The calendar has turned, and October means spooky season is upon us. And the NFL is not immune. There may be nothing more spooky and alarming than the Baltimore Ravens beginning the season with a 1-3 record…and Lamar Jackson potentially on the shelf. If he is out for any significant amount of time, it will be even harder for them to dig out of the hole they’ve buried for themselves.
The league is down to two unbeaten teams, the two top-ranked teams in the league. And down to three 0-4 teams, the bottom three ranked teams on this list. And at the pseudo quarterpole of the season, trends are definitely forming, and the Haves or separating themselves from the Have Nots.
Here is this week’s list:
- Philadelphia Eagles: I will continue to say it each week regarding the Eagles until someone can beat them. To Be The Man, You Have to Beat The Man.
- Buffalo Bills: The Bills are the only undefeated team besides the Eagles. They may have a sneaky tough matchup this week against the suddenly resurgent New England Patriots.
- Detroit Lions: Although the rest of the division is respectable, it is starting to feel like the NFC North goes through Detroit.
- Kansas City Chiefs: With six of the top 10 teams losing, and the Packers tying the Cowboys in Dallas, the road was clear for the Chiefs to catapult back into the top five.
- Los Angeles Rams: The NFC West has three teams in the top 10, and the Rams are the top of the heap at the moment.
- Los Angeles Chargers: It will be interesting to see how the Chargers bounce back from their first loss of the season. In the past, they haven’t always risen to the challenge. They are back home this week in an interesting matchup against the Commanders.
- San Francisco 49ers: The Niners were 2-0 under Mac Jones and lost this past week, with Brock Purdy back at QB. They have a short week, facing the Rams in Los Angeles. This feels like a Rams victory.
- Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks are the third NFC West team in the top 10, with all three teams sitting at 3-1. To maintain a share of first place, they’ll have to defeat the always tough Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- Indianapolis Colts: The Colts played tough on the road against the Rams this week, but a moronic fumble by Adonai Mitchell, as he was heading into the endzone, could have very well cost them the game.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs played the defending champs tough for 60 minutes and showed tremendous heart. They are a tough out for whoever they face…this week, they head to Seattle. Whoever loses will be knocked out of the top 10.
- Denver Broncos: Sometimes it’s not who you play, but when you play them. If the Broncos faced the Bengals in week one or two, the result may have been different. But without Joe Burrow, the Bengals are just not the Bengals.
- Green Bay Packers: A tie against the Cowboys has dropped the Packers out of the top 10. It may be a bit harsh and extreme, but this team should be better than 2-1-1…especially with the loss coming against the Cleveland Browns.
- Washington Commanders: The Commanders, who appeared to be the only team to possibly compete against the Eagles in the NFC EAST, now sit at 2-2 and find themselves two games behind the defending champs. At this point, they have to worry about just making the playoffs.
- Baltimore Ravens: A few weeks ago, I mentioned that at times it seems impossible for any team to defeat the Ravens. At this point, it feels impossible for any team to lose to them. They were even in their game this week against the Chiefs. And if Lamar Jackson is out, Houston could go into Baltimore and leave with a win. At this point, even with Jackson, they may.
- Pittsburgh Steelers: Don’t look now, but HC Mike Tomlin is at it again. And at least for one week, Aaron Rodgers looked like Aaron Rodgers. They are now 3-1 and along in first place in the AFC North. They have a two-game lead over the Ravens, and Burrow is basically out for the season in Cincy. Could the Steelers actually win this division?
- Jacksonville Jaguars: This may be a tad low for the 3-1 Jaguars, but sometimes a team is punished for their past indiscretions. They face the Chiefs this week, in Jacksonville, on Monday Night Football. If they can prevail, they will be flirting with the top 10.
- Minnesota Vikings: It’s tough enough to win in this league, handing the keys to the car over to a rookie QB. It’s tougher when that rookie goes down and the keys go to Carson Wentz. The Vikings looked overmatched against the Steelers in Dublin on Sunday Morning.
- Houston Texans: The Texans finally got off the deck and are now 1-3. But if they can go to 2-3 this week, it will be impressive. They face off against a wounded and motivated Ravens team in Baltimore.
- Arizona Cardinals: I still want to get on the bandwagon, but I just can’t. Kyler Murray has been in the league long enough. He is what he is, a serviceable QB that shows flashes, and plays just good enough to lose…meaning he’s never bad enough to be benched, but his teams just find ways to lose.
- Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams still wasn’t great, but the Bears found a way to win, defeating the Raiders by a point. Games like this can often shake the cobwebs and build momentum. They have a bye this week and then head to Washington to play the Commanders.
- Cincinnati Bengals: Does anyone have Jameis Winston’s phone number? The Bengals desperately need his services.
- Dallas Cowboys: It was the most exciting tie you’ll ever see, but as the saying goes…a tie is like kissing your sister. The fact remains, after four weeks, the Cowboys only have one victory.
- New England Patriots: The Patriots have some wind in their sails. They are 2-2, and have looked great at times. They’ve also looked awful at times. They have a barometer game this week, on Sunday Night Football, heading to Buffalo against the Bills. The Bills didn’t look great against the Saints, and they could be ripe to be taken. Or, they may have just been looking ahead and end up destroying the Pats. This game is intriguing on many levels, and why we keep watching.
- Atlanta Falcons: Everything said about the Pats can be said about the Falcons. They are 2-2, and have looked great at times, and awful at other times. They have a young QB, the same as the Pats. It will be interesting to see how these two teams handle their growing pains the rest of the year.
- Las Vegas Raiders: Even with Maxx Crosby, this team’s defense just isn’t good enough, and that will prove to be their downfall. On the positive side, Ashton Jeanty is looking exactly like what he was projected to be. He had his first 100-yard game as a pro, gaining 138 yards. on 21 carries.
- Carolina Panthers: What a disappointing start the year it’s been for the Panthers. After the finish they had last year, with the rejuvenated Bryce Young, it seemed like that momentum would carry over into this season. It hasn’t, they look like one of the worst teams in the league…giving up a 40 burger to the offensively challenged Patriots.
- New York Giants: It felt like Brian Daboll would be the first to go, but rookie QB Jaxson Dart may have saved his job, and saved football in The Big Apple for the 2025 season.
- Miami Dolphins: It felt the Dolphins would win their first game this week, at home against the Jets. They had been showing improvement each week leading up to this game. But the loss of Tyreek Hill for the year will prove to be a devastating loss for the Dolphins.
- Cleveland Browns: I have no idea how this team defeated the Green Bay Packers…oh wait, never mind, it’s because I desperately needed the Packers to win that game. Keven Stephanic could be the first coach to get a pink slip this year.
- New York Jets: I was wrong about this team heading into the year. I liked the head coach, and I’ve always been a fan of Josh Fields. I liked their RB tandem, and I love Garrett Wilson. This is very disappointing.
- Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward is just not the guy. He is a replica of Bryce Young…and we see how that has gone.
- New Orleans Saints: It’s tough to figure this team out…they are awful, but they do show heart. They played the Bills tougher than most teams thought they could this past week.