NFL Quarter-Season Review

Surprises, Busts, and More

Photo by ESPN

The NFL has had an extremely exciting start to the season, with more action undoubtedly to come. These are the biggest surprises, best teams, players, and disappointments so far. A major surprise to the whole NFL was the rise of the Indianapolis Colts, a team that had not touched the playoffs in five years. Their quarterback, Daniel Jones, had been labeled a bust by most NFL teams, but the Colts took a chance on him and it paid off, big time. His current NFL MVP odds are at +2700, but this doesn’t show his excellence as well as his 4-1 record so far this year. Another huge shock has been the re-emergence of Stefon Diggs of the New England Patriots, who once again solidified himself as a top-10 NFL wide receiver with back-to-back 100 yard games. In week 5, he played his old team, the Buffalo Bills, and put up 10 catches for 146 yards, the fifth-most yards in a single game so far this year. Another big surprise so far has been how entertaining the Thursday Night Football (TNF) games have been. Every game has been within 10 points and has gone down to the wire, such as the Week 5 Matchup between the Rams and 49ers, going to the very end of overtime. Some TNF matchups to look forward to include Week 8 between the Vikings and the Chargers, Week 12 between the Bills and the Texans, and Week 16 between the Rams and Seahawks.

Many star quarterbacks have gotten injured early in the season, such as reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year (OROY) Jayden Daniels, 2024 passing yards leader Joe Burrow, and two-time MVP Lamar Jackson. Because of these injuries, there have been many quarterbacks to step up and vault themselves into MVP contention. Drake Maye is a major riser at the quarterback position, as in his second year in the NFL, he has led the Patriots to a 3-2 record to start the year with a gritty win against the division-leading Buffalo Bills. His stats on paper are great, but if you watch the games, there is something different about him. Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a failed #1 pick turned revived superstar, currently has 1,283 passing yards and 10 passing touchdowns, both in the top five league-wide. But part of Baker’s current success is due to his rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. Egbuka, in his first year, has already jumped into the top five for both touchdowns and receiving yards, cementing himself as an OROY candidate. Reigning MVP Josh Allen has also risen to the occasion, leading the Bills to a 4-1 record through five games, being his typical superstar self. Some non-QB candidates include wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Puka Nacua, who are both off to incredible starts to the season.

The New England Patriots have had an incredible season so far, but one player has been completely phased out of their offense, wide receiver DeMario “Pop” Douglas. Despite him setting a record for most receiving yards by a rookie WR under Belichick two years ago, he has been disappointing this year, with only seven catches through five games. This is not entirely his fault, with the coaching staff being to blame for not including him in the gameplan. Another big bust is the Baltimore Ravens, who have been abysmal so far, getting blown out by the Texans in Week 5 by a massive margin and starting off 1-4. Lamar’s injury, paired with many other injuries on defense, have led them to struggle out of the gates. A disappointment to avid football fans has been the inclusion of commercials into NFL RedZone, a way to watch on Sunday afternoon that used to bring you “seven hours of commercial-free football”. This change, while small, has upset many fans like myself.

Award Predictions: MVP: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills; OPOY: Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams; DPOY: Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers; OROY: Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; DROY: Abdul Carter, New York Giants CPOY: Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts; COTY: Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots; Super Bowl Prediction: Lions vs. Patriots, 35-30 Lions

It’s a great time to be an NFL fan, so tune in to a game sometime soon, and go Patriots!

Jackson Winn ‘29 & Kiernan Patel ‘29