Through the first three weeks of the 2016 NFL season, which team from both the AFC and NFC have been the most impressive?
The opening three weeks of the 2016 NFL season have been wild. In terms of unpredictability and entertainment, these three slates of games are why the league is so much fun. However, there are no participation trophies in the NFL. Thus, there are teams standing above the rest.
There have been quite a few impressive teams this season, but two teams really stand out above the others. These two teams have overcome insurmountable odds and run through a brutal schedule in impressive fashion. Neither of these is necessarily ranked above the other, but they do share some similarities.
This is the most impressive team from both the AFC and NFC through three weeks.
AFC: New England Patriots
We should expect this by now from head coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. At this point, nothing really should surprise us from this team. But it’s hard not to be shocked by what they’ve done and how they’ve done it this season.
They currently stand at 3-0 with wins at Arizona, against the Texans, and in the division over Miami. They’ve done it all without star quarterback Tom Brady playing a single snap and All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski catching a single pass (he’s played just 14 total snaps). Both could arguably end their careers as the greatest to ever play their position.
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On top of that the Pats have been without their biggest playmaker on the defensive line Rob Ninkovich after trading away their top defensive end Chandler Jones this offseason. Their best run stopper, Dont’a Hightower, has missed time as well. None of it seems to matter at all.
No one gave them much of a shot taking on one of the Super Bowl favorites Week 1 with Jimmy Garoppolo under center, but they took them down. Then, with rookie Jacoby Brissett at the helm, how could they go into Houston and upset the Texans? By completely dismantling them 27-0; that’s how. Now Brissett and Garoppolo are both injured (neither ruled out for Week 4) and we have no idea who will be under center Week 4 against the Bills. Does it matter though?
This team is scary if you’re in the AFC. When you consider Brady and Gronk are on their way back, it’s hard to imagine anything other than injury keeping them out of the Super Bowl this season. As if Belichick’s resume wasn’t incredible enough, this may have propelled him to a new stratosphere as arguably the greatest NFL coach in history.
You can even take it a step further; he may be the greatest coach in American professional sports history.
He’s in the conversation. The two greatest pro coaches in my lifetime are San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich and Belichick. What really separates Belichick is the fact he has to deal with a salary cap and he’s won with a rotating cast of characters in a system where seemingly everyone is expendable.
NFC: Minnesota Vikings
I was extremely high on the Minnesota Vikings defense heading into this season. They are loaded with young talent and playmakers on every level of the defense. The defensive line is vicious, linebackers versatile, and secondary exceptional. It’s still very early, but they are every bit as good as the Broncos were last season. And they’re going to have to be, because that quarterback situation is almost as awful as that Peyton Manning disaster in Denver last season.
First off, Teddy Bridgewater was a game manager at best. After his leg was nearly amputated from his body, Shaun Hill was forced to start the season for the Vikes. Sam Bradford has since taken the reins after being acquired through trade.
With this slew of mediocre quarterbacks, the Vikings are undefeated with huge wins at Green Bay and against the Panthers. They dominated both Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton. The Vikings defense held Rodgers and Cam combined to one touchdown pass and five turnovers, all while sacking them 13 times. They dismantled their offenses allowing just 24 total points.
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By the way, the Vikings didn’t even have Adrian Peterson for most of Week 2 or any of Week 3. He’s probably out for the regular season. Things could come crashing down for the Vikings if the offense falls apart, but to this point, their accomplishments have been nothing short of spectacular.