Realities shift this season for several teams

Sometimes, despite all the deception and disguise that goes on with NFL teams, you've just got to believe your eyes.

Maybe the Washington Redskins are really that good.

Maybe the San Diego Chargers aren't an elite team.

Maybe everyone should be direct-snapping like the Miami Dolphins.

As we head into the season's second quarter, some of September's surprises are now facts of NFL life. They aren't just quirky twists or any-given-Sunday anomalies, but truths of a new reality.

Remember the Super Bowl shuffle? We're now witnessing the regular-season reshuffle.

* It looked like a fluke when: Washington won at Dallas two weeks ago.

But it's a fact that: The Redskins are for real. They beat Philadelphia on the road Sunday, meaning they've already completed their slate of division road games. Seeing as its next three opponents are a combined 1-11, Washington could easily be 7-1 when it plays host to Pittsburgh on Nov. 3.

* It looked like a fluke when: San Diego started 0-2, losing those games by a combined three points.

But it's a fact that: The Chargers are the league's best hole diggers. The team that lost three of its first four games last season is at it again, dropping to 2-3 with a loss Sunday at Miami. For the third time in five games, San Diego was down by at least 14 points at halftime.

* It looked like a fluke when: Miami scored a touchdown against New England with a direct snap to running back Ronnie Brown.

But it's a fact that: Opponents haven't been able to stop the play Miami calls "Wildcat," even when they sense it coming. The Dolphins have run the play 16 times, averaging more than 10 yards per snap with five touchdowns.

* It looked like a fluke when: On his first career dropback, Atlanta rookie Matt Ryan threw a touchdown pass.

But it's a fact that: Ryan looked like a polished veteran Sunday when he led the Falcons to their first road victory of the season -- at Lambeau Field, no less. Before beating the Packers, Atlanta had lost 11 of 12 on the road and had yet to score a touchdown away from home this season.

* It looked like a fluke when: The Cowboys rolled up 453 yards against the Packers last month.

But it's a fact that: Green Bay's defense is a liability. The battered, short-handed unit is the main reason the Packers have lost three in a row for the first time since 2006. "Our house is messy right now and nobody's happy about it," said Coach Mike McCarthy, whose secondary is missing three key components: cornerback Al Harris and safeties Atari Bigby and Aaron Rouse.