The NFL season has been an absolute roller coaster ride so far. With COVID-19 outbreaks and surprising results, fans have been on the edge of their seats this year.
But who are the great teams, the good teams, the okay teams, the bad teams, and the putrid teams? Well, we’re here to let you know who you should be watching on Sundays.
The Great Teams
Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs
We’re gonna keep this list nice and short. Don’t see your favourite undefeated team here? Too bad. It’s not that those teams aren’t good teams, they clearly are, but these three teams are clear cut Super Bowl favourites.
Seattle Seahawks – Russel Wilson is looking better than ever through five weeks of the season. The Hawks sit with a record of 5-0, and while their defence is a little bit suspect, that offence has been scoring points like it is no tomorrow. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett have been on fire and the Seahawks have been dominating games so far this season.
Green Bay Packers – Everyone knew that Aaron Rodgers was going to have a fire lit under his seat after the Packers picked Jordan Love in the first round of the draft, but how many people really expected this? The Pack has seen Aaron Jones become an elite running back right in front of their eyes. The defence is much better than years previous and Aaron Rodgers has some weapons. The Packers are for real.
Kansas City Chiefs – People will look at the games against the Patriots and the Raiders and say the Chiefs are no longer among the league’s elite, but those people would be wrong. They have taken a step back in the past few weeks, but with names like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, it’s only a matter of time before they find it again.
The Good Teams
Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans
Los Angeles Rams – The Rams are sitting with a record of 4-1 right now with that loss coming against one of the teams in the good category, the Buffalo Bills. This Rams team has weapons all over the field for Jared Goff and has great players all over the field on defence. They still have some work to do, but this team could once again be players in the NFL playoffs.
Chicago Bears – Who would have thought that the Bears would be 4-1 right now coming off a win against the Tom Brady led Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Nick Foles is already starting at QB for the Bears and you need to wonder when the luck might run out for this team, but for now, they have shown to be a good football team through five weeks of the season.
Buffalo Bills – Just like the Rams, the Bills only loss of the season comes against a team in this category with the Tennessee Titans. Sure, that game was ugly, but the Bills have shown to be a much better offence this season. The question now becomes what happens with the defence. If they want to reach the elite category, the defence is going to need to be better.
RELATED: THE BILLS LOSS TO THE TITANS ISN’T THE END OF THE WORLD.
Pittsburgh Steelers – I can already hear Steelers fans saying they should be in the elite tier, but they aren’t there just yet. The Steelers’ defence has been good this season and the offence is clicking. Chase Claypool has also been doing Canada proud. There is a chance the Steelers could win the division.
Baltimore Ravens – This Ravens team could be a lot better. Their only loss has come at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, but overall, they haven’t looked as good as they did last season. Maybe Lamar Jackson just needs to use his legs a little bit more.
Cleveland Browns – Not seeing the Browns in the putrid tier is a little bit surprising, but it’s a good thing. After a poor showing in week one, the Browns have come out hot for their last four games. They too sit at 4-1 and look poised to shake the thoughts about Browns teams past. The NFC North race is going to be one to watch.
Tennessee Titans – The Titans are one hell of a football team. Ryan Tannehill has been really good for the Titans since Mariota was benched last season. They have the defence and they have the horses to keep up with the NFL’s elite, but it would have been nice to see them play the Steelers last week. Please keep COVID-19 under control now.
The Okay Teams
Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, Indianapolis Colts
Arizona Cardinals – The Cardinals started the season hot with back to back wins, but since then, they have taken losses to the Detroit Lions and the Carolina Panthers. Who are the real Cardinals? Is it that team where Kyler Murray is making dudes look like high schoolers or are they the middle of the pack team like I have them here? For their sake, you really hope they can sort things out.
New Orleans Saints – This is kind of shocking. The Saints were hyped up to be one of the best teams in the NFL alongside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but so far, that has been a farce. Losing to the Las Vegas Raiders opened many eyes to the rough edges of the Saints. Drew Brees doesn’t have it like he used to. The Saints have a lot to overcome before we can consider them Super Bowl contenders.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Hello, Mr. Brady. Have you begun to see that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side? The Bucs have all of the talent in the world, and to call them anything less than a disappointment so far would be a lie. There is far too much talent on this team for them to continue playing like they did against the Chicago Bears. Sort things out, please.
