4 Major Surprises through 5 Weeks of the NFL Season
With the Minnesota Vikings on their bye, now is a good time to look around at what has unfolded across the NFL this season.
It’s been a wild start to the year arguably with the most parity that we’ve seen in years. It seems like just about any team can beat another team on any given week making for a very fun ride.
Here are a few of the biggest surprises that we’ve seen from the start of this NFL season.
1. Struggles from Baltimore, Kansas City
A big reason for the parity that we’ve seen this season has been a result of major struggles from both the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs this year.
The Ravens are 1-4, and the Chiefs are 2-3, meaning the two teams have a combined winning percentage of 30%. For two teams featuring MVPs at quarterback and a number of solid weapons around them, these are crazy struggles. Baltimore’s defense simply hasn’t been able to stop an opponent all season, and the Chiefs have lost three one-possession games, seemingly having all their luck in one-possession games from previous years turn against them at once.
2. Emeka Egbuka’s Rookie Breakout
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers currently sit at 4-1 and tied for the No. 1 seed in the NFC despite seeing injuries to both Bucky Irving and Jalen McMillan. A big reason behind their continued success has been the emergence of wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
The rookie, drafted 19th overall by the Bucs, has turned in 25 receptions for 445 yards and five touchdowns through five weeks. That is a 17-game pace of 85 receptions, 1513 yards, and 17 touchdowns.
Ebuka was expected to be a solid player, but there were reasons why both Travis Hunter and Tetairoa McMillan were selected above him in April. Egbuka has easily been the best rookie receiver so far this season though with more receptions, yards, and touchdowns than any other player from the 2025 draft class.
3. The AFC South
After the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the New York Giants on Thursday night, there are now six 4-1 teams remaining in the league — and two of them reside in the AFC South.
This division largely has been one of the worst in the NFL throughout the past decade, but now, there is an argument for it being the best division in football. The Indianapolis Colts have been dominant through five weeks, and the Jacksonville Jaguars just toppled the team that has represented the AFC in the Super Bowl for five of the past six years.
Meanwhile, the Houston Texans quietly are coming back to life with CJ Stroud completing over 80% of his passes for 477 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions in Houston’s back-to-back wins. They very easily could get back into the playoff mix before it’s all said and done.
4. Patriots Are a Year Early
Everyone assumed the AFC East would still belong to the Buffalo Bills for at least another year. It was a reasonable assumption considering Buffalo has won the division for five straight seasons.
However, the New England Patriots just made sure the NFL world knows that they are here to try and take that title after beating Buffalo on the road this past Sunday.
Drake Maye has been fabulous in his second NFL season, completing nearly 74% of his passes for 1261 yards, seven touchdowns, and only two interceptions. Their defense has been exceptional as well, allowing 21 or fewer points in four of their first five games this year.
And, here is the remaining schedule for New England:
- Week 6 @ New Orleans
- Week 7 @ Tennessee Titans
- Wee 8 vs. Cleveland Browns
- Week 9 vs. Atlanta Falcons
- Week 10 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Week 11 vs. New York Jets
- Week 12 @ Cincinnati Bengals
- Week 13 vs. New York Giants
- Week 14 bye
- Week 15 vs. Buffalo Bills
- Week 16 @ Baltimore Ravens
- Week 17 @ New York Jets
- Week 18 vs. Miami Dolphins
11 wins or more should be the expectation at this point for the Patriots.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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