As we approach Week 11 of the NFL season, each team has participated in nine games or more, indicating that the season is halfway through.
Put another way, we have a sample size large enough to draw some inferences from, but there is still enough games left in the season for the teams that have been pretending to be competitive to emerge. Which NFL clubs, then, are superior to their record? And which groups deceived everyone during the season’s first half? Now let’s get started!
Teams that surpass their performance history.
Let’s begin with the good. The Houston Texans are 5-4 on the season, but rookie quarterback CJ Stroud appears to be a legitimate MVP candidate with no end in sight.
The Baltimore Ravens are 7-3, but let’s face it—they have occasionally appeared to be the best football team. In all three of their losses, they led in the fourth quarter and had a clear path to victory.
Ultimately, the Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) and Arizona Cardinals (2-8) finish last in their respective divisions but are in distinct strata. But with Kyler Murray back and Joe Burrow back to 100%, both players have appeared lot better lately, especially with a healthy QB1 under center.
Underperforming teams compared to their records.
However, despite having records of.500 or better, the Los Vegas Raiders (5-5), Indianapolis Colts (5-5) and Cleveland Browns (6-3) all have quarterback issues that might be disastrous come December. Both Cleveland’s costly problem, Deshaun Watson, and Indianapolis’ new franchise guy, Anthony Richardson, will be sidelined for the remainder of the season, which might hurt both records going forward.
And lastly, the largest of all the scammers. The Pittsburgh Steelers, 6-3, are doing how? Just 3 points have separated them from the Carolina Panthers, who have only won once (153). Although Mike Tomlin manages to pull it off each year, their AFC North opponents make it difficult to have faith in them. All four of the teams made our list; it’s been one of the most surprising and greatest football divisions this year.