wrong, but have lost 12 or more games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2015-2017 and there's in our research doc a whole lot of things that tell you it's not looking great but what about this and in the AFC North, Doug, do you think indicates that the Browns could maybe see some improvement? I don't know about first but you know it's possible. Maybe not first place but I think they got to get this quarterback thing situated. Yeah. You know, Deshaun Watson and Shador Sanders and they've even mentioned coming out of their office that they may keep four guys on their active roster which is extremely hard to do in today's game to keep four guys on the 53 and if it's possible that's great but figure out the quarterback situation. I think going into camp, Deshaun Watson is going to have every opportunity to be the guy and I think Shador Sanders is going to get plenty of reps but I don't think you can keep Shador off the field. You saw his electricity a little bit last year, probably holds the ball a bit too much for a young quarterback but that's typical, right? Get him working through some of the progressions, some of the offensive stuff but figure that out and they may have a chance. Now, Miles Garrett's gone. They bring in Jared Vers obviously with that big trade so they will lose a little bit on defense and they got to work out a couple other safety spots and then secondary spots as well. You know, they lost a ton of games with Miles Garrett. Yeah. He set a single season sack record so it was time to reboot and I get it. I understand what they're doing. You talk about the quarterback situation. Deshaun Watson's going to be the starting quarterback. The question is this. Is he going to be the starting quarterback after this year and the answer to that is no. So, here's what you do if you're a Cleveland Browns fan. I've said it over and over again. Hook them horns, baby. You watched Arch Manning because he's going to be a quarterback next year in Cleveland. Hook them horns. You're even saying that even after we saw in this past season from Arch Manning? If you watch the last five games of the season, he turned it on and when you watch him play, he is going to be the number one pick. The Browns have the ammunition to go up and get him and they might be pretty bad anyway. So, I think hook them horns if you're a Browns fan. Hook them horns and every time we talk about their quarterback room, I just think of around Halloween. There's like some neighborhood where they have like the quarterback graveyard that they're always putting out there. Brady Quinn used to work in that seat. I'm on the list. You're on the list. Oh, that means we have two that sat there because Brady Quinn sat that seat for a long time. He was on that list. I'm on that list. Anything you can do to bring Brady Quinn back into the conversation, you have to do it, Pete. Okay, let's go to the Jets and I feel for Aaron Glenn because it feels like they are in win now mode and it's tough, right? I feel like he just got there. He hasn't really had a shot. It would be quite the turnaround because they have missed 15 straight post seasons. There's a lot of pressure. The fan base is fiending for it. They want to go to the playoffs and they want to know who their franchise quarterback is going to be. I don't think we really know, but Pete, what is your faith in the Jets being able to, I mean, worst of first is hard when it's Josh Allen and the Bills are in the same division and the Patriots and Drake may, but some improvement, what would be a success? I feel in terms of a turnaround, if you will, they will be better because they added a lot of veterans to that defense, which they needed to do. I think getting Gino Smith, I don't think he's the long-term answer, but he's better than what they've had. So they, and they have some good talent on offense. When you look at it, Wilson, wide receiver, you talk about Brees Hall, the offensive line has some big physical young players on that group. They will score points. The problem is, I don't know if they're good enough to go from last to third. Yeah, probably third because the Dolphins are there. But they're not going to go much better than that. And like I told Rick Spielman many a time, told him at the combine, I said, you guys should just tank and lose and go into the quarterback derby next year. He didn't believe, he didn't buy into it because obviously they went out and signed all those veterans. So now you're in never, never land. You're caught in the middle. And I think that's not a good thing. If you're, if you're the New York Jets, you either want to get to the top of the draft or win. And they probably going to do neither. They're going to be in the middle and that's never a good situation, but you can't tell a coach that or a personnel guy. You're not going to tell a coach that you're not going to tell a GM that, I mean, because listen, they're going in expecting to win, you know, and again, it goes back to this time of year, everybody's expecting to win and, and that should be the anticipation going into training camp. Right. And, and you know, with the Jets obviously hired my former offensive coordinator and Frank Reich and Bill Musgraves there now as a quarterback coach. And so they, what he, what coach Glenn has done is he went out and he got some offensive firepower in the co on the coaching staff, right? So they're going to be able to surround these quarterbacks and, and, and really pour into them. And I think you're going to see an improvement. And to your point, I think Gino Smith is, is a, is a good addition to that room. They do have some young guys on that roster and Brady, Brady Cook and guys like that, who I think they're excited about, but