The Biggest Busts Of the First Half of the 2022 NFL Season

One of the best aspects of the NFL season is its unpredictability. A team like the Cincinnati Bengals can be a basement-dweller one year and then a Super Bowl participant the next. Of course, unexpected results aren't always positive.

The 2022 season has seen its fair share of good surprises, like the 6-2 New York Giants. It has also seen teams and players with high expectations fall flat over the first nine weeks. We're here to examine the latter group today.

Below, you'll find a list of teams, players and some combinations of the two that could be considered busts in the first half of 2022. We'll examine both why the expectations were initially high, what's gone wrong and what needs to change to find redemption before the regular season draws to a close.

Entries are listed in no particular order.

The Green Bay Packers still have an opportunity to make the playoffs in 2022. However, this is a team that claimed the NFC's No. 1 seed last year and looked to be a title contender heading into 2022.

Bleacher Report's panel of NFL experts overwhelmingly (four of five votes) picked Green Bay to repeat as NFC North champions.

"The Packers still have the back-to-back MVP in Aaron Rodgers and a bright young defense with cornerback Jaire Alexander, edge-rusher Rashan Gary and nose tackle Kenny Clark," B/R's Brent Sobleski noted at the time.

While Rodgers is indeed still under center, his new-look receiving corps has been an issue. The offense as a whole lacks chemistry, and as a result, it hasn't performed well.

Green Bay came into Week 9 ranked 22nd in passing and 26th in scoring. With the Packers not running up the scoreboard, opponents have been able to exploit a run defense that has allowed 4.9 yards per carry. The defense showed life in Sunday's 15-9 loss to the Detroit Lions, but the offense is still sagging.

The result is a 3-6 record that is far worse than many predicted.

Is there time for the Packers to turn things around? Absolutely, but that will require the offense clicking, the run defense finding a way to consistently contain and perhaps a little bit of luck.

The 7-1 Minnesota Vikings have a strong grip on the division lead right now.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are another team that was widely expected to win their division. Bleacher Report's experts unanimously chose Tampa as the favorite in the NFC South.

"The Buccaneers have questions (Chris Godwin's health and a defense that lost a couple of big pieces chief among them), but the Tampa Tommy Boys are still markedly better than any other team in the division," B/R's Gary Davenport said in July.

The Buccaneers can win the division, but at 4-5, they haven't reached expectations.

Tom Brady is still capable of playing at a high level, but the 45-year-old has rarely been on the same page with his pass-catchers this season, and Rob Gronkowski's retirement has left him without his favorite go-to target.

Injuries have also played a factor, especially on defense. Carlton Davis, Logan Wilson, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Antoine Winfield Jr. have all missed time, and star pass-rusher Shaq Barrett is out for the year with a torn Achilles.

That defense hasn't been able to carry an offense that has scored 20 or fewer points six times this season.

However, sloppy play and chemistry issues have plagued Tampa as much as anything.

"This Buccaneers team has looked poorly coached all year. Mistakes that just shouldn't be made, they keep making. Bruce Arians may not have gotten enough credit," Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk tweeted during a Week 8 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Getting healthy will go a long way toward righting the ship in Tampa. Brady needs to stay healthy, too, for this team to have a chance. Perhaps more than anything, though, new head coach Todd Bowles needs to instill some discipline, while offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich needs to get his unit in a groove.

We saw glimpses of both late in Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Rams, but Tampa still has a lot of work ahead of it. The NFC South can be had, but the Bucs need to start putting some points on the board if they're going to do more than win a middling division.

The Rams haven't been a complete disaster in 2022, but they've struggled to live up to the expectations of being defending champions. Bleacher Report's Maurice Moton predicted a 13-4 record for the Rams. With L.A. sitting at 3-5, that's already gone out the window.

Los Angeles has several issues. It can't run the ball with any consistency, it doesn't have a reliable No. 2 target opposite Cooper Kupp and the pass rush took a major hit when Von Miller departed in free agency.

Heading into Week 9, L.A. ranked 31st in rushing, 30th in total offense and 28th in scoring. The defense had notched just 15 sacks after logging 50 in 2021.

It hasn't been a good year for quarterback Matthew Stafford, either. The former Detroit Lions star was phenomenal in his first season as a Ram, finishing 2021 with a career-best passer rating of 102.9. He entered Week 9 with a rating of just 85.5, his lowest since 2013.

