Franchises that overachieved for a period of time

[SeahawkFever]

How about the 2021 and 22 Bengals?

[7DnBrnc53]

1967 Oilers ... dealt George Blanda to the Raiders, then won the AFL eastern division with Buffalo having a tough season and the Jets losing their running backs to knee injuries.

Don't forget the 1969 Oilers. They only made the playoffs because the AFL didn't take the two best non-division winners instead of the two second place teams.

The 2000s Eagles had talent on defense but no heralded players other than Dawkins, Vincent and for a brief period, Trotter and Douglas. Other than Westbrook and Owens for one season, an okay but never astounding group of runners and receivers. Reid liked different TEs catching the ball.

McNabb was overrated, and they didn't draft well (Fred Ex over Reggie Wayne and Ocho Cinco, Hands of Stone Smith over Witten, etc...) back then when it came to offensive skill position players.

[SeahawkFever]

1967 Oilers ... dealt George Blanda to the Raiders, then won the AFL eastern division with Buffalo having a tough season and the Jets losing their running backs to knee injuries.

Don't forget the 1969 Oilers. They only made the playoffs because the AFL didn't take the two best non-division winners instead of the two second place teams.

The 2000s Eagles had talent on defense but no heralded players other than Dawkins, Vincent and for a brief period, Trotter and Douglas. Other than Westbrook and Owens for one season, an okay but never astounding group of runners and receivers. Reid liked different TEs catching the ball.

McNabb was overrated, and they didn't draft well (Fred Ex over Reggie Wayne and Ocho Cinco, Hands of Stone Smith over Witten, etc...) back then when it came to offensive skill position players.

Why was McNabb overrated in your opinion?

[7DnBrnc53]

Why was McNabb overrated in your opinion?

I have just never been that high on him. I was shocked when he was drafted as high as he was coming out of college.

[Brian wolf]

A tough call with McNabb ... like I mentioned, he won with good defense and few weapons but could be a diva and sensitive like a receiver. A better starter winning pct than many QBs. A blue-collar team under Andy Reid, that was knocked around in the SB by NE before closing the point spread.

[Hickerson66]

'99 Titans greatly overachieved expectations.

'00-'03 was a rollercoaster ride, but minus the '01 season I would say overall it was an unexpected success when compared to the team expectations prior to '99.

Of course the success in '02 and '03 was due to the '02 realignment and all they had to do win the weak South was beat out Peyton before the Colts really built a team around him.

[Brian wolf]

Good call on the Titans, but it was very strange as well. This team, no matter where they played, was tough and competitive but seemed to put it together once they moved into the new stadium.
Being a small-market team in Nashville, I never felt they were going to win a championship but cheered them on anyway, with huge chances in 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003. Those divisional losses to the Ravens and Patriots really stung because the team had their chances. The defense had a miserable game in the AFC Championship in Oakland. After that, the team just couldnt get better offensively with free agents not meeting expectations.