Coach Pete Carroll was supposed to raise the floor for the Las Vegas Raiders. Instead, they’ve fallen through it, plummeting to new lows, losing 40-6 to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5.
A coach whose career peaked by holding Peyton Manning’s historic 2013 Denver Broncos offense to one scoring drive in the Super Bowl watched helplessly Sunday as Indy outscored his current team 40-0 over the second and third quarters alone.
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That’s miserable, but would you rather be the 0-5 New York Jets, the only winless team in the league? How about the 1-4 New York Giants, who did the impossible Sunday, losing by two scores to the previously winless New Orleans Saints? Any takers for the Miami Dolphins or Cleveland Browns?
The Pick Six column puts those teams and a few others, including the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, on the Misery Meter after five weeks. Each fits neatly into a specific category, some more miserable than others. For these teams, as well as for a few (Tennessee, Carolina, New Orleans) that were miserable before beating other miserable teams Sunday, it’s time to talk.
The full Pick Six menu this week:
• Misery Meter: In search of hope
• Wild Darnold-Mayfield shootout
• Putting Eagles in perspective
• Colts through five glorious games
• Upon further review: Liam Coen
• Two-minute drill: HOF debate
1. The Raiders, Jets, Giants, Dolphins, Browns, Ravens, Bengals, Panthers, Titans and Saints have a combined 11-39 record, with five of those victories against each other. Here’s where they land on the Misery Meter.
New coaches, same old stories
• Las Vegas Raiders (1-4)
6.5 Vegas win total | 1-4 vs. spread
Carroll is a proven elite program builder, but it took three seasons and a couple of historically great draft classes — Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor in one, Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner in another — for him to post a winning record in Seattle. It was a full organizational mindset adjustment. It took time.
Carroll needed time at USC as well. He started 1-4 there before finishing that 2001 season 6-6. He's 74 now and wielding less organizational control over the Raiders than he wielded in Seattle or at USC.
The Raiders have already lost twice by at least 17 points. Carroll's first Seattle team went 7-9, with all nine losses by at least 11 points. How patient will ownership be if Carroll needs a couple of seasons to win, and the team loses more games like the one it lost Sunday?
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"I’m processing it poorly, to tell you the truth," Carroll said. "Because I did expect to win right out of the chute."
• New York Jets (0-5)
6.5 Vegas win total | 2-3 vs. spread
The Jets, like the Raiders, can't stop anyone after hiring a defensive-minded head coach. They're a little tougher to figure out, though, because they've lost three close games while facing Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, Tua Tagovailoa and Dak Prescott. So, while it's true the Jets' defense hasn't been worse through five games from an EPA standpoint since 2007, the schedule matters.
"What I think is so interesting is the two guys that want to run the defensive programs and get the veteran quarterbacks to run the ball and play defense can't run the ball and can't play defense," an exec from another team said, referring to the Raiders and Jets.
Same coaches, same old stories
• New York Giants (1-4)
5.5 Vegas win total | 2-3 vs. spread
The Giants are a league-worst 2-15 in their past 17 games with bottom-five rankings on both sides of the ball over that span. They're without Malik Nabers, their best offensive player, and their rookie quarterback, Jaxson Dart, accounted for two interceptions and an unforced fumble during a streak of five consecutive possessions ending in turnovers against the Saints.
"Five in a row — it's tough to do," coach Brian Daboll said.
It hadn't happened in the NFL since 2016, when Ryan Fitzpatrick had six interceptions for the Jets at Kansas City. It hadn't happened before that since 2010.
• Miami Dolphins (1-4)
7.5 Vegas win total | 2-3 vs.
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