We all expected the NFC to be loaded in 2026, and those expectations have been met.
Even though the NFC South is doing NFC South things already, the rest of the conference looks just as loaded -- and crowded -- as we thought it might going into the season.
The NFC West is loaded once again; the NFC North is going to be a four-way race all season, and the NFC East has been extremely competitive so far. But after just three games in the month of September, only three undefeated teams remain. And by the time September ends, there may only be two...
How do each of the remaining undefeated teams in the NFC stack up going into Week 4?
NFL Power Rankings, Week 4: Ranking every undefeated NFC team
3. Minnesota Vikings
The 3-0 Minnesota Vikings might be one of the league's unlikeliest success stories through the first month of the season.
In the first game of the year, new starting quarterback Kyler Murray threw an early interception and went down with a concussion agianst the division rival Green Bay Packers. it seemed like the worst possible way you could have possibly expected the first game of the year to go, but the Vikings' defense buckled down in the 2nd half against the Packers and swung momentum in a big way.
Not only did the Vikings beat the Packers, but they embarrassed and exposed them in a number of ways.
They followed that win by beating another division rival -- the Chicago Bears -- in a low scoring, rain-impacted game.
In Week 3, the Vikings won a defensive battle yet again, this time against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This team just keeps making plays, and they keep affecting and impacting the quarterback in a big way. In two straight games, Brian Flores's defense has gotten after the quarterback to the point that the quarterback (Caleb Williams, Baker Mayfield) has actually gotten hurt.
This team is fast, physical, and mean. They aren't passing the eye test offensively right now, but the defense is elite.
2. Philadelphia Eagles
To be completely fair, this is being written before the Eagles take on the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, so it could be irrelevant in no time.
With the Bears' QB situation, however, it's not hard to see the Eagles finding a path to 3-0. And even though they haven't been the most impressive we've ever seen them, they would still qualify as the 2nd-best undefeated team in the NFC.
This team has been to the mountaintop before, and recently. Even if the Eagles aren't exactly lighting it up offensively, they have all of the pieces and big-play threats to be a contender in the NFC once again. Their experience makes them so much more dangerous in January, and especially in close games.
Even if it happens to be against a team trying to make it through with their backup quarterback, if we see the Eagles put together an impressive all-around game both offensively and defensively? It will go a long way toward shaping the outside perception of this team.
1. San Francisco 49ers
Through three weeks, there might not be a more dominant team in the entire NFL than the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers are currently having the last laugh in their ongoing battle with the electrical substation. This team suffers one injury after another, and they seemingly just have another player to step up and take someone's place each week.
It doesn't seem to matter what position the player plays or the caliber of the player getting hurt -- the 49ers just seem to have answers.
Right now, this team is a well-oiled machine offensively. They've beaten up on some bad teams over the last two weeks (Cardinals, Dolphins), but the way they came out swinging in the season-opener against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia was really impressive.
This team looks like it's on a mission heading into a pivotal Week 4 matchup at home against the Denver Broncos.
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