We’re a quarter of the way through the NFL season, so Nate Tice & Ben Solak hand out awards for MVP, best rookies, biggest surprises & disappointments and much more. The guys start off with their thoughts on the Atlanta Falcons’ impressive win over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night, including thoughts on Atlanta’s dominant run game and what to think of the 1-3 Saints.
Advertisement
Next, Nate & Ben reveal their biggest surprises at the quarter season mark, including the Las Vegas Raiders defense, the 3-1 Cleveland Browns, the San Francisco 49ers’ unstoppable offense and the 4-0 Minnesota Vikings. Next up are the biggest disappointments, as Nate highlights the 0-4 Houston Texans and Ben addresses the winless Los Angeles Chargers.
The guys dive into a few player-specific awards, including top rookies (shoutout Denzel Boston), MVP so far and a runaway Defensive Player of the Year pick.
Nate & Ben finish up with their top-5 power rankings for both the AFC & NFC, a tough task with both conferences extremely tight at the top so far.
(1:40) – Falcons steamroll Saints
Advertisement
(16:35) – Biggest surprises of the season
(40:00) – Biggest disappointments of the season
(52:30) – Top rookies so far, MVP, DPOY
(1:16:45) – AFC & NFC top-5 power rankings
TAMPA, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 22: Denzel Boston #12 of the Cleveland Browns before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on September 22, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube
Check out all episodes of Football 301 with Nate Tice and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv
