WE DO NOT CARE SPORTS

by Mitchell Hammon

There are teams who took full advantage of their window, for example the Seattle Seahawks this last season and early 2010’s Seahawks. In this case I am lucky as a fan witness my team strike the iron while it’s hot, but there are other teams right now who for some reason can’t finish the job and get over the hump. The Buccaneers, Rams, Eagles and Seahawks found ways to win rings in the midst of the Chiefs dynasty, these teams however can’t.

2019- Present San Francisco 49ers

The jury isn’t quite out on the Kyle Shanahan 49ers. However, with the Rams going all in on this season in what may be Matthew Stafford’s final season by making a trade for CB Trent McDuffie and Seahawks fresh off a Super Bowl win with a young team and a ton of cap space, the chances are slim the 49ers get an NFC West title in 2026 let alone another Super Bowl appearance. Despite an injury riddled 2025 season, the 49ers finished with a 12-5 record and a wild card win over the defending champion Eagles in Philly before getting curb stomped by the Seahawks 41-6 in the divisional round. The key for them is to stay healthy and to practice away from the electrical substation. The 49ers lost DC Robert Saleh to a head coaching job with the Tennessee Titans and Shanahan hired longtime friend Raheem Morris for the role, who has proven to be a great DC. They may move on from HOF LT Trent Williams and signed WR Mike Evans. They have a lot of aging stars from the 2019 and 2023 Super Bowl squads and are not getting younger, a George Kittle injury in the playoffs and potential missed time this upcoming season does not help matters. The offensive line outside of Williams and secondary are the weaknesses of this team and will have to address in free agency and in the draft. This season will be a last gasp for air before an inevitable rebuild.

From 2019-2025, the 49ers have made two Super Bowl appearances (LIV, LVIII) falling short to the Kansas City Chiefs in both. They blew a 10 point lead late in the 4th in 2019 and losing in OT in 2023. Division titles in 2019, 2022 and 2023. 4 NFC Championship game appearances in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Winning playoff games in each playoff appearance. A core built around TE George Kittle, WR Deebo Samuel, FB Kyle Juszczyk, DE Nick Bosa, DE Arik Armstead, LB Dre Greenlaw and LB Fred Warner in both Super Bowl runs. Their most recent window with QB Brock Purdy, RB Christian McCaffrey, LT Trent Williams, WR Brandon Aiyuk, WR Juwan Jennings, S Talanoa Hufanga and CB Charvarious Ward. A few of these players have left the organization already and the rest of them are another year older. It seems like the best years are behind them at this point.

2020- Present Buffalo Bills

It pains me to say this one, but I do feel optimistic with Joe Brady taking over as head coach and some of their free agency moves. The Buffalo Bills have had a Chiefs problem, their second iteration of the four falls have been four losses to the Chiefs in the playoffs. Falling to the Chiefs in the 2020 and 2024 AFC Championship and losing in the Divisional round in 2021 (13 second game) and 2023. The Bills were also upset by the Bengals in the 2022 playoffs and lost to the Broncos in the divisional round this past season which led to the dismissal of Head Coach Sean McDermott. A missed opportunity for the Bills with the Chiefs absent from the playoffs. A team that is always in the Super Bowl mix but can never get over the hump despite future Hall of Fame quarterback Josh Allen. The rosters have been more than capable with a surrounding cast of T Dion Dawkins, RB James Cook, TE’s Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid, LB Matt Milano, S Tre-Davious White, DE Greg Rosseau, S Jordan Poyer and DT Ed Oliver. The window still does feel open for them, but they now have to worry about the Patriots who one-upped them by appearing in Super Bowl LX.

2019- Present Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens to me have been the most frustrating team to watch this decade and seem to be the mirrored version of the San Francisco 49ers in this span. Lamar Jackson has had two MVP seasons in 2019 and 2023 which resulted in the team earning the 1 seed and favorite to the win the Super Bowl entering the playoffs in those seasons. The Ravens would go one and done in 2019 after getting wrecked by the Derrick Henry led Titans at home and would lose in 2023 to the Chiefs at home only putting up 10 points. Ravens lacked playoff success in this span with only 3 playoff wins and losing in the divisional round to the Bills twice in 2020 and 2024 and eliminated by the Bengals in the wild card round in 2022. While the Bills get flack by not making it to the Super Bowl, the Ravens just struggle with postseason success altogether. It was the beginning of the end letting DC Mike Macdonald walk after 2023 and would eventually win a ring as the head coach of the Seahawks. The team fired head coach John Harbaugh after the 2025 season after narrowly missing the playoffs. Not to mention this team blowed so many double digit leads in games in this span. Seems like they are trying to get it right by hiring Jesse Minter as a head coach and hoping for the success of Mike Macdonald has had with Seattle. The team got ravaged in free agency and embarrassed themselves by backing out of the Maxx Crosby trade. Unless they can find gems in the draft, the 2023 season seemed like it was the chance to get a ring and they blew it.

2023- Present Detroit Lions

After the 2020 season, Matthew Stafford was done with the Lions and was traded to the Rams in exchange for Jared Goff and two first round picks, which after some trades in the draft turned into WR Jameson Williams, RB Jahmyr Gibbs and TE Sam LaPorta. Along with high draft picks T Penei Sewell and DE Aidan Hutchinson, this team was locked and loaded. 2021 saw the hiring of former Lions TE Dan Campbell as the head coach and an elite staff consisting of OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn. After narrowly missing the playoffs in 2022 at 9-8, the Lions made a huge step forward in 2023 winning the division at 12-5 and advancing to their first NFC Championship since 1991. They blew a huge lead to the 49ers in that game by getting too aggressive and not taking the points when they should have. The Lions would finish as the 1 seed in 2024 but due to many key injuries, they were one and done in the playoffs. Lions would lose Johnson and Glenn to head coaching jobs in with the Bears and Jets respectively. The Lions would feel their absences immensely in 2025 and missed the playoffs. With the Bears as the new king in the division along with key players on the offensive line now gone, it seems like their window has open and shut. We will see how Drew Petzing does as the new OC, but I am now bearish on them moving forward.

It’s JOE-ver: 2021- Present Cincinnati Bengals

Yeah I have completely written this team off and will not be written back. Must be painful being a fan of this franchise. Not to mention having one of the cheapest owners in NFL, if not the cheapest. This team has squandered Joe Burrow’s career like they did Carson Palmer’s. They shockingly made the Super Bowl in 2021 at 10-7 upsetting the 1 seed Titans and defending AFC Champ Chiefs in Kansas City. They narrowly fell short to the Rams in Super Bowl LVI, all of this in spite of having one of the worst rated offensive lines that season. They would have another great year in 2022 but this time would lose to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship. Joe Burrow would battle injuries in 2023 and 2025, but would narrowly miss in 2024 with a healthy Burrow. These teams did have talents like receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, edge rushers Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard and S Jessie Bates. But squandered them with contract disputes with Hendrickson and letting Bates go in free agency. My question now is will Burrow force himself out like Palmer.

2016- Present Dallas Cowboys

LOL. Do I need to say anything here?