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5. Seattle Seahawks (4-0)
QB Russell Wilson has truly been cooking, as he right now is completing 75.2 percent of his passes on 9.4 yards per attempt and is on pace to put up the best passer rating for a single season in NFL history (136.7). That psychological shift to a more aggressive attack, where they let Wilson throw the ball on early downs and take shots to the dangerous duo of receivers D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett off heavy play-action, also reflects in the statistics; Seattle ranks second behind only Green Bay with 6.7 yards per play. Unfortunately, the defense cannot slow down any opposing passing attack – which makes seemingly every game close – but the one thing they do is force turnovers. The Seahawks are tied for second in takeaways (eight) and turnover differential (+5). One of the crazier statistics I found for Seattle is that they have only attempted (and made) two field goals. Their offense has had to score all those points to win, though.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0)
Before anything else, Pittsburgh’s front seven has been absolutely dominant. They are tied with Tampa Bay for the lowest yards per carry allowed at just 2.7 yards and are second in the league with 15 sacks despite having played one less game than 30 other teams. The Steelers are pressuring QBs on 46.5 percent of dropbacks – that’s over 15 percent more than any other squad. There is room to grow on the back-end, but Pittsburgh can mix up coverages to force opposing passers to hold onto the ball. On offense, they haven’t really stood out in any area, but have a lot of dynamic weapons around Big Ben Roethlisberger and have shown the ability to close out games with their ground game. Unfortunately, their three opponents have only won one game combined, and that came from the Denver Broncos beating the lowly New York Jets. So seeing the Steelers match up against the Tennessee Titans last weekend would have been big, but right now they'll get the benefit of the doubt since I had them ahead of the teams that directly followed them before the season started. Pittsburgh hasn’t done anything to change my mind.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)
We all wanted to see how Tom Brady would mesh with Bruce Arians’ vertical passing attack, and I think they have improved every single week. It is Arians’ offense, but Brady has added his touch by targeting his backs and tight ends at a higher rate. When the Bucs go into the shotgun, they allow the 43-year-old QB to get the ball out his hands more quickly, while they also stay patient with the run game from heavy sets to set up those deep shots off play-action. And Brady still has the arm strength to connect on those, as only two other QBs have more than his four completions of 40-plus yards. To me, by far the more impressive unit is Tampa Bay's defense, which I expected to take a big step forward in 2020. Once again, they are right there at the top in rushing yards allowed per game (64.3) and average yards per attempt (2.7), but they are also tied for second with eight takeaways, tied for third with 14 sacks, and before Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert hit them with three deep balls this past Sunday, they had only given up three touchdowns in three games.
8. Indianapolis Colts (3-1)
When I look at the Colts, they remind me of the 49ers from a year ago. Their defense ranks No. 1 in yards, points and third-down percentage allowed. The addition of DL DeForest Buckner to put in front of LB Darius Leonard, who can run around freely and track down plays, has been huge. And the stats don’t look good because they run it so much, but with RB Jonathan Taylor behind that O-line, they can control the clock and don’t usually get behind the chains. The Colts are second league-wide in average time of possession (33:36), despite ranking right in the middle in first downs gained, which tells you how good this defense is and the type of game they want to play. The Colts have had the best starting field position among NFL teams, just beyond the 34-yard line, while also being tied with Kansas City for the third-best point margin of +47. My biggest concern is QB Philip Rivers, with his recklessness that he has shown at times through the years and the fact only Chicago and Washington convert less of their third-downs (34.6 percent).
