We are fully one-third through the NFL season – went fast, right? – and our search for this year’s super teams settles on … the Indianapolis Colts? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
No offense to Daniel Jones, Baker Mayfield, and their surrounding roster that have forged twin NFL-best 5-1 records, but this cannot be correct.
Jan 20, 1980; Pasadena, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle (right) and CBS broadcaster Irv Cross prior to the start of the Super Bowl XIV between the Los Angeles Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Rose Bowl. The Steelers defeated the Rams 31-19. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Pete Rozelle Loved NFL Parity
This is the NFL, dang it.
We expect the Philadelphia Eagles to be a Super Team.
We expect the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions to dominate – or at least to have risen to the top of their respective divisions by now.
But we don’t have that.
Instead, we have a Pete Rozelle dream scenario. He was the Hall of Fame NFL commissioner who was famously quoted as wanting parity throughout the league. He wanted an NFL in which mid-tier teams and underdogs would frequently upend the expectations of dominant teams, thus shrinking the number of those super teams.
And that’s what we apparently have this season.
No Super Teams.
Indianapolis Colts QB Daniel Jones throws a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Photo Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images)
Are Colts And Bucs Super Teams?
What we do have is great teams from last year kind of struggling. We have a lot of flawed teams with frustrating issues trying to improve. We have some major disappointments – looking at you Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals.
And we’ve got the Colts and Bucs looking like they’re the best of the best. There probably should be a question mark at the end of that last sentence, because those two teams own the league’s best records, but even they come with, well, pause.
The Colts could be 6-0 were it not for one terrible afternoon by Adonai Mitchell that cost his team a victory against the Los Angeles Rams in the season’s only loss.
But let’s be honest: The Colts have gotten fat on teams lean on success.
They’ve beaten Miami, Tennessee, Las Vegas and Arizona. Those teams boast (not really) a combined 6-18 record, one of which has already fired its coach, another of which has no leadership, and another which fined its coach for his sideline behavior.
Sep 21, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) reacts after a ply against the New York Jets in the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Buccaneers Are Comeback Kings
The Bucs, meanwhile, have four wins forged on the back of amazing comebacks in the final seconds of games. They beat the Jets and Seahawks as time expired. They beat the Falcons with a TD in the final 59 seconds, and beat the Texans with a TD in the final 6 seconds.
That doesn’t diminish the accomplishment.
It actually writes a narrative that Tampa Bay is a clutch team that never quits. But it also raises the possibility that the Bucs are walking a thin line between success and failure, and it is hard to expect them to remain perfectly and consistently balanced every game.
And, look, maybe we will end up with a Super Bowl matchup of Colts versus Buccaneers. But that doesn’t make the case we have Super Teams. It clearly argues the opposite.
Eagles, Chiefs, Ravens Endure Problems
And that argument is strong considering:
The Eagles are 4-2 but they’re on a two-game losing skid, have been the subject of constant doubt about offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, the passing of quarterback Jalen Hurts and other drama.
The Chiefs are 3-3 and expecting to surge soon. But that expectation makes them no different than about two dozen other teams invested in optimism.
The Ravens have a very disappointing 1-5 record. They also insist they can still save their season!
“Our focus is going forward and what we can accomplish for the next 11 games to try to earn our way into the playoffs, which obviously, as pointed out [Sunday], has not been done very often with the record we have,” Harbaugh said on Monday. “But, we still believe we can do it.”
That will make what happens next interesting, but this is now a team that makes a lot of mistakes backed into a corner where it has a small margin for error.
Bills Going To ‘Start Over’
The Bills were the league’s last remaining undefeated team two weeks ago. Then came two consecutive losses, including Monday’s night’s loss to the Falcons in which quarterback Josh Allen seemed rattled by blitzes and incapable of turning a subpar receiver group into playmakers.
The Bills look more like the mirage of a good team than an actual one now.
Their four wins have come against teams with a combined 3-21 record. They lost at home to the Patriots and that loss helped sink them to second-place in the AFC East, a division they’ve won five consecutive seasons.
Now Buffalo goes into its bye to rest and relax, right? Nope.
“We’ve got to start over and start from ground zero and figure this thing out and work our tails off to do it,” coach Sean McDermott said after the Falcons loss.
Oct 12, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch (not pictured) and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster (9) get into a fight after the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Lions Secondary A Concern
Did I mention the Lions lost Sunday to the Chiefs? And because Brian Branch let his emotions drive him, he’s now suspended for a postgame fight with JuJu Smith-Schuster? And that really hurts a team already dealing with multiple injuries in the secondary?
It’s adversity time for the Lions now, which would be fine if they were a Super Team. But that’s not the vibe they’re giving off at the moment.
It’s not the vibe any NFL team is really giving off one-third of the way into the 2025 season.