The NFL regular season has officially reached the halfway point, and it’s been one of the most unpredictable seasons to date. While some teams have been complete disappointments, others have thrived and taken a step up. Injuries have run rampant, affecting teams like the Baltimore Ravens, while others, such as the San Francisco 49ers, remain dominant. Heading into Week Nine, teams like the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns have been excelling, while the Chargers have completely fallen off a cliff. What teams have been the biggest surprises and disappointments?
Biggest NFL Surprises
The New York Giants
The Giants had a promising offseason, with two top-ten picks and the signing of legendary coach John Harbaugh. Unfortunately, after week two, the Giants’ season looked over. Jackson Dart was out for the whole NFL season, and just a week later, their best defender, Brian Burns, suffered a season-ending injury. In a strange turn of events, they led the NFC East going into Week Nine. After storming their way to a 3-2-1 record behind Jameis Winston, J.J. McCarthy got the chance to start and put together an amazing performance with over 70% completion.
The NFC East is wide open at this point in the season. The Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff hopes have all but crumbled with injuries to Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, and more. This level of success doesn’t seem sustainable, with the Giants’ season-long point differential at only +2. Two games have entered overtime, and the Titans and Cardinals games were both decided by a last-second interception.
The Giants still have a real shot at the playoffs, with their next two games against the Eagles and Commanders. They have already matched last season’s win total, despite a slew of injuries and some dysfunction in the running back room. They have all the momentum in the world behind them, with their win over the Houston Texans being their best offensive game of the season (420 total yards). The secondary has been elite, led by Deonte Banks, who has yet to allow a receiver over 40 yards when lined up against him. He also has a game-winning 98-yard pick-six against Arizona. He has been a huge part of the Giants’ success to this point.
With or without Jackson Dart, the Giants offense is explosive this season. Malik Nabers is back in prime form with four straight 100+ yard games, while Isaiah Likely has broken out as a top tight end. He has five receiving touchdowns this season, tying him for second with three other tight ends. Cam Skattebo had a statement game after being benched, so if he returns fully healthy after the bye week, the running game will be back to support McCarthy.
The Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders were one of the worst teams in the NFL last season, posting a 3-14 record and securing Fernando Mendoza with the first pick in the draft. They had a productive offseason, adding Kirk Cousins as a mentor QB, Tyler Linderbaum to anchor the offensive line, and bolstering the defense on all cylinders. They also hired Klint Kubiak as the new head coach, right after he led Seattle to one of the league’s best offenses on the way to a Super Bowl. Most people expected the Raiders to improve, but they’ve been more solid than expected – and Mendoza has yet to start a game.
The Raiders sit at 4-4, but all of their losses have come to Super Bowl contenders. They lost to Kansas City, New England, Buffalo, and the Rams. Their only truly ugly loss came to New England, where they were beaten 45-17. Cousins is, surprisingly, the least of Vegas’ problems. He has returned to his elite form in Minnesota, with 19 touchdowns on the season to only five interceptions. This is a far cry from his first season in Atlanta, when he threw for 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 14 games.
The offense around him is looking seamless. Brock Bowers hasn’t lost a step after missing weeks one and two, with five receiving touchdowns in only six games. Ashton Jeanty is slowly developing into a solid receiving back, already with more receiving yards this season than all of 2025. Their defense could still use some work (they rank 31st in points allowed), but standouts like Maxx Crosby and Nakobe Dean have been doing their best to hold it down, with 4.5 combined sacks. They have a difficult schedule remaining, but being competitive is more than Raiders fans are used to, with only one winning record since moving to Vegas.
The Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are by far the most surprising team in the NFL this year. Many thought they’d have another lost year with Deshaun Watson at QB, and they would be gunning for a top pick. Instead, they’re 5-3 and have led the AFC North for much of the season. They’re coming off an ugly loss to Pittsburgh, but they play the Saints and Texans next, two very winnable games. Watson has been playing above average, serviceable enough to keep Cleveland competitive behind Harold Fannin Jr. and their run game. Their offense is ranked 29th in the NFL, but their defense is what keeps them in games.
