The thing about the NFL is it’s unpredictable! The weeks are rapidly flying by, and with each passing slate of games, we learn more and more about each NFL team… And, well, some teams are out here turning heads in ways nobody saw coming, while others are making us question everything we thought we knew.
Let’s take a look around the NFL and highlight five teams that are crushing the expectations we had for them coming into the season and five that are straight-up letting everyone down!
Which teams surprised you this NFL season, and which ones failed to live up to expectations?
Way Better: Buffalo Bills
It is hard to say that coming into 2024 the Buffalo Bills were completely flying under the radar, but there were plenty of questions surrounding whether this team could still contend for a Super Bowl.
Especially after the high-profile fallout with and subsequent departure of their top wide receiver, Stefon Diggs.
Some doubted if Josh Allen could keep playing at an elite level without him or if the defense would be able to withstand the losses of guys like Jordan Poyer and Tre’Davious White from last season.
But after the first few weeks of the season, it is safe to say that those doubts have nearly completely vanished.
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It was a little bit touch and go Week 1 against the Cardinals, but the Bills came out swinging, and they’ve been absolutely crushing it since. Josh Allen has been playing lights out, starting off the season with MVP-caliber performances that have silenced every critic who dared to call him overrated.
Buffalo is playing with a level of focus and execution that took them way too long to find last season. They look every bit like a top contender, and at this rate, it’s hard to see them slowing down anytime soon.
Considering how many people in and around the league were starting to whisper that they might be at risk of missing the playoffs heading into the year, this has been quite a turn of events!
Way Worse: Dallas Cowboys
Expectations may have been relatively tempered to Cowboys standards heading into the season, but after the way we saw them dominate in Week 1, they shot right back up and Dallas re-emerge as a popular
choice to be a Super Bowl contender.
But, man… You want to talk about a team that’s been a massive disappointment so far—how about them Cowboys?
After that strong start in Week 1 Dallas has quickly spiraled out of control, and things are looking mighty shaky in
Big D.
It starts with the defense! Losing Trevon Diggs for the season last year hurt, but now that he’s back, the expectations for the Cowboys D have also returned… but the performance is no where to be found.
Their once-feared defense, led by Mike Zimmer, has been unable to stop the run and it looks like its scheme may be completely broken. They have struggled to get a ton of pressure on the quarterback and the secondary has gotten gashed more times than Zimmer would ever care to see.
And on the other side of the ball, the ghost of Ezekiell Elliott and that uninspiring stable of running backs
has been completely unable to generate any production, putting a ton of pressure on Dak, which, we know isn’t his favorite thing.
This has resulted in an imbalanced offense—and one that can seemingly only move the ball and put up
points in garbage time.
Unless something changes fast, the hope going into the year will vanish yet again and it will instead be
another long, frustrating season for Cowboys fans.
Way Better: Minnesota Vikings
If you had the Minnesota Vikings on your list of surprise NFL teams in 2024, pat yourself on the back because this squad is blowing away damn near everyone’s expectations on the strength of Kevin O’Connell’s brilliant strategy and leadership.
Heading into the season, there were plenty of questions, especially at quarterback, with Sam Darnold taking the reins from Kirk Cousins… But so far, Darnold has been more than just serviceable—he’s been outright dangerous, and the Vikings have been rolling through the early part of their schedule.
The Vikings are playing like a complete team. Darnold is delivering, Justin Jefferson is doing his thing, and the defense is stepping up in a big way. Minnesota now has two quality wins against the top 10 NFL teams, and they look poised to make serious noise in the NFC.
What easily the biggest shock of the season so far!
Way Worse: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars came into 2024 hoping to right the ship after a disastrous collapse last season… As you may remember, they were once sitting pretty at 8-3 before everything went sideways, but it seems like the chaos has carried over into this year.
Trevor Lawrence, who was once hailed as the next great franchise quarterback, has been at the center of this nightmare, and the Jaguars are officially in panic mode.
Not just about their season, but also that the man who was supposed to be the centerpiece of turning this organization around, may end up being a big, old bust.
Lawrence has now lost eight straight games as the starter, and his recent performances have been nothing short of alarming.
His decision-making has been terrible, and his accuracy has been troubling. Granted, the offensive line is in shambles, and the play-calling from Doug Pederson and Press Taylor feels disjointed, but this level of performance is unacceptable.
The defense has also been a no-show—I mean, the Buffalo Bills absolutely obliterated them Week 3, in what many are suspecting to be the nail in the coffin for this Jaguars season.
Jacksonville’s problems go deeper than just on-field performance.
Maybe the expectations going into this year were no more than an illusion… This franchise feels stuck as if it’s in desperate need of an overhaul from top to bottom.
Trevor Lawrence might be part of the problem, but head coach Doug Pederson and GM Trent Baalke deserve their share of the blame for failing to build a competent system around him.
