Much has been said about the lack of quality games in the NFL this season, with not one team emerging as a surefire Super Bowl contender just yet. However, parity is always king in the league, which means any team can pull off a victory and make for intriguing storylines as the season rolls on.
Sadly, two teams remain without a win after six weeks of action: the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns. The former hasn't shown much improvement in the post-Jim Harbaugh era, while the latter is still in search of its first winning season in a decade.
Will either of these two downtrodden franchises finish the season in infamy by joining the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams to finish their campaign at 0-16? Let's take a look at the progress made (or lack thereof) by the Niners and the Browns heading into Week 7, and try to predict which possible matchups ahead will respectively give them the best chances of bagging that elusive first “W”.
San Francisco 49ers
Remaining schedule:
Dallas, @Philadelphia, Arizona, N.Y. Giants, Bye, Seattle, @Chicago, @Houston, Tennessee, Jacksonville, @L.A. Rams
The Good: A new starting quarterback
It was clear that the 49ers were going nowhere with Brian Hoyer under center, both this season and in their future plans. Handing the starting job to rookie C.J. Beathard might have been the best call that head coach Kyle Shanahan has made this year.
Beathard was far from perfect is his first professional appearance last Sunday, but he nearly staged a huge comeback against the Redskins, who were up 14-0 with about six minutes left in the first half. The Niners drew within two points late in the game before Beathard showed his inexperience by throwing a late pick on fourth down to seal the win for Washington.
Beathard finished the game with 245 yards, one touchdown, and one interception on 19-of-36 passing. The 23-year-old out of Iowa appears to be a more serviceable QB for San Francisco for the remainder of the season, and if he continues to improve his game, perhaps the team may want to reconsider going after Kirk Cousins in the 2018 offseason.
The Bad: The defense
With a group of mostly young players, there's bound to be some growing pains in the defense. The Niners are currently ranked in the bottom-five of the league at 375.2 yards allowed per contest, with the secondary being torched for 262 passing yards per game by the opposition.
Missing pieces aren't doing the Niners defense any favors, either. Safety Eric Reid is currently nursing a knee injury, while linebacker and this year's first-round pick, Reuben Foster (ankle), has only played in one of six possible games thus far.
San Francisco's decision to waive Pro Bowl linebacker NaVorro Bowman further shows that the team has no plans of upgrading its defensive unit this season; much to the detriment of its inexperienced defensive players needing some form of veteran leadership.
The Ugly: So many close calls
Hearts of San Francisco fans have been broken time and again for over a month now. With the 26-24 defeat to the Redskins in Week 6, the Niners became the first team in NFL history to lose five consecutive games by three points or less.
On the bright side, having lost by just mere field-goal deficits goes to show that Shanahan and his boys never surrender by putting up a good fight until the very end. The Niners' competitive nature, even with plenty of problems on both sides of the ball, may just be the X-factor that'll lead the team to a sought-after victory or two before the 2017 season ends.
First win prediction
The Niners have the benefit of being pitted up against the volatile NFC East this season. On the other hand, back-to-back meetings versus the Cowboys (with an active Ezekiel Elliott) followed by a cross-country trip to face the soaring Eagles in the two weeks ahead are pretty tall orders.
That being said, perhaps a visit from the Giants before the bye will get the Niners over their slump. Although the G-Men looked impressive in their win at Mile High this past week, it can't be ignored that they are replete of offensive weapons in the passing game, which has been the bane of San Francisco's own defense this season.
Cleveland Browns
Remaining schedule:
Tennessee, Minnesota, Bye, @Detroit, Jacksonville, @Cincinnati, @L.A. Chargers, Green Bay, Baltimore, @Chicago, @Pittsburgh
The Good: Myles Garrett
Ask any Browns fan who their favorite player is this season, and the vast majority will likely mention rookie defensive end Myles Garrett.
Garrett had to deal with a high ankle sprain that kept him off the field for the first four games of the season. However, he turned a lot of heads during his NFL debut in Week 5 against the New York Jets by registering two sacks, and he added another in last week's game against the Texans to keep his QB takedown streak going.
The former Texas A&M standout has also looked good against opposing rushing attacks, which has translated to the Browns allowing just 84.3 rushing yards per game (sixth in the NFL). For as long as Garrett is on the field, Cleveland's middle-of-the-pack defense isn't going to break as easily as before.
The Bad: The running game
The Browns were counting on Isaiah Crowell, who had a strong 2016 season with 957 rushing yards and seven TDs at a clip of 4.8 yards per carry, to make things easier for their passing game.
Unfortunately, Crowell's breakout campaign may have been a mere mirage. The fourth-year back has yet to run for over 60 yards this season, bearing a dismal average of 3.4 yards per carry without a single trip to the end zone.
One could argue that fellow running back Duke Johnson Jr. should be the Browns' new workhorse given that he already has two rushing touchdowns and a much-better average of 5.6 yards per carry. However, Johnson's versatility in the passing game is more-needed by the team as a security blanket for its young quarterbacks (more on that below).
Simply put, Cleveland's backfield situation is quite a mess.
The Ugly: The never-ending search for a quarterback
It wouldn't be a real Browns season without some controversy at the most important position in football. Heck, they sifted through five starting QBs in a span of five games last year.
In 2017, though, only two quarterbacks have taken snaps under center for Cleveland. The downside: neither of them have been any good. Rookie DeShone Kizer was picked off in each of his first five games as a pro and currently leads the league in interceptions thrown (nine). In Week 5 against the Jets, Kizer was benched in favor of backup Kevin Hogan, who added three more INTs to the Browns' discredit against the Texans to give him a total of five picks this season.
On Wednesday, head coach Hue Jackson renamed Kizer as the team's starter for Week 7's clash against the Titans. There's certainly more upside to having the Notre Dame signal-caller learn the NFL ropes this early on, but Kizer's indecisiveness in the passing game needs to be worked on ASAP if the Browns are to stand a chance in snapping out of their funk.
First win prediction:
The Browns have not won a road game since Week 5 of the 2015 season against the Baltimore Ravens, so their first win will likely come in front of the Dawg Pound faithful. Unfortunately, they're about to face some pretty stiff competition at home, with the Titans, Vikings, Jaguars, and Packers on the horizon.
As luck would have it, though, the Ravens pay a visit in Week 15 for their final homestand, and that's also likely their final shot at finishing with at least one win on the board. Last year, they barely avoided going 0-16 with a Week 16 win at home over the Chargers. Another clutch win late in the season against a struggling division rival might just save Jackson's job for another crack at resurrecting the team from futility.
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