The NFL has completed the first quarter of the regular season. I can’t believe how quickly it the season is moving. Let’s take a look at team and individual stats through the first quarter of the season in the NFC North.
Record
Lions 3-1
Packers 3-1
Vikings 2-2
Bears 1-3
The Lions and Packers have started the season hot and both teams only loss is to the Falcons. The Packers got beat badly in Atlanta and the Lions lost in a close game at Ford Field on a controversial ending with many referee errors.
The Lions beat the Vikings in Minnesota along with the lowly Giants in New York. Detroit beat the Cardinals to open the season by 12. The Packers beat the Bears at Lambeau in the only division action for them. Green Bay also beat the Bengals in a closer game than expected and Seahawks at Lambeau Field in a defensive battle 17-9.
Minnesota lost Bradford after Week 1 win against the Saints and lost to Detroit and at Pittsburgh this season with Case Keenum at QB. The Vikings whipped the Saints and Tampa Bay in Week 1 and 3.
The Bears have struggled with Mike Glennon and will turn to rookie first round pick Mitch Trubisky in Week 5. Chicago lost a close game at home to Atlanta but got destroyed at Tampa Bay and at Green Bay with many turnovers. The Bears somehow gave Pittsburgh their only loss of the season in Week 3 at Soldier Field with good defense and rushing attack.
Offensive PPG
Green Bay is 8th scoring 25.5 PPG. Detroit is 10th notching 24.8 PPG. Minnesota is 19th scoring 19.8 PPG. Finally, the Bears score 15.3 PPG on 29th in the league.
Green Bay’s offense has done well but had some struggles against good defense with Seattle (17) and the Bengals (24). They scored some garbage points at Atlanta though in a loss. Green Bay took the Bears apart and was aided by turnovers too in that game.
Detroit’s offense was good the first two weeks and have been aided by a league high 11 turnovers forced by the defense. Stafford is finally getting the short fields he has deserved all these years. The Lions run game looked good in 2 games but poor in 2 games. Stafford has played well with 7 TDs to 1 interception and Prater has been making some really long field goals (4 over 55) to help the offense as well. The Lions have one rushing TD, one punt return by Jamaal Agnew at New York and two defensive TDs to add to their scoring.
The Vikings played well against the Saints in Week 1 with Bradford. Keenum struggled in Week 2 and 4 to put up points but had a great day with 3 TDs against Tampa Bay in Week 3. Dalvin Cook was rushing so well as a rookie but he tore his ACL in the 3rd Quarter in Week 4.
The Bears have been poor with Mike Glennon at QB. Glennon is more of a turnover machine than Cutler and will be replaced. Jordan Howard started slow but had a big Week 3. Rookie Tarik Cohen has looked good running the ball early. The Bears lost both of their starting WRs to injury so it’s not a surprise their offense has looked so bad.
Defensive PPG
The Lions are 4th best in the league allowing only 17.5 PPG. Stafford gave up a pick 6 in Week 1 which allowed the Cardinals to score 23 points and not 16. The Giants were held to 10 points but the Falcons scored 30. Finally, the Vikings were held to 7 with Case Keenum at QB.
The Vikings allowed 19.0 PPG so far. They allowed 19 to the Saints including a garbage time TD. Minnesota gave up 26 to Pittsburgh and 17 to Tampa Bay. Finally, the Lions scored 14 on them in Week 4. The Vikings defense has been strong as always.
The Bears defense are giving up 26 PPG due to many offensive turnovers. Atlanta only scored 23 but Tampa Bay notched 29. The Steelers scored 17 but the Packers dropped 35 in Lambeau on Chicago.
Turnovers
The Lions have done really well in this category. They forced 11 already after forcing 14 all of 2016 season. The Lions have turned it over twice with Stafford pick 6 on his first throw of the season and a Stafford fumble against the Giants due to poor protection. Detroit is +9 in turnover differential and a big reason they are 3-1.
Green Bay has forced 6 turnovers but only have 2 turnover losses. Rodgers was picked off twice including a pick 6 to the Bengals.
