Surprises and demises at the NFL quarter pole

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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 04: Head coach Matt Rhule of the Carolina Panthers talks with an official during the first quarter of their game against the Arizona Cardinalsat Bank of America Stadium on October 04, 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Four weeks into NFL 2020 and there have been shocks and disappointments.

Thursday night’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field was the start of the second quarter of the 2020 NFL season – at least for most teams. Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, each sporting 3-0 records, have not played four games like the other 30 clubs in the NFL.

But this is a different kind of year for sports. In any case, four weeks and one game into the league’s 101st regular season and there have been some pleasant developments and also some unexpected falloffs.

Surprise: Carolina Panthers

This offseason, a franchise that first took the field in 1995 hired its first offensive-minded head coach. And two games into 2020, Matt Rhule’s Panthers had few problems moving the ball but had its issues stopping the other team. But suddenly the club has evened its record after a 0-2 start. After allowing 34 and 31 points, respectively, in losses to the Raiders and Buccaneers, Carolina has allowed a combined 37 points in wins over the Chargers and Cardinals. The team has totaled three sacks and five takeaways the last two games after Rhule’s team forced only two takeaways and zero sacks in their first two outings. And the NFC South looks somewhat wide open these days.

Demise: New York Jets

The team will now turn to quarterback Joe Flacco after Sam Darnold suffered a shoulder injury in the team’s 37-28 Thursday night home loss to Denver in Week 4. But that’s not all that’s troubling Adam Gase’s team these days, especially on defense as Gregg Williams’ unit appeared to try and take their frustrations out on the Broncos last week. Meanwhile, the offensive unit has as many touchdowns (5) as turnovers and the Jets have allowed more than twice as many points (131) than they have scored. All told, the Green and White is already four games behind the first-place Buffalo Bills in the AFC East and already has a loss to the division leaders on their 0-4 resume.

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