Every NFL season produces a group of teams that outplays its preseason expectations, but the 2026 quarter mark has delivered an unusually fun batch. The three undefeated clubs at the top of the standings — Minnesota, Kansas City and San Francisco — were expected to be good; the way the Vikings are doing it was not. And around them, three teams written off in September have spent October rewriting their storylines: a Bears team winning quarterback musical chairs, a Browns team that looked lost in Week 1, and a Jaguars team quietly building the league's best takeaway streak.
Below is the full breakdown: one table that frames all four teams, then a section on each — the formula, the numbers behind it, and the Week 5 test waiting on Sunday. If you want the broader standings context first, our unbeaten teams watch covers the perfect records, and the Week 4 recap has every final score.
The Quarter-Mark Board, in One Table
All four records below are the standings entering Week 5. Every one of these clubs plays Sunday, which means the board could look very different by Monday morning — that is part of what makes the quarter mark such a fun checkpoint.
Minnesota's Improbable 4-0: Defense First, Touchdowns Optional
Start with the strangest undefeated story in the league. Minnesota's offense ranks second-worst in yards per game and worst in passing yards per game, per The Athletic's quarter-mark data dump. Since erupting for 39 points in the season opener, the unit has produced exactly one offensive touchdown — an 18-possession drought without reaching the end zone that was still alive after the Week 4 win over Miami. The Vikings have seven touchdowns all season, the fewest ever for a team that started 4-0 since the 2003 Panthers, and they joined the 1922-23 Chicago Cardinals as the only clubs in NFL history to open 4-0 without scoring an offensive touchdown in two of their first four games, per NFL Research.
So how is the record perfect? Brian Flores' defense. Minnesota sits first in the league in defensive EPA, first on third downs (opponents are converting just 22.6% of the time), first in red-zone efficiency against (touchdowns on only 18.2% of end-zone trips) and first in points allowed at 12.8 per game. The engine is pressure: the Vikings blitz on well over half of opponent dropbacks, and no other defense in the league is even within 20 percentage points of them, per The Athletic. Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley, whose Miami team managed 198 total yards and 77 net passing yards in the 15-10 loss, called the scheme a brutal prepare-week experience. Opponents have scored two touchdowns in their past 40 possessions against this defense.
The offense's best player, fittingly, is the kicker. Will Reichard has made 31 consecutive field goals, the league's longest active streak, and his 42 points through four weeks lead the entire NFL — nearly matching what the rest of the Minnesota offense has produced on its own. Quarterback Kyler Murray, signed in the offseason as a reclamation project, ranks 30th in passer rating among the 35 quarterbacks with multiple starts and has been sacked 11 times; Justin Jefferson sat out the Miami game with an ankle injury and is working his way back this week. The most encouraging sign: the Vikings have turned the ball over just twice all season, so even the sluggish drives usually end in punts rather than gifts. Fine, they are not pretty — but a visit to New Orleans on Sunday is exactly the kind of game this formula wins. Fans riding with the formula can find the full purple wall in the Minnesota Vikings collection.
Chicago's Quarterback-Proof Machine Under Ben Johnson
The Bears are 3-1 and all three wins have come with a different starting quarterback, which might be the single most Ben Johnson stat of the young season. Caleb Williams has missed the past two games with a Grade 2 hamstring strain that typically costs a player about a month, and Chicago has not flinched: Case Keenum steered the Monday night demolition of Philadelphia, and backup Tyson Bagent — making his first start since 2023 — completed 25 of 34 passes for 268 yards in Sunday's 23-12 win over the Jets.
That Jets game was the most lopsided game you will see with a 11-point final margin. Chicago outgained New York 492-157, the largest total-yardage margin for the franchise since 1979, per NFL Research. The Bears ran 89 plays to the Jets' 32, held the ball for 42 minutes 45 seconds, picked up a franchise-record 34 first downs and did not punt once — the first time they managed that since 2014. Second-year back Kyle Monangai carried 30 times for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and Rome Odunze broke out with six catches for 94 yards. New York went 0-for-7 on third down and managed 34 net yards in the first half.
The quiet part of the story is the defense, the unit everyone flagged as Chicago's weakness before the season. Coordinator Dennis Allen's group ranks first in the league in EPA allowed per dropback and fourth in EPA per play overall, and it has held three straight opponents to 12 points or fewer. The schedule now turns serious: a trip to Green Bay on Sunday is the Bears' first true divisional test, and it comes with Williams' return timetable still uncertain. Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the Bears have proved they can win a certain way — and NFC North standings are already feeling it. The whole navy-and-orange wall lives in the Chicago Bears collection.
Cleveland's Redemption: From a 34-10 Wreck to First Place
No team has traveled further in four weeks. The Browns opened the Todd Monken era with a 34-10 humiliation in Jacksonville — the same Jaguars they will now watch from two games up in the loss column — and then reeled off three straight wins, capped by Thursday night's 27-24 victory over Pittsburgh that put Cleveland atop the AFC North at 3-1 for the first time since 2023.
