also-ran

A clutch fourth quarter that fueled a season-opening win offered hope that this era of the Chargers might be different from the also-ran teams of the past.

Put it all together, and it appears that Musk doesn’t realize that X needs advertisers more than they need X. The platform was generally an also-ran as an advertising medium online, trailing Meta and Google.

Texas has been mired in also-ran status for at least the last decade, a period in which it has been supposedly booming.

In just four years, China has grown from an also-ran to become the world’s largest car exporter, with almost five million cars exported last year.

In her 16 years at the school, Staley has built South Carolina, which was once an also-ran in the tradition-rich Southeastern Conference, into the measuring stick for the women’s game.