Stafford and the offense struggled once again in Sunday's 16-13 loss to Tampa Bay. Of course, Stafford simply hasn't gotten a ton of help.

"He is competing and doing everything in his power for this team. He needs some help. We've got to be able to help him," head coach Sean McVay said last month, per ESPN's Sarah Barshop.

The Rams didn't get any help at the trade deadline, but they do have wideout Van Jefferson back in the mix after he opened the season on injured reserve (knee surgery). If L.A. can get Jefferson involved and find ways to establish the run and generate pressure, it can repeat as NFC West champion. The first half of the season, though, has been a disappointment.

There hasn't been a more disappointing player this season than Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. Denver traded a massive package— two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and tight end Noah Fant—for the nine-time Pro Bowler, and Wilson has largely busted.

Wilson missed one week with a hamstring injury and has just six touchdown passes, four interceptions, a 58.8-percent completion rate and a passer rating of just 83.5—by far the lowest of his career.

This is not what Denver nor anyone else expected from Wilson when the Seattle Seahawks dealt him.

Of course, it hasn't been all Wilson's fault. Rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett has not helped the situation with questionable decision-making and a lack of a cohesive game plan.

While the Broncos did lose running back Javonte Williams (ACL) for the season, Denver's offense (31st in scoring) is far worse than one with Wilson, Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton and Melvin Gordon III should be.

Through a series of preseason simulations run by NFL Media's Cynthia Frelund, the Broncos were projected to win 9.6 games. Reaching that mark—and the postseason—now seems like a long shot, which may be why Denver was willing to deal Bradley Chubb at the deadline.

Can the Broncos dig themselves out of a 3-5 hole? Perhaps, but Wilson has to be better, and the offense must find some semblance of a rhythm. If they can't do that, then the Kansas City Chiefs and/or Los Angeles Chargers may soon run away with the AFC West.

We have another combo platter here. Like the Broncos, the Las Vegas Raiders have failed to meet expectations. A playoff team in 2021, Las Vegas was largely expected to be better after adding Davante Adams and Chandler Jones in the offseason.

Moton predicted a 10-win season for the Raiders back in May. At 2-6, Las Vegas is dangerously close to 10 wins being an impossibility.

Jones has been one of the league's biggest individual busts of 2022. Las Vegas inked him to a three-year, $51 million deal in free agency, and that money was supposed to buy a pass rush capable of containing quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Wilson this season.

The Raiders' pass rush is still underwhelming, and Jones has flat-out disappointed. After nine weeks, he has logged a mere half-sack. The defense had just nine sacks as a unit while ranking 25th in both yards and points allowed entering into Week 9. .

Las Vegas isn't better than it was a year ago, and some of the blame has to fall on new head coach Josh McDaniels.

"If you're going to point a finger, point it at me," McDaniels told reporters after last week's shutout loss to the New Orleans Saints. "Obviously, I need to do a better job of getting us ready on game day."

The Raiders have too often seemed ill-prepared in games, and their defense has been a sieve at times. Both of these things need to change for Las Vegas to even have a chance of sniffing the postseason in 2022.

However, that proverbial ship may have already sailed.

The Chargers haven't been as disappointing as the Broncos or the Raiders in the AFC West this season. L.A. might even be challenging Kansas City if not for significant injuries to star pass-rusher Joey Bosa (groin) and left tackle Rashawn Slater (biceps).

Prized offseason acquisition J.C. Jackson is out for the year with a ruptured patella tendon in his right knee. Prior to the injury, though, Jackson was one of this year's biggest free-agent busts.

Expectations were high for Jackson following four strong campaigns with the New England Patriots. Last season, Jackson made his first Pro Bowl after racking up a league-high 23 passes defended and eight interceptions. He allowed an opposing passer rating of only 46.8 in 2021 and had never allowed an opposing passer rating above 66.5 in four years.

Los Angeles signed Jackson to a five-year, $82.5 million deal in free agency. It isn't paying off just yet.

In five games with the Chargers, he allowed an opposing passer rating of 149.3. He has allowed a 66.7-percent completion rate when targeted and has surrendered 334 yards and four touchdowns.

Jackson was benched in his second-to-last game of the season.

