We did this last Friday and liked it enough that we now plan to do it every Friday. With Sunday approaching, some revealing numbers provide a hint as to what we might see.
Four teams — Buffalo, Tennessee, Denver and Dallas — have the chance to start this season 4-0. If they do, they can start talking magic numbers, because these are some pretty magical numbers here.
Since 1990, 45 of 53 teams who started 4-0 have made the playoffs — 84.9 percent. Here are the eight teams that started 4-0 and did not make it:
| Team | Final record |
| 2003 Vikings | 9-7 |
| 2002 Chargers | 8-8 |
| 2000 Jets | 8-7 |
| 1999 Patriots | 8-8 |
| 1996 Chiefs | 9-7 |
| 1995 Rams | 7-9 |
| 1993 Eagles | 8-8 |
| 1993 Saints | 8-8 |
- One reason Tennessee is 3-0 is its stamina. In the second half of its three games this season, the Titans have outscored opponents 27-3. On the flipside, Jacksonville has been outscored 17-0 in the first quarter this season.
- One stat shows how dismal the season has been for the Kansas City Chiefs: Heading into Sunday’s game versus Denver, the Chiefs have more turnovers (6) than touchdowns (5).
- San Francisco quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan is no fluke. One stat proves that: O’Sullivan is averaging 9.4 yards per passing attempt, third best in the NFL. The only quarterbacks averaging more yards per attempt are Philip Rivers at 9.9 and Tony Romo at 9.7.
- On the basis of history, Atlanta has a chance to pull the upset this weekend in Carolina. In the Falcons-Panthers series, the road team has won the last five games.
- Cincinnati and Cleveland have struggled offensively, so much so that these two teams have combined for 68 points and 1,298 yards — Denver alone has scored 114 points and racked up 1,296 yards.
- In his first 99 passing attempts with the Packers, Brett Favre threw three touchdown passes and one interception. In his first 99 passing attempts as a starter with the Packers, Aaron Rodgers has thrown four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Rodgers now has gone 148 passing attempts without an interception, putting him in the company of the all-time Packers greats:
Most consecutive attempts without an interception in Packers history:
| Bart Starr (1964-65) | 294 |
| Brett Favre (1995-96) | 163 |
| Bart Starr (1963-64) | 152 |
| Aaron Rodgers (2007-08) | 148 |
| Brett Favre (2001-02) | 148 |
- There’s a reason Houston has no choice but to contemplate moving on at quarterback fromMatt Schaub to Sage Rosenfels. Schaub is now 4-9 as a starter for Houston, and in his last 11 starts, he’s 2-9. This season, Schaub has thrown five interceptions, four fewer than he threw in his 11 games last season.
- Chris Chambers has become a fantasy owner’s dream. Chambers has scored a touchdown in five straight games, the longest touchdown streak of his career.
- One thing Brian Griese does as well as any quarterback in Tampa is win. Griese has won seven of his past eight starts. And he has had some success against Green Bay, including a 3-0 mark, with 716 passing yards, three touchdown passes and one interception.
- No team looks any better than the Cowboys. But Dallas is going to have to figure out how to conquer its division, starting Sunday with Washington. Since 2004, the Cowboys are just 12-13 vs. the NFC East. Against non-division opponents during the same time span, the Cowboys are a much-more impressive 28-14.
- Turns out Darren McFadden was not the only great running back to leave Arkansas. His college teammate, Felix Jones, is now the first player in Cowboys history with a touchdown in each of his first three career games. And just as Jones is streaking, so is Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Ware, who has at least one sack in six straight games.
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