1. Houston Texans (4-0): Houston beat up on Chicago in devastating fashion this week. Their defense held the Bears to zero touchdowns and have one of the best statistical defenses throughout the first weeks of the season.
2. Cleveland Browns (4-0): We all knew that when KMFO took over as the Browns head coach that he was the instant favourite to win the division, but he is putting up dominating numbers. In his last two games, he has beat his opponents by 96 points, outrageous.
3. New Orleans Saints (4-0): My pick to win the NFC keeps rolling. They have a true test this week taking on the Green Bay Packers. If they could pass this test, I think hands down they would become the favorite to represent the NFC this season in the Super Bowl. Key word ‘favorite’, not necessarily a lock.
4. Detroit Lions (4-0): Season 2’s cinderella story keeps rolling. Fallen and the Lions could possibly be 5-0 heading into a week 6 showdown against the Packers. Could be must-see-TV early in the season for NFC North fans.
5. Los Angeles Rams (3-0): With the two New York teams coming to town, there is a great chance the Rams will host Arizona in an NFC West showdown in 3 weeks. Big measuring stick game for both teams.
6. Arizona Cardinals (3-1): If Detroit weren’t playing the way they were, the Cardinals would take the Cinderella story narrative this season. You have to give it to Que, he’s showing he’s a threat to take the NFC this season, and arguably way sooner than we expected.
7. Green Bay Packers (3-1): They don’t look as dominant as they should look, or how we expect, but they are winning games and staying in the NFC race. I think its safe to say, the Packers arent the clear cut favorite in the NFC at this point of the season.
8. Kansas City Chiefs (4-0): Another division win for the Chiefs and even though it’s week 4, it feels like Kansas City is pulling away in the division. Patrick Mahomes completed 10 of his 12 passes and 4 went for touchdowns.
9. New England Patriots (3-1): Riley Leonard has thrown 6 touchdowns in 4 games, but New England statistically doesn’t have an offense that can go toe-to-toe with offensively powered teams. They are sporting a top ten defense that has helped them close out a few games this season.
10. Buffalo Bills (3-1): Buffalo is undefeated against AFC opponents this season and the AFC East is looking like a two team race thus far after the first month of the season. Josh Allen is going to love or die by the pass, but his 12 touchdowns outweigh his 9 interceptions, so with a positive record, the Bills can go deep into the playoffs again this season.
11. Seattle Seahawks (3-1): The rush defense absolutely did not show up for work week 4 as they allowed 225 yards and 3 scores to Cardinals stud RB Emari Demercado. Typically built on a strong defense, the first quarter of the season hasn’t been the story in Seattle.
12. Los Angeles Chargers (3-1): I feel like Codes got written off after his loss to the Raiders in week 2, but he has pulled off back to back wins and has the potential to extend the streak to 5 with his next three opponents having a combined record of 2-10.
13. Indianapolis Colts (2-2): CB has strung together a couple of wins and instilled life back into the city of Indianapolis. Anthony Richardson has a 5-1 ratio for touchdowns to interceptions the last two weeks. I think the Colts have found their recipe for success..don’t turn the football over.
14. Las Vegas Raiders (2-2): Is KingMike afraid of the consequences of having a top 5 pick and then making the playoffs the following season? Sitting at 2-0, the Raiders were one of the hottest teams in the league but they’ve dropped two games since then, one being to the Colts, a team that also drafted in the top 10 last season.
15. New York Jets (1-3): Caleb Williams has thrown 6 interceptions this season versus 4 touchdowns. This isn’t the type of production New York hoped for when they moved heaven and earth to draft him with the first overall pick in the draft. If Caleb continues to disappoint, when will it be time for the Jets to seriously consider starting Aaron Rodgers? I think the time is now.
16. Denver Broncos (1-3): Oh, the hype of a new season. After defeating Atlanta in week 1, Denver fans were rejuvenated with hope for their team but that dose of reality was snapped back this week after suffering a 34 point loss to the Browns. The Broncos are going to have to scheme up a new gameplan in order to compete with the better teams in the league.
