The NFL has  always had its ups and downs, but with the COVID-19 pandemic it especially has had struggles. This season already has had over 10 games postponed leading to weird phenomenons like Tuesday Night Football. Also with limited fans in stadiums, the value of home games has lessened. With these new circumstances some good things have also happened like the change from 12 teams allowed in the playoffs to 14 teams. Let’s look at the most impressive and depressive teams at this halfway point in the season.

Most Impressive Teams

Throughout the first nine weeks we have learned who are the good teams in the league and who are going to have high draft picks. Once again the Saints, Seahawks, Packers, Chiefs, and Ravens look like they have winning records and are heading back to the playoffs. The Steelers by far have been the most impressive team having just as many wins through their entire season last year as through half of the season this year, and being the only undefeated team left at 8-0. Some teams have been more impressive than we thought, like the Cardinals who, after picking up Deandre Hopkins in the offseason, look like one of the most complete offensive lines in the league. The Browns, Raiders, and Colts also picked up some new players and are finally back to having winning seasons.

Most Depressing Teams

Team struggles for different reasons whether its injuries, bad coaching, or even just an unlucky schedule. With the way the season has been going, there is a complete even split of teams over .500 and teams under .500. Out of the lowest teams, the Jets are by far the worst with a seson record of 0-8.  The other New York team hasn’t been playing too well either; the Giants are 2-7 through 9 weeks of Football. In fact, the entire NFC West has been disappointing with none of the teams over .500. One of the teams that are under .500 because of injuries is the 49ers with a bunch of their stars out for the season. The New England Patriots have had an unlucky schedule and played in a bunch of tough games including playing against the Seahawks and Chiefs. The teams who are suffering from bad coaching are the Giants, Jets, and the Texans.

Injuries 

Throughout this season there have been plenty of injuries. Due to COVID-19, even if players are only sick for two days, they have to be quarantined for two weeks for safety which increases the injury amounts across the league. The 49ers have struggled the most with some of their top stars out for the season including Nick Bosa,  Solomon Thomas, and Ezekiel Ansah. They have many other players that are injured for shorter periods of time, but will still miss some important games.  The Browns suffered a huge loss when there leading receiver Odell Beckham Jr. went down with a ACL tear, taking him out for season.  Other key players who have been injured include Kenny Golladay, Christian Mccaffrey, and Calvin Ridley. 

Keep up with all the scores at nfl.com/schedules.