The formula has two halves. On defense, Cleveland abandoned the soft coverages of Week 1 and started sending extra rushers: the blitz rate has climbed from 12% in the opener to nearly a third of snaps, and the pressure rate sits at 43%. Against the Steelers it produced five sacks of Aaron Rodgers, plus interceptions by Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit — the last one sealing the game on Pittsburgh's final heave. On offense, Deshaun Watson has quietly authored the best stretch of his Cleveland tenure: 24 of 33 for 268 yards and a score against Pittsburgh, 855 passing yards and six touchdowns on the season, and — most remarkably — a fourth-quarter game-winning drive in three consecutive games, something no Browns quarterback had done since Brian Sipe in 1979. Andre Szmyt's 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds left was the finishing touch.
The caveats are real, and local analysts have been quick to list them: Cleveland's 43 accepted penalties are the most in franchise history through four games, and defensive tackle Mason Graham's knee sprain will be monitored week to week. But the schedule keeps handing out chances — a win over the winless Jets on Sunday would make it four in a row before the midseason checkpoint. The Cleveland Browns collection is where the brown-and-orange faithful are shopping the streak.
Jacksonville's Takeaway Streak: Gritty, Not Pretty
The Jaguars might be the least flashy 3-1 team in football, and that is precisely the point. Liam Coen's group has won ugly, won clean and won late, and the constant is a defense that keeps stealing possessions. Jacksonville has recorded an interception in nine consecutive games — a franchise record and the longest active streak in the NFL — and has forced multiple takeaways in 13 games since the start of the 2025 season, the most in the league over that span. Its 39 takeaways across the last two seasons are tied with Chicago for the league lead.
Sunday's 22-17 win in Cincinnati was the identity in miniature. The Jaguars were flagged 13 times for 125 yards, had two Bhayshul Tuten touchdown runs wiped out by holding calls, and still found a way: Jourdan Lewis returned an interception 45 yards to set up a touchdown, Foye Oluokun picked off Joe Burrow in the red zone to protect a fourth-quarter lead, and rookie safety Rayuan Lane III stopped Chase Brown a yard short on fourth-and-10 with under a minute left. Trevor Lawrence did his part efficiently — 18 of 23 for 227 yards and a touchdown, no turnovers — and finally beat Burrow at the fourth attempt, a drought that stretched back to their college days.
The bill comes due in London on Sunday morning, where the Jaguars host the Eagles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with first place in the AFC South momentum on the line. Injuries are piling up in the secondary — Caleb Ransaw went out with a knee injury in Cincinnati and Eric Murray exited with a concussion — so the streak will be tested by a desperate Philadelphia passing game. Win that one, and nobody will be calling this start a mirage. Teal faithful can shop the whole set in the Jacksonville Jaguars collection.
What the Quarter Mark Actually Proves
Four weeks is a sample, not a verdict, and all four of these teams carry a visible flaw: Minnesota has one offensive touchdown in a month, Chicago has a quarterback room held together by tape, Cleveland cannot stop collecting flags, and Jacksonville wins by inches every single week. But the quarter mark already tells you something durable about each club: these are four rosters with a true identity, and identity travels — to New Orleans, to Green Bay, to New Jersey and to London. The contenders everyone circled in August (Philadelphia, the Rams, Green Bay) all sit at 2-2 and looking up. For how the season's first month set this table, the Week 4 scoreboard has the details, and our 2026 jersey buying guide breaks down every shirt type if any of these rising teams are about to earn a spot in your rotation.
Surprise Teams FAQ
Which NFL teams have been the biggest surprises of the 2026 season?
Through four weeks: the 4-0 Vikings, whose defense is winning games while the offense scores almost nothing; the 3-1 Bears, who have won with three different starting quarterbacks; the 3-1 Browns, who followed a season-opening blowout loss with three straight wins and first place in the AFC North; and the 3-1 Jaguars, whose nine-game interception streak is the longest in the league.
How are the Vikings 4-0 with such a poor offense?
Defense, field position and Will Reichard. Minnesota allows a league-low 12.8 points per game, leads the NFL in defensive EPA, third-down defense and red-zone defense, and blitzes more than twice as often as most teams. Reichard has made 31 straight field goals and leads the league in scoring, covering for an offense that has one touchdown since Week 1.
Why do the Bears keep winning without Caleb Williams?
Ben Johnson's scheme has produced 3-1 with three different starters, and the formula travels: a ground-heavy, possession-dominant offense (42:45 of possession against the Jets) plus a Dennis Allen defense that ranks first in EPA allowed per dropback. Williams' hamstring strain typically costs about a month, but Chicago has already shown the floor is high without him.
Can the Browns stay hot after beating Pittsburgh?
The early schedule says yes for now: the Jets, Titans and Saints are next, and Cleveland is 3-1 for the first time since 2023. The risks are discipline (a franchise-record penalty pace) and the health of rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham, whose knee sprain will be re-evaluated weekly. Deshaun Watson's three straight fourth-quarter game-winning drives are the best evidence the turnaround is real.
What makes the Jaguars so good at forcing takeaways?
Depth and persistence. Jacksonville has an interception in nine consecutive games, has multiple takeaways in 13 games since 2025 (most in the NFL) and keeps getting them from different players — Jourdan Lewis, Foye Oluokun and a rotating pass rush that generated 20 pressures on Joe Burrow. Sunday's London game against Philadelphia is the stiffest test of the streak yet.
Shop the Jerseys in This Story
Picks from the four surprise teams covered above. Every card opens the product page directly.
