NFL's 10 Biggest Surprises Through The First 1/4th Of the 2010 Season

The 2010 NFL season has brought many expectations, and as goes with any expectation there are plenty of surprises. Whether you watch every game every Sunday or only watch what you catch on Sportscenter there has been something that has surprised everyone. If you are wondering what the top 10 surprises thus far then look no farther and read on. Also, don't be shy...go ahead and let me know if I left something out or you disagree.

#10: Rams Have a 2 Game Win Streak and a Share of The Division Lead

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ST. LOUIS - OCTOBER 03: Sam Bradford #8 of the St. Louis Rams passes the ball in the first half against the Seattle Seahawks on October 3, 2010 at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

After a dismal 1-15 season the St. Louis Rams have stood behind rookie quarterback Sam Bradford for a 2 game win streak...and a 2-2 start. Bradford may have added some spark to the Rams offense, but the defense has led the way for the Rams so far this season.

The Rams defense ranks 4th in points per game allowed behind the Ravens, Chiefs, and Vikings. This is a defense that was 31st in the NFL  last year allowing more than 27 points per contest.

I don't think the Rams success is such a big deal, but the fact they have done it behind a bend but don't break defense just blew my mind.

#9: Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions so Close

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DETROIT - SEPTEMBER 19: Jahvid Best #44 of the Detroit Lions scores on a 75 yard pass from Shaun Hill #14 during the second quarter of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field on September 19, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Hali

If anyone is going to take the Offensive Rookie of the Year from Sam Bradford it would be Jahvid Best of the Detroit Lions. 2  years removed from the first 0-16 season in NFL history the Detroit Lions are 0-4...which isn't a surprise.

The surprises start with Jahvid Best, who has had 5 total touchdown, 4 rushing and 1 receiving for the first four games. He had all five in the first two weeks.Best had 2 touchdowns in a questionable loss to the Bears, in Chicago. Everyone now knows the rule about completing the process of a catch in the end zone...thank you Calvin Johnson.

With the first game being an iffy loss, week 2 the Lions lost to a new found Michael Vick and the Eagles 35-32 after trailing by 18 with less than 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter. In week 4 the Lions were trailing to the Packers at Lambeau field by 14 in the second half, and only lost 28-26.

The Detroit Lions might not quite be winners yet, but very soon they will start a dynasty.

#8: Michael Vick and LaDainian Tomlinson Resurrect Their Careers

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JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 26: Quarterback Michael Vick #7 of the Philadelphia Eagles throws a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on September 26, 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Eagles defeated the Jaguars 28-3. (Photo by Doug

Number 8 on the list consists of two similar stories. Michael Vick and LT both have made a big impact this year for their respective teams.

After week 1 the Philadelphia Eagles new franchise quarterback Kevin Kolb played one sub standard half, and was benched for a concussion that also kept him out of week 2, in which Michael Vick just went nuts and led the Eagles to a win. Michael Vick showed he still has the ability to be a top quarterback in the NFL.

Also in week 1 the super hyped New York Jets lost their opener by 1 point to the Ravens after Shonn Greene had a couple of fumbles. The next week Rex Ryan sat Greene and started LT who has since went ballistic and had his first 100yd game in 25+ games, and been a fantasy lock for some people who actually picked him up.

It shall be interesting to see how these vets do in the future.

#7: Pittsburgh Steelers 3-1 Without Roethlisberger

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PITTSBURGH - SEPTEMBER 02: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers laughs on the sideline during the 4th quarter against the Carolina Panthers during the preseason game on September 2, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by

Big Ben had his suspension reduced to 4 games before the season started, that wasn't really a surprise, but what is surprising is that the Steelers have started 3-1 with virtually no offense.

Really, they beat my own Titans purely with a trick play, a bad holding call, a bad fumble call, and s defense that forced 7 turnovers. Yet, they still only won the game 19 - 11.

The Steelers may not be the pretties team to have watched the first 4 weeks, but they got the job done well enough to show that once Big Ben is back they could be a force to be reckoned with in the AFC.

With a 30th ranked passing offense the Steelers have beaten the Falcons, Titans, and previously 2-0 Bucs.

Let's all also note that during the Titans game the Steelers had to go to their third string quarterback after Dennis Dixon was injured.

#6: There Are 21 Teams With at Least 2 Losses

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JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 03: Quarterback Peyton Manning #18 of the Indianapolis Colts warms up prior to taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on October 3, 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars won 31-28. (Photo by Marc Serota/Gett

This year their were plenty of teams hyped to run away with their division, but none of them got the memo. In fact through the first 4 weeks of the season 21 teams have at least 2 losses, including the Colts and the Rams, the Cowboys and the Lions...how many people thought you would be able to make those comparisons before the season started?

