NFL Teams That Have Had the Worst Luck so Far in 2021 Season

Luck is one of the most overlooked factors in the NFL.

Coaches, front offices and players attempt to control every little detail when it comes to team construction, scheme and everything that goes into a season.

But the random nature of the sport is what makes it so entertaining for fans. Or—in the case of the Dallas Cowboys last year, for instance—so heartbreaking after any hope of contention was dashed when Dak Prescott went down in Week 5 with a season-ending injury.

This year, several teams have already suffered unfortunate setbacks. Maybe it's the injury bug, a tough early schedule or some combination of the two. It hasn't derailed every unlucky team just yet, but if the tide doesn't turn soon, it is a force that can ruin even the best-laid plans.

Here's a look at the teams with the worst luck to start the season.

No team has had worse luck when it comes to player availability than the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens, while 3-1, nearly top the list of players on injured reserve with the highest combined salary through four weeks, per Over The Cap. And that's not counting the fact that star offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley has only suited up for one game this season and a handful of others have missed games without landing on reserve lists.

This misfortune started in the preseason with the injury bug feasting on the Ravens' running back room. Massive breakout candidate J.K. Dobbins suffered a torn ACL, and then primary backup Gus Edwards did the same. Third-stringer Justice Hill also tore his Achilles.

Other impact players who are missing in action include wide receivers Miles Boykin and rookie first-rounder Rashod Bateman in addition to cornerback Marcus Peters, who was also lost for the season with a torn ACL. In Week 3 in a close win over the Detroit Lions, the team had to play with two active outside linebackers and three defensive linemen after four players (three of them starters) were sent to the reserve/COVID-19 list, too.

None of this even mentions the disaster finish in a Week 1, 33-27 overtime loss to Las Vegas. Up three with less than a minute to go, the Raiders tied and sent it to overtime. Lamar Jackson's defense forced an overtime interception, only for him to fumble on his own 27-yard line and watch from the sidelines as the Raiders scored two players later on a busted coverage. With the benefit of hindsight, that stunningly bad stroke of luck spoiled 4-0.

Despite all this, the Ravens are 3-1 with wins over notables like Kansas City and 3-1 Denver. But in a normal season, these bad breaks would only lead to long-term problems, and with the Ravens sharing the AFC North lead with the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, they have little margin for error.

Like the Ravens, the Broncos have managed to overcome horrific injuries and player inactivity so far.

But unlike the Ravens, it mostly comes down to a soft schedule. The Broncos have won against a trio of teams sporting a combined two wins, besting both New York squads and Jacksonville before getting walloped by Baltimore 23-7.

The Broncos are one of five teams with at least $26 million sitting on reserve lists. Starting wideouts DaeSean Hamilton and Jerry Jeudy, starting corner Ronald Darby, starting linebacker Josey Jewell and star pass-rusher Bradley Chubb are all there, to name a few.

Injuries to premium skill positions like that will make it harder for new quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to develop any kind of chemistry if his wideouts continue to be a revolving door. Ditto for a defense that's missing key players at all three levels.

Speaking of Bridgewater, he suffered a concussion during that loss to Baltimore and his status for Week 5 remains a question mark. That forced Drew Lock into the game, where the guy who lost the quarterback battle this summer mustered a paltry 12-of-21 line for 113 yards and an interception.

On paper, the reality of the bad luck will hit the Broncos harder later in the season when the weather gets colder and the schedule more difficult.

A 1-3 start isn't exactly what the Indianapolis Colts had in mind when making the big trade for Carson Wentz this offseason.

Wentz was supposed to be the stable, possible long-term successor to the brief Philip Rivers era. Instead, he's been fine (63.8 completion percentage, five touchdowns). Or written another way, he's hasn't been that team-elevating presence the Colts had hoped he would be. Instead, he's been holding onto the ball too long and looks to have limited mobility after the recent ankle issues.

Learning a new offense in new surroundings is hard enough, but establishing any type of rapport with new teammates during training camp went out the window after a foot injury that required surgery and a stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

And that's just the quarterback. Elite offensive lineman Quenton Nelson had similar issues with a foot injury and his own stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list this summer before a high ankle sprain sent him to IR, causing him to miss his first career start last week. The Colts are also one of seven teams with $25 million or more sitting on reserve lists, with wideout T.Y. Hilton and corner T.J. Carrie two of the more prominent names among the 12 on the list.

The lack of consistency on both sides of the ball was obvious over the course of an 0-3 start that featured losses to strong Seattle, Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee teams before the schedule gifted the Colts a layup against Miami.

There's a chance the Colts can still overcome these woes and get going, but in the AFC South, Houston has an identical 1-3 record and Tennessee figures to keep improving on a 2-2 start as it gets healthy, so the climb could be steep.

The Dan Campbell era is off to a horrific start on pretty much all counts for the Detroit Lions.

The Lions have yet to win a game in four tries, coming closest in Week 3 against the aforementioned severely depleted Ravens (19-17). Otherwise, Campbell and Co. have lost every game by at least eight points.

Wideout Tyrell Williams, big-money edge-rusher Romeo Okwara, corner Jeff Okudah and offensive tackle Taylor Decker are among the 11 names on reserve lists with salaries totaling $24.6 million.

While quarterback Jared Goff is hardly the biggest concern in Detroit, it sure doesn't help that the Lions downgraded at the most important position by trading Matthew Stafford (hence acquiring multiple draft picks to fuel the rebuild). While he's thrown for seven scores and completed 68.3 percent of his attempts, he's not capable of uplifting a bad supporting cast in Stafford-esque fashion.

The Lions will need a bigger shovel to make any sort of turnaround after already falling into an 0-2 hole in an NFC North with two teams at .500 or better. And the schedule only gets harder from here with three more games against the AFC North, four more division games, Philadelphia, Arizona, Seattle and the Los Angeles Rams still on tap.

One could argue the Pittsburgh Steelers made their own bed by letting Ben Roethlisberger come back for a farewell tour, but it was hard to predict with 100 percent confidence that he would fall off this dramatically.

Over the course of Pittsburgh's 1-3 start, Big Ben has thrown as many touchdowns as picks (four), taken 10 sacks and generally looks like a player any reasonable team not bound by his franchise-legend status might bench.

The 18-year vet might be the biggest problem, but he certainly isn't the only one. Defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt and offensive tackle Zach Banner, both starters, sit on injured reserve, and starting wideouts Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool—not to mention top defenders Joe Haden, Devin Bush and T.J. Watt—have already missed games.

A brutal start couldn't have come at a worse time for the Steelers. They get Denver and Seattle next before a bye and are already 0-1 in an AFC North where the other three teams sport a 3-1 record, plus teams like Kansas City, Tennessee and the Los Angeles Chargers loom as tough matchups.