We are eight weeks into the NFL season, and the difference between legitimate contenders and fraudulent teams couldn’t be less clear.
Whether it’s the Indianapolis Colts starting with a shocking 7-1 record and leading the AFC South, the New England Patriots leading the AFC East with a 6-2 record, or the Baltimore Ravens starting at 2-5 and falling to the bottom of the AFC North, this season’s results have been nothing short of unpredictable.
All of the aforementioned teams had completely different expectations at the start of the season. The Ravens were expected to emerge as Super Bowl contenders again, boasting an incredibly talented offense with players like Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, and Mark Andrews. Despite their talented group, they have the fourth worst win percentage in the AFC, and are currently on a four game losing streak.
This franchise has had 10 or more wins in six of the last seven seasons, so this start is uncharacteristic for Baltimore. Their slow start is most likely a result of superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson being injured. Jackson suffered a hamstring injury Week for against the Chiefs and has been out for more than a month so far.
Crew Colon, a postgrad quarterback, thinks that Jackson’s injury is the driving factor for Baltimore’s struggles.
“Obviously without Lamar Jackson their ship doesn’t go,” said Crew. “It just goes to show what Lamar does for their team and how he helps out so much. It’s definitely a disappointing year for them.”
On the contrary, the Colts have seen a complete change in team morale for the better since last year. After finishing 8-9 and missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season, Indianapolis brought in disgruntled Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who had been released by the team during the 2025 offseason following New York’s abysmal 3-14 campaign. Jones was expected to continue his mediocre play as a Colt, but his numbers have improved drastically and shocked the entire league.
Jones is currently on pace to set new career highs in completion percentage, passing yards, touchdown passes, and quarterback rating for the 2025-2026 season.
Zeke Jackson, a postgraduate football player from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, didn’t expect this from Jones at all.
“I honestly thought he was going to be like a Justin Fields, almost, where he goes in there, doesn’t play very well, and then they just move on to a rookie or Anthony Richardson,” said Zeke.
Zeke also added that he thought the Colts have been “electric” this season, and that they’re somewhat of an “underdog story.”
The New England Patriots have also turned the direction of their franchise around after finishing with a 4-13 record last season. Led by young star quarterback Drake Maye, the Patriots lead the AFC East with a 6-2 record so far, which was highlighted by a 23-20 statement win over the Buffalo Bills during Week 5.
Chase Bedrossian, a junior Patriots fan from Cumberland, RI., was asked if he anticipated the Patriots getting off to this strong of a start.
“I’m not going to lie, no,” said Chase. “But they surprised me and a lot of other people as well.”
With the playoff push right around the corner, these up and coming NFL teams will be put to the test to see if their success is real or fake.
