Three weeks into the National Football League season and some of the division standings appear absolutely upside down.
In the AFC North, the Cincinnati Bengals are in first place and the Pittsburgh Steelers last place. The Chicago Bears are alone in first place in the NFC North, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers share first place with the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans in the NFC South while the Atlanta Falcons sit in the cellar.
But, no division standings appears more off expectations than the AFC East. This is a race that the New England Patriots have won the past nine years and 14 of the most recent 15 seasons. The only year they didn’t win it since 2003 was 2008, and that was the year quarterback Tom Brady was lost for the season with an opening day injury.
Brady is healthy this year, and yet his team is one of three squads from the AFC East with only one win in three games. It is not surprising that the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets also have records of 1 and 2, but what does appear out of order is that the Miami Dolphins are 3-0 atop the division.
Okay, let’s get this straight. The Dolphins are undefeated and lead the New England Patriots by two games in their division race. And this week, the Dolphins meet the Patriots in Foxboro with a chance to extend their division leading margin to three games over the defending AFC Champions.