Pretenders or contenders, chess or checkers. Which teams are the real deal and which ones are thriving from an easy schedule? Some head scratching outcomes so far this season. The Giants losing to the Cowboys 40-0, Giants then coming back from 28-0 against the Cardinals and winning 31-28. Which leads us to the Cardinals controlling the Cowboys from start to finish. It’s safe to say the Cowboys are pretenders?

Dan Campbell changing the Culture in Detroit

The Lions have a taste of winning going back to last season. They finished last year winning 8 out of their final 10 games and clearly that mindset has carried over into this season. Dan Campbell has them at 3-1 and just dominated the Packers on National television Thursday Night. Campbell is one of the most hard-nosed coach in the league and his players have fully bought in.

Joey B and the Bengals look all out of sorts

Super Bowl or bust was the mindset heading into this season. However, a 1-3 start and an offense ranked 31st in the league is not what Bengals fans envisioned. Tons of dropped balls and Burrow hasn’t looked comfortable yet. Burrow has struggled in weeks 1 and 2 in the past but that’s it. They usually have it figured out by now.

Jaguars have regressed since ’22-’23 playoff run

When the Jaguars came back from trailing 27-0 in the playoffs they looked like a team to be taken seriously. Giving Trevor Lawrence another weapon in Calvin Ridley we’d expect them to be better than 1-2 with losses to the Texans and Chiefs. The Jaguars have barely squeezed out a 2-2 record thru the first 4 games. That’ll need to change if the Jags have any aspirations of making a deep playoff run.

Stroud looks comfortable in the league

Six TDs and zero interceptions for a rookie thru his first 4 games is pretty impressive. Credit rookie head coach Demeco Ryans and OC Bobby Slowik for putting the young QB in good situations. Sitting at 2-2 in a 4-way division tie, Texans are confident they found their QB for the future.

Baker Mayfield off to a hot start in Tampa

Baker had to fill some pretty big shoes stepping in for TB12 in Tampa. He’s never lacked confidence though. He’s got the Buccaneers off to a 3-1 start and in the drivers seat in the very early season. His numbers aren’t going to blow you away but he has the respect of the locker room which can be the difference between the playoffs and an early vacation.

Colts 2-2 with a hungry Jonathan Taylor set to return

Contrary to popular opinion, a rookie quarterbacks best friend is a beast in the backfield. Anthony Richardson has exceeded expectations early on with no Taylor and a rookie Head Coach in Shane Seichen. Seichen’s career has skyrocketed the past 4 years. Four years ago he was the QB coach for the Chargers and is a huge reason for Justin Herbert’s rookie success. Then he goes to Philadelphia and takes them to the Super Bowl with Jalen Hurts. Now, his 3rd stop in the past 4 years he gets to mold Richardson. Richardson’s physical traits are off the charts but he’s got very limited starting reps at the college or NFL level. Factor in a motivated Jonathan Taylor and they can be a team that competes. Especially now that he got his money!

AFC East will be a 2-team battle all year, Allen takes round 1

After the Dolphins 3-0 start it looked like they weren’t going to lose all year long. However, Josh Allen got back on track with 5 total TDs in a head-to-head matchup. A healthy Aaron Rodgers would have taken this division to another level of excitement. Zach Wilson and Mac Jones will be looking up at Tua and Allen all year long.

Mahomes and Chiefs offense haven’t clicked yet; Do they feel the loss of OC Eric Bienemy?

Eric Bieniemy has been the most infamous Offensive Coordinator since taking over the duties for the Chiefs in 2018. Russel Wilson, Jordan Love, Justin Fields, and Kirk Cousins all have more TD passes than Mahomes after 4 weeks. Is this the year Justin Herbert gets the Chargers past Mahomes and Andy Reid? Still a lot of games left but Kellen Moore and Herbert have the Chargers offense looking pretty connected so far.