NFL: First Quarter Review
Over-reacting to football... an American past-time.
Contenders
Buffalo Bills - I’m not the first person to say this, but Josh Allen has easily raised the bar for the second best QB in the NFL. Behind Mahomes, it’s him and then everyone else miles below. Only question is can they finally get over that Taylor Swift-sized hump he’s looking up to himself.
Houston Texans - This is my least confident pick on this list of 5. This team has been spotty to say the least. They’ve beaten up on some of the worst teams in the NFL and lost to the one contender they’ve faced. Time to see if they have what it takes when their quality opponents come up later in these next few weeks.
Kansas City Chiefs - Until further notice, we cannot count this team out for obvious reasons. There is nothing left to say unless a few losses start piling up on them… but would you take the over or under on that?
Minnesota Vikings - I think we’re all asking ourselves the same question watching the “people eaters”... “Is this Darnold guy legit?” Same as above, until further notice I have to say, “yes.” Jefferson looks as fresh as ever and Aaron Jones looks 23 again. If I’m a Vikings fan, I’m just worried how long this can last.
Detroit Lions - Okay, hear me out. If I had to put money on a 3-1 team right now to make it to the Super Bowl… my money would be in Michigan. That’s saying something, since I have the Bills two spots above on my list. Could it be nostalgia for last year? Could it be my desire for Detroit to win the ‘chip? Could I just be resonating with the blue collar town as a Browns fan? To all of those… maybe. I just have a good feeling when I watch this team… and it’s my list.
Pretenders
New York Jets - Aaron Rodgers is not who he was 5 years ago… without that… this team is in big trouble. Look for them to drop a few games here in the coming weeks and come back down to reality.
Pittsburgh Steelers - Another bet I’d take? The Ravens to win the AFC North. I’d take that bet faster than you’d let me probably. Mike Tomlin coaches winning seasons… it’s in his blood. We should be surprised that this team is winning games. I do think they may make a wild-card spot, but I don’t think they’re in the hunt for any meaningful deep run this year.
Washington Commanders - Good news? This is a sign of things to come. Jayden Daniels is making Caleb Williams look like a chump right now… and I wouldn’t have guessed I’d see that a month or two ago. He’s not only picking up on the game faster and making great decisions, but the confidence that has translated to should be scary for those planning their futures in the NFC East. A deep run this year is not in the cards… but maybe in years to come? Maybe. Winning their division would be a great start.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Another team that I would not be surprised if they won their division that I can’t see as a true contender. If you keep reading, you’ll see that I’m high on the Saints to potentially bounce back and score some key victories in these coming weeks. That and Andy Dalton cooking up something special in Carolina may make this NFC South a bloodbath. A bunch of .500 teams means whoever squeaks by with the division title is going to the playoffs. I can’t see it being the Buccaneers
Seattle Seahawks - Another potential divisional bloodbath brewing… are you really taking the Seahawks and Geno Smith to take you to the promised land? What about that defense? Same as above, a bunch of teams struggling to finish first in the division means nobody makes it out as the wild-card. I’d bet on the 49ers before I’d take Seattle.
Maybe Next Year
Los Angeles Chargers - Justin Herbert seems to have lost a step and I can’t see them getting past the Chiefs anytime soon. I’m not saying it’s time to move on from the guy, but help is going to be needed to dethrone the current kings.
New England Patriots - I can’t imagine this team getting a playoff berth this year. The Bills look really good and I can’t imagine the Patriots squeaking into one of the wild-card spots with the record they’re going to have. They’ll look to the rest of this year to continue to try to solve their QB questions.
Cincinnati Bengals - Have you been watching the NFL this week and seen that 1-3 stat? It’s a legit metric. Statistically speaking, being 1-3 is one of the first indicators your season is over. The last team to make the playoffs after being 1-3 was the 2008 Vikings. Don’t bet on the Bengals being the next. It’s crazy that a potential contender at the start of this season is on their way down the ladder, but I do think the future is still bright for Burrow and his “Who ‘Dey” clan.
Indianapolis Colts - The Colts aren’t going to make the playoffs this year… but did you think they would? They’re in this category because I think they’re in the process of getting ready to see a lot of really good football from this team. Growth is good. If I’m a Colts fan, I like what I’ve seen recently. I think there is potential for the future
Tennessee Titans - This Titans team has only one win that came against the worst performance of any team I have seen in the Miami Dolphins. There is no reason they would be 1-3 in any circumstance… get ready for a steep decline coming soon.
Denver Broncos - A close win against the Jets makes their 2-2 look better than it is. I not only don’t have faith in Bo Nix, but I don’t have faith in Sean Payton to develop Bo Nix. Can’t imagine an above .500 finish.
