Throw out the preseason projections. The 2026 NFL season has passed its unofficial quarter mark, and fans now have an idea of exactly where every team stands compared to one another. There is just one issue: Win-loss record is not an all-encompassing stat.
Not every winless team is equal, and just because a team is undefeated does not mean it's a Super Bowl contender. The first four weeks of the NFL season can produce some truly wonky outcomes, and it's inevitable that the league standings will be rattled like a Yahtzee dice shaker.
To get a better idea of where the league really stands, we polled our FanSided NFL Division experts and asked them a simple question: Who are the most overrated teams in the league? First-place votes receive three points, second place two points, and third place one point. The results are bound to upset some fan bases.
7. Kansas City Chiefs
- Record: 4-0
- Total points: 13
- First-place votes: 3
FanSided's NFL experts are not buying the Kansas City Chiefs' resurgence. Andy Reid's team received three first-place votes and appeared on seven of the 34 total ballots. Three Super Bowls and a perfect record isn't enough to convince us that they are fully back yet.
The level of competition the Chiefs have played certainly factors into this dynamic. Wins over the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins, both of which were closer than they probably should have been, do not invoke a lot of confidence. Kansas City also nearly lost to the Las Vegas Raiders, who were surprisingly undefeated thanks to their own schedule, in Week 4.
Kansas City does have an impressive win over the Denver Broncos, who are the hardest team in the league to properly rate. That's apparently not enough to convince our experts that the Chiefs are fully back as the team heads into its Week 5 bye.
6. Cleveland Browns
- Record: 3-1
- First-place votes: 3
- Total points: 15
We intentionally left the survey open to interpretation for our experts. A team's overrated case could be based on its record through four weeks or the public's perception regardless of the record.
The Cleveland Browns make this list because of their record, not because of public perception. Does anyone outside Cleveland actually think the Browns are a playoff contender? Probably not. The Browns are a fun 3-1 story that should eventually peter out if history is to repeat itself.
Nobody should stop Browns fans from riding high, though. It's been a pretty rocky existence being a Cleveland football fan, so let them enjoy an unexpected 3-1 start to the season. So what if half the team's wins might come in the first four weeks of the season? It might be all Browns fans have.
That or Cleveland finally makes its biggest critics eat crow and goes on a playoff run. It's a shame the Browns have the most unlikable starting quarterback in the league, so we can't all get behind them.
5. New York Giants
- Record: 3-1
- Total points: 16
- First-place votes: 1
Poor John Harbaugh. He was resoundingly voted the most overrated coach in the NFL by our experts before the season and now that extends to his football team. It doesn't matter that the New York Giants have won three out of four games while losing their franchise quarterback. They are overrated.
Like the Browns, it seems like a pretty safe bet that New York will stumble into the finish line after busting out of the gates so hot. Sure, they are an infinitely better coached team than when Brian Daboll ran the show, but it's hard to imagine New York making a run at the playoffs with Jameis Winston or J.J. McCarthy under center.
Just look at who the Giants have beaten as evidence of that. New York beat the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, two of the worst teams in the league, the last two weeks. Jaxson Dart did lead the team to a win over the Cowboys in Week 1, but is that even impressive? Not really.
As overrated as they may be now, the Giants' hype may grow to unreasonable levels considering the teams coming up on the schedule. New York plays the Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints, the winless Houston Texans, the shell of the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Commanders again. The Giants very well could be 6-3 or better after that stretch.
4. Denver Broncos
- Record: 2-2
- Total points: 16
- First-place votes: 1
This helps explain why the Chiefs made the list. One of Kansas City's wins is against another team that FanSided experts view as overrated. Unfortunately for the Denver Broncos, they still can't escape the overrated tag despite having a 2-2 record.
Denver's overrated momentum carries over from last season despite the team's success. The Broncos won the AFC West and made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game, a game they probably would have won if Bo Nix wasn't injured. Throughout that entire run Sean Payton's team was viewed as punching above its weight class, and that is carrying over into 2026.
Is this fair for the Broncos? Probably not, but it's exactly the bulletin-board material that they thrive on. Denver could win the Super Bowl and Bo Nix could win Super Bowl MVP and the team still won't escape the overrated tag.
The Broncos edge out the Giants in the survey as they had more second-place votes.
3. Los Angeles Rams
- Record: 2-2
- Total points: 17
- First-place votes: 2
The Los Angeles Rams are unlike any other team on this list. Los Angeles is not overrated because the team has had more success than expected early on. The Rams are overrated because of the awfully high expectations placed on them and how they have looked in four weeks.
Sean McVay's team was viewed as a perennial powerhouse before the season. An inevitable Super Bowl contender that would slice through the NFC. While the Rams certainly aren't out of the Super Bowl picture, the perception around the team has drastically changed.
Nobody anticipated a 2-2 start to the year, and quite frankly, they should be worse. The Eagles ripped defeat from the jaws of victory in Week 4, handing the game to the Rams on a silver platter. This should be a 1-3 football team, yet they still have some of the best title odds in the sport.
That's why the Rams are viewed as one of the most overrated teams in the league. The juggernaut isn't just beatable; it's extremely vulnerable.
2. Buffalo Bills
- Record: 3-1
- Total points: 18
- First-place votes: 3
Like the Rams, the Buffalo Bills were the betting favorites to represent their conference in the Super Bowl this season. Like the Rams, the Bills now find themselves high up on this list of overrated NFL teams.
Buffalo's Week 4 loss to the New England Patriots doesn't help their cause. The Patriots seemingly hit a low point prior to Week 4 and marched into Buffalo and thoroughly outplayed the Bills. It was a reminder that while Josh Allen is the runaway MVP favorite right now, the Bills are human.
Heck, the team's win against the LA Chargers the previous week also indicated as such. Buffalo turned the ball over five times against the Chargers and only won because Justin Herbert is doing his best Josh Rosen impression.
The Bills' other two wins, against the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions, may not be as impressive as they seemed when they happened. It's easy to see why the Bills are considered one of the most overrated teams in the league.
1. Minnesota Vikings
- Record: 4-0
- Total points: 44
- First-place votes: 10
The every-other-year Minnesota Vikings have made a habit of winning football games after a bad season and earning an overrated tag. With yet another one-year rental quarterback under center, the Vikings find themselves in the same situation they did two years ago with Sam Darnold: undefeated after four weeks.
Very few people outside Minnesota believed in that Vikings team, which seems to be the general consensus with the Kyler Murray version of the team. A 4-0 start has done nothing to convince our experts that Minnesota can win the NFC North, hence the resounding gap between the Vikings and the Bills.
Kevin O'Connell's team certainly has caught some breaks early on. Green Bay is worse than anyone thought, the Bears lost Caleb Williams in Week 2, and Minnesota then followed that by beating Jameis Winston and Malik Willis. Minnesota couldn't even find the end zone against Miami, beating the Dolphins with five field goals.
If there was ever a 4-0 team that is primed to fall off the face of the Earth, it's the 2026 Vikings. But history tends to repeat itself, so don't be surprised if the Vikings keep winning games and the disbelief around them continues to grow.
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