Week 18 NFL Powerless Ranking: The bottom of the barrel

Criss ParteeCriss Partee|published: Tue Jan 10 2023 14:16
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The 2022 NFL season has ended, and it was a wild one full of triumphs and disappointment. Now, let’s look at the final powerless ranking of this NFL season.

5. Indianapolis Colts (4-12-1)

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Someone in the inner circle in Indy needs to get to owner Jim Irsay and make sure he isn’t thinking about making Jeff Saturday (pictured) the full-time head coach for this team. After beating the Raiders in November, the Colts didn’t win another game under Saturday. His record as interim head coach was 1-7, and Indianapolis looked horrible in just about every facet of the game.

Colts (cont’d)

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The Colts must also draft a quarterback and stop it with the retreads. It hasn’t worked out, and Matt Ryan (pictured) needs to be the last straw. The Colts should only look at a QB with that No. 4 overall pick and nothing else. Bryce Young will probably be gone unless Indy trades up to the No. 1 pick, but C.J. Stroud and Will Levis could both be on the board for the taking.

4. Denver Broncos (5-12)

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Denver is an organization in crisis. They fired their first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett (pictured) before the season ended, and the future Hall of Fame quarterback, Russell Wilson (pictured), they traded for in the offseason looked like an undrafted third-string practice squad guy for most of the year. This is one of those seasons everyone is eager to forget and move on from. Players, coaching staff, the front office, and fans in Denver all want to get as far away from this debacle as possible.

3. Arizona Cardinals 4-13

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The Kliff Kingsbury era has ended in Arizona, and now it’s time to find a replacement that’ll restore the explosiveness to this offense. Everyone’s attention will turn to Sean Payton, but there is no guarantee he wants to coach the Cardinals. But when you think about what Kyler Murray could look like in Payton’s offense, it’s easy to begin daydreaming about that scenario.


Cardinals (cont’d)

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Arizona needs to figure its coaching situation out quickly and get the new head coach on the same page as Murray (pictured). There have been questions about whether the Cardinals are “sold” on Murray as the future, but after giving him the huge extension last offseason, they’re stuck with him for a while. Got to find a coach that clicks with Kyler and can get the best out of him moving forward.

2. Chicago Bears (3-14)

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Another rough season for the Bears ends with the most losses in franchise history and the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. Since Chicago drafted their presumed QB of the future in Justin Fields (pictured), this might be a perfect opportunity to trade this first-overall pick and stock up on picks in the next couple of drafts.

Bears (cont’d)

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There’s always the possibility that Chicago could take another QB, but it isn’t very likely. Trading back a few picks and bringing in extra picks in this draft and possibly next year’s could have the Bears back on track to compete in the NFC North sooner than later.

1. Houston Texans (3-13-1)

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Despite winning its last game of the season, Houston ends the year as No. 1 on the Powerless List because this franchise has no direction. The first pick in the draft was all but sown up until the Texans decided to win two of their final three games. Now they fell to the No. 2 spot in the draft, and are searching for another head coach after firing Lovie Smith (pictured) on Monday.

Texans (cont’d)

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Houston should be selecting a quarterback with the second overall pick because Davis Mills (pictured) proved he isn’t the answer. Either way, the Texans need a lot of help and cannot whiff on this pick. And they need to hire a coach and give them more than one year to turn this atrocity around.