After the first six weeks of the National Football League season, the standings are not what fans expected them to look like. Some of the so-called “best teams” are last in their division, while some teams who fans counted out are sitting atop their division. Additionally, while some quarterbacks are playing like prime Tom Brady, some are putting on some less-than-stellar performances.
ESPN had the Los Angeles Rams at No.1 in their preseason power rankings. Not only are the Rams not even close to being the best team in the league, but they are last in their division with two wins and four losses.
Just this past week, the Rams lost on a last-second field goal against the Arizona Cardinals, a team who ESPN ranked third-to-last in their preseason power rankings. In their loss to the Denver Broncos, the Rams led 16-0 going into halftime; however, LA would give up 30 points to Denver in the second half and lose by a score of 30-26.
Ironically enough, the Rams aren’t the only team in LA underperforming this season.
The Los Angeles Chargers sat at No. 14 in ESPN’s preseason power rankings. In those rankings, ESPN predicted that Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert would have one of the most productive seasons of his career. Unfortunately, based on the first six weeks of this season, ESPN could not have been more wrong.
The Chargers are currently 0-6 and Herbert has played terribly. He is currently leading the league in interceptions with 8, ranks last among quarterbacks in adjusted quarterback rating (QBR) with a 29.9 rating and ranks last among qualified quarterbacks this season in touchdowns with only five.
Another quarterback in the American Football Conference (AFC) who had high expectations going into the season is vastly underperforming.
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has looked like a shell of the 2025 Bo Nix who took his team to the AFC Championship. Nix ranks third-to-last in the league in QBR with a rating of 38.2 and third-to-last in touchdowns with just six. However, unlike Herbert’s team, the Broncos have still found ways to win this season, as they currently sit at a 4-2 record.
Enough about the teams and players who are underachieving this season. Let’s get into some of the teams and players who are overachieving this season.
The Cleveland Browns, the team ranked second-to-last in ESPN’s preseason power rankings, are currently winning their division with a record of 4-2. After finishing with a record of 5-12 last year, the Browns were given little to no thought going into this season.
People had no expectations for Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson this year, as Watson had not had a dominant season since 2020. Also, going into this season people did not have much faith in Cleveland’s young receiving core either.
While Watson hasn’t particularly stood out this season, he has performed when it matters, as he has four game-winning drives for Cleveland which is the reason why they currently sit atop the AFC North division. As far as the receiving core goes, rookie wideouts Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion have been producing for the Browns offense so far this season.
There is another team that people counted out going into this season that is currently steamrolling through the league.
The Minnesota Vikings were ranked No. 22 by ESPN in their preseason power rankings. Minnesota is a clean 5-0 right now, thanks in part to their stellar defense that has allowed the least number of points per game of any team in the NFL this season (12.8) and touchdowns of any team in the NFL this season (six).
If you told ESPN before the season started that after the first six weeks, the Vikings would be 5-0 and the Rams would be 2-4, they would likely ask you if you even watch football.
The Vikings, however, are not alone in the undefeated club because the San Francisco 49ers are 6-0.
San Francisco’s undefeated start is courtesy of their elite offense that ranks third in the NFL in points per game this season and is led by star quarterback Brock Purdy. He is having an MVP caliber season so far this year, as he has the highest QBR of any quarterback in the league (83.0) and is tied for the most touchdowns of any quarterback in the league with 14.