We’re officially four weeks into the NFL season, so it is time to start taking stock of what’s happened over the past month. We know the Eagles are still the Eagles, as they’ve won 20 of their last 21 games stretching back to last season. Some other playoff teams from last season continue to look strong (the Bills, Bucs, Rams and Lions), while others are working through some challenges (the Chiefs, Ravens, Commanders and Texans). We’ve even seen some upstarts ascend and catch our attention (Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Seattle).
What makes the NFL great is you can never predict everything that is going to happen. Things change fast from year to year, and every team goes through the process of discovering who they really are. This is why the four-week mark provides a great opportunity to make sense of where this season is heading. It’s the first decent sample size that can give us an idea about who’s a real threat and who’s not going anywhere.
This won’t be a full-scale evaluation of all those teams with winning records. Instead, the focus is on those hovering at 2-2. About 37 percent of teams in that category have reached the postseason since 1990. This edition of The First Read will tell which of those current squads are strong choices to play in January.
This is where one writer stands on the topic of pretenders and contenders …