Also Read: The Most EMBARRASSING Record Held By Each Of The 32 NFL Teams
Way Better: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sure, there’s room for improvement, and Baker Mayfield hasn’t been perfect, but Tampa Bay has already shown that they’re better than expected, and even with the NFC South looking much improved, they have a legitimate shot at another playoff berth.
Mayfield has been playing solid football—nothing overwhelmingly flashy, but he’s getting the job done in a meaningful way, both with his arm and his legs, making the plays that the team needs.
He has been especially impressive down the stretch of games for Tampa, which could bode well for them come playoff time.
Coming into 2024, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren’t exactly being talked about as contenders. After all, they backed their way into the playoffs last season, and most people thought this could be a big regression year for them.
But with the way that defense is playing—even without key pieces like Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey, as they’ve been more than serviceable, this is a squad worth believing in.
Way Worse: Cincinnati Bengals
From 1990 through last season, 162 teams started at 0-3 — just four made the playoffs and zero won the Super Bowl.
And coming into this season, there was almost no one who thought that the Cincinnati Bengals—with the way they finished last year and a healthy Joe Burrow under center—would be up against those odds.
I mean… If you had told Bengals fans at the start of 2024 that they’d be 0-3 heading into Week 4, they’d have laughed you out of the room. But here we are!
The offensive line has really struggled and Burrow seems out of sync with most of his key targets.
This team was supposed to be a serious contender, but now, they’re staring down the barrel of a wasted NFL season if they can’t turn things around quickly. For a franchise that’s been on the rise, this 0-3 start feels like a punch to the gut.
Way Better: New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints were a tough team to peg heading into this season.
Sure, they had a winning record last year, but with a weak schedule and inconsistent play on both sides of the ball, no one really knew what to expect this season.
Well, now we know—the Saints are for real. Especially that defense, which has been downright suffocating.
And after a few years of middling results on the offensive side of the ball and no real identity post-Drew Brees, the arrival of offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak has completely changed the narrative in NOLA. He’s helped to unlock Derek Carr and mitigate some of the trappings that have plagued the quarterback in the past.
Tampa Bay is strong as well, but New Orleans looks poised to take control of the division, and if they can keep this up, they’ll be a tough out come playoff time.
Way Worse: Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears had one of the most hyped rookie quarterbacks coming into this year with the number one overall Caleb Williams, but so far, the results have been…underwhelming, to say the least.
Part of the problem is the Bears’ offensive line, which has struggled to protect Williams and open up running lanes for D’Andre Swift.
And with the absence of a valid run game—all of the focus from opposing defense has been turned to Williams, which has only heightened the pressure on him—and the subsequent disappointment from his inability to perform.
Not exactly what you want to see out of a guy that many were expecting to be the savior of the franchise.
On the bright side, he has been able to show some flashes… There have been a number of “wow” throws… It has just been the decision-making and boneheaded errors that have plagued him, so there is hope!
Plus, Chicago’s defense has been a pleasant surprise and looked very impressive thus far… Maybe the offense is still just a year or two away from reaching the heights that we projected for them heading into the year.
In any case—they have looked way worse than most expected!
Way Better: Washington Commanders
The arrival of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has completely changed the tone down in the Nation’s Capital.
Daniels has been electric, completing over 80% of his passes and showing poise well beyond his years.
In their Week 3 upset over the Bengals, he led six scoring drives, using both his arm and his legs to keep Cincinnati’s defense off balance and pour 38 points on them.
Washington’s offense has been firing on all cylinders, with Daniels looking like a legitimate Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate.
And while almost all of the attention in D.C. has been focused on Daniels and the offense, make no mistake about it… this young Commanders’ defense, while still a work in progress, it doing just that—progressing!
They have done just enough to give them a chance to win games. In the aforementioned win over Cinci, they were able to batten down the hatches when things mattered most and get some critical stops!
The energy and excitement around this NFL team are palpable, and for the first time in a long time, Washington fans have a reason to believe in their team again.
Who knows… If Daniels keeps playing at this level, the Commanders could be a surprise playoff team in the NFC.
Way Worse: Miami Dolphins
Coming into this NFL season, there was plenty of optimism surrounding this team, but, man, has it gone downhill in a hurry.
While it isn’t the sole cause of the trouble in South Beach… the biggest issue has to be Tua’s injury. With Tagovailoa sidelined, the Dolphins have turned to Skylar Thompson, and it hasn’t gone well.
The offense looked a little out of sync to start the year, but with Thompson, it looks flat-out broken.
Their All-World wide receiver room featuring Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle have been turned into complete non-factors because they simply aren’t getting the ball in their hands.
Even the run game has disappeared, leaving Miami’s offense stuck in neutral.
Defensively, they’ve been just as bad, as they’ve gotten gashed by opposing offenses, and without a consistent pass rush, their secondary has been exposed.
In Week 3, the Dolphins couldn’t even put up a fight against Seattle, and it looks like things might only get worse before they get better.
For a team that had playoff aspirations, the Dolphins are quickly looking like a lost cause. If Tua doesn’t get back soon, Miami’s season could be over before it even really begins.
