The Chicago Bears and the Five Most Unexpected 2-0 NFL Teams in 2010
Pro Football is perhaps the most unpredictable sport in the world, so it’s hard to truly say that anything is “unexpected,” but there are certainly games which look more obvious than others.
The five teams highlighted in this article have all been playing excellent football and deserve to be where they are, but few can say that they truly thought that we’d see them here, at the top of their divisions, with an undefeated record going into the third week of the season.
Every one of these teams has a chance at joining the ’72 Dolphins in undefeated immortality, but they each have things to improve upon on before they can even make it to 3-0.
5. Chicago Bears
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Just one week removed from a close victory at home over the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears looked to be in line for a loss as they headed to Dallas to face the Cowboys. The Cowboys, a trendy pick to be eventual Super Bowl Champions, were coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Redskins and needed a bounce-back win at home.
To Chicago’s credit, however, they went into Dallas and played fearless football, throwing all over the defense and dominating nearly all aspects of the game.
Quarterback Jay Cutler has looked like a different player this season, as he has thrown five touchdown passes to only one interception, while ranking third in the league in passing yardage. Cutler torched Lions in week one and continued the trend in week two against the Cowboys despite a start to the game where it looked like he was going to get punched in the mouth on every play.
Cutler’s maturity, Matt Forte’s re-emergence in the passing game, and the Bears’ run defense which ranks best in the league allowing just 1.4 yards per carry against, have been the three biggest keys to this team’s success.
Will They Make it 3-0?
The Bears will face their toughest matchup yet as they host another Super Bowl contender with a 2-0 record, and hated rival, the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers lost Ryan Grant in week one and now start Brandon Jackson at running back, making the Bears’ perceived advantage in run defense even stronger heading into next week’s contest. But the biggest question is if the Bears pass defense, currently ranked 27th in the NFL, can stop the high-powered Green Bay Packers led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
I believe the Bears fall to 2-1 in week three, but they will stay in the game until the end, leading many experts to believe that there is still a chance for them to make a playoff push in 2010.
Final Score: Packers 27, Bears 24
4. Miami Dolphins
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The Dolphins have to be one of the most deserving 2-0 teams in the league this season. Coached very well and making only a few mistakes, the Dolphins don’t stand out as being an elite team, but they have absolutely played like one.
Road division games are always tough, but particularly when you have to start the season with one. Miami, however, stepped up to the plate and did exactly what they needed to do to walk away with a win in week one over the Buffalo Bills.
Though the 15-10 final score didn’t indicate it, the Dolphins dominated all aspects of the game, including limiting the Bills’ three-headed rushing attack to just 38 yards on the ground.
The week two matchup on the road with the Minnesota Vikings, however, could be the signature win for this Dolphins team as they make a run at the playoffs in 2010.
Despite allowing 145 yards on the ground to running back Adrian Peterson, the Dolphins defense stood their ground, allowing just 10 points to the Vikings offense and they now rank second in the NFL with just 20 points allowed through the first two weeks of the season.
The Dolphins’ “bend but don’t break” defensive theory worked great against the Vikings as they forced three interceptions and recovered a fumble in the end zone by veteran quarterback Brett Favre.
If the Dolphins can continue to play the way they have while limiting their own turnovers, they will be a tough team to overtake for first place in the AFC East.
Will They Make it 3-0?
Week three’s matchup has Dolphins hosting the 1-1 New York Jets who are coming off of a big win against the New England Patriots.
The Jets, with perhaps the best defense in the NFL, had trouble moving the ball offensively in week one against the Ravens, but were significantly more successful against the Patriots.
Mark Sanchez took a lashing in the media from critics who said that he is holding this team back and cannot be the quarterback of a Super Bowl contending team and responded by throwing three touchdowns and zero interceptions in week three against the defending AFC East Champions.
For the Dolphins to win, they will need to bring pressure on Sanchez, forcing him to make the type of turnovers we saw from him in week one, while not allowing him to make the throws he did in week two.
Offensively, the Dolphins need to get receiver Brandon Marshall going. Marshall has just 12 catches for 126 yards and no touchdowns in the team’s first two games. With Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis expected to miss Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, quarterback Chad Henne will need to use this time to get in-sync with his top receiver.
If the Dolphins drop this one, it could lead into a spiral of losses, as their next two opponents, the Patriots and Packers, are two of the NFL’s best teams.
Final score: Jets 10, Dolphins 13
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
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Is the Steel Curtain Back? It sure looks like it.
Following a disappointing season in which they missed the playoffs, the Roethlisberger-less Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t expected to be a very strong team early in the season. But after two weeks, they actually appear to be well on their way to making it back to the postseason.
Despite third-string quarterback Dennis Dixon who is yet to throw a touchdown pass and has led the Pittsburgh offense to an average of just 240.5 yards per game throughout the first two games, the Steelers are off to a 2-0 record—and they’ve done it against two pretty good teams.
Hosting a healthy Matt Ryan and Michael Turner-led Atlanta Falcons in week two, the Steelers defense was able to hold this potentially high-powered offense to just nine points, all of which came on field goals.
After struggling to move the ball themselves all day, the Steelers’ offense then exploded on a Rashard Mendenhall 50-yard touchdown run in overtime to secure the team’s first victory of the season.
With that win in the books, the Steelers then proceeded onward to Tennessee to face the NFL’s single-season total yardage record holder, Chris Johnson, and the Titans.
Johnson, who averaged 125 yards rushing per game in 2009, was held to just 34 yards on 16 carries as the Steelers absolutely pounded the Titans offense on every drive.