17. Minnesota Vikings (1-2): Down but not out seems to be the theme for Wimmy the past cycle and half. Wimmy has now officially entered the ‘underdog’ phase of his PML career. With the expectations lowered a bit, could he thrive?
18. San Francisco 49ers (1-4): Finally got into the win column after a near impossible comeback against the Eagles. Their schedule has been tough so far, and they don’t see a team under .500 until week 11. If they could survive that over .500, they just might have a chance to salvage the season.
19. Chicago Bears (1-3): The Bears start the season with the Texans, Rams, and Packers on the schedule. We cut them some slack due to the competitive nature of their schedule, but shouldn’t a team that was a game from the Super Bowl be winning these games? Could quite possibly go from Super Bowl contender to top 10 draft pick if they don’t figure it out soon.
20. Atlanta Falcons (2-2): Nef has the Falcons on a 2 game streak which is a win in my book given the circumstances of the medical room. With the Giants and Eagles on deck, there is a realistic chance the Falcons could remain in the playoff hunt and survive the bump in the road.
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-2): Personally, I thought the Bucs would be sitting at 3-1 heading into the week. The next two weeks of the schedule (Was & Car) are generous and they could have sat at 5-1 after all was said and done.
22. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2): I tuned out of the game and it seemed HD was on his way to 3-1, I tune back in 10 minutes later and they’re behind. I’ve always said you can never turn off and HD game because the unexpected would always happen. He’s got to learn how to close games out if the Eagles will make any push for the playoffs.
23. Washington Commanders (2-2): The Commanders are in the thick if things for the NFC East, however, they’re not getting the respect they seek from peers. Why? Their played strength of schedule sits at .333. Nevertheless, if Miles could continue to pick up wins against lesser teams, they could be sitting pretty big mid-season. See for yourself (TB, NYG, PHI, PIT, DAL). Not 1 team over .500.
24. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3): There’s only a 2.5% chance that a team starting 0-3 makes the playoffs and Pittsburgh is hoping to get back to the dance after tasting a sliver last season. Unfortunately for them, it’ll have to be as a wildcard team but they got back on.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-3): Jacksonville should be sitting at 0-4, if it wasn’t for their All-Madden CPU defeating DK and the Broncos. Jacksonville doesn’t look very sure of itself in either side of the hall this season. They also have the 32nd rushing offense in the league and didn’t rush for the league minimum of 10 attempts this week.
26. Dallas Cowboys (0-4): Drama is having a tough start to the season, but the good news is they sit 2 games out of first. They have the Eagles 2 out of 3 weeks, with the Bengals, Commanders, and Falcons sprinkled in. I got the Cowboys sitting in first place by week 12.
27. Miami Dolphins (1-3): I don’t think Miami is built to compete in their division and they haven’t really amplified their team in a position to compete. The lack of any off-season adjustments have this Dolphin’s offense looking very pedestrian.
28. New York Giants (1-3): Hey, they’re 1 game out of first. If they could take down the Falcons this week, and the Eagles and Commanders fall, we have a 3 way tie for first. Crazy times to be in the NFC east.
29. Carolina Panthers (1-3): They’re 22 point underdogs this week and the season seems destined to another top 5 pick. JT must focus on protecting Young’s abilities for the rest of the cycle if they want to unleash season 5 JT down the stretch.
30. Tennessee Titans (0-4): Out of all the defeated teams this season, I think Tennessee has the best chance to turn the season around. Dlloyd proved that he can go on a hot streak last season and he’s going to have to do it again. Maybe the hall gets rolling next week against the 1-3 Jacksonville Jaguars.
31. Baltimore Ravens (0-4): You have to wonder how the Ravens would be sitting if they stayed and picked Caleb Williams and instead traded Lamar Jackson. The offense in Baltimore is atrocious and not in rhythm. It sounds like there’s going to be new coordinators for the Ravens in the off-season if this type of production continues to happen.
