Top Three Surprising Teams
I’m going to hold off doing a top-five this week until the Monday Night Football game is actually over. The Packers are a member of the current top-five, but are probably going to have to win to stay among the NFL’s elite.
Every season, a couple of teams come out of nowhere to make surprising post-season runs. Last year, the New Orleans Saints and the New York Jets weren’t expected by any to make the playoffs. Yet they did. The year before the Redskins used their small and speedy wide receivers and an excellent defense and running game to claim a playoff spot in the NFC. Why does this happen every year? Well it certainly isn’t just luck.
Teams that have the worst records the year before have easier schedules than teams that do make the playoffs. That is a fact. The Patriots are stuck playing elite teams like the Colts every year while the Lions always have soft games against the Cardinals and the Raiders. In addition, teams with losing records are more likely to improve their team through free agency and the draft than teams that made the post-season are. All these factors combine will almost always result in one to two surprising teams per year.
With that said, here are the top-three surprising teams in the NFL this season.
1. Detroit Lions - Everyone was laughing when Jon Kitna boldly predicted ten wins before the season. Well seven games in, the team already is halfway there. The Lions have a terrific passing game and talented, young running backs who can provide balance. But the real x-factor this season has been their defense, which has produced the most turnovers in the NFL. Detroit has a winning formula brewing.
2. Cleveland Browns - Almost quietly, the Browns have been a pretty good team this year. Derek Anderson has made fans forget who Brady Quinn is and their high draft picks are finally paying off. The problem? They play in the AFC where they have little chance of making the playoffs.
3. New York Giants - I don’t know why but just about everyone wrote this team off before the season. Heck I did too. They lost their star running back, they were coming off a so-so season where they got into the playoffs by sheer luck of playing in a bad conference, and they had seemingly written off their too-tough coach. And they started the season by losing two in a row. But lately they have looked like the class of the NFC and have rolled off six straight wins. Who could have predicted that?