Parity in the NFL Dead

We hear it over and over. The NFL is full of parity and that’s a great thing. But, is the NFL really fully of parity? The short answer is no. The NFL now has a cluster of very good teams, a cluster of very bad teams, and a few still deciding which group they belong to. We are now approaching week 7 in the NFL. Most teams have played 6 of their 16 games and the night and day difference between teams is striking.

There are 32 teams in the league and 14 of them have won either 0, 1 or 2 games total this season so far. That’s right, 14 of the 32 teams are miserable failures. Take a look at this run down of the teams now vying for the first pick in next year’s draft.

The Oakland Raiders have 0 wins. They are the only winless team in the group. Could they go 0-16? Probably not, but it’s possible.

All of the following teams are either 1-4 or 1-5: Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Arizona Cardinals.

All of the following teams are either 2-4 or 2-3: Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, and San Francisco 49ers.

That information by itself may not be too striking. After all, the rest of the league could be only slightly ahead. However, the rest of the league is more than slightly ahead. There are 11 of the remaining 18 teams with at least 4 wins each.

The following teams are either 4-2, 4-1, 5-1, 5-0 or 6-0: New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, and St. Louis Rams.

There are 7 teams in the middle and 6 of those 7 teams are 3-2. It’s becoming painfully obvious in the NFL. You are either good or you are not. It used to be that good teams were only a few points better than losing teams. Today, good teams can destroy bad teams with consistency. Are NFL dynasties coming back?