RELATED: WILL JOSH ROSEN EVER COME TO THE CFL?
Carolina Panthers – Somehow, the Panthers have been better while without Cristian McCaffery. Teddy Bridgewater is a good quarterback and it’s time to start treating him as such. This probably isn’t sustainable for the Panthers, but look where they are at right now. Tied with the Saints and the Buccaneers? They will take that.
Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboys are on the brink of being put into the bad teams category, but they have the talent to be a solid team. Losing Dak Prescott is going to be a challenge for them, but Andy Dalton is also a good quarterback. If you had to pick from the backups around the league, Dalton would likely be in the top 5.
New England Patriots – Edging their way closer to being one of the good teams again, the Patriots have shown that they aren’t done yet. Cam Newton has looked like his old self and the Pats have a 2-2 record after not playing in week five thanks to another COVID-19 outbreak. Please, again, get this under control.
Miami Dolphins – The Dolphins are a little better than I had expected. They aren’t amazing by any standard, but they have played the Bills and Seahawks close and beat the defending NFC champions, the San Francisco 49ers. They won’t be winning the Super Bowl, but if they are on your schedule, you better be ready for a brawl.
Las Vegas Raiders – The Raiders have been really good at times and bad at others. Beating the Saints and Chiefs showed how good they could be, but they didn’t look good in their losses to the Bills and the Patriots. They have their strengths, they have their weaknesses. We will soon know who the real Raiders team is.
Indianapolis Colts – The Colts had higher expectations for this season coming into things. Being 3-2 at this juncture of the season isn’t the worst thing ever, but it could be better. They are going to need to be better if they want to make the playoffs and actually have a chance at getting Old Man Rivers his first ring.
The Bad Teams
Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers
Houston Texans – The Texans have now fired the man who conceived the terrible Hopkins for Johnson trade. Maybe this will be the turning point for the Texans. You still have Deshaun Watson, so please don’t screw that up.
Jacksonville Jaguars – The Jags really don’t have too much to work with. Gardner Minshew is a decent QB, but I’m not sure that he will take them to the promise land. There is still plenty of work to be done, but you can’t deny that they have looked good at times. This team is probably lucky to avoid the terrible teams tier.
Denver Broncos – It would have been nice to see the Broncos at full health this season. When you lose Von Miller, it is going to be tough to win games. They sit 1-3 and it could be worse, but if they were healthy, they could actually be a solid football team.
Cincinnati Bengals – The Bengals have their QB. That’s about all we know so far. This team isn’t really that much better than last year apart from that. There could be something special brewing in Bengal land in the next few years, but as of right now, they are hovering just over the terrible teams tier.
Detroit Lions – It’s the Lions. The lions need a full-blown rebuild. Matt Stafford should be moved on from season’s end and they need to completely blow this thing up. This Lions team has never even been close.
San Francisco 49ers – For a team that looked really good last season, the 49ers look bad. Sure, you can say that injuries are to blame, but Jimmy Garroppolo was just benched because he couldn’t throw the football against the Dolphins. That isn’t good. If you want to get back to the Super Bowl, things need to get better, and now.
The Terrible Teams
Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Football Team, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings
Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons have blown leads as a hobby. That’s all I’m going to say.
Philadelphia Eagles – I don’t care that you have injuries all over the place. Nothing that the Eagles have done has been promising so far. Carson Wentz might still be a good QB, but that doesn’t mean this team is good.
Washington Football Team – You’re better than last year, but you still aren’t good. You won week 1, but games haven’t really been close since. Now you have destroyed the young QB that you drafted in the first round just a couple of years ago in Dwayne Haskins. At least Alex Smith is back to playing football.
New York Giants – You are better than the Jets. That’s about all the good I can say. Losing Saquon Barkley for the season doesn’t help. Daniel Jones doesn’t look that good and no one really knows where he is going to be.
Minnesota Vikings – Maybe trading Diggs wasn’t the best thing to do. The Vikings had something going in the second half of last season and now that is gone. How quickly can this change? Probably quickly, but I don’t see it coming.
The New York Jets
The New York Jets get their own tier. An absolute embarrassment on and off the football field. The prized running back Le’veon Bell that was signed a few years ago, cut. The number three overall pick, Sam Darnold, destroyed. The Jets have no hope of being good any time soon. An absolute shame that we had to watch this football team on Thursday night against the Broncos a few weeks ago.