Ranking the 8 NFL Divisions
8. NFC East:
The worst division in football is the NFC east and its not even close. The Giants have sunken down to the Jets level of incompetence, and with Saquon out for the year they are guaranteed to be in the running for the top draft pick. Washington’s front 7 is young and incredibly talented, but they don’t have much else going for them. The Eagles have played so horribly to start the season, they were lucky to sneak away with a win against Cincinnati. Carson Wentz does not look like the same player. And last but not least, The Cowboys are leading the division at 1-2. Their two losses are against good NFC teams in the Seahawks and Rams, but that is the problem. That’s why this division is last. The best team in the division right now is clearly Dallas, but how many teams in the NFC alone look better than Dallas? 5? 6? That’s not where you want to be.
7. AFC East:
As always, the bottom of the AFC east is really bad. Mostly dragged down by the putrid New York football Jets who are easily the worst team in the league. Sam Darnold is starting to show serious digression, which feels like a sign from above to Jets fans that their team is really never going to be good, ever. But is there any player that could succeed with his weapons and his offensive line? His main threat on the perimeter is a sixth rounder named Braxton Berrios who’s 5’9. On top of all that, i’m pretty sure Adam Gase lost that locker room a year ago, which begs the question - why is he still the coach. The whole thing is a mess. Dolphins are actually good in comparison to them. But in the first two weeks Miami proved yet again that they are not on the same level as New England or Buffalo. Bringing over Kyle Van Noy from the Patriots was a nice move for a Dolphins defense that also has 2 good corners in Byron Jones and Xavien Howard. This team is a super young team except at quarterback where Ryan Fitzpatrick does what he is prone to do. 2 games with multiple scores, and one game with a trifecta of picks. The Bills are the real deal. Josh Allen is the real deal. I doubted and hated and he has completely proven me wrong. There are times where he lets balls get away from him, sometimes sailing wide open receivers. He could do without those. But besides a couple of those a game, the dude is a baller. He’s elusive in and out of the pocket, he’s hard to bring down, and he has a huge arm. Combine that talent with an excellent coaching staff and a top 3 defense in the NFL, and you’re a force to be reckoned with. The Pats have shocked me. I didn’t think they were going to be bad, but I did not imagine their offense to be firing on all cylinders like this. Cam Newton has been extremely impressive in that offense. The Bills are 3-0, but i’m not ready to anoint them better than the Patriots until they beat them. They play each other November 1 in Orchard Park.
6. AFC South:
In probably the most competitive division in football, there’s some good along with some flashes of mediocre. The 0-3 Texans have not been impressive, but they’ve also played 3 elite teams. Plus, you have to imagine that a Deshaun Watson lead team is eventually going to pull out some W’s. How far can he take this team that is lacking in so many other areas? Jacksonville is a team that has already out-preformed most people’s expectations of them, and they’re 1-2. After a nice rookie campaign, and 2 strong performances to start the season, Gardner Minshew II sort of came back down to earth after Thursday nights blunder against the Dolphins. For a team that was completely stripped down of all its core pieces in the offseason, the Jags play really hard. But soon I think they will realize effort isn’t enough in the NFL when your players are outmatched. The Colts just blew out a pair of winless teams in the Vikings and the Jets, and they looked pretty good doing it. Their team has a lot of strong points: offensive line, running game, head coach, GM. Those first two are key to their success this year because of who is under center. Phillip Rivers checks 3 separate boxes that you don’t want to check as a quarterback - old, immobile, mistake prone - yet the Colts offensive line and running game allows him to succeed in that system. Indianapolis will go as far as Rivers takes them. On a side note, their front 7 is starting to look like a good unit as well. Tennesse might have doubters for whatever reason, but they just keep winning. Even after falling down to Minnesota, Ryan Tannehill and that offense soared back into it. They’re a complete football team with good players in several key spots, and they play their ass off for Mike Vrabel.
