If you’re 0-5 or 1-4 through the first five weeks of the season, there isn’t much to be excited about. Only seven teams in NFL history have started 1-4 or worse and made the playoffs, so in all likelihood, your season is over. But just because you probably won’t make the playoffs this year doesn’t mean next year can’t be better.

When you look at the eight teams with one or fewer wins this season, they’re all at varying levels of panic. Some are just young teams that are building towards the future, while others are 2025 playoff teams that have gotten off to a rough start.

I went through all eight teams that are 1-4 or worse and ranked how concerned I am for their short-term future. Not just this year, but what’s to come in the rest of 2026, 2027, and 2028.

Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders have a coaching problem. In 85 games as Atlanta’s head coach, Dan Quinn went 43-42 despite having one of the best quarterbacks of his generation in Matt Ryan. They did make the Super Bowl (and blow a historic lead), but there’s a reason they let him go just three seasons later. It’s because he was never able to build a consistent contender, and that’s what’s happening in Washington. Jayden Daniels had a historic rookie season and carried this team to the NFC Championship Game in 2024 while Quinn’s defense ranked 18th in PPG allowed. It wasn’t because of Quinn that Washington made the semifinals; it was because of Daniels.

Since taking over, Quinn’s defenses have given up 23, 26.5, and 29.8 PPG, and have never ranked better than 18th. When the Commanders let go of Quinn, they’re going to be a very desirable job. They have the quarterback, they have receiver talent, they have some pieces on the offensive line, and they have guys like Odafe Oweh, Sonny Styles, Frankie Luvu, and Nick Cross on defense. This is a roster that isn’t that far away from competing; they just need a better coach. If they get rid of Quinn this year, I’m not too worried about their future outlook.

Panic Meter: 4

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans have a lot of good pieces. Nico Collins, Keylan Rutledge, Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Derek Stingley, Jalen Pitre, and so many others are pieces teams would kill to have on their roster, but they have a horrible play caller, and more importantly, an underperforming QB. You can say what you want about C.J. Stroud’s passing stats, but he is not doing enough to elevate this offense. Just look at Bryce Young, who is balling out in year four and was taken one pick ahead of him.

If the Texans make a change at OC and can find a new quarterback, they can be one of the best teams in football. Unfortunately, quarterbacks don’t grow on trees, and it’s highly unlikely they’ll be picking high enough to get a good one. They’ll have to make a trade or hope someone somehow ends up a free agent, so for that reason, I’m a bit worried about the future of this team, because their ceiling is capped right now.

Panic Meter: 5

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are melting in front of our eyes. They used to run the NFC South, but the past two years have been rough, and I don’t see a clear path forward for them. Baker Mayfield has shown flashes, but now they’re tied to him for the foreseeable future, which has strained them financially. And with a bunch of holes on offense and defense, and some of their recent draft picks not panning out, they don’t have a strong foundation needed to rebuild quickly.

Luckily, Todd Bowles will be gone sooner rather than later, but unless they hit a home run in the hiring department – which I doubt they will, given there are going to be much more desirable openings – they don’t have much of a future in the next couple of years.

Panic Meter: 8

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints have a management issue. Mickey Loomis can’t make the right draft picks and put them in salary cap hell for a long time, Kellen Moore doesn’t know how to prepare his team for a game or make adjustments, and Gayle Benson is too afraid to make big changes, such as firing Loomis or Moore. They’re in a constant cycle of hire a coach, tank, keep that coach for too long, tank some more, get a new coach, and tank again. And as a Saints fan, it blows.

The one thing the Saints have going for them is their quarterback. Tyler Shough is the real deal, but if they don’t get him an offensive line soon, he’s going to start developing bad habits. When he has time to throw, he’s a top-10 QB in football, and I truly believe that. But with their issues at owner, general manager, and head coach, I’m not sure they can fix all their issues within the next year or two. But great QBs can carry average teams, so they’re not as far off as Tampa.

Panic Meter: 7

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a difficult one. They’re in full-on rebuild mode, so 1-4 was expected (and honestly, some thought they’d be worse), but they do still have a ton of glaring issues. First of all, they need a quarterback, and as we all know, those aren’t easy to come by. Second of all, they need to make a change in the front office. Monti Ossenfort has been running this team into the ground for years, and I can’t recall the last time they had a great draft. Changes need to be made, but I also believe changes are coming.

I do like Mike LaFleur and think they have some solid pieces to build around, such as Jeremiyah Love, Michael Wilson, Trey McBride, and Paris Johnson, but this team is still at least two years away from competing. If I were doing a panic meter on 2028 and beyond, they’d be closer to a three or four, but for their short-term future, it’s pretty high.

Panic Meter: 7

Miami Dolphins

To be brutally honest, the Miami Dolphins don’t have much hope. I thought the Jeff Hafley hire was awful; I don’t think Malik Willis is a long-term option at quarterback, and outside of De’Von Achane, they don’t have a single player I’d classify as a “star.” This is by far the worst roster in the entire NFL, and I don’t really see that changing anytime soon.

Unless the Dolphins hit a home run at quarterback in the 2027 draft, which seems unlikely given how bad this crop of QBs have looked, they’re going to win less than five games in each of the next 2-3 seasons.

Panic Meter: 10

Los Angeles Chargers

What the hell happened in Los Angeles? I know they’ve played a pretty brutal schedule the past three weeks, but this Chargers team just looks flat-out awful. Jim Harbaugh is getting outcoached every game, Justin Herbert has regressed massively, Omarion Hampton looks like a bust, their offensive line is flat-out garbage, and their defense is playing uninspired football. Every single person on this team is underperforming, and that’s why they’re sitting at 0-5 after some predicted they’d make the playoffs.

LAC’s roster looks good on paper. They have someone who is supposed to be an elite quarterback, some good weapons, two great offensive tackles, and some talent on defense, but man, it’s been ugly, and it might be time to blow it all up. Trade Herbert for picks, get rid of Harbaugh and try to rebuild, because I don’t know if there’s any coming back from a start like this. There’s something going on in that locker room, because you don’t start 0-5 with this roster otherwise.

Panic Meter: 9

Tennessee Titans

The Titans are in full-on rebuild mode, but there are still a ton of reasons to be concerned about this team. First of all, this is the worst offense I’ve seen in recent memory. I tried to give Cam Ward the benefit of the doubt last year, but he might be the worst starting quarterback in football. They are averaging 11.6 PPG, which is nearly three points less than the Dolphins at No. 31 and five points less than the Chargers at No. 30. The Lions and Bills are averaging three times as many PPG as the Titans.

This defense also has next to no pieces to be excited about. Jeffery Simmons is the best defensive tackle in football, but outside of him and Anthony Hill Jr., they don’t have anyone. They missed on all of their free agent signings, and it has been a complete disaster.

I would like to think that Robert Saleh and Brian Daboll can turn things around, but I don’t know. They need a new quarterback, running back, offensive line, defensive line, and secondary. There are just too many holes for them to be competitive any time soon.

Panic Meter: 9