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There are five undefeated teams in the NFL, and it’s not shocking that the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills are two of them. However, the idea that the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and especially the Minnesota Vikings are also in their midst is a major eye-opener.
The Steelers and Vikings are operating at a high level with backup quarterbacks at the controls and stellar defensive efforts, while the Seahawks has been able to overcome injuries to running back Kenneth Walker III, linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, defensive end Leonard Williams and tight end Noah Fant to build a perfect record.
The Seahawks have had a relatively easy go of it with victories over the Broncos and Patriots before beating the Dolphins without Tua Tagovailoa.
The Steelers are using a quarterback in Justin Fields who wasn’t good enough to hold onto his position with the Bears, while Sam Darnold has thrown eight TD passes and is completing better than 67 percent of his passes even though he is playing for the fourth team of his seven-year career.
Both of these quarterbacks have been rejected – and in Darnold’s care multiple times. However, they are in new environments that are much more suited for significant success.
Much steadier environment with Steelers than Bears
In the case of Fields, he has one of the best head coaches in the league on his side in Mike Tomlin and new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith who is building a partnership with both the head coach and quarterback.
Fields also is benefitting from the calf injury to Russell Wilson, who has not been able to play through the Steelers' first three games. If he can make it four in a row with a victory at Indianapolis, Tomlin is not going to suddenly turn to Wilson and return him to the QB1 position.
Fields does not have overwhelming stats with the Steelers at this point. He has been quite accurate, completing 55 of 75 passes, but he has only thrown for 518 yards with two TD passes. However, he has tossed just one interception and is not turning the ball over the way he did in Chicago.
Tomlin’s message has been to maintain possession and not give the ball away. While in Chicago, Matt Eberflus wanted Fields to makes plays so the Bears could keep up with quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love in Green Bay, Jared Goff in Detroit and Kirk Cousins in Minnesota. Fields is no longer being asked to keep up with other quarterbacks, and he is performing at a level that will allow him to rebuild his reputation.
O’Connell is a legitimate QB savant
The Darnold situation in Minnesota is far more dramatic. He is working with a head coach in Kevin O’Connell who excels at building players’ confidence and is one of the most knowledgeable leaders when it comes to the quarterback position.
O’Connell knows what it is like when he doesn’t have a competent quarterback, as the Vikings offense disintegrated last year after Cousins was lost for the season after tearing his Achilles. Now he’s got a quarterback who has the accuracy, arm strength, talent and motivation to succeed.
Another coach might look at Darnold and say he failed to establish himself with the Jets, Panthers and 49ers, so why would he succeed in Minnesota? Not O’Connell. He looks at every situation as a challenge, and building up a player’s confidence is his greatest strength – particularly when that player is a quarterback.
“I knew that Kevin was quite a bit different from old-school head coaches,” said one AFC executive. “The days of the disciplinarian who makes demands of his players is long gone. But Kevin is so much different than his predecessors. The message that comes across to his players is that they are more than good enough to get the job done. He has incredible confidence in his players.
“He also knows the quarterback position as well as any head coach in the league. O'Connell is able to combine the confidence he has in his quarterback with specific suggestions and indicators for the quarterback to look out for when he is reading the defense. Obviously, Darnold is following his leadership to the letter and the Vikings have just beaten two of the best teams in the NFL (the 49ers and Texans).”
Like Steelers, Vikings quarterback is getting plenty of help
Darnold is acclimated to the Vikings offense and he is developing excellent rapport with wideout Justin Jefferson and running back Aaron Jones. He has completed 53 of 78 passes for 657 yards with eight TD passes and just two interceptions and is averaging 8.4 yards per pass. The latter number ranks fifth in the NFL.
Of course, both the Steelers and Vikings are playing superb defense. These are the No. 1 and 2 teams in allowing points (Pittsburgh is giving up 8.7 points per game while Minnesota’s defense allows just 10.0 points per outing), and that’s a huge reason the teams have been undefeated to this point.
Sirianni under the gun in Philadelphia
The Eagles hung on by the skin of their teeth to come up with a road victory over the high-powered Saints in Week 3, and that was a good thing for head coach Nick Sirianni.
However, the head coach who led his team to the Super Bowl following the 2022 season when the Eagles had a 14-3 record has been under the gun since the second half of last season. The Eagles lost five of their last six regular-season games in 2023 and were blown out 32-9 in the Wild Card round by Tampa Bay.
It made for a very uncomfortable offseason. A win over the Packers in the Sao Paulo season opener was not much of a respite, and the coaching performance in the Week 2 Monday night home loss to the Falcons was brutal. Sirianni’s decision to throw the ball on a third-down play with 1:46 remaining when the Falcons did not have a timeout was indefensible.
Jalen Hurts threw an accurate pass to running back Saquon Barkley, but it was contested and the running back could not catch it. The Eagles kicked a field goal on the following play and the Falcons got the ball back with 1:39 remaining. Kirk Cousins led the Eagles down the field in a 6-play, 70-yard TD drive and the Falcons left Philly with a 22-21 victory.
Sirianni couldn’t reverse last year’s end-of-season slump and his brutal decision in Week 2 cost his team a key game. It could develop into a very uncomfortable year in Philadelphia for the head coach.
This and that …
The Miami Dolphins must have been crossing their fingers throughout the offseason and training camp. Tua Tagovailoa has a brutal concussion history, and he has been felled once again. Yet the Dolphins went into the season with Skylar Thompson and Tim Boyle as the backups, and that’s simply not good enough for a team that views itself as a title contender. General manager Chris Grier has seen that move blow up in his face. …
There are plenty of issues in Dallas with a 1-2 start. Start with a defense that is making “business decisions” when it comes to tackling a running back like Derrick Henry and is giving up 29.7 points per game. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer may not be a great fit. Another issue is the lack of a running game. The Cowboys are averaging 73.7 rushing yards per game with Rico Dowdle leading the way with 88 yards and a 3.83 yards per carry. That’s simply not acceptable and head coach Mike McCarthy along with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer must fix this quickly. …
Going into the season, Myles Garrett of the Browns, T.J. Watt of the Steelers and Nick Bosa of the Browns were the usual suspects for Defensive Player of the Year honors. Don’t sleep on Aidan Hutchinson of the Lions who has 11 tackles, a league-leading 6.5 sacks and a forced fumble through his first three games.