Philadelphia Eagles - I would’ve put this team in the “We May Have a Problem” category, but I’m not quite there yet. I don’t think that anyone realized how valuable Kelce was on the line last year and I don’t think anyone realized how much worse this team got on both sides of the ball. I don’t see the same spark as last year… and with A.J. Brown continuing to be out and more injuries coming week after week, I’m afraid this may be the beginning of a 2nd or 3rd place divisional finish for the birds.
Chicago Bears - I’m not going to panic… even though I want to. Caleb doesn’t look very good, but it’s year one. We should’ve known they were never true players in this division. Get this guy some help and keep building this team for the future.
Atlanta Falcons - Nothing special on either side of the ball happening on this team. Good old fashion middle of the road football being played… and I think around .500 is where they’ll be… so that makes sense.
Arizona Cardinals - Kind of a shame actually, because Kyler doesn’t look terrible in most situations I’ve seen. Harrison Jr.’s future also seems to be bright. This just isn’t the year they put it all together though.
Los Angeles Rams - Injuries, injuries, injuries. All the teams have them, but their studs are all down. This team lost to the Bears… yikes. They’re not playing well and it’s sad to see one of the most underrated quarterbacks of my generation slowly degrade in LA. I think if they can keep healthy, time is on their side though. They will be back again in seasons to come.
Don’t Burn Your Jerseys Yet
Baltimore Ravens - Baltimore is my personal favorite to take the AFC North. I wouldn’t be super worried about the Steelers if I was a Ravens fan. To me, I’d look for this team to start clicking pretty soon and pick up some easy in-division W’s.
Dallas Cowboys - The Cowboys are in this category because they’re in 2nd right now behind the Commanders. I just can’t imagine hitting the panic button right now though. I’m historically a Dak hater, but I actually think he is looking good this year. Which is awesome, because they’re going to need him to keep performing so that when the Commanders fall off (and I think they will) they’ll be there to win the division in this weaker set of 4.
Green Bay Packers - Jordan Love is key to all this. We all know that. If he can come back and continue to stay healthy, they’ll be in a good spot to make the playoffs. The Vikings are looking like they may go on an absolute tear this season. If that’s the case, the Packers are going to need to keep battling with confidence to make sure they can either snag a wild-card spot or be around when the Vikings potentially fall off.
New Orleans Saints - This is a team that has put up points in past weeks, but they’ve looked flat recently. I never count teams out that can drop 30+ on teams that look really good against other teams around the league. It’s never a coincidence. If they can keep clicking on offense at even a mildly efficient, they will continue to win games and get out of their slump.
San Francisco 49ers - I’m not scared if I’m a 49ers fan. I’ve already said that the Seahawks aren’t legit and for obvious reasons I favor the 49ers to jump at the opportunity to win this division for a playoff spot
Carolina Panthers - Ok, hear me out. I’m not saying this team is a Super Bowl contender. I’m not even anywhere close to saying anything in that realm. I’m just not quite sold on an Andy Dalton led team being bad idea just yet. They seem to be rolling right along and they are in the most unpredictable division. If they can keep doing things right, they may squeak past a few teams in the next few weeks.
We May Have a Problem
Miami Dolphins - Without Tua, this team looks absolutely abysmal. Last week, this team also racked up 10 penalties for almost 100 yards. It’s incredible how different they look with the lack of confidence. If this is a sign of things to come, the Dolphins are in trouble. Tua shouldn’t come back, but if he does it will obviously help their chances. If he doesn’t though, this team is about to start having to worry about finding that next franchise QB after losing a phenomenal one to no fault of their own.
Cleveland Browns - The Watson trade is a mess. We all know that from afar, but what does this mean for the Browns in the future? Next year’s draft is the last first round pick owed to the Texans and it’s going to be high again. It’s going to sting, but the Browns can get past this if they don’t get wrapped up in the cost they’ve already sunk into this absolute disaster. Unlike Miami, no free agents are going to come to Cleveland. They’re going to have to go through the draft again. Chubb may come back healthy, but maybe he doesn’t? Garrett’s prime is being wasted? Njoku is a massive question mark. I’m worried about the future.
Jacksonville Jaguars - We’re getting dangerously close to asking ourselves when we’re pulling the plug on Lawrence. While I don’t think it’s going to be this season, I’m starting to see the writing on the wall. If we just follow the logic for a few seconds that Trevor is as bad as he’s been for the past few seasons, I can’t find anything else to be excited about if I’m a Jacksonville fan.
New York Giants - At times, Daniel Jones looks like he may be the worst QB in football. At other times, he looks like he may be a franchise QB. It’s almost like he is Eli Manning. Malik Nabers is a bright spot, but other than that I can’t find much I like about this team. I can’t possibly think this team will be good again anytime soon.