32. Cincinnati Bengals (0-4): Joe Burrow threw 4 interceptions and the Bengals give up 40 points this week. It’s a dejavu feeling in Cincinnati with the turnovers piling up each week. Are they fated for this destiny all cycle long? It would appear so.
Z’s Corner: Divisional Dissections
NFC West: Cardinals Finally Get Over The Hump, Rams Remain at The Top, 49ers in the Win Column
Rams: 3-0-0
Seahawks: 3-1-0
Cardinals: 3-1-0
49ers: 1-3-0
One of the league’s best divisions is competitive once again, with three teams all only having one loss. The Cardinals have swapped places with the 49ers, finally getting over the hump and beating the Seahawks in a close one in Seattle. The Seahawks
NFC South: Falcons Back to .500, Saints Continue Marching
Saints: 4-0-0
Buccaneers: 2-2-0
Falcons: 2-2-0
Panthers: 1-3-0
The Buccaneers and the Falcons refuse to give the Saints a timeshare of the division. It’ll be hard to convince me one would dethrone the Saints this season, or even cycle, but if we learned anything, never count out Nef and Cammy.
NFC East: Cowboy Free Fall
Eagles: 2-2-0
Commanders: 2-2-0
Giants: 1-3-0
Cowboys: 0-4-0
In a development no one predicted, the Philadelphia Eagles are leading the NFC East after week 1. There’s a serious chance for them to go 5-0 to start the season, but I’ll withhold the Eagles hype train. The Giants get their QB back in week 2 while the Commanders look to find their footing. Dallas is currently reeling, but they have a chance to get back into form with a tough Saints team awaiting in week 2.
NFC North: Lions Still Roaring, Packers Close Behind, Bears in Brazil
Lions: 4-0-0
Packers: 3-1-0
Vikings: 1-2-0
Bears: 1-3-0
The Packers dominated the Bears in rainy Chicago, much to the surprise of the league. Is this the year Mike reaches his potential? It’s too early to tell, but this was one h*** of a start. The Lions and Vikings also got back on track, picking up week 1 wins after tough season 1’s. The Bears will look to bounce back as they integrate Marvin Harrison Jr. into an explosive offense.
AFC West: Broncos Bested, Chiefs 4-0, Raiders Drop 2 In A Row, Chargers
Chiefs: 4-0-0
Chargers: 3-1-0
Raiders: 2-2-0
Broncos: 1-3-0
All four teams sit at 1-0 heading into week 2. With a big matchup between the Chargers and Raiders looming in week 2, this h*** division should begin to take shape.
AFC South: Texans In Control, Colts Resurgence?
Texans: 4-0-0
Colts: 2-2-0
Jaguars: 1-3-0
Titans: 0-4-0
In an otherwise uneventful week 1 for the AFC South, there have been brewings of a lag controversy in Buffalo! The Titans were out to a big lead until the Bills and some framerate issues took control of the game. Not much to be made out of this opening week. The Texans still reign supreme. We’ll see over the course of the season if anything changes.
AFC East: Patriots Start off Strong, Bills Rally to Victory
Patriots: 3-1-0
Bills: 3-1-0
Dolphins: 1-3-0
Jets: 1-3-0
Business as usual for the Patriots as they dismantle the Colts in Riley Leonard’s debut. The Jets and Dolphins got off to tough starts and will look to turn it around. The Bills win a game in which Josh Allen threw 5 Ints, not ideal, but they’ll take it.
AFC North: New King of the North Reigns Supreme
Browns: 4-0-0
Steelers: 1-3-0
Bengals: 0-4-0
Ravens: 0-4-0
KMFO returns and wins his first game, not to anyone’s surprise. The Steelers lose a tough one in KC. The Bengals played the Browns closer than the score indicated through 3 quarters, but their offense stalled out in the second half. The Ravens have a lot of work to do after getting dominated by the Eagles.
