Week 4 has begun in the NFL, here is an early look at the 2017 contenders and pretenders.
CONTENDERS
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (3-0)
Kansas City started the season by beating the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. It was followed by wins over the Philadelphia Eagles and division rival Los Angeles Chargers. During that 3 game stretch, they have forced 5 takeaways to just 1 turnover and they have rushed for over 180 yards twice. They have won at least 14 points in each of their games this season as well. Furthermore, with their defense creating turnovers and their offense running and throwing well with just one lone turnover. This team is a contender.
ATLANTA FALCONS (3-0)
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Atlanta is 3-0, and could be 1-2 had their defense not kept the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions from scoring at the end of the game. While that may be alarming to some, this team has not shown any signs of a Super Bowl hangover at the start of the season. Atlanta plays the Buffalo Bills next, then a bye week followed by the Jets, then they face the Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch. Atlanta has the talent to be 5-0 by that point. Furthermore, with the rest of their division foes struggling this season, Atlanta should not have an issue taking the NFC South again this year.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (2-1)
New England started the season off with a loss to the Chiefs, but they rebounded as they beat the New Orleans Saints on the road. They would then follow that up with a close win at the end against the Houston Texans in Foxboro. Offensively they look sound, Tom Brady has thrown 8 touchdowns and no interceptions and they have also ran for 4 scores.
More Evidence
Defense has been an issue as they are ranked 32nd in passing yards and points allowed and 31st in yards per rush allowed. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will keep this team as a contender, once Dont’a Hightower and Eric Rowe come back, the defense should see some improvement. The AFC East, outside of the New England Patriots could struggle this year. meaning the Patriots should have a solid record by the years end, putting them in a spot for a possibly first round bye.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
TENNESSEE TITANS (2-1)- They have won 2 in a row, they lead the league in rushing touchdowns, 2nd in rushing yards and have just 1 turnover in 3 games. Their passing attack and passing defense could use some work, but they did acquire talent in the offseason to help in those areas. They play in the AFC South and also play the NFC West, outside of the Rams, the rest of the NFC West
PRETENDERS
CAROLINA PANTHERS (2-1)
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Following a 2-0 start, with wins over the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills, then lost to their division foe, the New Orleans Saints. Carolina’s offense has struggled this season, Cam Newton has 2 touchdown passes, 4 interceptions, the only Panthers rushing touchdown this season. Carolina plays the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles over the next 3 weeks, they are all 2-1. Carolina has a tough schedule ahead, their offensive woes, if not fixed, can hurt this team in the long run.
BUFFALO BILLS (2-1)
Buffalo beat the New York Jets to start the season, followed by a road loss to the Carolina Panthers and then an upset of the Denver Broncos back in Buffalo. Despite being ranked 12th in rush yards this season, they have scored just 1 rushing touchdown. They are also ranked just 25th in yards per attempt. While the Bills have just 1 turnover this season, and are allowing the least amount of points per game and ranked 6th in total yards allowed. They go on the road to play Atlanta this weekend, other road games this year are played against the Chargers, Patriots, Chiefs, Jets and the Dolphins.
More Evidence
They do face the Raiders and Patriots at home as well, Buffalo is thin at receiver, and if they need to get into a shootout with their opponents this year, they could struggle in doing so. Buffalo lacks a true number one receiver, had they not traded Sammy Watkins, their offense could be better.
BALTIMORE RAVENS (2-1)
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The Baltimore Ravens are 2-1, but they have turnover issues, they have had at least 1 turnover in every game this season, including 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London last weekend. Joe Flacco is averaging 122 passing yards a game, and he has thrown 3 touchdowns to 4 interceptions this season. Despite their defense having 10 takeaways,they have allowed 386 total yards against the Browns and 410 against the Jaguars. Their two wins were against teams that are both 0-3 (Browns and Bengals).
More Evidence
Baltimore faces the Steelers this weekend followed by a road trip to Oakland. They have yet to play anyone from the NFC North this season. The NFC North has 3 teams that hold a record of 2-1. Baltimore has to work on their offense, mainly their passing game. This important because unfortunately they are not playing the Browns and Bengals every game this year.
HONORABLE MENTION:
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JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (2-1)– With wins over the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens, both of whom have issues on offense. Blake Bortles completing just under 60% of his passes and the defense is ranked 28th in rushing yards allowed.
WAIT AND SEE:
The Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders. The NFC East and NFC West are still wide open, and the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos are both coming off losses on the road. All the “wait and see” teams have yet to play certain division rivals, the AFC West and NFC East are still open, and those divisions play each other this year.
The NFC North is still open, there are 2 teams with a 2-1 record, and there are 3 in the NFC East. It could be a little longer before these teams reveal themselves as either pretenders or contenders.
ALL STATISTICAL INFORMATION FROM WWW.PRO-FOOTBALL-REFRENCE.COM