Who's surprised you so far?

For the Commanders it's McCaffrey and Deebo, the former because a lot of people were pretty much writing him off as a wasted pick and the latter because initially it looked like he was just here for the money. Maybe Bill too, though I want to see him get 15-20 carries a game and see if he can be a workhorse.

Elsewhere, it's the Jags. Somehow I can't be convinced by Trevor Lawrence, but he's got them to 4-1. Maybe the Colts too, is Daniel Jones really that good, or were the Giants that bad?

Paulsen had been saying McCaffrey was open and just not getting balls. I honestly expected Bill to be starting pretty quick, even as a 7th rounder (I understand he missed a year, but his tape was so much better than a 7th rounder, just crazy he fell that far).

for us, kinlaw/pass rush is better than expected (I didn't know much on kinlaw and I thought we'd be good against the run, but we've actually got a bunch of sacks too). Special teams (return team specifically) being potentially near the top of league? didn't see that coming.

1-4 ravens is surprising. Joe Flacco mid-season trade is a bit surprising. Every kicker consistently making FGs from 55+ and the amount of blocked kicks this year.

Armstrong filling the pass rush void with 5 sacks is big so far. Bill being able to contribute, but Chris Paul coming in at Guard and playing well has been great.

Around the league, watching the Ravens and Chiefs struggle out of the gate has been awesome. I don’t know how long it last for KC, but Ravens have serious issues on defense.

Offense : Has to be Chris Paul as I didn't think he would make the 53 never mind be a starter.

Defense : Going for Trey Amos, not that I thought he would be bad, just the fact that he barely gets a mention each week speaks volumes for how well he is playing.

League: That’s why there’s so much playoff turnover year to year; never know what to expect. Positive surprise Colts. Negative surprise, Ravens so far. Though Ravens back half could see them make a wild card run.

Amos has been a delight. Already our best DB.

Biggest surprise on our team for me -- Armstrong. Second in the league in sacks. No one would have put him in the same league as Watt, Hutchinson, Crosby, Hendrickson or Garrett, but his numbers this year are impressive. And of the top 20 in sacks, he has the second most tackles. And he's second in tackles for a loss. He's been lights out.

Relatedly, I am surprised that we don't miss last year's sack leader -- Fowler. Armstrong, Wagner and Miller each have more sacks than he does, and he's tied with Payne, Martin, Luvu, Jean-Baptiste, and Newton.


Biggest surprise in the league for me -- a tie between the Ravens falling apart (albeit with everyone injured) and the 49ers somehow getting to 4-1 with everyone injured. Shanahan is doing an amazing coaching job in SF.