Minnesota only forced 3 turnovers but turned it over 4 times. The Vikings had 3 turnovers in one game against the Lions due to 3 fumbles lost. The Lions forced two of them but the Vikings fumbled a wild cat hand off between McKinnon and Dalvin Cook.
Chicago forced only 3 turnovers and have a league high 10 turnovers on the season. The Bears turnover problems has led to a 1-3 start.
Pass Defense
Detroit is 5th best allowing a 75.6 QB rating led by 7 interceptions. Green Bay is 17th allowing 91.2 QB rating. The Vikings have allowed a 92.7 QB rating at 18th in the league. The Bears have struggled allowing 103.8 QB rating at 27th in the league.
Run Defense
Minnesota is 4th best allowing only 3.1 YPC despite a good day from Abdullah in Week 4. Chicago is 8th best allowing only 3.5 YPC. The Lions are 16th giving up 4.0 YPC. Green Bay is 19th allowing 4.2 YPC. There are some good run defenses in the North.
Sacks
Minnesota has 11 from a 6 sack day against Detroit. The Lions and Packers have 10 sacks in 4 games. Chicago notched 9 sacks so far.
Green Bay has allowed 15 sacks on Rodgers due to many tackle injuries. The Lions have allowed 12 sacks of Stafford of Stafford mainly from a 6 sack day by the Vikings. The Bears have been sacked 8 times and the Vikings only five times in four games. The Vikings offensive line improved with Reiff, Remmers and Efflein. They have also been the healthiest this season.
QB
Aaron Rodgers is 8th with a 100.7 rating completing 66.9% of his passes with 10 TDs and 3 interceptions. Stafford is 9th in the league with 95.9 QB rating completing 63.8% of his passes with 7 TDs and 1 interception. Stafford was great in Week 1 and 2 but struggled in Week 3 and 4 with pressure and good coverage.
Case Keenum earned a 94.4 rating in 3 games. He had a great game against Tampa Bay but poor games against Pittsburgh and Detroit. Bradford had a tremendous Week 1 against the Saints before his knee flared up. Mike Glennon has a 76.9 rating in the first 4 games with 4 TDs and 5 interceptions. The Trubisky era will start in Week 5 for the Bears.
Rushing Attack
The Bears are 7th rushing for 4.7 YPC. The Vikings are 18th at 4.0 YPC but lost Dalvin Cook for the season. The Lions run at 3.6 YPC for 24th in the league but Ameer Abdullah is 10th in the league in rushing yards through four weeks. The Packers have struggled and Montgomery got hurt in the Bears game. The Packers rush at 3.5 YPC for 25th in the league.
Receiving
Diggs has 391 yards and 4 TDs in a great start to the season. Adam Thielen earned 358 yards so far. Kyle Rudolph notched 109 yards and 1 TD so far. The Vikings have some good weapons for their QB.
Davante Adams has 219 yard and 2 TDs. Jordy Nelson has 206 yards and 5 TDs already. Nelson missed most of the Falcons game. Cobb has 189 yards and 1 TD. Allison notched 146 yards so far. Martellus Bennett earned 141 yards so far in four weeks. Montgomery has 129 yards and Kendricks caught for 70 yards so far.
Golden Tate has 219 yards and 1 TD and Marvin Jones has 130 yards and 2 TDS so far. TJ Jones earned 128 yards and Kenny Golladay 102 yards with 2 TDs in the first week. Riddick has 90 yard and 1 TD and Ebron 87 yards and 1 TD through four weeks.
Kendall Wright has 154 yards and 1 TD as the leader for the Bears. Cohen has 150 yards and 1 TD as a receiving back. Zach Miller has 143 yard from tight end and Deonte Thompson earned 125 yards and 1 TD. Josh Bellamy has 114 yards and Jordan Howard notched 50 yards receiving so far. The Bears struggle with injuries to Cameron Meredith and Kevin White.
The first quarter has been exciting. There is still a lot of football left to play.