8. Dallas Cowboys
I hate to admit this, but I can't quit the Dallas Cowboys yet this season. This team has the #1 offense and the #32 defense through the first month of the season, and as you would expect, they are wildly fun to watch as a result. We have been seeing some truly vintage performances from Dak Prescott, who has looked absolutely locked in for the majority of the season (save for the Bears game).
Even without CeeDee Lamb, and even without a Micah Parsons-like presence off the edge, the Cowboys have hunt with both the Eagles and Packers so far this year. We'll see if they can get some better luck in one-score games, but I'm still locked into the idea that the Cowboys could be a sleeper playoff team in the NFC.
7. San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers definitely deserve credit for being what they are at this point, which is a 3-1 team. But at some point, the injuries that have piled up for this squad are going to burn them.
Especially the absence of Nick Bosa defensively, but certainly all of the pieces on offense as well.
Brock Purdy just came back after suffering an early injury himself, and while Mac Jones was able to keep the ship afloat, you just can't help but wonder if or when this train is going off the rails. San Francisco has to take on the Rams on a short week this week.
6. Seattle Seahawks
After the first week of the season, it looked like it could be a long year for the Seahawks and their new experiment on the offensive side of the ball. The Seahawks obviously made wholesale changes on offense, getting rid of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, quarterback Geno Smith, and star receiver DK Metcalf.
The last three weeks, there have not been many better offenses in the league. Sam Darnold looks like he has really turned a corner as a player overall, and Seattle's overall operation is one of the best in the NFL. They rank 6th in scoring on offense and 2nd in scoring defense.
5. Green Bay Packers
After a dominating 2-0 start to the season in which they steamrolled the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, it looked like the Green Bay Packers were the best team in the NFC and maybe the NFL as a whole.
Two weeks later, and the vibe has changed drastically. The Packers are still one of the best teams in the NFL right now, but they've hit some speed bumps with a brutal loss against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 and a tie against the Cowboys in a Week 4 shootout.
The issue for the Packers at cornerback is something to watch, and we'll see how aggressive GM Brian Gutekunst might be in addressing it.