There’s parody in the NFL thru 4 weeks. We have 12 teams that are 2-2 and 11 teams that are 3-1 or better. There are still three teams that remain a perfect 4-0.

We're one month into the 2026 NFL season, and for every thing we thought we knew, there are two things we didn't see coming.
We knew the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills would be good, and outside Buffalo's Week 4 setback at home, both teams have been. But not many people would have predicted the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns would be in first place.

Conversely, we figured that the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans would be bad, and sure enough both teams are winless. However, no one figured that the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers would join those bottom-feeders after both teams made the playoffs a year ago.

1. Seattle Seahawks (3–1)

After surviving the last gasp of the Chargers’ season, the Seahawks are reviving the career of one-time running game bully Joe Mixon to fill the gap prior to Zach Charbonnet’s return. The signings of random name-recognition veterans by playoff-bound teams are one of my favorite time-honored traditions in all of sports.

2. San Francisco 49ers (4-0)

Given their largely tremendous start, the Niners would have reached the top spot sooner if not for their latest rash of injuries, with FB Kyle Juszczyk the most recent star to go down. However, the team is certainly safeguarding early MVP candidate Brock Purdy, becoming the first team since Peyton Manning's 2005 Indianapolis Colts to permit zero sacks through the first four games. Beat Seattle on Sunday, and San Francisco will have already taken down three of last season's final four teams. Unbeaten through four games for the third time under Kyle Shanahan, now the longest-tenured coach in franchise history, the 49ers leveraged those other two hot starts into Super Bowl berths.

3. Kansas City Chiefs

In a battle for first place in the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs flexed their muscle as the division's team to beat. Kenneth Walker III ran for a career-high 177 yards and two touchdowns. He's clearly the team's offensive engine, though Patrick Mahomes has done his part with nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (3–1)

I had a good time at the expense of the Jaguars in the immediate aftermath of the Travis Hunter trade-up. I have since retained a crisis management firm to help aid the fallout when all of my old posts get sent to Old Takes Exposed.

5. Baltimore Ravens (3-1)

The Ravens handled their business against the Titans, jumping out to a 24-7 lead in the first half and then holding on late. The big story, though, is the health of Lamar Jackson, who left the game with an ankle injury and did not return. He was seen in a walking boot after the game, but the reporting around the injury suggests it is minor. It needs to be for the Ravens to be true contenders.

6. Buffalo Bills (3-1)

They're still scoring at the highest clip in the league, but the Bills' early season success is now contextualized by beating two winless teams prior to Sunday's wake-up loss to the Patriots — winners of two in a row now at Buffalo. Now it's up to the Bills to stabilize away from Western New York, given they'll only play at home once over the next six weeks.

7. Denver Broncos (2-2)

It hasn't been pretty through four weeks, especially offensively, but the Broncos' only losses are to the undefeated Chiefs and Niners, and the schedule eases a bit for the rest of October. Even better, All-Pro CB Patrick Surtain II (ankle) isn't expected to miss much time.

8. Los Angeles Rams (2-2)

They're still out of sorts offensively, with QB Matthew Stafford launching a league-high 162 passes for an offense that's only running 38% of the time, but facing Buffalo's air defense — not exactly the Iron Dome — in Week 5 won't provide much reason to balance things out.

9. Minnesota Vikings (4-0)

As great as the Vikings' swarming defense has been, let's not lose sight of All-Pro K Will Reichard. His league-high 42 points scored are nearly half of Minnesota's total (86). Reichard has provided all of the scoring in two of the four wins.

10. New England Patriots (2-2)

Will the Patriots' biggest offensive outburst of the season steady QB Drake Maye and this team at large? New England's 29 offensive points Sunday matched its aggregate total entering Week 4.

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