Surprises and demises at the NFL quarter pole

Surprise: Cleveland Browns’ offense

Perhaps it took just the right offensive mind to take advantage of the talent that the Browns have acquired in recent years to make it all work. Yes, it’s just four games into 2020 but consider where this team was a year ago at this time. The Browns were 2-2 in ’19 and had scored 89 points – 40 of those in a Week 4 win at Baltimore – and the offensive had scored 10 TDs. Fast forward to this year and Kevin Stefanski’s offense has reached the end zone 16 times and Cleveland has totaled a brisk 124 points – 34 or more in each of the last three games. Baker Mayfield has thrown seven TD passes and been picked off only twice as the team has committed only four turnovers.

Demise: Minnesota Vikings’ defense

The Purple Gang comes off its first victory of 2020, holding on for a 31-23 triumph at Houston. And it’s still hard to fathom that the Vikings have allowed the third-most total yards and passing yards per game in the league. Mike Zimmer’s defense certainly misses end Danielle Hunter as the club has produced just seven sacks (3 by Yannick Ngakoue) and only three takeaways during its 1-3 start. This offseason, the organization moved on from such veterans such as defensive tackle Linval Joseph and cornerback Xavier Rhodes. Many other Viking defenders via free agency. There are also six rookie draft choices on the Vikings’ defensive depth chart (via Ourlads) as well.