Bucs, Bears in 1st place? Who would have thunk it?
There is no way anyone outside Tampa or Chicago would have predicted the Bucs and Bears would both be in first place 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 night, their offense behind backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has been dynamic.
Fitzpatrick started the three games for which starter Jameis Winston was suspended and made a strong argument for keeping the job. Fitz 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 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 defense. The trade with Oakland for Khalil Mack has made a huge impact in the Windy City, making up for a mediocre offense.
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 defense,” 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. 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.
If this comes down to kicking, Baltimore has a huge edge. The Ravens’ Justin Tucker has hit eight straight field goals from 50plus yards and owns the best FG percentage (90.0) in NFL history. Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell has hit just one of four field goals; the three misses match his entire 2017 total. to lead the league with a 137.4 passer rating. The second-year QB credits the depth of talent around him.
“Guys everywhere,” Mahomes said. “Knowing that I have those weapons, whenever someone has to get a break — we say if you’re tired, get a break, because I know I can trust the next guy coming in.”
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. consistency. They rank 25th on offense — other than Rob Gronkowski, Brady has little comfort with any receivers — and 28th on defense. Bill Belichick was outcoached by his former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia last Sunday night.
But the Patriots have started slowly before and then become unstoppable. trade its best player, Mack, and then the 0-3 start has worn thin any luster 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. are stunningly successful in the red zone. They have points on their last 29 times inside the 20-yard line (21 TDs, 8 FGs), the longest active streak in the NFL.