Real or Fake: 6 NFL teams trying to figure out what September meant

The real preseason has been done for a month, and the fake preseason (the month of September) has come and gone. Teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills made it through with their perfect records, and teams like the Carolina Panthers and the Tennessee Titans are stuck in the mud with their 0-4 records.

Those records are what was expected (more or less). There are other teams that had an incredibly unexpected September. It could be because of how well they're playing or how everything is falling apart. These are those teams.

A September from hell for some, a September from heaven for others 

The two most surprising teams this season are the Ravens and the Colts, so when you're talking about teams that either want their September vibes to be real or fake, you have to start with them.

Baltimore Ravens

Aside from the Bengals, the Baltimore Ravens have had just about as miserable a September as any team. Sure, the Titans, the Saints, and the Jets are 0-4, but they didn’t have high hopes. This was supposed to be a season for the Ravens to make a playoff run, if not more.

Now, they are not only being crushed by injuries, but their biggest offensive weapon, Derrick Henry, has a fumbling problem that came out of nowhere. 

There’s just so much of that they want to wake up from. Luckily, no one in the AFC North looks invincible, so there’s definitely a chance they can figure out whatever is going on and still make it to the postseason. 

It would be super gross if it happened, but it certainly could.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are on the opposite end of the spectrum from the Ravens. They went from being a broken team who were being ridiculed left and right for choosing to ignore the development of Anthony Richardson by starting Daniel Jones at quarterback.

Turns out me, you, all of us… We’re all dumb, and Shane Steichen is actually the smartest guy in the whole world. 

The Colts started their season by beating the will to compete out of the Dolphins, getting a close (and fluky) win over the Broncos, another big win over the Titans, and then finally got their first loss against the Rams. 

That’s an unbelievable success for Indianapolis. The problem is that we’ve seen Daniel Jones have good games in the past and then end up playing like a doofus. The biggest thing (and only thing) that should matter to Steichen and the Colts is making sure the version of Daniel Jones that they’ve had in September is the real Daniel Jones. 

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are a tricky one. On one hand, they were 3-1 in September (4-1 after the Week 5 Thursday night game). On the other hand, their injury report is longer than the credits after a movie. 

That’s kind of what makes their record so impressive, even if their opponents and winning margins aren’t impressive. In September, they beat Seattle, New Orleans, and Arizona by a total of 10 points. They followed that up in Week 5 with a three-point win over the Rams. If they can keep staying competitive and playing winning football with a single bona fide playmaker. That’s a good thing. If/when they get healthy, it should be a whole lot easier…

But the ‘if/when’ is doing a lot of work there. It’s not like they just went into the season with a bunch of hurt guys (which they did). They’ve also lost important dudes through the season (Bosa, Purdy, Pearsall, Jennings). 

The scary thing for them is the Christian McCaffrey of it all. Through September, he led the entire NFL in touches with a clean 100. The dude has had a whole bunch of injuries throughout his career, and exposing him to more touches ups the chances of more injuries. 

But they don’t really have a choice because of the injuries they’re dealing with. In Week 5, Kendrick Bourne got a whole bunch of work, and that idea is going to have to be something they’ll have to lean on, because it sure feels like running CMC into the ground a quarter of the way into the season isn’t sustainable or smart. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers' situation isn’t that different from what the Colts are dealing with. The biggest difference is where the Colts went into the season dealing with a quarterback who’s been terrible in the past, the Steelers went into the season with a quarterback who's a 41-year-old psychopath… and both of them have a 3-1 record.

Now, the difference is that the Steelers have a worse offense and defense than the Colts, but it’s still very weird. 

The best way to say it is, ‘They need to keep this magic going.’ Luckily for them, magic is Mike Tomlin’s specialty, but it’s been a gift and a curse. When your head coach has never had a sub-.500 season, that means the team is never getting a high draft pick… Unfortunately, they also haven’t won a postseason game since 2017. 

If they can make sure the September Steelers are the real Steelers, they’ll have a solid chance to end that playoff-win slump.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Does Liam Coen rock? It seems like he might rock. It started with “DuuuuuuuuuvAAAAAAAllllll” and now they're 3-1 going into October, with their only loss coming from the Jake Browning-led Bengals moving down the field on an uncharacteristic clock-killing drive. 

That is, without a doubt, an immaculate start to a season for Jacksonville. Their passing offense has been kind of yucky, but their running game has been spectacular. On defense, they’re just crushing it. 

They’re definitely hoping this version of the team is real, and they’re going to have a real test in Week 5 against the Chiefs. So far, they’ve played the Panthers, the Bengals, the Texans, and the 49ers; all teams that have some serious, serious flaws.

Of any of these teams, the Jaguars are getting the biggest, most significant, and earliest realness test.

Cincinnati Bengals

Jake Browning started seven games in 2023 after Joe Burrow hurt his wrist. Browning ended up winning four of those games. After watching Browning start two games for the Bengals this season, it looks like they might never win a game again. 

If there is any team that wants to wake up and realize that September was just a nightmare, it’s the Bengals. It feels like Cincinnati couldn’t possibly play any worse than how they played on Monday night against the Broncos. That was an all-time pathetic performance… But it can always get worse. Maybe Jake Browning is the Hat Man.