With January approaching, the NFL playoffs are about to begin.

A total of 12 teams will be competing for the exclusive Super Bowl Championship. Unfortunately, 20 NFL teams failed to make the postseason and will not play a regular season game until next September. A lot of teams failed to meet expectations this year for a number of reasons.

Here are the top five most disappointing teams of the 2014 NFL season:

5. Chicago Bears

How does an offense with Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett rank 23rd overall in scoring?

This is by far the most disappointing offense in the league, considering the amount of talent that is featured on it. General manager Phil Emery may have made some questionable decisions, but he definitely put together a talented offensive squad. With a 5-11 record, the Chicago Bears finished last in the NFC North and missed the postseason for a fourth consecutive season. The Bears finished just 1-5 against NFC North divisional opponents.

4. Kansas City Chiefs

Last season, the Chiefs made the biggest turnaround in the league winning 11 games. Ten games into this season the Chiefs were 7-3, and they controlled their own destiny going forward. From that point on, the Chiefs finished the season 2-4 including a loss to the Oakland Raiders on Thursday Night Football. This season, the Chiefs offense ranked 25th overall and not a single wide receiver caught a touchdown pass. Justin Houston had a tremendous season with 22 sacks, but he is set to become a free agent.

3. San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers were, by far, the most inconsistent team in the league this season. Injuries to their running backs, a tough division and a 2-4 division record didn't help things. Still, the Chargers had a chance to clinch the No. 6 seed wild card spot on the final week of the season against the Chiefs. Despite playing a backup quarterback in Chase Daniel, the Chargers lost, 19-7. The Chargers finished 0-4 against the Denver Broncos and Chiefs this season, and, even worse, they finished 1-3 in December.

2. New Orleans Saints

There's no excuse for the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints play in the pathetic NFC South Division with the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All the Saints had to do was win eight games and a playoff spot was theirs. Drew Brees may have thrown 33 touchdowns, but he also threw 17 interceptions and fumbled the ball seven times. Brees also led the NFL in third down interceptions. Don't expect head coach Sean Payton to be fired, but major changes are needed in New Orleans.

1. San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers have made it to the last three consecutive NFC Championship games.

They even came just a few yards away from winning the Super Bowl two years ago against the Baltimore Ravens. That all seems like such a long time ago. The 49ers finished 8-8 this year missing out on the playoffs for the only time in the Jim Harbaugh era. The 49ers offense ranked 25th in scoring this season. At 7-4, the 49ers had a great shot at making the playoffs, but lost four of their last five games. Now, the 49ers don't have Harbaugh and Frank Gore is set to test the free agent market.

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