Repo, how are you feeling about New England? Don't take this the wrong way but I feel like they overachieved last year. Easy schedule, plus other teams weren't sure how to prepare for them. I feel like they're gonna slide back from a 14-win team to 10 or 11. They'll still make the playoffs, and they'll be a contender if AJ Brown opens up the offense for them.
Honestly so much of this depends on Drake Maye - as last Wednesday just proved. If he takes another step forward, we'll challenge Josh Allen and the Bills for the AFC East. If he regresses (like he did last Wednesday and perhaps in last year's post-season) we won't make the playoffs. After Wednesday's game, I'm kind of bummed that we traded wide -receiver Kayshon Boutte to the Texans. He had good chemistry with Maye last year.
Our O-line looked much better last Wednesday so just hoping it was an off game for Drake.
I think Maye will remain a fine QB but the overall team will regress. Much more difficult schedule this year, starting with the defending champs. Might have been an off game, but this was Seattle's secondary we're talking. Furthermore, it doesn't help Brown got injured and will miss the next four games (which include 2 tough away games). I remember Boutte, had him on my fantasy team last year. But I know what you mean. No more Diggs, no more Boutte, Brown out for a few games...Maye suddenly finds himself thin on WR targets. They'll be in early season trouble if they lose to Pittsburgh next week.
End of the 1st quarter on the season already, some thoughts on each division:
NFC East - The NY Giants have been very unlucky. Looked like a promising rebuild was starting last year, but then they lost Cam Skattebo for the season. He returned this year, but then 2nd year QB Jaxson Dart gets injured and lost for the year. Nevertheless, they lead the East at 3-1, and unless one of the other three teams change course, NY may continue to lead. The Cowboys are looking the same as they have the past two years...they score a ton of points, but their defense is weak. My Eagles looked flawed in their 2-0 start, and now those flaws have caught up with them, along with a few key injuries. I'm cautiously optimistic they'll turn things around. The Commanders, who the heck knows?
NFC North - The North is still probably the strongest division in the NFL. Minnesota may be the undefeated team here, but Chicago is the team to watch out for. The Bears are clicking on both sides of the ball, their lone loss came in the game Caleb Williams went down. Still their offense has looked fine with the back-ups. And recall they scored 59 points the one game Williams did play. We'll see what happens when he returns. As for the Vikings, they look solid through 4 games, but their schedule hasn't been impressive (they beat two winless teams by one score). The Lions and Packers are behind in the standings but certainly not out of it. They have the talent and recent track record to get over .500.
NFC South - It appears the Bucs grasp on this division is gone. They blew the lead last year on the final week, and now are 0-4. But that clears the way for the re-building teams to make a splash. The Saints, Falcons, and Panthers have all looked better this year. They're all young teams with exciting talent. I'd say Carolina is the looking the best of the bunch overall. Atlanta looked great yesterday. I drafted Bijan first overall in my fantasy draft and I don't regret that at all!
NFC West - The Rams came into 2026 projected to be the SB frontrunner when they got Garrett and Donald to strengthen their defense. And yet, they've struggled a little bit. A disaster week 1, an injury, plus a tough schedule, and they're 2-2 and sit in third place. They can turn it around though. A comeback win against Philly (ugh) should inspire them. After the Bills this week, their schedule lightens up for the next month. Seattle and SF are looking strong again. Maybe Seattle hasn't looked like the SB-winning juggernaut they were last year, but it's still early. As for Arizona, they're the unfortunate odd man out.
AFC East - Buffalo and New England were the top teams last year with NE winning it. This year, Buffalo exploded out the gate while New England looked vulnerable. But a Pats win in Buffalo Sunday demonstrated they have some of last year's fight. Those two teams are expected to contend for the East while the Jets and Dolphins rebuild.
AFC North - Is Deshaun Watson in Cleveland finally working out? 3-1, atop the division, nobody would have thought that. Let's see how long that lasts. Baltimore is looking good, not great. I think Pittsburgh is gonna fall apart at some point. The Bengals are hanging in there, and can go on a run. Their schedule isn't too difficult.
