Four weeks after the start of the NFL season, we have four storylines and compelling narratives to follow in the next month including the undefeated Arizona Cardinals at 4-0, the winless Jacksonville Jaguars at 0-4, a slew of injured starting quarterbacks, and the public still betting on a rematch between Kansas City and Tampa Bay in Super Bowl 56.
At the start of the season, the big drama surrounded Aaron Rodgers and DeShaun Watson. Rodgers agreed to play one more season with the Green Bay Packers and avoided a PR disaster. The Texans thought Watson was bluffing on his intent to sit out the season to force a trade, but he remained firm in his stance while dealing with his own legal problems.
Rising Arizona
The Arizona Cardinals are the only undefeated team in the NFL at 4-0. They’re in first place in the NFC West, which is regarded as the top division in the league.
Kyler Murray saw his MVP odds soar over the last two weeks and he’s now the consensus favorite. Murray leads the most potent offense in the NFL, which averages 35 points per game.
The undefeated Cardinals are now +1600 odds to win the Super Bowl, but seven teams are ahead of them on the futures board according to DraftKings.
Meyer’s Quagmire with 0-4 Jags
The Jaguars are one of two winless teams in the NFL at 0-4. Top pick Trevor Lawrence looks awful, but so does the rest of the team. Word on the street is that rookie head coach Urban Meyer already lost the locker room in the first month of the season. Meyer’s schtick works at the collegiate level, but none of the pros bought into his system.
Meyer added more flaming garbage to the dumpster fire when he got caught on video partying with random fans, including a woman who is not his wife. Meyer apologized to his players and team owner Shahid Khan about the incident, but this is just the beginning of the end of Meyer’s tenure with the winless Jaguars.
How long before Meyer develops a “health issue” and can no longer coach the team? Meanwhile, the Meyer to USC rumors continue to swirl.
Super Bowl Rematch, Last Place KC
In the offseason, bettors were backing the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Bucs to win Super Bowl 56. The Chiefs were the favorites up until last week, but slipped to second on the futures board after a disastrous 1-2 start. The Bucs took over as the consensus favorite to win back-to-back titles. Meanwhile, Kansas City sits in last place in the AFC West at 2-2.
The Bucs are 3-1 with their only loss occurring against the LA Rams in LA in Week 3. Tom Brady and the Bucs defeated his old coach on his former stomping grounds in Foxboro with a close 19-17 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football.
QB Injuries, Rookie Opportunities
Injuries are the bread and butter of NFL storylines, and it’s no different in the first quarter of the season. WFT’s Ryan Fitzpatrick went down in Week 1 with a hip injury. In Week 2, Miami’s Tua got hurt, Chicago’s Andy Dalton dinged his knee, and Houston’s Tyrod Taylor tweaked his hamstring. San Francisco’s Jimmy G suffered a calf injury in Week 4.
With a handful of starting quarterbacks injured in the first few weeks, rookie backups were thrust into action. Davis Mills has been starting for the Texans. Trey Lance played the entire second half for the 49ers this past Sunday and he will most likely get the start in Week 5. Justin Fields got his first start with Da Bears in Week 3. The noobs all looked like rookies in Week 4, and clearly not ready yet.