As hard as it is to believe, we're already four weeks into the 2023 NFL season. And what a four-week stretch of football it's been.
While plenty of powerhouse teams expected to have strong seasons are doing so, several others are sitting at or near the bottom of the standings in their respective divisions.
In fact, of the 14 teams to make the NFL Playoffs last year, five wouldn't be included in this season's bracket if the postseason started today. For those wondering, those five are the Cincinnati Bengals, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Minnesota Vikings, and the New York Giants.
But what if we looked at the 2023 NFL standings in terms of point differential as opposed to just wins and losses? While a win is a win, some are obviously more impressive than others. Look no further than the Miami Dolphins' 50-point beatdown of the Denver Broncos as proof of that.
Oddly enough, however, the Dolphins wouldn't be leading the AFC East using this format, as they were outscored by 19 total points in their first three games.
So, exactly how much would the NFL standings change using point differential? Let's take a look, first by division and then by conference. Spoiler alert: Dallas Cowboys fans will be pleased.
2023 NFL Standings by point differential (Division)
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
2023 NFL Standings by point differential (Conference)
Now let's take a look at the 2023 NFL standings by point differential from a conference perspective, still using division leaders as the top four seeds.
AFC
NFC
