The Biggest Overachieving and Underachieving Teams of the 2019 NFL Season

Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports

Every NFL season brings expectations for every team. Some teams live up to these expectations, while others do not. There are even those that outperform said expectations and surprise almost all who dared to doubt them.

Now that we are about halfway through the NFL regular season, we can start to identify the teams that have overachieved, as well as the ones who have underachieved. This can be subjective though, so to eliminate as much self-input as possible here is how I will choose the three teams in their respective category:

• This is based on pre-season expectations. For example; you will not see the Saints here, because they were expected to be a top team. Even though they wildly overachieved while Drew Brees was injured.

• Teams that have been inconsistent, but still have good records - such as the LA Rams – will not be eligible for the underachiever or overachiever list.

Let’s get to it, here are my three over (and under) achievers of the 2019 NFL season:

Overachievers

1. San Francisco 49ers

Who else has shattered expectations like the ‘9ers? Before the season started, you would have been hard-pressed to find anybody who had these guys making the playoffs. Just predicting the 49ers to finish 9-7 was considered being super high on them.

Now after eight games, (San Fran beat Arizona on Thursday night) the 49ers are undefeated and lead their division by two games. They have a legitimate case for being the best team in the league and have a defense spearheaded by defensive player of the year candidate, Nick Bosa. Their rushing attack is second to none, and they have no weakness on offense or defense. Not to mention, they have one of the brightest offensive minds in the league in head coach Kyle Shanahan. San Francisco has gone from a forgotten team to the cream of the crop in a matter of eight games.

2. Buffalo Bills

Before the season, many analysts had the Bills finishing behind the Jets in the division. With New York making a ton of defensive additions, along with new head coach Adam Gase and Sam Darnold’s expected second-year leap; why should they not be expected to get a lot better? Well, the Bills said forget that and have easily become the second-best team in their division.

Playing in the weaker-than-usual AFC East, the Bills essentially get four free wins from the Dolphins and the Jets. But they have only played those two teams once apiece so far, and regardless; that does not take away from what Buffalo has done. They are 5-2 and have given the Patriots their only challenge of the season. With games remaining against the Dolphins, Washington, Broncos, and Jets; expect to see the Bills in the post-season.

3. Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are by no means a great team, they are not even a good team, but they are still ahead of where they were projected to be at this stage in the season. Even though they are just 3-5-1 they have taken games against the 49ers and Ravens, two very good teams, down to the wire. Considering that some had them finishing with the worst record in the league, I would say what they have done is a major accomplishment.

Arizona has the misfortune of playing in the toughest division in football. Yet, they just barely lost to their division rivals; the undefeated 49ers. If they can steal one or two games versus their divisional opponents and win a couple more, this season will be an absolute success and a step in the right direction for Arizona.

Honorable Mention: Oakland Raiders

Underachievers

1. Atlanta Falcons

Ever since blowing that infamous 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl, the Falcons have not been the same. They reached the playoffs the year after but were never considered real Super Bowl contenders. Last year they went 7-9, but they suffered an exorbitant amount of injuries. Considering the circumstances, many had the Falcons bouncing back and making the playoffs. Even the lowest of predictions saw them finishing at least around .500.

Now here we are at the mid-way point of the season and the Falcons have ONE win and are alone at the bottom of the NFC South. Why? A team that is this talented should not be performing so atrociously. Dan Quinn is a good coach and Matt Ryan is a good QB. They have JULIO FREAKING JONES for crying out loud. Make it make sense.

2. Los Angeles Chargers

Coming into the season, the Los Angeles Chargers had Super Bowl aspirations. While most people with a brain knew that they would not make it past Kansas City or New England, almost everyone had them as a lock for the playoffs and maybe even stealing the division. Eight weeks in, the Chargers are 3-5 and there are reports that Philip Rivers may be ousted after this season. What a change of events for the Chargers.

What has gone wrong for the LA? Well, for starters they (as usual) have experienced a significant dose of the injury bug. Their star safety, Derwin James, has yet to even see the practice field and they have a ton of other players who are either on IR or have missed games due to injury. The Chargers are also the only team without home-field advantage in the entire NFL. The only silver lining for this team is that they still have an outside shot at the playoffs if they can turn it around now.

3. Cleveland Browns

Some might have seen the Cleveland Browns not living up to expectations, in fact, a lot of people did. Nobody and I mean nobody saw them playing like this. The Browns were very popular Super Bowl picks before the season, due to all the talent they acquired over the off-season. Well, the Browns have done their best to ensure nobody will be picking them to do anything from this point forward.

Cleveland is 2-5 and they just find a new way to lose every week, Baker Mayfield has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league this season and their defense has not played as expected. Yet, the Browns are only the third-most disappointing team; since they did have a bunch of critics before the year and they have played an extremely tough schedule. The good news for Browns’ fans is that they have arguably the easiest remaining schedule in the league, and the division-leading Baltimore Ravens have one of the toughest. It is feasible that they make a run for the division.

Honorable Mention: Chicago Bears

- Paul Hessing