AFC South - The Texans must be the biggest disappointment in the NFL so far. 5 losses all of last year, 4 already this year. When their defense looks good, they don't score points; when they score points, their defense falters. I don't know what the problem is but it sounds like coaching and game management. If they don't beat the other 0-4 team in the South, the Titans, this week, kiss the Texans season goodbye. That leaves Indy and Jacksonville. Indy looks as average as it gets. Jacksonville should run away with this division and be a contender for #1 seed in the AFC.
AFC West - The Chiefs are back. The NFL and its fans sometimes have a short memory. Many people weren't predicting KC to have a bounceback year. Last year was a disaster for them. They still won 5 of the previous 6 AFC championships; they still have arguably the best coaching staff, and of course Mahomes, back from his 2025-ending injury. Then again, the West has become more competitive in recent years. The Chargers were a consistent 2nd-best team, although they have big problems now. Then came the Broncos, who ended KC's division-winning streak. Denver is off to a slow start, but no reason to rule them out. And now, the Raiders believe it or not. Getting veteran Kirk Cousins has been working out so far. They lost to KC Sunday, but it was a valiant effort, and their fans must be excited. They play a tough schedule though so we'll see.
Even after a tough loss a couple of weeks ago, the Seahawks are adjusting remarkably well considering they had a quarterback injury and are relying on rookie running backs. While I think a Super Bowl repeat is unlikely, they still definitely look good enough for a playoff run (although lol the Chargers).
Halftime of the 2026 season, some thoughts on each division:
NFC East - This belongs to the Giants, not because they're great but because they're decent enough, while the other three teams have big problems. The Eagles were already showing weaknesses before Jalen Hurts was lost for the year due to blood clots. Now they're in freefall. The Commanders just aren't very good. The Cowboys still suffer from 'great offense, lousy defense.' So yeah, that leaves the Giants, who play clean and solid ball, getting it done with a 3rd string QB.
NFC North - Best division in the NFL. By far. They may all make the playoffs. I said 'watch out for Chicago' on my last post and here they are in first place. Minnesota and Detroit are just a half game behind them. The Vikings looked shaky yesterday, losing their second straight. They're the opposite of the Cowboys, Vikings are Top 3 defense but Bottom 3 offense. I wonder if they started 6-0 thanks to an easy schedule, but now they're in a brutal stretch of Detroit, Buffalo, Green Bay, and SF. Nevertheless, with that great defense, they'll remain competitive. And if they can get something going on offense, they'll be a contender. Last but not least, the 6-3 GB Packers. Yeah, they're in last place, yet they're still a good team. They whooped the Patriots on the road...they're not some team who lucked their way to 6-3. There's no reason to think they can't win the North either. I'm very interested to see if 2026 will be the first year every team from a division reaches the playoffs.
NFC South - The reason a team from North misses the playoffs may be because, by rule, a team from the South must make the playoffs. Sheesh, this bunch truly puts the word "south" in NFC South. The barometer for success in this division is losing a close game to a quality opponent, and two teams achieved that this weekend. TB gave Chicago a good fight, while Carolina gave Denver a good fight. They both lost, but I guess it shows these two teams aren't terrible. It's hard to predict, but for now I'll say one of them will win? The Falcons are inconsistent. I don't know how they beat SF. They've sucked in their two games since that win, outscored 50-17. The Saints are the only South team who won this weekend, which they should not have, but Cleveland's coach got greedy. Anyway, all four teams are either 3-5 or 3-6, so really any team can win this division. It'll just be a shame, as there will likely be a better NFC team who has to miss the playoffs to one of these bozos.
NFC West - I'm a little disappointed by this division, specifically Seattle and LA. They were the best two teams in the NFL last year, merely getting by at 5-4 halfway through 2026. EyeKanFly pointed out last year that while LA is great, they are prone to slipping up and having occasional off days. He was right, LA has looked shaky at times. Coupled with injuries, and they are only 5-4. Puka Nacua's injury on Sunday may cast a long shadow on their season. Still, they have enough weapons on offense and defense to continue winning. But will it be enough to outduel Seattle and SF? And if not, can they finish ahead of any of the North teams for a wild card spot? As of now, it isn't clear. Seattle's regression is also unfortunate. Losing RB Kenneth Walker in the offseason only explains so much. Their offense in general just doesn't have the same execution as last year. But hey, they're still a good team, and they have half the season left to figure something out and make a playoff push. However, I think their repeat SB chances are pretty slim. The AZ Cardinals are just doing their usual last-place thing. Trying different things with playcalling and personnel, winning a game here and there, staying under the radar, waiting for the right season to strike back after slowly re-building. Lastly, the 49ers are clearly the best team of this division. Overshadowed last year by LA and Seattle, but this year SF got stronger while the other two got weaker.
