The 2011 NFL Season is just about a quarter of the way finished, a fifth of the way if you want to count the Playoffs. With that in mind, it's time to take a look at the surprising starts thus far, both good and bad, in addition to how those teams will fair in the Season ahead.
Buffalo Bills (3-1)
I think this surprise will come as no surprise to anyone so far. While they lost yesterday, they've been impressive thus far. They came back against Oakland and New England while dominating Kansas City in week 1. Looking ahead though, their season looks bleak with 2 games against the Jets as well as a rematch with the Patriots in New England. While a Playoff Spot isn't assured, a .500 record is since they have 2 more games with Miami. It'd be a great season for Buffalo relatively if that happened. But look for them to be great in seasons to come if they don't go to the playoffs this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2)
Coming into the Season, the Steelers were once again favorites among some to win the Super Bowl. To their surprise in Week 1, Baltimore cleaned their clocks, forcing them to win 2 games in a row against poor teams before getting demolished by Houston yesterday, despite the score being so close. Looking ahead, their schedule is favorable, and as long Roethlisberger stays healthy, the team still looks like a Playoff team. They just may not make it there because of the fierce competition the AFC East is currently giving them. Not to mention the rest of the AFC North is either 3-1 or 2-2.
Philadelphia Eagles (1-3)
Coming into the season 8 out of 10 people thought this team was the heavy favorite. With a lot of weight on their shoulders, along with a poor offensive line the Eagles have started rather slow. While the losses to Atlanta (lost lead in the 4th after Vick went out) and the Giants (revenge for last year's games) weren't entirely out of the realm of possibility, the loss to San Francisco yesterday was. They had a lot of pressure on their shoulders this season, and like the Miami Heat early last season, couldn't handle it. It's unknown at this point if they will pull through, but a 10 win season would require a 9-3 finish at this point, so unless they can win 2 of their next 3 games to get things going, it looks like the Dream Team will falter.
Detroit Lions (4-0)
The Lions ended last season with 4 straight wins. They won all 4 pre-season games, and are now 4-0. That's 12 straight games. The last two they've won have been by large comebacks, caused more by the other teams ineptitude than skill. Right now, they remind me of the 2009 New Orleans Saints, which had a great offense and an opportunistic defense that allowed them to win games they had no business of winning. While the '11 Lions have a better Defense, their schedule going forward is going to be a bit tougher than the Saints had two seasons ago. They face the Packers twice, including at Home on Thanksgiving, the Bears twice, the Chargers and Saints. While they are almost assured a Playoff spot barring injury to Stafford, it'll be interesting to see just how far they take it.
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