After 6 weeks of football, there remain a record 5 undefeated teams. The Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, and Green Bay Packers sit at 6-0 and the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers are 5-0.
Of these 5 teams, the Patriots are definitely the team to beat. Led by QB Tom Brady they have been playing dominant football (as always). The supporting cast around Brady is arguably the best since 2007. With Tom Brady’s plethora of offensive weapons which include, Julian Edelman, the Gronk and Dion Lewis as an emerging running back, he’s looked extremely comfortable. This has many optimistic patriots fan believing that the Patriots will go undefeated once again. I doubt this will be the case since the season is so long, but don’t expect the patriots to lose more than 3 games and win the AFC East once again.
If it weren’t for the Patriots, the Packers be the best team in the league. The Packers have been one of the most consistent teams over the last 5 years. With a top-5 offense lead by QB Aaron Rodgers, even without his favorite receiver Jordy Nelson, and a top-5 defense the Packers are a definitely a Super Bowl contenders. The only thing that could potentially hinder their run is injuries on the offensive side. WR Randall Cobb suffered a shoulder injury back in week 4 and was unproductive in week 5, Eddie Lacy has been slowed by a nagging ankle injury, and 2nd year wide receiver Davante Adams has been grounded due to injuries after a promising rookie year. Packers are likely to win the NFC north, but have to stay healthy if they wish to win a Super Bowl this season.
The Broncos, like the Packers, have a shaky offense. The aging Peyton Manning has lost his arm strength and struggles to find Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. As a result the Broncos are 30th in yards per game. Thankfully for the offense, it’s being carried by the best defense in the league, who hold opponents to a mere 4.3 yards per play, have already forced 17 turnovers. The personnel in defense can rival any pro-bowl defense with corners Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr, safety TJ Ward and linebackers Demarcus Ware and Von Miller. With this league best defense, the Broncos hope to make one last playoff push before age finally catches up to Manning.
If you told me in the preseason that Bengals and Panthers would all be undefeated after 5 weeks, I would think you were crazy but here we are, the Bengals are sitting atop the AFC North after an insane 17 point, 4th quarter comeback versus the Seahawks last week. Andy Dalton is playing some of his best football this season with career highs in completion percentage and QBR and 2nd in passing yards behind Philip Rivers. Tight end Tyler Eifert has stepped up in this offense providing Dalton a 2nd receiver other than AJ Green who is the focal point of any opposing defense. The Bengals, who have lose 4 wildcard games in the last 4 seasons, hope this season they can translate regular season success to the playoffs.
The Panthers are definitely the worst undefeated teams. They are in the NFC south which a season ago were the worst division in football. The Panthers at 5-0 are by far the biggest surprise this season. After the injury to 2nd year receiver Kelvin Benjamin, who is arguably the 2nd best wide receiver in the 2014 draft class, many counted the Panthers out for the season. The Panthers picked up a huge win on the road at Seattle this week. The NFC south should be extremely interesting this season with Saint Panthers and Falcons all fighting for the division title.
The next few weeks are going to be important for these undefeated teams. Teams that have started 6-0 have make the playoffs 94% of the time.
