I’ve conducted a research study of sorts to answer this question in a mailbag-style format, and I just want to thank each of you who participated in creating this article. Twenty six people voted in the research poll, and a few more voiced their opinions. I’ll begin each section of the article by listing a person’s pick for most overrated NFL team along with their reasoning why followed by a rebuttal from The Sports Beacon. Without further ado, which NFL team is most overrated as midseason approaches?
Eagles (Dylan’s pick)
“Six games for the Eagles, and they have zero points [scored] in the first quarter [combined]. They got [lit up a few weeks ago] by my boy Baker [Mayfield] as well.”
Read that first sentence again, as the Eagles haven’t scored one single point in the first quarter of ANY of their six games played so far this season, a truly historic feat. They are a tough team to cast judgement on though, given that they’ve played in a lot of close games with the exceptions of both a blowout win (28-3 over the Giants) and a blowout loss (33-16 to the Buccaneers) on their ledger, culminating in a 4-2 record.
Nonetheless, the Eagles were far and away the clear “winners” of the research poll with 10 total votes for them along with two others who voted for them off the record. Recency bias plays a role here, as we remember last year when the team started 10-1 before losing five of their final six games & getting bounced in the Wild Card round.
Have the Eagles played any worthwhile opponent yet? That is the question from me. Yes, they defeated the Packers 34-29 in Week 1, but that was a mistake-filled contest. A Week 10 game against the Commanders should reveal if the Eagles are overrated.
Chiefs (Gabe’s pick)
“I mean, look at their wins this year. They are all super lucky or have involved some crazy situations. They have barely won all of their games, either they just happen to get some magical call from the refs… or they win against the handicap 49ers squad.”
“But when they win people are all like well of course they [should be] winning they have Mahomes but it’s not really him, it’s their defense, so they’re truly not as good as people think they are, they are just lucky as hell with some refs in their pockets.”
I was initially surprised to hear that several NFL fans (seven total voters) consider the Chiefs, the league’s last remaining undefeated team, as an overrated NFL squad. Then again, the Chiefs’ average margin of victory this season is right at seven points. They haven’t won any of their games by more than thirteen points this season, and four out of their six games this season have been decided by seven points or fewer.
My question becomes, which team is really going to step up and beat them though? It’s not like they play in a particularly tough division, and they’ve already defeated the Ravens, Bengals, and Chargers in terms of their interconference competition. Sooner or later some team is going to expose the Chiefs issues, but until that time comes it’s difficult to bet against them in their quest to three-peat as champions.
49ers (Doug’s pick)
“The 49ers, based on the [team’s rash of] injuries [to their star players], could [end up] not making the playoffs this season, which would be a surprise to many people.”
This was bound to happen, given that the team has been fighting against both the Madden Curse on Christian McCaffrey and the Super Bowl hangover all season long. I would argue that this is the most overrated team based on where all of us expected them to be before the season began, as many had them as the best team in the NFC.
That said, the poll question asks about which team is currently the most overrated team in the league, & nobody would say that the 49ers are overrated at the moment. Nevertheless, they were tied with the Chiefs with 7 total votes in the research poll.
Steelers (JT’s pick)
“The media loves [hyping them up]. They’re tied in their division with the Ravens. They can’t decide on a QB, so any team in that division has a chance to beat them.”
Much like the Chiefs, the Steelers have mastered the art of “winning ugly” so to say. Still though, it seemed that their formula for success was working before the team surprisingly decided to bench Justin Fields in favor of QB Russell Wilson last week.
That decision makes me skeptical that they will end up being successful in the long run, as I don’t believe in benching a quarterback while the team is on a win streak. They also have yet to play a legitimate opponent, so it will be interesting to see how they fare as the divisional games begin, with a Week 10 game vs. the Ravens on tap.
Vikings (Stacey’s pick)
“The Vikings remind me of Texas [in college football]. They haven’t really played anybody up until this point, & so I’m not sure if we can take them seriously or not.”
Okay, so (surprisingly) nobody voted for the Falcons in the poll, which meant that I had to get creative and come up with an alternative team in the Minnesota Vikings. Two people voted for the Vikings in an unofficial capacity though, and the choice is a relevant one given that they just lost to the Lions and they play the Rams tonight.
The NFC North is the best division in football right now, so one way or another my belief is that we will find out if the Vikings are overrated as the season goes along. I’m not sure if I would go as far to say that one two-point loss makes them overrated, given that they also defeated two legitimate teams in the Packers and Texans as well.
The Verdict
Drumroll please… it’s the Philadelphia Eagles! They need to start scoring points in the first quarter & beat a good team before any of us can take them seriously again. Many of us had them pegged as the second or third best team in the NFC heading into the season, and right now they’re in second place within their own division.
This is a team loaded with star power, but they have yet to really form an identity. Last year, their identity was built upon the “tush push,” but since Jason Kelce has retired & teams have prepared to stop the play, how will they form a new identity? I’m not sure if this team features the resilience necessary in order to make such a change, given how the 2023 season ended & the loss in Super Bowl LVII before that.
The Sports Beacon 