"I feel defeated," Jackson said, per NFL.com's Bridget Condon. "I just feel like I'm not just being me."

We've seen Jackson play at an elite level before, so he can redeem himself. Due to the injury, however, he won't get that opportunity this season.

Things haven't gone well for the Indianapolis Colts this season, though it's hard to be surprised, given the play of quarterback Matt Ryan early in the season—Jonathan Taylor's lingering ankle injury certainly hasn't helped.

The Colts traded a third-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons this offseason to acquire Ryan and many, myself included, believed that Ryan would be an immediate upgrade over Carson Wentz.

"Wentz was serviceable but fell flat in critical late-season losses to the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars," I wrote back in May. "...Ryan is a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback without the necessary hardware, but that could change now that he's in Indianapolis."

Instead of playing like a Canton-bound field general, Ryan was a disaster. He tossed a league-high nine interceptions in seven games before getting benched in favor of Matt Ehlinger.

As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk pointed out, Ryan's contract will prevent him from getting another chance in 2022.

"Ryan’s contract already pays him $12 million in base salary next year, fully guaranteed. But millions more would become fully guaranteed if Ryan suffers an injury that keeps him from passing a physical by the third day of the 2023 league year in March,"

Instead of providing the mistake-free quarterback play that Indy lacked late in 2021, Ryan disappointingly provided mistake-prone play to start 2022. The Colts face now face long odds to get back to the postseason race, and Ryan's tenure as Indianapolis' starter lasted, ironically, 28 weeks and three days.

This one's for the fantasy football enthusiasts, many of whom are kicking themselves for using a high first-round pick on Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris.

Of course, the Steelers and their fans are probably disappointed in the Alabama product too.

Harris was sensational as a rookie in 2021. He finished with 1,200 rushing yards, 74 receptions, 467 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns and a Pro Bowl nod. With Ben Roethlisberger retired, Harris was supposed to carry the offense as the Steelers transitioned to rookie first-round quarterback Kenny Pickett.

This year, however, the 24-year-old has been a bust. Harris has averaged just 3.3 yards per carry, hasn't topped 74 rushing yards in a game and has three combined touchdowns. Instead of being a bell-cow back, he's started to cede touches to undrafted rookie Jaylen Warren.

Some have even called for Warren to replace Harris as the starter.

"First of all, I’m putting Warren in there, I’m starting him the next game. If I’m coach, that’s who’s starting the next game" former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers insider Ed Bouchette told 97.3 The Fan (h/t Parker Abate of Steelers Nation). "I think Warren has shown, stats and the eye test, that he’s a better running back right now."

Now, Harris was more of an accumulator than a breakaway back in 2021 (3.9 yards per carry), but most expected more than this for an encore. Harris has been below average this season, and it's fair to wonder if his strong start and quick decline are mirroring the career arc of a true Alabama bust, Trent Richardson.

Rather than an entire team or an individual player, we're going to wrap our list with a unit—specifically, the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line.

The Bengals took steps to improve a line that allowed a league-high 51 sacks in 2021. Cincinnati added Ted Karras, Alex Cappa and La'el Collins in free agency then promoted rookie guard Cordell Volson to the starting lineup. The results were supposed to be dramatically better.

"By bringing in Collins to pair with Cappa and Karras, Cincinnati has the most improved offensive line in the league," Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus wrote before the draft.

The new-look line, though, hasn't been much-improved. Quarterback Joe Burrow was sacked 29 times in the first eight games, and the unit has struggled to open up lanes for running back Joe Mixon and the ground game. Cincinnati averaged just 3.5 yards per carry through the first eight weeks.

The ground game got going against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday (241 yards) and Burrow was only sacked twice, but this is still a disappointing unit. With the players changing and the line still remaining a weakness, some of the blame has to fall on Burrow and the coaching staff.

Burrow, it should be noted, has been under pressure less often—19.6 percent of the time through Week 8 after 24.5 percent in 2021—but he has been sacked more frequently. The third-year quarterback needs to get the ball out more quickly, while head coach Zac Taylor and the Bengals' offensive minds need to dial up some running plays that actually work.

However, any hope Cincinnati would magically erase its biggest liability in a single offseason has been busted.

*Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference. Contract information via Spotrac unless otherwise noted.