The first "month" of the NFL season was a shortened one due to a later start to the regular season, but we still have a ton to react to from the first three games of this season.
Parity is king when it comes to the NFL, so we're going to take inventory of last year's division champions around the NFC.
How are each of those reigning division champs looking so far this season? Where are they struggling? Have any of them actually progressed? Most importantly, do any of them look like they are going to be repeating as division champs?
Grading every reigning NFC division champion after the month of September
Seattle Seahawks, NFC West
Grade: B-
Nobody plans on the starting quarterback going down with an injury early in the first game of the season, but the Seattle Seahawks were ready.
Facing a 10-point deficit against the Patriots in the season opener, Drew Lock and the Seahawks came storming back to steal a Week 1 win. And then they blew the brakes off the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2.
The Seahawks ran into some trouble in Week 3 with a loss on the road against the Washington Commanders, but this team has proven to once again be one of the elite in the NFC.
They are getting a B-minus grade for their start to this season for a couple of reasons, but primarily the sustainability of their running game right now. Seattle has not been great running the ball without Kenneth Walker (surprise, surprise), ranking 22nd early this season with just 3.8 yards per rushing attempt.
Letting Walker out the front door is reason enough to knock the Seahawks in their grade so far this season, but we also haven't seen this team play the best on offense situationally. They are 26th in 3rd down success rate and 18th in the red zone.
One of the primary issues for Seattle last season was giveways on offense, but they forced so many turnovers defensively that it didn't matter as much. We saw it matter a lot against the Commanders where the Seahawks lost the turnover battle 0-3.
Again, this is still an elite team, and they have already weathered the storm through a minor injury for Sam Darnold, but the grades are coming in harsh.
Chicago Bears, NFC North
Grade: A
Even though the Chicago Bears are just 2-1 to start the season, they are getting the best grade out of any reigning division champion in the NFC.
We saw this Bears offense go absolutely bonkers in the first week of the season, scoring 59 points in a win against the Carolina Panthers.
The wind was let out of their sails a bit in Week 2 when they played a weather-impacted game against the Vikings, scoring only 3 points. It was the biggest week-to-week difference in NFL history (56 points).
Nobody expected it, but they bounced back in a big way against the Eagles with Case Keenum taking over for the injured Caleb Williams. The Bears' offense got back on track, and the defense came up with some huge takeaways against Jalen Hurts and the Eagles.
The Bears have one of the NFL's best models for success offensively under head coach Ben Johnson, and that's been proven early this season.
Philadelphai Eagles, NFC East
Grade: C-
I thought about grading the Eagles even more harshly than this, but you have to settle down a little bit. They've won two of their first three games this year, but the first loss of the year against Chicago was a great example of a lot of this team's issues in just a one-game sample.
It starts from the top down, where it may be time to start asking whether or not Nick Sirianni has worn out his welcome in Philadelphia. This team just won the Super Bowl in 2024, but that feels like a lifetime ago with the way they have played through three games.
They had just 10 first downs in their Week 1 win over the Commanders. They had to come back in Week 2 to beat the Titans. They got blown out by Case Keenum and the Bears.
Again, you have to credit the Eagles for being 2-1 at this point despite some of the negatives we've seen so far, but it's getting harder and harder to simply assume that this team's talent is going to help them bounce back in the near future.
Carolina Panthers, NFC South
Grade: C
We weren't expecting a ton from the Panthers coming into this season, but if a "C" grade is average, or slightly below average, then that feels appropriate.
And frankly, it feels a little generous considering that 59-point episode against the Bears in Week 1...
The Panthers have now lost to the Bears and Browns while beating up on the Atlanta Falcons with Cooper Rush and Jack Strand at the quarterback position. I'm not sure we've really learned anything of substance with this Panthers team just yet, but they play in an obviously wide-open division.
After winning the division with just 8 wins last season, you want to see at least some progression from this team, and we're still sifting through some mud to find the good.
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