Bucs, Bears in 1st place: Who would have thunk it?
There is no way anyone outside of Tampa or Chicago would have predicted the Bucs and Bears would both be first-place teams when they square off in Week 4.
Sure, it’s still plenty early in the schedule. Yet there’s no denying both teams are ahead of schedule.
Although the Buccaneers (2-1) come off a 30-27 home loss to Pittsburgh last Monday, their offence behind backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has been dynamic.
Fitzpatrick started the three games that starter Jameis Winston was suspended and made a strong argument for keeping the job. Fitzpatrick leads the NFL with 1,230 yards passing and is second with 11 TD passes. He’s the only player in league history to throw for 400-plus yards in three consecutive games.
Winston certainly has been impressed and promises not to make any waves.
“It’s about the team’s success. I’m not a selfish player, it’s about our team,” Winston said. “We’re out here doing big things, and we’ve got to continue doing that.”
Chicago (2-1) is doing big things on defence. The trade with Oakland for Khalil Mack has made a huge impact in the Windy City, making up for a mediocre offence.
Mack is tied for the league lead with four sacks, with at least one in each game, and leads the NFL with three forced fumbles.
“What he has done is completely elevated everybody else on defence,” coach Matt Nagy said. “When that happens, that’s rare, to have one guy affect a team like that.”
Week 4 began with Jared Goff throwing for 465 yards and five touchdowns and getting a perfect quarterback rating in a 38-31 victory over Minnesota. The Rams are 4-0, while the Vikings are 1-2-1 and haven’t won since opening day.
On byes are Carolina and Washington.
Baltimore (2-1) at Pittsburgh (1-1-1)
Classic NFL matchup, Part I. The Steelers have won nine straight games on Sunday nights, twice over the Ravens. But Baltimore has a rekindled offence, with Joe Flacco off to a sizzling start, helped by a trio of new receivers. Newcomer Michael Crabtree leads the Ravens with 15 catches and needs six to reach 600 for his career.
Pittsburgh likely gets back top blocker David DeCastro for Ben Roethlisberger, who is 21-3 in regular-season prime-time games at home, throwing for 55 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
Roethlisberger has thrown a TD pass in 45 straight home games, the third-longest streak in NFL history.
Kansas City (3-0) at Denver (2-1), Monday night
Classic NFL matchup, Part II. Another prime-time showcase worth watching, this is a series of streaks. The Chiefs have taken five straight following seven straight losses.
The offence is a buzzsaw: Kansas City is the third NFL team to score 38 or more points in its first three games (2007 Patriots, who were 16-0; 1967 Colts, who went 11-1-2).
Patrick Mahomes has established an NFL record with 13 TDs through three games and zero interceptions to lead the league with a 137.4 passer rating.
The Chiefs can be scored on, though, and Denver had the NFL’s third-ranked rushing game with rookies Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay, the first undrafted player to eclipse 100 scrimmage yards in his first two NFL games.
Plus, linebacker Von Miller , tied for the league lead with four sacks, is a Chiefs nemesis: Miller has eight sacks, 11 tackles for loss against Kansas City.
Miami (3-0) at New England (1-2)
Classic NFL matchup, Part III.
Yes, the Patriots have so dominated the AFC East that we forget there are other teams in the division. This is the one team Tom Brady has fallen to the most, 10 times.
Of course, he has also beaten the Dolphins 21 times. And the last time the Dolphins won at New England was 2008, when Brady was sidelined by a knee injury.
Miami already has seven interceptions — it had nine all of last season.
Meanwhile, the Patriots have struggled to find any consistency. They rank 25th on offence — other than Rob Gronkowski, Brady has little comfort with any receivers — and 28th on defence. But the Patriots have started slowly before and then become unstoppable.
Cleveland (1-1-1) at Oakland (0-3)
There are good vibes by Lake Erie and bad ones in the Bay Area.
The Browns got their first win in 18 games by beating the Jets, and top overall draft choice Baker Mayfield led the way to take over as starting quarterback. Their defence has been relatively stout, led by the No. pick in the 2017 draft, Myles Garrett.
Oakland’s decision to trade its best player, Mack, and then the 0-3 start has worn thin any lustre on Jon Gruden’s return. The Raiders are last in the NFL with three sacks, and tied for last with one takeaway. They have been outscored 37-3 in fourth quarters and are the second team in the last 20 years to start 0-3 when leading all three at halftime.
Seattle (1-2) at Arizona (0-3)
The Cardinals rank dead last in all offensive categories and have scored a total of 20 points. Now, rookie Josh Rosen will start, and while Seattle’s defence no longer has legion-like boom, it can be tricky and ranks eighth against the pass.
A win will tie Pete Carroll with Mike Holmgren for the most coaching victories in Seattle history (90).