NFL Quarter-Season Review: MVP, Top 5 and Bottom 5 Teams, Biggest Surprises, Super Bowl Pick

Bruce McLaren

Rookie Emeka Egbuka has had a great season so far for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are 4-1.

Introduction

We’re 5 weeks into the NFL season, which means we are a bit over a quarter of the way through, which means that it is time for a quarter-season review. We’ve seen plenty of upsets and breakout performances, and it’s time to rank them. We will look at the top and bottom 5 teams so far, my current coach of the year, my MVP through 5 weeks, and my current Super Bowl prediction.

Top 5 Teams

1. Detroit Lions

2. Philadelphia Eagles

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

4. Buffalo Bills

5. Indianapolis Colts

We have already lost the possibility of another 17-0 team, with the Bills and Eagles both being defeated this weekend. Since week 1, however, the best NFL team has not been either of these two teams: it has been the Detroit Lions. They have scored over 34 points per game for the last four weeks, even if it is important to note that they have not played against any great teams so far as the Ravens have been very disappointing. This weekend, the Eagles lost their first game, but I still believe that they are the second best team in the NFL right now because their offensive talent is top-notch, even if their new offensive coordinator has been down-right bad. 

This season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been the most positively surprising team to me so far; Baker Mayfield has played out of his mind, and in combination with new WR Emeka Egbuka, the Bucs have had one of the most proficient passing attacks so far this season. The Bills lost this weekend to the Patriots in a thriller, but I am not worried about them. Even as a Patriots fan, I can recognize that a lot of things had to go right for the Pats to win that game. Buffalo needs to figure out how they are going to set up their offensive weapons to create more deep threats where Josh Allen can thrive. Finally, the Colts have been the biggest surprise of the year. Daniel Jones has shockingly played at an all-pro level, while the defense has impressed. It is difficult to trust the Colts and Jones, however, because of how Jones has played in the past, but if the Colts continue their strong start, it will be impossible to deny that they are a top team. 

Bottom 5 Teams

28. Ravens

29. Bengals

30. Saints

31. Dolphins

32. Jets

One of the biggest surprises this year has been the demise of the Ravens and Bengals. Both teams have been detrimentally impacted by injuries, with both star QBs being knocked out for extended periods of time, while the Ravens specifically were hit with many injuries on the defense as well. At the bottom of the list, it is more expected to see teams like the Saints, Dolphins, and Jets based on preseason power rankings. The Saints are clearly in a project stage with Spencer Rattler clearly not being fully developed, while the Jets and Dolphins are simply lacking talent and need a rebuild. Some Jets fans have been calling for Aaron Glenn’s job, but I think that he deserves much more time to try to rebuild this team that clearly lacks a lot of talent. Mike McDaniel, however, should be on the hottest of seats at this point; choking away a 17-0 lead against Carolina this weekend should have been the last straw. 

Coach of the Year

This is the first pick that may surprise some people: my pick for coach of the year is Todd Bowles. I think his work with Tampa Bay this year has been beyond impressive, but my main reason for him being my pick is that he has improved drastically as a coach since the time where he coached the Jets in the early 2010s. Originally, when Bruce Arians stepped down, I was very negative about Bowles becoming the new coach, but I have been proved wrong. Hopefully, he can continue his success and cement the Bucs as Super Bowl contenders. Other contenders so far for coach of the year are Mike Vrabel, Dan Campbell, and Shane Steichen. 

MVP

My current MVP comes from a team that I have yet to mention so far: Dak Prescott. Prescott’s numbers so far this season have simply been impeccable: 1360 yards, 11 total TDs, and only 3 INTs in 5 games, the best start to a season in his career since at least 2019. His maximization of the talent that he has had so far this season has been the most impressive; he has missed his main target, CeeDee Lamb, for over half of this young season, and he is still putting up great numbers. He has led the Cowboys’ less-than-ideal defense to a .500 record so far, exceeding the expectations of reasonable Cowboys fans post-Parsons trade. Other candidates for the MVP could be Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, and Patrick Mahomes depending on how they progress throughout the season. 

Super Bowl Prediction

I am generally someone who is quite stubborn in his predictions, and my pick for the Super Bowl this year before the season was very boring: Chiefs over Eagles. Most of this article has purposely revolved around the most recent events in the NFL season, but I am going to stick to my guns here for two main reasons. One reason is that I simply trust these teams more than the others; they have consistently proven over the past few years that they are the two most successful franchises in the 2020s, and I think this will continue this year. Secondly, I believe that when the Chiefs get their entire receiving core back (Rashee Rice specifically), they will have more explosive plays on offense, and once they make it to the playoffs, it does not really matter how well the regular season went for them.