having Frank having Bill let, let coach Glenn, let Aaron focus on the defense, give the offense to these guys and let's see what, let's see what they can do. So Gino Smith, probably not the long-term answer for the Jets. This next team is hopeful that they have gotten their long-term answer in their future quarterback. And we're talking about the Raiders. Of course, you know, Kirk Cousins is there, but they took for Anna Mendoza, number one, overall, a three-win team last season, last in the AFC West, they missed the playoffs, but we, they have a lot of talent. We think of Brock Bowers, Ash and Gente. I know you were really high on them getting Tyler Linderbaum at center, but it's new, right? Clint Kubiak coming in first-year head coach. What are your expectations for the Raiders? And again, this is also a pretty stacked division. So the odds are not great to go from worst to first, but improvement wise, where are you seeing this coming year? And also want to know, when do you think we're going to see for Anna Mendoza out there? When I think you should see him should be game one, probably November, maybe October. I just don't think there's anything to playing Kirk Cousins. That's just me. I think all you're doing is delaying the inevitable by getting on with the quarterback. And they always say, well, what about the quarterback psyche? Well, if the quarterback psyche is ruined after seven games starting, then you drafted the wrong quarterback. And that's my belief. So I play Mendoza right away. I don't think they will. I think Kubiak wants to kind of win a couple of games to kind of establish some, you know, credibility in the locker room and try and show that they're moving in the right direction. I would just get on with it, but they're not going to go from last to third in that division. Look at that division. Do you see them better than any of those teams? I don't, but they will be better than they were a year ago. Okay. And, and Doug, I want to talk about this quarterback situation even more so with you, because, you know, we, we talked about 2016, 2017 with the Eagles and Carson Wentz, that was someone that you let play or that did play right away. What is the benefit to that in your eyes versus learning behind a guy like Kirk Cousins? Where do you stand on that situation? Yeah, it was, it was interesting because in 2016, Sam Bradford was still on our roster in Philadelphia and we ended up trading him to Minnesota that year. I brought in Chase Daniel, a veteran who I coached in Kansas city when I was the offensive coordinator in Kansas city to, to, to be behind Carson Wentz. And, and we went into that season. We, when I say we, myself, you know, Howie Roseman, the offensive staff, Frank Reich was, was there with me saying, listen, let's, let's get this guy out there. Again, this is your point. Let's get this guy out there week one. Let's start having our growing pains week one. Let's not, let's not prolong it into October, November, or later in the season when maybe the season's over. Let's get him out there now. Let's get him working with the guys that he's going to be working with, right. Making the calls at the offensive line, getting Ashton Gentee the ball. I think Clint Kubiak's system is going to allow for that, you know, with the play action pass, the run game, all this, all these things that helped Seattle win a championship last year. But let's get Fernando on the field. I think it's very beneficial. I remember having a conversation with coach McDermott when he drafted Josh Allen and he called me and he says, Doug, what do you think? Well, how did you handle Carson Wentz? And I said, if you think that Josh Allen is your guy, you need to get him out there week one. And he did that. He got him out there week one. There were a lot of growing pains in that first year and maybe those first couple of years, but you know what? They weathered that storm and now look where Buffalo is. So I think, I think you put them on the field day one. I think Kirk Cousins is a solid number two that you can rely on at any particular time. And I think he's a great mentor, you know, for Fernando. So I think this is a win-win, I think, at quarterback, you know, for the, for the Raiders. You know, a couple of things. First off, every quarterback I've ever talked to in this league has told me they learn more playing in one game than they did sitting and watching the entire season. You're a quarterback, true? Absolutely. So that's why, that's why you're a big believer and get on with it. And again, the psyche, you know, everybody always points to David Carr. Well, they ruined his psyche. No, they didn't. He ruined himself. It wasn't, it wasn't him being hit that many times. It was him. It's always on the person and the mentality matters. The other thing is the Sam Bradford trade, by the way, Rick Spielman used to sit in that seat all the time and we used to give him grief about that trade. Endless grief. Did we not? You did. Um, Pete, you got it. You're breaking up, Rick. Yeah. Yeah. No, uh, all the receipts and uh, you know, that's what Pete Briscoe does here on the SESC and we, and we love him for it. Doug, we certainly appreciate it. It's been a blast. It was fun. Yeah. Talking NFL. Did we miss it? We needed to come back. Please. Soccer. What? Okay. It's the world cup. It's fun, Pete. Come on. Come on. Football. We love both footballs. We love them equally. Right. Um, all right. Notable NFL dates that we're looking forward to training camps, July 30th, the hall of fame game in Canton, Ohio, August 6th, the preseason kicking off on August 13th. And then finally we get that Super Bowl rematch for the kickoff game with the Patriots and the Seahawks on September 9th. We'll be right back.