Ten teams have one win and only one of them figures to make the playoffs because three of them are in the NFC East.
And the Jets are winless, so that means it is likely 21 teams are fighting for 13 playoff spots.
The 14th goes to the NFC East champion. Dallas currently leads at 2-4. The Eagles are 1-4-1. It might not seem fair that one of them is likely to host a playoff game against a team with a better record.
But the divisions are the bedrock of the NFL and to deny a division champion a home game cheapens a division title.
—Even though the Cowboys are leading their division, they are a dumpster fire after the loss to Arizona. They have lost quarterback Dak Prescott, and anonymous players are already second-guessing new coach Mike McCarthy. It is going to test McCarthy’s mettle as he tried to unite the team and come back from this.
—Just a week after the Bucs lost to the Bears when Tom Brady lost track of downs, they rebounded to crush the Packers while handcuffing Aaron Rodgers.
—Tennessee didn’t get much respect last year for making the AFC title game. But they are for real with Ryan Tannehill finding new life at quarterback and Derrick Henry fueling the running game. They’re one of three unbeaten teams along with Seattle and Pittsburgh after their comeback win over the Texans.
—There was a lot of hype for the Pittsburgh-Cleveland game but it turned out to be just another typical Pittsburgh-Cleveland game dominated by the Steelers. The Browns are pretenders and the Steelers are contenders.
—Two coaches went for two at the end of games last week and both lost. But Romeo Crennel, the interim Houston coach made the right move in trying to get a nine-point lead over Tennessee. He knew his defense couldn’t stop the Titans in crunch time and they didn’t. Washington’s Ron Rivera made a bonehead move in doing it against the Giants trailing by a point. He had a better chance of winning the game in overtime rather than betting t on a two-point try, which is successful about half the time.
—Bill Belichick is finding out what life is like without Tom Brady. The Patriots are 2-3 and under .500 at the five-game mark for the first time since 2003. The Patriots may still win their division once they get back to practicing after their facility was closed because of positive COVID-19 tests, but they not likely to win the Super Bowl. But then Brady isn’t likely either.