4 NFL franchises in disarray we can be thankful aren't the Colts

The Indianapolis Colts have had their struggles this season, to be sure. There are tons of issues with the offensive line, Shane Steichen's play calling is often baffling, and then there's the whole quarterback issue. Anthony Richardson, supposed to be the future of the Colts franchise, was benched for two weeks in favor of Joe Flacco, with Steichen claiming it gave the Colts a better chance to win.

Spoiler alert: it didn't.

You've had numerous Colts players openly criticizing the team to the media, and social media feuds between the Colts and the media, too. As messy as it all seems, it could get worse.

Much, much worse.

New York Giants

And we thought how the Colts handled Anthony Richardson's benching was bad. When the Giants were unhappy with the performance of their quarterback - Daniel Jones - they bizarrely first demoted him, then had him play on defense as scout team safety during practice (yes, really), and then paraded him in front of the media still clad in his red practice jersey.

Jones handled the situation with notable class, but the Giants were roundly criticized for how they handled it. And while the Giants flounder in total chaos, Jones has moved on and signed with one of the best teams in the league. That's after they already let go of Saquon Barkley before the 2024 season, who has gone on to dominate in Philadelphia with the Eagles. The players that are left are openly criticizing their coaches to the media.

The Giants are a mess, and it doesn't appear that they'll be getting their team in order any time soon.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys are laughably bad this year which - let's be honest - is nothing new, but somehow, they've managed to surpass all expectations of just how bad they can get.

Their defense is historically awful; per ESPN, over the course of three games, the Cowboys allowed 557 rushing yards; that's the worst since 1963. Their opponents racked up 5.4 yards per carry, the worst since 1979. There were eight rushing touchdowns, the worst in franchise history.

With Dak Prescott out with a hamstring injury, they turned to Cooper Rush, which was so disastrous that Prescott couldn't even hide his shock and dismay. Then there's the coaching drama - should Mike McCarthy keep his job, or should Jerry Jones bring in Bill Belichick - that's led to media breakdowns.

The Cowboys are doing poorly in virtually every area, and they don't seem likely to improve anytime soon.

Las Vegas Raiders

When your players can't even pretend that the season is salvageable, you know things are bad. Some are even suggesting the Raiders intentionally tank the rest of the season to get the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. They fired one offensive coordinator, only for his replacement to be... well, just as bad. DaVante Adams asked to be traded to the New York Jets -- the Jets!! -- in an effort to get away from the Raiders and play alongside Aaron Rodgers.

The Raiders ignored their most pressing need at the offseason - finding a franchise QB - and have relied on Gardner Minshew to limp through 2024. The only problem is, Minshew is now injured and will be out for the rest of the season. Cue another revolving door of quarterbacks (although to be fair, the Colts can't really say much about that). But all the same, the Raiders are one of the worst teams in the league, and don't show much to be hopeful about for the future.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Oh, how the mighty have fallen... or in the case of the Jaguars, the mediocre. There was every indication that the Jaguars could be playoff contenders in 2024, but instead, everything fell apart. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is one of the only positives about this year's Jacksonville team, doing everything he can to be successful with virtually no support from anywhere, but now, even he's injured. Without Lawrence, the Jaguars are even more abysmal than usual.

There have been calls for Doug Pederson to be fired for most of the season, but for some reason, Shad Khan has kept him as head coach. Defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen has tanked the team's defense; their pass defense is ranked last in the league, they're 30th in the NFL in points surrendered, and 32nd in yards allowed.

Then there was that humiliating 52 - 6 loss to the Detroit Lions. Who would have predicted the Jaguars would have been this bad after their 2023 season?