The beginning of the school year marks the start of another important season: the 25-26 NFL season. Four weeks in, teams have already delivered many surprises, breakouts and disappointments. Teams thought to be Super Bowl contenders are 1-3 or 2-2, and teams that some assumed would be fighting for last place are looking like the new faces of the league with records like 3-1. From dramatic finishes, to rookies making their mark on the big stage, to heartbreaking injuries, here’s a recap of the first 4 weeks of the NFL season.
After week one, the league had 16 undefeated teams. After week two, there were 10. And by week three, there were 6. After week four, the only undefeated teams in the league were the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills. During week five the Bills lost to the Patriots and in a wild Thursday night football game, the New York Giants stunned the Eagles bringing their record to (5-1). “The Eagles are fresh off a Super Bowl win and hoping to hoist the Lombardi once again come February,” said avid Eagles fan Hayden Nieves ’26. As for the Bills, after several years of suffering heartbreaking losses to the Kansas City Chiefs in the post season, they are back this time with one goal: to finally win the Super Bowl.
On the flip side, as of week 4 three teams in the league are still looking to snag their first wins: the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans and the New Orleans Saints. The Titans and Saints both won in week five and the Jets are now 0-6.
With the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Emeka Egbuka from Ohio State. While filling in for an injured Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, Egbuka has dominated with 18 catches for 282 yards and 4 touchdowns, making him the current favorite to win rookie of the year.
Another star to watch is Tyler Warren of the Indianapolis Colts. With the receiving help of Tyler Warren and veteran quarterback Daniel Jones, the Colts started the season with a 3-0 win-loss record before losing to the LA Rams in week 4 in a nailbiting finish.
Taking the league by storm has been the new Giants duo: Jaxson Dart and Cam Skatteboo. After taking the reins as the starting quarterback in week 3, Dart, Skatteboo and the rest of the Giants (0-3) defeated the heavily favored LA Chargers (3-0). Sports analytics club co-leader, Brandon Schrob ’26 observed, “It will be exciting to see how these rookies continue to make their mark on the league and how other rookies will step up. Only time will tell.”
Amid the excitement of the first month of the season, devastating injuries have cut players’ seasons short. Most notably, week 4 saw the losses of Giants superstar Malik Nabers, who tore his ACL, and Miami Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill, who suffered a dislocated knee and multiple torn ligaments. The two will remain sidelined for the rest of the 25-26 campaign.
Additionally, after a strong start to the season, Bengal’s franchise quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a turf toe injury that will leave him out of commission for at least 3 months. 49ers player Nick Bosa tore his ACL, and Chargers player Najee Harris and Commanders Running back Austin Ekeler both tore their achilles tendons.
These are just a few of the big names in the game whose seasons have been cut short by injury, leaving teams scrambling to find replacements. This has certainly been an action-packed start to the NFL season, and it will be interesting to see how things progress throughout October.
