A football game is typically comprised up of 4 quarters of football. With that , so is the regular season! Adding the 17th game in skews the math of it but hey , we ride. Through out the first quarter of the season we’ve seen some wild football. I mean WILD football. We’ve had some teams who’ve blossomed into wildcard worthy organizations after low expectations and we’ve seen some teams who had Divisional crown hopes go down the slopes and on their way back to the drawing board. It’s early , realllll early and there’s a lot of football to be played left BUT here’s 2 teams from the AFC and NFC that should’ve been formidable opponents but are on their way to the can.
The Chicago Bears (0-4)
This one I take personal blame for. I hyped these Chicago Bears up to the promise land after what seemed to be on paper , a rather stellar off season from GM Ryan Poles. The offensive line has Justin Fields tracking Andrew Luck for the most times sacked in his first 3 seasons and it’s by a wide margin. Mind you , bad offensive line play and a bundle of injuries forced Luck into retirement. I don’t think Justin Fields is done but he looks visibly shook , bailing early on his reads to try to anticipate pressure. If Eberflus doesn’t figure it out soon , he could be on his way out the door. When you think they have it together going up 21-7 against the Broncos who allowed 70 points the week before. They found a way to the lose that game 31-28. The Bears take on a team that almost made the list on the latter end in the Washington Commanders. Coming off a tough OT lost to Eagles with some stellar play from Sam Howell and the defensive line , it could get ugly quick.
NFC
New York Giants (1-3)
The New York Giants just got dog walked on National Television Monday 24-3 and man did Daboll look pissed. After coming off of a decent offseason with a post season birth in the books and bright future in sight ,with the Coach of the Year leading the Giants, it’s been almost worst case scenario. Daniel Jones isn’t playing no where close to his 160 million dollar price tag and Saquon Barkley hasn’t played the last 2 games. They added Pro Bowl and Jump Ball specialist Darren Waller but Waller and Jones have yet to get on the same page. The bright side is Wink Martindale has the defense playing decent. Decent enough to where the Giants might win 6-7 games this year. They have the Bills this week and the Dolphins next week. Shew
The guys who had a low ceiling but look to shoot past it ?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)
This is a team that lost Tom Brady and nobody gave a chance to including myself. Vegas had their wins odds set at 6.5 and they’re already half way there. Todd Bowles has these boys ready to play. Winning 3 tough games and losing a tough one to Philadelphia , this Bucs team has a hold on an NFC South that isn’t looking too competitive anytime soon. They can end up a 4 seed in the playoffs and at that point they’re in the dance. It’s early but Baker looks decent enough and the defense isn’t a slouch.
Devin White after almost leaving , has made it known he’s glad he stayed. Dealing with some injuries in the secondary affected them against Philadelphia but they bounced back with an impressive divisional win over a banged up Saints team. They have Detroit and Buffalo 2 of the next 3 weeks. If they can beat Atlanta we’re looking a 4-3 Bucs team 1st in the NFC South and sitting alone. IF they upset Detroit/Buffalo either of the 2 , 5-2 looks good. Really good for this team.
Detroit Lions (3-1)
The obvious one here is Detroit. Double dipping into the NFC North. Opening the season up with a win against the Super Bowl Champs was a strong impression and they haven’t stopped rolling. Jared Goff looks good , St Brown looks to assert himself into the elite category , Sam LePorta is a stud and the defensive unit is having fun. Gibbs not getting carries is a smidge concerning but we’ll let it ride out. Based off of the small sample size of 4 games, this Detroit Team is good. Look for them to win the NFC North. I have no clue how deep they’ll go , but atleast they’ll go.
AFC -
Teams who were supposed to be nice but are cold as ice
Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)
Wether it’s Joe Burrows lingering calf injury or the offensive lines unwillingness to block but the Bengals just don’t look good. They just got the breaks beats off of them by a not necessarily strong Titanss team. Burrow is yet to find his rhythm in an AFC North that has the Ravens and Browns in it. Sorry Pittsburgh , you won’t be contending this year. Chase has finally found his feet which is going to be huge down the stretch for them but the Bengals are a team that have been known for starting slow and finishing hot. Will the 3rd time be a charm ?
Denver Broncos (1-3)
Jets would’ve been an easy answer because of the Rodgers Injury. I was apart of the crew who thought Sean Payton was turning it around in Denver and were all suddenly wrong. Russell Wilson had looked better than he did last year but that’s not saying much. The Dolphins dropped 70 points on their head. This was supposed to be a good defense. Shew. Growing pains are real and they’re implementing a new system. Don’t write them off of the wildcard but the AFC West is in sole possession of Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid again this year.
Teams who started from the bottom - now they’re here
1. THE Houston Texans (2-2)
Man what a fun team to watch so far. Rookie QB CJ Stroud is 4th in the league in passing yards with 1200. He’s been electric. New Coach Demeco Ryans has that defense coming to play and they just upset the Pittsburgh Steelers infront of their home crowd for the first home win in over a year. A new leaf looks to be turning in Houston. A slew of young pass catches led by Houston Cougar Tank Dell and Nico Collins. Damien Pierce at running back with a pair of good Tight ends. For the first time in a long time , Houston should be fun to watch.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2-2)
Double dip to the AFC South here. Every one including myself thought the South was gonna run thru Jacksonville. Suddenly all 4 teams are 2-2 and it’s wide open. Steichen comes over from Philadelphia putting Anthony Richardson in a Jalen Hurts esc scheme and it’s working! Richardson was heavily scrutinized because of his sheer athleticism being in the 99th percentile of why he was drafting. He’s delivering accurate balls and going through his progressions. Maybe he wouldn’t flourish in any scheme but the one he’s in , he looks comfortable. The pass rush has been pinning their ears back and the line backers have played well specifically Zaire Franklin. You might not know who he is right now but you will by the time the seasons over. In a wide open AFC South it’s nice the Colts in the thick of it.