Surprises

For all but the six teams that had their byes this past week, NFL teams are a quarter of the way through the 2014 NFL regular season. While there is still a lot of football to play and anything can, and probably will, happen, we've seen enough to be surprised by teams.

Here are the standings after the Patriots-Chiefs Monday Night game.

AFC East
Buffalo  2-2
Miami  2-2
New England  2-2
New York Jets  1-3

AFC North
Cincinnati  3-0
Baltimore  3-1
Pittsburgh  2-2
Cleveland  1-2

AFC South
Houston  3-1
Indianapolis  2-2
Tennessee  1-3
Jacksonville  0-4

AFC West
San Diego  3-1
Denver  2-1
Kansas City  2-2
Oakland  0-4

NFC East
Philadelphia  3-1
Dallas  3-1
New York Giants  2-2
Washington  1-3

NFC North 
Detroit  3-1
Green Bay  2-2
Chicago  2-2
Minnesota  2-2

NFC South
Carolina  2-2
Atlanta  2-2
New Orleans 1-3
Tampa Bay  1-3

NFC West
Arizona  3-0
Seattle  2-1
San Francisco  2-2
St. Louis  1-2

The big surprise for me, in a bad way, is the play of the New Orleans Saints. They looked like they were playing in mud on Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys. Coming into the season, I thought that Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan would have the defense better than they were last season. And, they were playing at a very high level last season. The Saints defense hasn't really stopped anyone. The offense, which is pretty much always terrific, has been sluggish in most of their games. The Saints are lucky for the parity that exists in the NFC South. They have under-performed and they are only a game back with twelve to play. While I didn't have the same expectations for the New England Patriots that I had for the Saints, the Patriots haven't played well. Especially last night.

Cincinnati, Houston, San Diego, Detroit and Arizona might be surprises to some but they are talented teams. It shouldn't really be a surprise that each has played well. Cincinnati's problems usually start popping up in the playoffs. They have done very well in the regular season. New offensive coordinator Hue Jackson does have the offense looking especially sharp. Houston had a terrible season in 2013 but there was still a lot of talent on that 2-14 team. And part of that talent is J.J. Watt. He's been unstoppable through four games. If Houston is still ahead of Indianapolis later in the season, then I'll be surprised. San Diego might be a surprise simply because they beat Seattle. The Chargers are a very good team and quarterback Philip Rivers is playing out of his mind. The Chargers should give the Broncos a real challenge in the division. Detroit has won their three games in interesting ways. They have an explosive offense so it is assumed that they get in footraces and simply outscore their opponents. So far, they haven't been particularly explosive. The defense has played a greater role in the wins. The ways in which they have won have been the surprise. Arizona is the biggest surprise of these teams. They lost several impact defensive players to suspension and injuries and they still find ways to frustrate and stifle opponents. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles should get coach of the year consideration.

The biggest surprise to me, in a good way, has been the Dallas Cowboys. They looked horrible against San Francisco in week one. They have played great ever since. Running back DeMarco Murray is in the conversation with Philip Rivers and J.J. Watt for MVP through four games. The Cowboys defense has been efficient. That is probably the biggest surprise of all.