We are only three weeks into the season so take these rankings with a whole shaker of salt. Some divisions have played out exactly as we expected — NFC North — while others have been a bit of a surprise — the other North division.
NFC North
We thought the NFC North would be the best division in football before the season started and it’s played out that way — of course, we also thought the AFC North would be good and as of now, that hasn’t happened. There isn’t a team with a losing record in the NFC North. The Packers offense hasn’t been great but their defense makes them a Super Bowl contender when the offense does round into form — and we have to expect it will with Aaron Rodgers. The Bears are still all defense, no offense, but that worked last year. The Vikings are running over everyone and if they keep the ball out of Kirk Cousins’ hands they may win some big games. The Lions are currently undefeated and should be 3-0 since they blew a huge lead to Arizona.
NFC West
The NFC West has a combined record of 8-3-1. That’s pretty good. The Rams offense hasn’t been great, but they’ve done enough to win their first three games. If they can round into form, they could be back where they were at the end of last year. Their defense has been very good this year. The Niners are a bit of a 3-0 surprise, but things are finally working out for Kyle Shanahan and crew. The Niners have a running game that Kyle’s dad Mike would be jealous of and their defense has been rounding into form. The Seahawks got their doors blown off at home last game and both wins were close, but a win is a win. The Cardinals are there. That’s about all we can say about them at this point.
AFC South
Somehow the AFC South ends up third after losing Andrew Luck before the season and Nick Foles in the first half of the first game. The Texans are who we thought they were. They need to protect Deshaun Watson if they want a real shot at doing anything in the playoffs. They’ve pulled out some close wins — and have one close loss. The Colts are so deep it doesn’t matter that Luck isn’t there this year. Jacksonville still has a great defense and Gardner Minshew is turning into a cult hero who can actually play ball. He’s done well in his short time starting. The Titans are still all defense no offense, but I don’t think anyone would count them out just yet.
AFC West
The AFC West is very similar to what it was last year. Two teams that could make the playoffs and do damage and two teams that absolutely won’t do that. The Chiefs are on some type of revenge tour from missing the Super Bowl last year and Patrick Mahomes may be better this year than he was last year — if that’s actually possible. The Chargers are doing Charger things by blowing games, but they always start off slow. The Broncos are stuck with Joe Flacco and arent going anywhere. The Raiders surprised people with their first game of the year and then went back to exactly what most people thought they were going to do.
NFC East
The NFC East looks top-heavy with the Cowboys and then everyone else. The Cowboys deserve the top spot because their offense has been a revelation this year. It’s time to pay Kellen Moore. The Eagles are just banged up. Once they get healthy, they should be in the playoff race. The Giants now have hope with Daniel Jones electric first game. The Redskins are not good. Everyone in that organization is on the hot seat.
AFC East
The AFC East has two 3-0 teams. The Bills are for real. They will be in the playoff race until the end of the season based on their defense alone. If Josh Allen can continue to play well, they may be dangerous come the winter. The Patriots put themselves at the center of controversy bringing in Antonio Brown, but things are returning back to normal. They are now a bit thin at wide receiver. The Jets haven’t lived up to expectations but that’s hard when their star quarterback gets mono. The Dolphins may not win a game this year.
AFC North
This ranking is for right now. The AFC North was supposed to be one of the best divisions in football. Things haven’t played out that way. The Ravens picked up where they left off last year. The Browns have been extremely disappointing and haven’t lived up to their preseason hype. The Steelers could be looking at another year where they miss the playoffs unless Mason Rudolph surprises some people. The Bengals should have blown things up going into this year. Now they are the same team but still not good enough to go .500.
NFC South
Again, this is ranking the divisions now. The NFC South doesn’t have much going for it. The Saints are the dominant team in the division but Teddy Bridgewater limits the offense a bit. The Falcons are an enigma. They are a good team with a deep roster that can’t win games they should win. The Panthers are without Cam Newton for a while. The Bucs are doing Buc things blowing games they should win and Jameis Winston still has turnover issues.
