by Nick Greco
As we pass the midway point of the NFL season, there have been a lot surprises. Teams like the Patriots, Colts, Cowboys and Packers have all astounded fans around the country. With many teams outperforming or not meeting expectations, the league has certainly been wild. Currently, the Patriots, Colts, and Broncos are leading the league and AFC with their records of 9-2 (Colts are 8-2 but had their bye). The Eagles and Rams are tied for the bye in the NFC with records of 8-2.
Coming into this season no one thought that the Colts and Seahawks would be this good. The Colts came into the season with their starting quarterback being Daniel Jones, and no one believed he would be a valuable addition to help boost the offense. Fortunately for the Colts, Jones leads the league in passing yards. The real power house for the Colts is running back Jonathan Talyor who leads the league in carries and rushing yards, and has a whopping 15 touchdowns through ten games. Last offseason the Seahawks took a chance on Sam Darnold after his comeback year in Minnesota signing him to a 3 year, 100.5 million dollar contract. He is more than meeting expectations for the Seahawks as he leads the league in QBR. Wide reciever Jaxon Smith-Njigba has also shined with 1,041 receiving yards to lead the league.
In New York, the Giants started the year poorly but then had a couple of weeks of false hope when rookies Cam Skattebo and Jaxson Dart shined. Unfortunately, Cam Skattebo suffered a gruesome ankle injury ending his season early and Jaxson Dart suffered a concussion. The Giants blew 4 games where they were leading in the fourth quarter leading to the firing of head coach Brian Daboll.
As for the Jets, they have seemingly given up on the season as they are currently 2-8. What looked to be like a boring trade deadline turned into an interesting one as the Jets decided to trade Sauce Garnder and Quinnen Williams to the Colts and Cowboys respectively. The Jets received a haul of draft picks in return. They acquired two first round picks for the next two years and Adonai Mitchell from the Colts, and a 2027 first round pick, a 2026 second round pick, and Mazi Smith from the Cowboys.
Elsewhere around the league, the Bills are doing well as they’re 7-3 and are competing for a playoff spot. The Cowboys also shocked the world earlier in the season by trading star edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Packers for two first round picks and Kenny Clark.
The playoff race has begun as teams in both conferences compete for the #1 seed. In the AFC, teams like the Ravens, Chiefs, Texans, Jaguars, Chargers, Bills, and Steelers all have between 5-7 wins and are fighting for a place in the playoffs. In the NFC, the Bears, Buccaneers, Seahawks, Packers, 49ers, Lions, and Panthers also are sitting around 5-7 wins. Yes, that’s right – the Chiefs are in the fight for a playoff spot. The most exciting race has to be in the NFC North where the Packers, Bears, and Lions are all fighting for the division.
Certainly, the NFL season has been exciting thus far, and the excitement is not stopping anytime soon. As the race for the playoffs begins, NFL fans all over the world are ready to see what the final weeks of the season brings. All questions will be answered in the coming months. This NFL has certainly brought the hype so far.