5. NFC North:
Some might find this too low of a spot for the frozen tundra franchises, especially considering they are the only division with two undefeated teams. I happen to think the Bears are a lot of smoke and mirrors, similar to how they were in 2018. The difference? First round draft - let’s just say it - BUST Mitchell Trubisky has been replaced with journeyman Nick Foles. While it’s too early to determine how much better this move makes them, they certainly benefited from it in Atlanta. Foles through 3 second half touchdowns in route to an overtime victory against the Falcons, making the Bears 3-0 on the season. Chicago’s hot start is a coaching story more than anything else. Matt Nagy has been an elite coach working with mediocre quarterback play for a few years now, and he wants those days to be over. On the other side of Lake Michigan, the Packers look like the class of the NFC through 3 games. Aaron Rogers is dialed in and playing lights out, as he and 2nd year head coach Matt LaFleur look to take the final step from contenders to champions. The Lions were on the verge of being winless before pulling out an impressive victory against the Cardinals, intercepting Kyler Murray 3 times. Lastly, we have the Vikings, who were just starting to look competent Sunday before they blew their lead and lost by 1 to Tennessee. The playoff team who stunned New Orleans last year is now 0-3
4. NFC South:
This division still passes off as good, almost entirely due to the strength of its 2 best teams - Tampa Bay and New Orleans. The Saints have fallen to 1-2, but its way too early to write Drew Brees and Sean Payton off. Alvin Kamara is playing as good as any runningback in the league, and when all-pro receiver Michael Thomas returns, their offense should get back on track. The Saints just have to focus on not falling into a whole while they wait out Thomas’s injury. Meanwhile, Tompa Bay sits a top of the division at 2-1, with their only loss coming to New Orleans in week 1. After back to back strong performances against divisional foe Carolina and the Broncos, the Brady and the Bucs offense seems to be finding its groove. The Panthers avoided going 0-3 by holding the Chargers and rookie QB Justin Herbert to only 16 points in Los Angeles. They clearly are in the midst of a rebuild with first year head coach Matt Rhule, first year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, and a patchwork roster, but they aren’t the worst 3rd place team in the league. The Atlanta falcons are an absolute joke. There’s not much else to say. The choke jobs we’ve seen occur over the last two games were embarrassing to watch. If I was owner Arthur Blank, I would fire head coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff before halloween. If he hasn’t already made calls to interview replacements, he should get on that.
3. AFC West:
The Chiefs are currently the best team in the NFL, and they have pretty decent teams in their division. The Raiders first year in Las Vegas got off to a good start with a 2-0 record and an offense with a ton of firepower. The Chargers are up to their usual antics of playing in extremely close games and not always coming out victorious, but they definitely have talent everywhere, including the quarterback position with young signal-caller Justin Herbert. Denver is one of the teams who has suffered several brutal injuries at key spots, and now the pre-season dark horse playoff pick is an ugly 0-3. Good thing they play the Jets next.
2. AFC North:
This division looks really good. Baltimore might be a step below Kansas City, but they are still the class of the AFC. One of the only true rivalries in the NFL today appears to be slightly more evenly matched than we may have suspected, as the Steelers rally off 3 wins to start the season. The clear-cut 3rd best team is Cleveland, and while their dysfunction is often rightly criticized, they undoubtedly have talent all over the field. Their run game is really where they excel the most, and Myles Garrett is a top 3 pass rusher in the NFL. The last place team is Cincinnati, and they are a missed field goal away from being 1-1-1. Joe Burrow has already begun to show flashes of the great player he was in college, but their offensive line is a huge problem.
NFC West:
Coming into week 3 the NFC west had a combined 7-1 record, with the 49ers only loss coming to the division rival Cardinals. Both Arizona and Los Angeles lost on Sunday, leaving them each at 2-1. The 3 losses for the NFC west is still the lowest of any division in football. While it’s still early, I think it’s evident that all 4 of these squads will be competing for the playoffs in December.