AFC East - Repo, what's going on in New England? The Pats have some very impressive wins and a couple head-scratching losses. It must be the turnovers. They gotta play cleaner like they did last year. They're ok though. They got the talent. Their schedule the rest of the way is average, some tough opponents, some easy. They'll be in the wild card mix. But the Pats aren't coming back to win the East because of Buffalo, who are looking like a legit SB contender again. 7-1, a big win on the road against MIN yesterday. This could be their year. The Jets and Dolphins are jockeying for draft position.
AFC North - Two weeks ago all four teams in AFC North were over .500. But please, don't let that fool you. This is not like the NFC North. Baltimore's injuries and inconsistencies have caught up with them, and they've looked absolutely dreadful their last 3 games, outscored 104-33. That isn't all because of Lamar Jackson's injury. Their coach is a rookie and still figuring things out. The defense is a mess. Even when Jackson comes back in December, it'll be far too late to save the season. The Cleveland Browns are only over .500 because their schedule has been easy. However, their second half schedule is a bit tougher and I don't expect them to last over .500. But ok, the Steelers and Bengals are good teams. Are they great? I don't know. They both have won 4 straight, however both their winning streaks were against mostly weaker opponents. So let's see. They play each other this coming Sunday. That'll be fun.
AFC South - The Titans and Colts stink. Ok got those out of the way. Jacksonville is kicking ass and taking names. And then there's the Houston Texans, who are definitely better than their 3-5 record. They got off to a terrible 0-4 start, but they're now starting to look like themselves from last year. Their defense killed it on Sunday while Stroud had one the best games of his life. Nevertheless, it's very hard to come back from an 0-4 start. But I think the Texans are capable. I don't see them coming back to win the division over Jacksonville. That leaves them in the wild card mix, and they have several teams they need to pass in the standings. One of whom is their next opponent this Sunday, the Browns. I just said I think the Browns aren't as good as their record suggests while the Texans are better than their record. So yeah, Texans-Browns this Sunday will be very important for both teams.
AFC West - The LA Chargers are biggest letdown of all. They have to win a game at some point, right? The Raiders are just average. When you look at their 4-5 record, their 4 wins came against sub .500 teams, and their 5 losses were against over .500 teams. So there you have it. I just made your survivor league easier. Broncos and Chiefs, clearly the best two teams in the West. They've already played each other twice, and split their games, so it's just a matter of who wins the race. Denver has an easier schedule the rest of the way, so I think they'll get it, even though I think KC is the slightly better team. They should both make the playoffs. Getting Mahomes back from injury and the free agent signing of Kenneth Walker has really lifted the Chiefs back up.
AFC East - Repo, what's going on in New England? The Pats have some very impressive wins and a couple head-scratching losses. It must be the turnovers. They gotta play cleaner like they did last year. They're ok though. They got the talent. Their schedule the rest of the way is average, some tough opponents, some easy. They'll be in the wild card mix. But the Pats aren't coming back to win the East because of Buffalo, who are looking like a legit SB contender again. 7-1, a big win on the road against MIN yesterday. This could be their year. The Jets and Dolphins are jockeying for draft position.
Between the injuries to our wide receivers, a tougher schedule, and a bit of a regression from Drake Maye (which is probably to be expected after his "ahead-of-schedule" playing last year), I think we're about right where we should be. We got totally outplayed and outclassed by the Packers and the Bears. Both the Packers and the Bears were definitely just better than us. Which means we could make the playoffs but this is like not our year as super bowl contenders. Which is probably why we didn't make any moves at the trade deadline. I'm psyched to see how we play against Detroit this sunday. I feel likie its a must-win for us after losing to the Bears & the Packers in recent weeks.
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Repo
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