The St. Louis Rams, thought to be above and beyond everyone else when the season began, are 0-4. The San Diego Chargers, who lost their last nine games a year ago, are 4-0.

A quarter of the way into the NFL season, parity is still the rule.

Eight games have gone into overtime, equaling the start-of-the-season record set in 1983. And Buffalo has broken a record with three overtime games in its first four weeks.

There’s also a sign of what can happen with the new eight-division alignment: The only unbeaten teams are in the AFC West San Diego (4-0) and Oakland (3-0).

That’s another indication that realignment is going to put some mediocre teams in the playoffs and leave some good ones out. Every team plays just six of its 16 games within the division, and teams from weak divisions are getting spanked outside it.

SURPRISES

1. San Diego (4-0). The first three wins can be explained: Cincinnati and Houston are awful and Arizona is mediocre. But Sunday’s 21-14 victory against New England was legit LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 217 yards against the defending Super Bowl champions.

2. Carolina (3-1). What a difference a coaching change makes the fiery John Fox instead of the laid-back George Seifert.

3. Oakland (3-0). Some people thought the Raiders would miss coach Jon Gruden, now with Tampa Bay. Some thought they were too old. Neither is the case.

4. Buffalo (2-2). The Bills are already just one win short of last year’s total almost entirely because of the arrival of Drew Bledsoe. He threw for 328 yards on Sunday, including a 26-yard TD pass to Travis Henry just 1:58 into OT.

4. New Orleans (3-1). Yes, the Saints lost in Detroit. But after losing their final four games last season they beat three contenders to start the season Tampa Bay, Green Bay and Chicago.

DISAPPOINTMENTS

1. St. Louis (0-4). Kurt Warner’s injury could have been predicted once the Rams lost Orlando Pace.

2. New York Jets (1-3). The Jets were supposed to be up there with New England and Miami in the NFC East. Instead, they’ve been outscored 102-13 by New England, Miami and Jacksonville.

3. Pittsburgh (1-2). The secondary was picked on the first two games, and the offense did nothing until Bill Cowher inserted Tommy Maddox in place of Kordell Stewart at quarterback against the Browns. Maddox rallied the Steelers to tie the game and win in overtime. These guys were 13-3 last year.

4. Tennessee (1-3). The Titans looked ready to rebound after a 7-9 season, due primarily to injuries. Instead, they’re worse the special teams allowed two punt returns for touchdowns in the 52-25 loss to Oakland.

5. Minnesota (0-4). A lot of people thought the Vikings would become a major contender after going 5-11 a year ago. They forgot that they had to reshuffle their offensive line for the second straight year; their defense has nine new starters, most of them inadequate.