No one would’ve expected the Browns’ defense to remain competent after trading away Myles Garrett, but it ranks 13th in the NFL. Four different Browns have over three sacks (Mason Graham, Maliek Collins, Adin Huntington, Isaiah McGuire), and three of them are 25 or younger. Todd Monken is shaping up to be one of the best coaching hires in recent history, completely changing the culture in Cleveland. The year is far from over, but they haven’t had a winning record since Joe Flacco was QB in 2023. Who would’ve thought Watson would be getting chants in Cleveland before this season?
Biggest NFL Disappointments
The Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles entered this season with the eighth-best odds to win the Super Bowl. After a disappointing wild-card loss following an 11-win season, many expected them to win the seemingly weak NFC East. With a star-studded offense including Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Jalen Hurts, and an elite offensive line, it was between them and Dallas (also a disappointment) for the division. Despite that, the players started dropping like flies.
Barkley and Smith have both been inactive for long stretches of the season with hamstring injuries. Dallas Goedert missed basically three weeks at the beginning of the season with a knee injury. It only got worse when Jalen Hurts was ruled out for the season with blood clots that spread to his lungs. The situation speaks to how dysfunctional Philadelphia has been this season.
Their injuries go beyond their starters. Dontayvion Wicks has missed time, while their backup running back, Dameon Pierce, got hurt in Barkley’s absence. Their once-elite offensive line has withered, with Cam Jurgens traded after a drop in production and Lane Johnson retiring in Week Four, for example.
The once-mighty Eagles have crumbled this season, leaving Nick Sirianni a possible candidate to lose his job, especially because of his antics. He has decided not to change play-calling duties, despite a six-game losing streak, capped off by an embarrassing 10-27 loss to Washington. They play the red-hot Giants next week before their bye, and hopes aren’t high for the rest of the season with Tanner McKee at the helm.
The Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers were supposed to be a new contender with an explosive offense after hiring Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator. Instead, they are the only winless team left and have the lowest-ranked offense. The offensive line still sucks; Omarion Hampton is losing touches in a running back committee, and Ladd McConkey can’t stay on the field consistently. When he is on the field, he underperforms because of one man: Justin Herbert.
Herbert is falling victim to one of the biggest one-year fall-offs in NFL history. He has five touchdowns to ten interceptions this season, a far cry from the guy who threw single-digit interceptions each of the past two seasons. His completion percentage is the lowest of his career at 61.8%, and he’s averaging less than 200 passing yards a game. He also leads the NFL in fumbles (seven) and has not recorded a touchdown since October 11th (he threw four interceptions in that span).
They have a young core of players to build with next season – McConkey is just under 25, and Hampton is 23. If Jim Harbaugh doesn’t lose his job, he will have a great shot at having Jeremiah Smith in his receiving room to help out the offense – if Herbert can get him the ball.
The Indianapolis Colts
Since going all-in last season, trading two first-round picks for Sauce Gardner in Week Eight, the Colts have lost 13 games and won two. Their record is now 2-6, and the rebuild has already begun (the Chargers should take a page from their book). They just traded Quentin Nelson and DeForest Buckner. Across the two trades, they got only a 2027 third- and fourth-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick in return. Daniel Jones has taken another big step back since receiving his $88 million contract, still clearly affected by his torn Achilles from late last season.
Jones has thrown only five touchdowns to seven interceptions and has lost much of his rushing ability, with just 75 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Alec Pierce has appeared in only two games this season. Josh Downs is in a good position to take a bigger role, as one of the most consistent players on the roster this year. Jonathan Taylor is the other consistent offensive player, but he’s on his way out and is rumored to be traded before the deadline. The Colts’ season has been a huge disappointment, even more so because the Jets own their first-round pick.
The End Of My NFL Rant
This season has brought several surprises and disappointments, but these teams stand out from the rest. The season is still young, though, and a lot can change between now and Week 18. The trade deadline is a week away, and a lot of these teams could take jumps – or fall off completely. I just hope my Giants keep it up with a win over Philadelphia.
