The article identifies four NFL teams that have effectively been eliminated from playoff contention after Week 5: the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, and Los Angeles Chargers. It notes that these teams' seasons are essentially over due to poor performances, with the Chargers and Titans currently at 0-5, while the Dolphins and Cardinals each hold one win but show no signs of improvement. The piece emphasizes that these teams should focus on securing high draft picks rather than winning games this season.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Five weeks into the NFL season, we can officially write off four teams.
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we → write → teams
By "write off," we mean teams that are going nowhere.
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that → write → teams
Their fans should be more concerned with draft position than anything their teams might accomplish this season.
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teams → accomplish → anything
We understand how demoralizing it is to concede a season before mid-October.
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it → understand → October
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
Let's start with two teams that aren't tanking, per se, but weren't exactly built to contend this season.
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that → let → teams
The Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals are about as bad as expected, despite the latter managing an early-season win.
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latter → expect → win
The positive is that both teams have stockpiled young talent while positioning themselves for a high draft pick.
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teams → stockpile → pick
Miami's rookie class is impressive, including Kadyn Proctor, Chris Johnson, Jacob Rodriguez, Caleb Douglas, and Chris Bell.
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class → include → Proctor
Arizona has the best tight end in football in Trey McBride, while Jeremiah Love, albeit injured, has generational upside.
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Love → have → upside
Unfortunately, the 2027 quarterback class doesn't appear nearly as promising as anticipated.
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class → appear → ?
Arch Manning, to this point, hardly resembles the prospect analysts projected him to become.
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him → resemble → prospect
That's particularly concerning because Tennessee spent the offseason actively trying to improve its roster and coaching staff.
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Tennessee → spend → roster
Through Week 5, the Titans rank last in the NFL in both scoring and total offense, averaging just 11.6 points and 246.4 yards per game.
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Titans → rank → game
The winless Titans shouldn't be expected to win many games this season.
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Titans → expect → games
After five weeks, we can also write off the Los Angeles Chargers, who entered the season with nearly the same Super Bowl odds as the Kansas City Chiefs.
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who → write → Chiefs
A team coached by Jim Harbaugh and quarterbacked by Justin Herbert should not be this inept.
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team → coach → Herbert
At 0-5, with games remaining against the Rams, Ravens, Chiefs twice, 49ers, and Patriots, it's difficult to find many wins left on the schedule.
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it → remain → schedule
A midseason parting with offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel now seems more plausible than a late-season surge toward the playoffs.
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parting → seem → playoffs
Based strictly on their play, the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers should join this list.
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Saints → base → list
Both teams have won just one game and have deficiencies on both sides of the ball.
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teams → win → ball
Despite relatively high expectations entering the season, the Saints have a minus-33 point differential.
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Saints → enter → differential
Neither team figures to be much of a factor in the postseason, if it gets there at all.
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it → figure → postseason
However, both remain just one game out of first place in the perpetually mediocre NFC South.
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both → remain → South
Likewise, the 1-3-1 Washington Commanders remain viable playoff threats largely because of the lackluster state of the rest of the NFC East.
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Commanders → remain → East
Granted, it's hard to take seriously a team that did that in overtime on Sunday
The 2-3 New York Jets are the final team worth discussing.
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Jets → grant → Sunday
As WWE commentator Michael Cole told OutKick last week, the Jets remain poorly coached and overmatched in the trenches.
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Jets → tell → trenches
But we can't, in good faith, write off a team that sits just one game behind the Patriots and Bills, who play the Rams on Monday night, in the AFC East.
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who → write → East
We suspect the Jets will join this list by the end of October.
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Jets → suspect → October
For now, however, they've played well enough — including competitive games against the Lions and Packers — to keep the light on for a few more weeks.
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they → play → weeks
So, through Week 5, the Dolphins, Cardinals, Titans, and Chargers are the only four teams we're officially declaring "season over."
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we → declare → Week
The rest of the fan bases should at least have hope, even for just a short while longer.
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rest → have → hope
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