The 2018 season has had many surprise teams, for better or for worse. The Buccaneers have risen and fallen. Miami and Cincinnati is 3-1. Atlanta is 1-3. Some players have had breakouts too, playing a large part in their teams successes. And then you have squads who have just flat out gotten better. However it happened, these teams have changed. We compare it to king of the hill, with teams rising to the top only to be knocked back down, and others slowly attempting to reach the summit. Breaking it down by division, these are the courses that this season has gone in for all 32 teams.
AFC East
The Patriots started out at the top. However, they expectedly lost to Jacksonville. They looked to rebound in Detroit, only to be kicked very close to the bottom. A beat up New England squad looked to seek refuge at home, where they whomped Miami, a team looking to climb further to the top, but falling down considerably. Buffalo had one moment in the spotlight, but is still a basement dweller looking to climb back into contention. The Jets are a similar case, having had a blowout win in Detroit, but losses in the rest of their contests.
AFC North
The Browns and Steelers have the same record. After tying each other in Week 1, Cleveland lost and then pulled off a comeback win against New York. They are happy to even have a win. Pittsburgh lost a tough game to the Chiefs, and then proceeded to knock off Tampa Bay, which may have gotten them back on track to resume their climb. The Ravens are 2-1, having badly lost to the Bengals. Cincinnati has gone 3-1, losing to Carolina but winning a thriller in Atlanta. They have gotten surprisingly close to the top.
AFC South
Jacksonville hit a stumbling block in a loss to the Titans, but are otherwise on their way to the top. Tennessee is also 3-1, and maybe even higher than the Jaguars after a win against the Eagles. Houston got lucky to avoid a tie against Indianapolis, but are still struggling. As are the Colts, who shouldn’t have lost to Houston or Cincinnati. Both teams sit near the bottom.
AFC West
Kansas City is on top. They have been absolutely unstoppable, including a win in Pittsburgh. The Chargers have drastically failed to live up to expectations thus far, but at least are doing better than the Raiders. They have stunk, with an unimpressive 0-3 record that puts them at the bottom. Denver has climbed further up than anyone expected, but can they keep it up?
NFC East
The Giants stink. Its a fact of life. Despite a victory against the Texans, they still are very close to the bottom. The Redskins, however, are 2-1 heading into an early bye. They are quite high, thanks to the resurgence of Adrian Peterson. Dallas is doing as expected, with a 2-2 record. Philadelphia, however, is somewhat low after winning the Super Bowl. They have been knocked down by the Titans, leaving them in the middle of the road.
Detroit is where they should be, near the bottom of the hill. However, their one win stands out: it was against the Patriots. Green Bay is playing well, somewhat close to the top, but Minnesota is disappointingly low. They have two losses and a tie, which came in a game they should have one. And Chicago ascended at an alarming rate after a 48-10 thrashing of the Buccaneers, which fits perfectly with their 3-1 record.
NFC South
Fitzmagic took a very Fitztragic turn on Monday night in Tampa. The Bucs started out blazing, but have plunged extremely far down since then. New Orleans built on its high starting position and continued to climb toward their full potential. Carolina has a much needed bye week after a disappointing start to their hike. And the Falcons are also disappointing in their attempts to rise, sitting at a lame 1-3.
NFC West
Season 1 of the new Hollywood show that is the Rams is off to a great start. The first four episodes have been huge hits. Arizona’s climb to the top has been temporarily put on hold until they can figure out what the heck they are doing. Seattle had somewhat low expectations, and have more or less lived up to them. However, the 49ers had lofty expectations, but so far have been unsuccessful in their attempts to reach the peak.
