One month ago, names like Carolina Panthers or Buffalo Bills might have been thrown around. Perhaps even the Denver Broncos or Arizona Cardinals. As of now, every single one of those teams has something that the Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams and Indianapolis Colts are without: a win.
The Kansas City Chiefs now sit at the bottom of the bottom of the AFC West several months after unexpectedly winning it in 2010. The Colts are at the bottom of the AFC South. The Rams nearly won the NFC West last year and are now in the basement. The Vikings are showing an incredible ability to fall apart at the last second and now sit at 0-3 at the bottom of the NFC North. Each team had possible post-season aspirations and, for various reasons, each one improbably sits outside of anything meaningful this year.
The Chiefs have been decimated by injuries to some of their brightest stars -- Eric Berry, Jamaal Charles, Tony Moeaki among others -- but even their proven players have failed to show up. The Rams have also lost several players to injury, and the Rams definitely have to be frustrated with the failure to mature in Sam Bradford's second season. The Vikings brought in Donovan McNabb to reverse course from last season's miserable year, but so far the Vikes have fell apart in the second half against every team they've faced this season.
The Colts have the ability to earn a win tonight against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but given the Colts offensive prowess on display so far, it's likely the Colts will be 0-3. The loss of Peyton Manning is simply too much for the rest of the Colts to handle.
The Dolphins are also winless at this stage, but that was a predictable position for a team devoid of talent at the QB position at this point in the season.