It is said that at the start of each new NFL season, every team has an equal chance to advance through the regular season, playoffs, and eventually win the Super Bowl. And while technically this may be true before Week 1 based on record, in reality we all know it to be no more than wishful thinking.

By evaluating the level of talent on each team’s roster -- and more often than not who is starting at quarterback -- we have a pretty clear picture of which teams are actual contenders and which will be year-long punching bags.

Here at numberFire, we rank each NFL team in a variety of categories including nERD, a ranking of the projected margin of victory or defeat against an average opponent on a neutral field.

Here are the five worst teams in the league, according to nERD, all of which have large enough deficiencies to merit their respective places near the bottom of the our rankings.