Are the Giants the Worst Team in the NFL?

After years of underachieving, the New York Giants went 11-5 in 2016, losing to the Green Bay Packers in the Wildcard round. With head coach Ben McAdoo entering his second season, the addition of wide receiver Brandon Marshall, and the core of the playoff team intact, the Giants were expected to make another run for the playoffs this year, maybe even the Super Bowl.

Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has been quoted, now infamously, for saying he didn't see a reason why the Giants wouldn't go 16-0.

Fast forward to October. The Giants are 0-4 and alone at the bottom of the NFC East. Forget the NFC East, they are tied for the NFL's worst record and are more likely to win a top draft pick than a playoff spot.

Week One was a tough loss to the Dallas Cowboys, as the Giants fell 19-3 and couldn't sustain any offense without Odell Beckham. Week Two featured an embarrassing loss, as there are many ways the Giants could have managed to defeat the Detroit Lions on that Monday night.

Since then, the Giants have been a slightly different team against the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They've shown signs of life, the offense has been scoring in the 20's, and the players haven't given up just yet.

It still hasn't translated to any wins.

Following back-to-back game winning field goals by the Eagle and Buccaneers, the Giants went 0-2 in these road games despite averaging 23.5 points per game. The defense can be blamed, specifically the lack of wrapping up on tackles leading to huge plays.

So the question at hand: are the New York Giants the worst team in the NFL?

Four teams are currently winless in the 2017 season: The Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and the Giants. 

While Browns rookie DeShone Kizer has shown flashes of quality play, you'd be hard-pressed to argue the Browns are more talented than the Giants in any major area. The Giants would likely be favored in any matchup with Cleveland.

The 49ers are another team that just doesn't a roster with enough raw talent to make any wins easy. Brian Hoyer was great in a Thursday night loss to the L.A. Rams. San Francisco put up 39 points in that game. In their other three games? 3, 9, and 15 points. Their offense would have an especially hard time matching up with Landon Collins and the Giants stellar secondary.

The last team left is the hardest to peg: the L.A. Chargers. For over a year, the Chargers have been losing painfully close games. This year has been no different, as three of their four losses have been decided by three points or less.

Luckily, we'll get an answer to which 0-4 is better very soon: the Giants host the Chargers on Sunday in MetLife Stadium.

L.A. is easily more talented than San Francisco or Cleveland. In many ways, the Chargers and Giants are in similar situations. Both teams have much more talent than the other two winless teams this season.

Are the Giants in a bad spot considering their expectations? Yes, of course. All the effort that went in to building this year's roster is all but lost unless the Giants can rattle off a long win streak.

But are the Giants the worst team in the NFL? Despite mishaps and misfortunes for Big Blue this year, the worst team in the NFL is either the Cleveland Browns or San Francisco 49ers.