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By Kevin Cahill ('23)
This article DOES NOT include data from Week 3 of the NFL.
It’s officially the best time of the year. Forget Christmas, forget prom, and forget summer vacation, because the greatest season of the year has just kicked off. If you couldn’t already tell by the title, I’m talking about the NFL season, of course.
Football is, at least in my opinion, the best sport to watch on TV. Most people would agree with me too, as American football racks up over 38% of all sports watched in the US. But for football to be popular, the games have to be riveting. And without a doubt, the first few games of the 2022-2023 season have not failed in delivering entertainment. Let’s go over how each team has performed in these exciting games, separating them by division. We will start with the East division of the American Football Conference (AFC East).
The AFC East is shaping up to be one of the best divisions this season. In particular, the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins seem to be 2 of the best teams in the league, simply because of their iconic players: Josh Allen (widely considered to be the best quarterback this year) and Stefon Diggs for the Bills, and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle for the Dolphins. Also in the AFC East are the Patriots, a team still trying to find their footing after losing their star players a few years ago. And finally, we have the Jets, a young team in their rebuilding phase. While they probably rank at the bottom in this division right now, I think they could still be a sneaky underdog in the future.
The Buffalo Bills
Photo courtesy of The Guardian
The Miami Dolphins
Photo courtesy of Fan Duel
Patrick Mahomes
Photo courtesy of Arrowhead Pride
Moving on to the AFC West, we have another really solid set of teams. Leading this division are the Kansas City Chiefs, with Patrick Mahomes and his offense has scored over 70 points in their two games. Not too far behind are the Chargers and the Raiders, two rivals from last season who are off to good starts. The Chargers have star quarterback Justin Herbert and an elite wide receiver duo in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, while the Raiders have a solid quarterback in Derek Carr and a prime wide receiver target in Davante Adams. Although their defenses and running backs could use some work. And finally, we have the Denver Broncos, a team struggling to adapt to their new quarterback, Russell Wilson.
Now it’s time for the AFC North, filled with a set of teams that fall on the lower rank. Most of them are around the same quality of play so far. To be more specific, the Steelers, Ravens, and Browns are all 1-1 and struggling on defense. The Steelers, on one hand, are missing their iconic defender T.J. Watt (who’s out with a torn pectoral muscle), while the Ravens and Browns, on the other hand, just can’t seem to hold a lead in the fourth quarter. Regardless, each team seems to be doing fine on offense, especially with players like Najee Harris, Lamar Jackson, and Nick Chubb stepping up. The odd ones out of this division are the Cincinnati Bengals, who are off to a disappointing start to a season. After making it to the Super Bowl last year, high hopes surged for the Bengals, however, they seem to fall short as they struggle to get a win. We can only hope that they will flip the script later in the season.
And finally, the last division in the American Football Conference is the AFC South. Honestly, this division is looking pretty bad in the grand scheme of things. The Jaguars, who are 1-1, are the top team only because they beat the Colts— another team in the division. Performing similarly were the Texans who lost to the Broncos and tied the Colts in a stalemate game. And finally, the Titans got off to just an awful start, going 0-2 with losses against the Giants and the Bills. A lot of these failures are due to bad performances from players in key positions. None of these teams have a “staple quarterback” as other teams do, and none of their running backs are living up to their potential either. In particular, players such as Jonathan Taylor and Derrick Henry (two of the highest-rated running backs) leave fans disappointed with their lack of yards and touchdowns.
The Jaguars
Photo courtesy of SBNation.com
The Philadelphia Eagles
Photo courtesy of With the First Pick
The National Football Conference (NFC) is a completely different story. The NFC East in particular has some surprisingly great teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles, led by breakout quarterback Jalen Hurts. Another surprise team is the New York Giants, who won their first two games for the first time since 2016. Next up is the Washington Commanders, who are doing pretty good all things considered. Carson Wentz and Antonio Gibson are shaping up to be a good QB/RB duo, and Logan Thomas is a great tight end too. And finally, there are the Dallas Cowboys who can only be described right now as “broken”. Dak Prescott is injured, Ezekiel Elliott is underperforming, CeeDee Lamb is struggling, and Dalton Schultz is hurt as well. They will need time to rebuild and get back to full strength.
The NFC West is probably the most balanced of all the divisions. With all four teams gaining a record of 1-1 and having scored a similar number of points. With that being said, the teams are far from equal in skill. The 49ers, after making a pretty good Super Bowl run last year, seem to be struggling against lower-level teams. The Rams, the reigning Super Bowl champs, are also falling short as they face some troubles, despite having the best wide receiver in the league in Cooper Kupp. The Cardinals are an especially interesting team. They have a good QB in Kyler Murray and a good RB in James Connor, yet they can’t seem to dominate any teams they come across. Last and definitely least are the Seattle Seahawks, a team that simply does not possess any good players to rely on for victory.
Now on to the dreaded NFC North. This is another case where all of the teams have a 1-1 record, however, the reasons for that are drastically different. The Minnesota Vikings have Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, and Justin Jefferson (an elite QB/RB/WR trio), however, they have yet to prove themselves this season. The Green Bay Packers seem to be moving away from throwing the ball and are starting to rely on their rushing game a lot more, maybe too much. The Lions, a team infamously known for their 0-9 record in the middle of last year’s season, is looking up a little bit. They have a good RB in D’Andre Swift and a good WR in Amon-Ra St. Brown, however, their straight awful defense drags them down. And finally, there’s the Chicago Bears, a frustratingly mediocre team that just doesn’t seem to tap into its full potential.
The Minnesota Vikings
Photo courtesy of CNN
The New Orleans Saints
Photo courtesy of WAFB
And for our final division, we have the NFC South. This is probably the most polarizing division, as its good teams are really good and its bad teams are… not very good, to say the least. On the upper side, we have the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, two playoff contenders with great offenses and even better defenses. Key players on these two teams include Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, Leonard Fournette, Mike Evans, and of course, Tom Brady. On the lower side, we have the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons, who are both 0-2. While I think both of these teams have the capability to be at least semi-decent, I think their lack of good quarterbacks and wide receivers is just too much of a gap to cover this season.
All in all, these teams and their close rivalries made for some of the most enjoyable football games I’ve ever seen in these past two weeks. And if the beginning of this season has proven anything, it's that this NFL season is going to be full of surprises week after week. If you’re as big of a football fan as me, then you should have so much to look forward to in Week 3 and beyond.
Cover photo courtesy of NBC Sports
Banner photo courtesy of CBS Sports
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