It was an impressive victory for the Steelers who had just 149 yards of offense on the day, as they have now forced the most turnovers in the league (8) and proved to everyone that their defense truly is back.
Will They Make it 3-0?
Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers will head to beautiful Tampa Bay for their week three game with the Buccaneers without quarterback Dennis Dixon, who will miss 3-5 weeks with injury. The team will now turn to veteran quarterback Charlie Batch until regular starter Ben Roethlisberger returns from suspension.
Tampa Bay, who nearly made this list as another 2-0 team, is off to a great start with wins over the Browns and Panthers to start the season.
Second-year quarterback Josh Freeman has done a great job protecting the football thus far this season, throwing just one interception to four touchdowns, while not fumbling the ball yet. His nerves will certainly be tested against the heavy pass-rush and ball-skills of the Steelers defense.
The Buccaneers defense has allowed just 21 points through two games, so the Pittsburgh offense has their work cut out for them. They will need to get on track and hold onto the ball if they hope to leave Tampa Bay with a win.
Final Score: Steelers16, Buccaneers 10
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2. Kansas City Chiefs
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Going into the season, most experts pegged the Chiefs as the bottom-dwellers of the already-weak AFC West division.
But after two weeks of play, only one team in that division holds a clean 2-0 record—and it’s the Kansas City Chiefs.
After a monumentally huge opening night win over the San Diego Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs opened the eyes of the football world. Rumors instantly began about the possibility that San Diego—the perennial AFC West champions—were no longer a lock for the playoffs.
Maybe it was the sloppy weather that night, but the Chiefs came to play, and play they did. The Chiefs frustrated quarterback Philip Rivers and contained the Chargers’ running game on the way to a big division win.
Week two’s performance on the road against the Browns was perhaps less impressive, due to the quality of the competition, but the Chiefs have to take every win they can get after a 4-12 record in 2009.
Rookies stepping up has been a huge factor for this team in the first two weeks of the season. First round pick Eric Berry has made his presence felt on defense while rookie tight end Tony Moeaki has been one of Matt Cassel’s favorite targets, including catching his first NFL touchdown pass in week one. Even returners Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas have been a big part of the two wins.
Will They Make it 3-0?
The Chiefs will host the San Francisco 49ers in week three, a team which has the makings to be a very tough matchup for their run-heavy offense.
They need this win, with the following two games on their schedule being on the road against both Indianapolis and Houston—games in which they will be heavy underdogs.
The big question right now is if a team ranked 30th in passing offense and 24th in total defense can continue to win games. The running game, currently ranked fifth in the league, can be explosive—but is it good enough to win on its own?
At 3.6 yards per carry, the 49ers ranked second in the NFL stopping the run in 2009. It’s assumed that the Chiefs will continue to try to run the ball with their dual-headed backfield of Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles, so Patrick Willis and the San Francisco defense will surely be keying on stopping it.
Matt Cassel has thrown for just 244 yards in the first two games of the season, so it’s hard to believe that the Chiefs will be able to make the 49ers pay for committing hard on the run.
Final score: 49ers 23, Chiefs 13
1. Houston Texans
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Likely the most talented team on this list, the Houston Texans are still the most unexpected team to be 2-0.
Week one’s win over the Indianapolis Colts is one of those games which can set the tone for the entire season. Not only did the Texans win the game, but they won it in a way that few would have expected—by running the ball with relatively unknown running back Arian Foster.
Foster, who finished with just 257 yards rushing in his rookie season of 2009, nearly matched that total in week one as he ran around and through the Colts’ defense for 231 yards and three touchdowns.
Heading into 2010, the Texans organization was just 1-15 in their history against the Indianapolis Colts, so the victory was all that much sweeter for the fans who had watched their team get slaughtered for eight straight seasons.
Week two’s win against the Redskins has to be looked upon as a big win as well. Though the Redskins were not a pre-season favorite to do much of anything, they were coming off a win over the Dallas Cowboys, whom many had pegged as the pre-season favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Though the Texans went back to their passing attack against the Redskins, it appeared that the offense is much more comfortable moving the ball with the threat of the running game.
Confidence is a big thing for any team—and this might be the first time in the team’s history that they truly have it.
Will They Make it 3-0?
The Texans, who finished first in the NFL in passing yards in 2009, appear to now have a running game to balance the attack. If they can continue to perform the way they have throughout the first two weeks of the season, they could very well end up with the top offense in the league by the end of the season.
The week two inner-state battle with the Dallas Cowboys will be an interesting one.
Dallas is coming off of two difficult-to-swallow losses against Washington and Chicago and it appears that the pressures of being called a “Super Bowl Contender” by the media are weighing heavily on their minds.
The Cowboys have struggled mightily to score on offense, but a 31st-ranked Texans defense may very well be the cure they’ve been looking for. Houston has allowed an atrocious 822 yards passing against them in the first two weeks of the season, which puts them on pace to allow over 6,500 yards passing on the season.
The secondary simply has to get better.
In order to do that, however, the Texans’ defensive line, led by Mario Williams, will need to get to quarterback Tony Romo early and often. Romo, like most quarterbacks, is prone to making mistakes when he is pressured, and has been flustered by a lack of protection from his offensive line already this season.
While Dallas has been a powerful running attack in the previous few seasons, they have yet to get that aspect of their offense moving and it has led to a very predictable, easy-to-contain offense.
Final Score: Cowboys 24, Texans 27
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