Six weeks into the NFL season, certain truths are being revealed. There comes a point in the season where "noise" becomes "fact," and teams can no longer deploy the age-old excuse of "it's early."

That said, for some teams... it's still early. Not everything is concrete, and records at this stage can still be deceptive. So much depends on strength of schedule, injuries and so forth. Some underperformers are on the path to nowhere (Eagles, Cowboys, Chargers, etc.), but the following four teams are simply better than their records suggest.

Las Vegas Raiders (3-3)

The Las Vegas Raiders went from 3-0 to 3-3 in a blink, which was almost predictable. The Raiders beat up on a few softballs to begin the year, then wilted against a run of Super Bowl hopefuls. Only, the Raiders didn't exactly wilt. A blowout loss to New England aside, the Raiders played two extremely competitive teams — Buffalo and Kansas City — extremely close. Both those losses came by three points.

On paper, the Raiders are a bottom-five defense and a middling offense, although the former is misleading. Maxx Crosby and Co. are consistently pressuring the quarterback and causing disruption; Las Vegas has just gotten stuck in a couple shootouts against three of the best QBs in the NFL. While the Raiders are not a great defensive team, to be clear, there's reason to believe better days are ahead.

The offense, meanwhile, feels fully sustainable. The foundation is strong with Klint Kubiak and Kirk Cousins, whose prior experience together is clearly paying off. The Raiders would benefit from adding another playmaker or two, but even with a limited supporting cast, Cousins looks like a restored, fully healthy version of himself. With so many quarterbacks slacking on the fundamentals, Cousins' fine-tuned processing skills and accuracy are a majon boon. The Raiders are going to continue to move the football.

The only downside: their schedule does not let up in the near future, which could compromise Las Vegas' postseason hopes and leave Kubiak with a difficult decision regarding No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza around the season's midpoint.

Seattle Seahawks (3-3)

The reigning champs are 3-3, with losses to San Francisco, Denver and Washington. Their three wins — over the Patriots by three (in Week 1), the Cardinals by 24 and the Chargers by seven — are less impressive in context.

It's not hard to figure what "changed" for the Seattle Seahawks this season. Just look at the undefeated Chiefs, whose rushing attack is reborn with Kenneth Walker III, Super Bowl MVP, leading the charge. Sam Darnold also missed a couple weeks, and regression from a historically inconsistent QB would not be the most shocking development.

That said, the Seahawks still have the best defense in football statistically, which is their superpower. Darnold has a big arm and Jaxon Smith-Njigba can generate explosive plays, but it was not the Seahawks offense that led them to the mountaintop a year ago. Their lockdown defense provides an incredibly high baseline and Mike Macdonald has established himself as one of the brightest head coaches in football. The Seahawks will be just fine, despite early turbulence.

Houston Texans (2-4)

The Houston Texans fanbase was understandably crashing out after a brutal 0-4 start. The Texans were many people's Super Bowl pick coming into the season on the strength of a vaunted, star-laden defense. Surely CJ Stroud and the offense could figure it out well enough, right? Well, the defense didn't really carry its weight through Week 4, while Stroud and the offense consistently (predictably?) sputtered in clutch time.

It's a long season, however, and the Texans are now riding a two-game win streak, beating the Titans (a nice get-right matchup) and, this past Sunday, the first-place Jaguars. The latter feels like a real turning point, and not just because Houston is chasing Jacksonville in the division. The Jags are one of the most well-rounded teams in football and the Texans were able to match them blow-for-blow, even as the defense faltered.

CJ Stroud has struggled to live up to the incredibly high bar he set as a rookie, back when consensus viewed him as a future MVP candidate. It has reached the point where Houston is even reluctant to extend the former No. 2 pick. Stroud's not without talent, though. He has looked sharp this season, with nine touchdowns to only one interception; he has completed 65.3 percent of his passes with 250-plus yards in five of six starts. None of it really matters until Shroud exorcises his postseason demons, but if he can deliver the Texans to the playoffs after a historically rough start, that alone would be a major accomplishment.

Los Angeles Rams (2-4)

It would be hard to script a worse start for the Los Angeles Rams, the widespread preseason favorite to win a Super Bowl. There's no denying the sheer talent available on this Rams roster, but age and injuries have proven worthy foes. Davante Adams just joined Myles Garrett on the IR, but Matthew Stafford — at the ripe age of 38 years old — may finally be brushing up against the limitations of Father Time.

That said, Los Angeles has lost a few close games to extremely tough opponents. The Rams rank third in yards gained and yards allowed; this is still a damn good team. Don't let the early turbulence dissuade you from believing in the Rams as a contender. Los Angeles needs to clean up its special teams and execute better in clutch time. Given the wealth of experience on this roster and Sean McVay's track record as a head coach, there's every reason to believe the Rams can make the necessary adjustments.

The Rams lost to a deceptively plucky Cardinals squad on Sunday to drop to 2-4. The alarm bells are starting to sound. Thankfully, their schedule opens up over the next few weeks. If L.A. can lock in for a date with Las Vegas in Week 7, it's the zero-win Chargers and one-win Commanders after that. Then another date with the Cardinals, who are still unambiguously a worse team. The Rams can turn their fortunes around in a hurry.