Top 5 early-season surprises

Arrow up

1. Buffalo Bills (3-1): Coming off an upset victory over New England, the Bills just missed out on a 4-0 start with its loss to Cincinnati last week. If a solid group of starters can remain healthy, the Bills might join the AFC East rival Pats (3-1) in the playoffs by the end of the regular season.

2. Detroit Lions (4-0): The only two remaining undefeated teams reside in the NFC North, but it will be hard for Detroit to keep pace with the defending champion Packers (4-0) as the season goes. With half of its remaining games coming against 2010 playoff teams, including two against Green Bay, the Lions may have to settle for a wild-card berth.

3. Washington Redskins (3-1): Washington currently holds the tie-breaker for first place in the NFC East with its opening-week win over the Giants (3-1). That may be the Skins’ only quality win thus far (Arizona and St. Louis were the other two), but that goes a long way in what looks to be a tight division race to the end. Don’t expect the up-and-down Cowboys (2-2) or the disappointing Eagles (1-3) to fall any further behind.

4. Tennessee Titans (3-1): Like the Bills, the Titans have a worthy group of starters without much depth, so health will be crucial down the road. A surprising win over Baltimore in Week 2 has Tennessee tied with Houston (3-1) atop the AFC South standings, while Jacksonville (1-3), who handed Tennessee its only loss in Week 1, and the Peyton-less Colts (0-4) hold down the basement.

5. San Francisco 49ers (3-1): Despite a tough early schedule, San Fran is just one overtime loss (Week 2 vs. Dallas) away from a 4-0 start. A conservative approach by first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh has still allowed the Niners to take a two-game lead in the NFL’s weakest division, and 2005 first overall draft pick Alex Smith appears to have finally found some continuity after learning seven different offensive schemes in as many years. Over his last 10 games, Smith has 12 touchdown passes and just two interceptions.

Honorable mention– Oakland Raiders (2-2): A second-half comeback by Buffalo in Week 2 is the only thing keeping the Raiders from a first-place tie with San Diego (3-1) in the AFC West. Darren McFadden has provided fantasy owners with a stellar season so far, and Oakland’s otherwise pedestrian passing attack has benefit even more as opposing defenses continually stack the box to try and stop the NFL’s current rushing leader.

 

Arrow down

1. Philadelphia Eagles (1-3): After an opening-day win over a sorry St. Louis team, Philly has lost three straight games against playoff-caliber opponents. The Eagles schedule doesn’t get any easier, with another six contenders slated over the next eight weeks. The addition of many high-profile players to their roster hasn’t yet paid off, but the paper dream team is capable of a rebound if they can keep Michael Vick under center for the rest of the year.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (1-3): Injuries to young superstars (2010 rushing runner-up Jamaal Charles and second-year safety Eric Berry) have devastated a Kansas City team that was looking for its second straight AFC West crown. The Chiefs have built some depth through the draft in recent years, but not enough put up a fight for a spot in the always top-heavy AFC playoff race.

3. St. Louis Rams (0-4): Steven Jackson’s hamstring injury on his first carry of the year hasn’t helped St. Louis’ slow start. Once a preseason favorite, it will be hard for a young Rams teams to recover as they try to endure the league’s hardest first-half schedule. Luckily, they have all six of their divisional games left to try and make the most of an unfortunate situation.

4. Indianapolis Colts (0-4): The Colts’ winless record proves that the MVP award should be named after Peyton Manning. With Manning’s neck ailments appearing to sideline him for the rest of 2011, the Colts are now in position to draft his eventual replacement as the current leader in the Suck-for-Luck (Stanford University quarterback Andrew Luck) sweepstakes. Even with all of its top-level skill position players, and quality defense, Indianapolis will struggle until it sees (at least) a mediocre effort from its stop-gap signal-callers.

5. Atlanta Falcons (2-2): The Falcons aren’t in the worst position after four games, but both of their wins (vs. 1-3 Philadelphia and Seattle) had to be squeaked out in the end. With seven playoff contenders left in its last 12 regular season games, the Falcons will have to step up in order to stay with division-leaders Tampa Bay (3-1) and New Orleans (3-1).

Honorable mention — New York Jets (2-2): Buffalo looks to have taken New York’s place as the top threat to New England’s AFC East reign. After Dallas’ Tony Romo handed the Jets a Week 1 victory, New York went to 2-0 with an easy win over Jacksonville. Double-digit losses to Oakland and Baltimore followed over the last two weeks, and now the Jets are facing a losing record by mid-season with contests against San Diego, Buffalo, and two against the Pats over New York’s next five games.