adn
As the NFL season reaches its first quarter mark, a record-tying five teams find themselves without a win. The Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, and Los Angeles Chargers are all 0-4, marking only the seventh time in league history that five teams have started with four straight losses, and the first occurrence since 2019.
While some of these struggles were anticipated, others have come as a shock. The Dolphins are in the midst of a rebuild and are burdened by a record $184 million in dead money charges against the salary cap. The Titans, meanwhile, are winless after consecutive three-win seasons. However, the Buccaneers entered the season as favorites to win the NFC South, and both the Texans and Chargers made the playoffs last year, making their 0-4 starts particularly surprising.
This is just the third time in NFL history that two teams have started 0-4 after making the playoffs the previous season. The last occurrence was in 1999 when defending conference champions Atlanta and Denver both stumbled out of the gate, and before that in 1992 with the Los Angeles Raiders and New York Jets.
The Buccaneers have been competitive in defeat, losing all four games by one score. Their minus-20 point differential is the fifth-best ever for an 0-4 team and the best since the 2011 Minnesota Vikings were outscored by 19 points over their first four games. The Chargers, on the other hand, have been far less competitive, with a minus-39 point differential that ranks second-worst in the league.
Houston's start has been especially frustrating, as they have held leads in the final two minutes of three of their four losses. Their most recent defeat, a 34-30 loss to Dallas on Sunday, saw the Cowboys score the winning touchdown with just 40 seconds remaining. The Texans are the second team since at least 1991 to lose three of their first four games after leading in the final two minutes, joining the 2016 Chargers. The only other teams in the Super Bowl era to start 0-4 despite leading in the fourth quarter of three games are the 2013 Buccaneers and 2011 Vikings.
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has been a bright spot for Houston, becoming the first quarterback since 1950 (when starts were first tracked) to lose his first four games without throwing an interception.
Undefeated Teams Making Noise
On the flip side, three teams remain undefeated at 4-0. The Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings have both started perfect after missing the playoffs in 2025. The last time two teams started 4-0 after missing the postseason the previous year was in 2013, when the Chiefs and New Orleans Saints accomplished the feat.
Super Bowl MVP Shines in New Home
Signing the reigning Super Bowl MVP has often backfired in the past, but the Kansas City Chiefs are reaping the rewards with Kenneth Walker III. Since leaving Seattle in free agency in March, Walker has transformed Kansas City's offense. His 537 rushing yards are the most by any player through four games since Arian Foster's 539 in 2010. In a 30-27 win over Las Vegas on Sunday, Walker rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the fourth player ever to record at least 175 scrimmage yards in three of his first four games of a season. He joins Christian McCaffrey (2019), Billy Sims (1980), and Jim Brown (1963). Sims is the only other player to achieve this in his first four games with a franchise. Walker already has six runs of 20 yards or more this season, doubling Kansas City's total for all of 2025.
His performance stands in stark contrast to other Super Bowl MVPs who changed teams immediately after winning the award. Larry Brown, who won Super Bowl MVP for Dallas after the 1995 season, managed just one interception in 12 games over two seasons with the Raiders and was suspended in 1997 before being cut. Desmond Howard, the 1997 Super Bowl MVP for Green Bay, caught six passes and returned two punts for touchdowns in two seasons with Oakland. Dexter Jackson fared slightly better after leaving Tampa Bay for Arizona, recording six interceptions in 2003, but he was cut the following year.
Penalties on the Rise
The NFL saw a near-record number of penalties last week, with 271 accepted infractions, the second-most in any week in league history. The record is 298, set in Week 2 of the 2015 season. Week 4 averaged 16.9 penalties per game, the second-highest mark since 2000. The biggest offender was Sunday's game between the Chargers and Seahawks, which featured 30 accepted penalties for 280 yards, including seven personal fouls against Seattle. Three other games had at least 20 accepted penalties. Through four weeks, the league average of 15 penalties per game ranks fourth-highest since 2000 and the highest since 2015 (15.3). There have been noticeable increases in offensive holding, false starts, and defensive holding compared to last season. The disparity between teams is stark: Green Bay and Cleveland are both averaging more than 10 accepted penalties per game, while San Francisco and Indianapolis have averaged fewer than five.
Originally reported by adn.