Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts are the real deal this season … right?

Three weeks of this NFL season have officially passed us by and this gives us the green light to start drawing legitimate conclusions about all sorts of things.

Obviously we are not declaring anybody Super Bowl Champions right now, but three weeks is a significant enough sample size. We have enough games in the rearview to legitimately say that Team X is very good or Team Y is a bit up a creek. Those assertions will be put to the test as fall (we made it!) and winter roll on, but they exist nonetheless.

We here at The Skinny Post, Michael Peterson and RJ Ochoa, are going to do our best to wade through the waters of what is real in a variety of directions.

RJ:

Three games is indeed a significant sampling of data and I am definitely buying all of the Colts hype.

Do I think they are legitimate Super Bowl contenders, though? I mean, the answer is obviously yes.

My stance is that if you get into the playoffs you have a chance at figuring things out and that is where I am at with the Colts if I break it down. I feel very confident that they are going to be a playoff team and their whole story really is so incredible.

It is interesting to me how we are almost annually getting the veteran quarterback who finds life in a new home. Obviously it is Daniel Jones this year, it was Sam Darnold last year… Ryan Tannehill really blazed this trail during his time with the Tennessee Titans.

Who will it be in 2026?

Michael:

Yes I absolutely think we need to take the Colts seriously. They’re currently Top 7 in total offense (2nd), points per game (2nd), total defense (7th), and points per game allowed (9th). Daniel Jones is playing the quarterback position legitimately WELL and everyone else around him seems to be following suit.

However, it all comes down to how you finish, not how you start. Many teams have started 3-0 and went on to crash through the latter half of the season, but a start like this does historically bode well for their postseason hopes.

They’ll be tested this week against the Rams, but past that, it’s a soft schedule with games against the Cardinals, Raiders, and Titans over their next four games. If they beat the Rams, I’ll be more than willing to hop on the Colts bandwagon.

Michael:

So I personally think the downward trajectory of the Texans started when they believed it was a smart idea to trade away Laremy Tunsil (their best offensive lineman by far) and then try to patchwork the front five with low-cost signings and trades.

Turns out, that’s not the best recipe for success for your young quarterback and the offensive nucleus you’ve built up in recent years.

Truly, it simply seems like the rest of the AFC South is catching up to the Texans while Houston hasn’t done much to really propel themselves further ahead. The defense still has some great players, but they were so good the past two years because both sides were playing equally well for most of each season. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

RJ:

My intention is not to slight C.J. Stroud, DeMeco Ryans, or the Texans organization, but I think we are seeing the results of playing in a subpar division for a serious period of time.

To be clear I think the Texans have been a proper franchise and you can only play who is in front of you. But do we really think the Texans were on the same level as teams like Kansas City, Buffalo, and Baltimore in recent years? They have been having a moment that lasts longer than others because the Jaguars, Titans, and Colts were that bad.

This isn’t quite everything finally catching up to them, but my overall point is that we really need to re-evaluate them from a long-term perspective.

RJ:

I’d offer that Atlanta is in the box that I just described Houston to be. I have hopes for Penix and his development, but Sunday was really concerning.

We are getting deep enough into his particular career that we need to see some form of something for him to hang his hat on. I feel like we still don’t totally know who he is at the NFL level and think of him as the player who almost led Washington to full and total glory.

Panicked is the state that Falcons fans live in, but I think the jury is still out here.

Michael:

I think it’s perfectly fine to be worried about Penix after that disaster of a game, especially since he still doesn’t have much of a resume to fall back on when a bad outing comes up. Everywhere you looked on social media, analysts had no idea what to say about his performance. His ball placement was everywhere and zero points against the Panthers sort of speaks volumes, no?

I think Penix continues to be the starter, but the leash is only as long as the next game they play.

Michael:

I’m going to go with either my Chargers or the Buccaneers.

Honestly, I’ll probably put the Bucs over the Chargers because Tampa Bay has had some insane finishing ability to come back every single week at the end of these games and win it. They haven’t led essentially for all of the fourth quarter in each contest but manage to win every time.

Normally it’s the Chiefs who have this type of vibe around them, but now, I’d say there’s around three or four teams who seem to have that invulnerability early on this season.

Also, I love this version of Baker Mayfield. Each year in this Bucs offense it seems like he’s leveling up and playing with more of an edge. I wouldn’t want to face the Bucs at all right now.

RJ:

The Bills feel like cheating so I am going to try and mix it up.

While the Colts are clearly an impressive story I can’t help but feel like the Buccaneers are starting to figure it all out. The casualness with which they overcame the Jets’ blocked field goal that they took to the house for the go-ahead score was impressive.

Baker Mayfield has really come out and proven to be one of the best quarterbacks in the entire NFL. Outside of fans of teams who don’t like the Bucs I can’t imagine there is anyone out there who feels anything other than admiration for what Tampa Bay is doing. They are fun.