1. Philadelphia Eagles– They just continue to roll right now and they look better week by week, which is the scary thing. Carson Wentz would be one of my top three MVP candidates if the season ended today. The Eagles are 7-1 and not only in the driver’s seat of the NFC East but of the conference right now as a whole. This is their best start since 2004. The Eagles were one of the biggest winners at the trade deadline when they acquired Jay Ajayi from the Miami Dolphins. This move shows that they want to be the NFC representative in the Super Bowl and this move just might make that a reality.
2. New England Patriots– After a rocky 2-2 start, they’ve won four games in a row and have improved each week. The offensive line is protecting Brady much better than it had been doing and the defense is getting off the field. Here’s a perfect example of how their defense is improving: Melvin Gordon ran for 87 yards and a touchdown. After that play, he didn’t get another big gain for the rest of the game. As you’d expect, they’re in first place right now in their division and on their bye week. Next week, they return to play the Denver Broncos, a place that hasn’t been kind to Brady over the years.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers– There are many good things that are going well for them right now, but Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t necessarily been one of them. He has thrown nine interceptions, the third most in the league at the moment and he’s only completed 61 percent of his passes. Luckily, he has the luxury of having the best running back in the league to lean on.
4. Kansas City Chiefs– They finally snapped the two-game skid to get back to its winning ways. The AFC West at one point was being labeled as the best division in the NFL. A few weeks can definitely make a difference for sure because the Chiefs are at the top of the division with a 6-2 mark while everyone else is struggling to keep up with them. I’m very concerned about their defense and they haven’t been the reason why they are winning football games. They give up many big plays, they struggle to tackle and get off the field on third down. Whenever Alex Smith does throw an interception, I’m uncertain if the defense can help get the football back.
5. New Orleans Saints– They started the season losing their first two games. Since then, they haven’t looked back. They’ve won five in a row and after eight weeks and entering week nine, who thought that the New Orleans Saints would be in first place in the NFC South? Drew Brees still continues to play at a very high level at the age of 38, the running game is back and I truly feel that trading Adrian Peterson was the best thing that could’ve happened to them. The defense has also improved this year. Once they can stop the run a bit more consistently, watch for them.
