Some of the transformations we’ve seen in the NFL this year have been unpleasant surprises — such as the Miami Dolphins going from 11-5 last year to 1-6 already this year. On the other side of the slate we have the Arizona Cardinals, who are off to their best start since 1974 with a 7-0 record. We thought the Cardinals would be solid, but we had no idea they would be this dominant this quickly. The same goes for the Dallas Cowboys, who lost in Week 1 but are now 6-1. In the AFC, the biggest positive surprises have been the Cincinnati Bengals, who just trounced the Ravens in Baltimore and have a 5-2 record atop the AFC North; the Las Vegas Raiders, who are now 5-2 after spanking the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Tennessee Titans, who have beaten Buffalo and Kansas City so far this season and lead the AFC South with a 5-2 record.
Let’s take a closer look at some of these unexpected contenders before thinking about the NFL betting picks.
NFL News: Teams That Could Come out of Nowhere to Win the Super Bowl
The Las Vegas Raiders are getting a terrific season out of quarterback Derek Carr, who has had several subpar years since that AFC West title. In Philadelphia, he just picked the Eagles’ secondary apart. He completed 15 of his first 16 passes, and the only pass that didn’t go to a Raider was an interception. This team felt like it was put together with baling wire at the start of the season, but they just keep winning, and they are in the giant 5-2 logjam in the AFC.
Tennessee did not allow the mighty Kansas City offense to score a single touchdown; in fact, they only permitted 4.9 yards per play. Jeffrey Simmons is a beast on the D-line, and Harold Landry is having his best year. Ryan Tannehill led an impressive passing game, averaging 9.2 net yards per pass. Julio Jones and A.J. Brown were finally healthy and on the field at the same time, running amok through the Kansas City secondary. That helped Tannehill thrive — and it makes the Titans even scarier.
Cincinnati’s decision to bring in wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase from LSU to join his former teammate, Joe Burrow, looks like it was genius. Against the Ravens on Sunday, he caught eight passes for 201 yards and a score. Now the Bengals have three different elite receiving options, and their O-line is good enough in the running game to make that part of the offense a legitimate threat. On defense, the Bengals ranked in the top ten in the NFL before shutting down the Ravens, and now they are the top unit in the AFC.
Dallas has an historically awful defense last year, and they went heavy on that side of the ball in the draft and free agency, and it has paid off. Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs lead a defensive unit that takes the ball away and gets after the quarterback. On offense, Dak Prescott is putting up historic numbers again this season. The bye week came at a fortuitous time for the Cowboys, as Prescott injured his calf in the team’s overtime win in New England. If he can return at full strength, the Cowboys’ offense will continue to be lethal, and the team’s schedule gets a lot more reasonable in the second half.
Arizona is the last unbeaten team in the league, and they just ran roughshod over the Houston Texans last week. The Cards went and got tight end Zach Ertz via trade last week, and he caught a touchdown pass. James Conner was the team’s featured running back this week, taking the place of Chase Edmonds. Kyler Murray needs to do a better job taking care of himself; he had some shots to the head against Houston that were a result of his aggressive play. Arizona needs Murray in order to be a contender.
NFL Betting Odds
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