With 12 teams making the playoffs that would mean if the season ended now there would be 11 safe bets, but the last team would be a mess to sort out...should be fun to watch it all play out to the end of the season.

#5: Arian Foster and Terrell Owens Break Out For 200 Yards Each

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HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 12: Running back Arian Foster #23 of the Houston Texans rushes past defensive back Antoine Bethea #41 of the Indianapolis Colts during the NFL season opener at Reliant Stadium on September 12, 2010 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Le

Number five is another mix of two similar stories, with Arian Foster ran for 200+ yards in week 1 against the Colts in a big win for the Houston Texans Franchise.

Terrell Owens got his 3rd career 200 yard receiving game in week 4 in a LOSS to the Cleveland Browns.

Back in the first week of the season everyone talked about how the Texans needed to win against the Colts to get a monkey off of their back and solidify their chances at getting their first ever playoff birth. Then the game started and Arian Foster who had previously played 7 games in his NFL career just went banana sandwich on the Colts defense.

Arian ended up with 231 yards and 3 touchdowns in the biggest win this franchises young history.

Terrell Owens is playing for yet another team which comes as a surprise to no one, and in week 4 he caught 10 passes for more than 220 yards. T.O. did everything he could, even becoming the first player ever with a 200 yard receiving game with 3 different teams, but the Bengals still fell to Peyton Hillis and the Browns 23 - 20.

#4: Chris Johnson Is Not Who We Thought He Was

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 26: Chris Johnson #28 of the Tennessee Titans rushes during a game against the New York Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium on September 26, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

After rushing for 2,000 yards last season Chris Johnson had a lot of talk about going for 2,500 this year. In week 1 he came out and busted the Raiders defense for more than 140 yards and appeared to be just as good as he was last year, but since then he has been held under 100 yards in 2 of the last 3 games.

It's not a surprise that he isn't doing as well as he did last year, but the fact he has had 2 home games under 100 yards is just astonishing. Everyone is game planning for him, but at the same  time the speed he has didn't allow any gameplan to slow him down last year when he would hit a hole.

It is going to be a long season for the Titans if they don't start passing more or if CJ doesn't stop trying so hard and just play the game like he did last year.

#3: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Are 2-1

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CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 19: Josh Freeman #5 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throws a pass against the Carolina Panthers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on September 19, 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

After a dismal last season in which the Bucs could have easily been 0 - 16 the team shot out of the gate this year with a 2 - 0 start. That surprised everyone around the league, but surprise wasn't long lasting as the Steelers came to town and absolutely crushed the Bucs.

The Bucs have stepped up in every facet of the game, and should be a treat to see if they can continue playing like the team that beat the lackluster Browns and Panthers or the team that was destroyed by the Ben-less Steelers.

Any way you cut it no one could have predicted the Bucs to start out 2-0.

#2: Kansas City Chiefs Start Out 3-0

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CLEVELAND - SEPTEMBER 19: Cornerback Javier Arenas #21 of the Kansas City Chiefs runs the ball against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on September 19, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

The first week of the season on Monday Night the Chiefs played the Chargers, and I had heard how great the Chargers were going to be from one of my friends.

When the Chiefs came out and stopped the Chargers high flying offense and used their special teams to lead them to a win my friend said, "it's okay, they won't keep winning."

Looks like at least one other person besides me has to be surprised that the Chiefs are 3 - 0. They haven't played the best teams, but the Chiefs have shown a bit of strength by going into the Dog Pound and pulling out a win, and beating the 49ers by a ton in week 3.

The Chiefs get a real chance  to show if they are deserving of being the last undefeated team in the NFL this year when they take a road trip to play the Indianapolis Colts, and the Houston Texans of the truly powerful AFC South.

#1: San Francisco 49ers 0-4

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ATLANTA - OCTOBER 03: Head coach Mike Singletary of the San Francisco 49ers paces the sidelines during the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Georgia Dome on October 3, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

San Francisco was hyped to run away with NFC West, but they have hardly done anything to try to even put up a fight for the division.

The 49ers have started the season with four straight losses to the Seahawks, Saints, Chiefs, and Falcons.

The only justifiable reason that they haven't won a game yet is the three of the games were on the road, and the only game at home was the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

The 49ers have two straight home games coming up that they may be able to use to spark the team to take off and win some games and maybe make the race for this division even more interesting to watch play out.

Seriously though, who on this earth had the 49ers picked to lose their first 4 games? If anyone says they did...they are lying through their teeth. That may just be the side of me that had them in the AFC Championship game talking, but I do not believe anyone could have called this start.