14. New Orleans Saints
Color me shocked, but the Saints being 3-2 after five games and Jameis Winston looking like an actual franchise quarterback has to be one of the biggest surprises in the NFL.
The post Drew Brees era appears to be off to a very solid start; Winston has 12 touchdown passes to just 3 interceptions, but even with the 3-2 start, the Saints haven’t shown much consistency overall.
Winton passes for 5 touchdowns on opening day, and another four against Washington on October 10th, so he has 9 touchdown passes in two games.
The Saints blew out the Packers to start the season but recently dropped a horrible game to the New York Giants.
New Orleans may be another year or two away from truly being back to a contending team, but a Wild Card appearance is not out of the question in year one after Drew Brees.
13. Carolina Panthers
Has Sam Darnold finally arrived? The Panthers are much like the Broncos; they started 3-0, looked really good, and subsequently lost two games in a row.
Carolina is in year 2 of the Matt Rhule era; perhaps arriving a year early. Their defense is one of the best in the league; they have a mean pass rush and lockdown secondary, recently acquiring C.J. Henderson and Stephon Gilmore.
Once they get Jaycee Horn back, their secondary will be even more stacked.
I’m not entirely sure if the Panthers can sustain this success all season, though, as their offensive line is bad, and the Panthers are using Sam Darnold’s legs quite a bit.
The Panthers need to bounce back in a huge way against the Vikings in week 6 if they want to keep pace with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints.
They may only finish third in the division, but they’ve proven to be a tough team to beat.