The 5 Biggest Busts of the 2017 NFL Season So Far

The 2017 NFL season, like all of its brothers and sisters comes with its fair share of surprises. Not all them could be categorized as the pleasant variety.

More than a few things about this year have been major disappointments. This isn’t just players either. Coaches, executives and entire teams aren’t immune from criticism. All came in with high expectations. All have not fulfilled them by any measure to this point. So the question is who among them stand out as the biggest flops this year?

There were plenty of contenders but these five candidates stood out from the pack for various reasons. All of them bad.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Before the year began experts were making their annual picks for breakout teams in 2017. The heavy favorite for that slot were the Buccaneers. It was understandable why. They had a young, emerging leader at quarterback, a defense that seemed to be discovering an identity and a completely revamped receiving corps led by Desean Jackson and O.J. Howard. The team finished strong the year before at 9-7, so they had momentum as well.

Things got off to a great start as they thumped the Bears in their home opener. Since then though they’ve run into a series of road blocks. Winston is suffering through shoulder problems and remains an erratic decision-maker, on and off the field. Meanwhile the defense has fallen flat with their secondary bearing a heavy brunt. Tampa has the 29th ranked pass defense with both their corner and safety positions looking inadequate. Whatever was going right with this team before has stopped.