Updated

Updated · NBC News · Oct 5

Minkah Fitzpatrick Ends Jets' 20-Game Pick Drought as Bears Hand New York 23-13 Loss

Updated

Updated · NBC News · Oct 5

Minkah Fitzpatrick Ends Jets' 20-Game Pick Drought as Bears Hand New York 23-13 Loss

Q: How did a team from the 1930s just inspire the NFL's most baffling undefeated streak this season?

It was Minnesota’s throwback formula — not its offense — that evoked the 1930s and created the NFL’s strangest 4-0 start. The Vikings beat Miami 15-10 in Week 4 without scoring a touchdown, getting all 15 points from kicker Will Reichard’s five field goals. That made Minnesota the first team since the 1930s to open 4-0 while failing to score an offensive touchdown in multiple games. In other words, their unbeaten run has been built on defense, field position and special teams in a way that looks far more like early NFL football than the modern passing era. The historical comparison comes from how rare this profile is today. Minnesota has only 1,102 total yards through four games, one of the lowest totals ever for a 4-0 team in the Super Bowl era-era tracking and the fifth-fewest by a 4-0 club since 1950, according to circulated league research. Yet the Vikings keep winning because Reichard has been automatic, the defense has limited opponents, and the team has avoided needing explosive offense. That is why a team from the 1930s became the frame of reference: in that era, low-scoring, field-goal-and-defense football was common. In 2026, it is almost unheard of. Minnesota’s streak is baffling precisely because it is undefeated while winning like a pre-war NFL team.

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Oct 5

Minkah Fitzpatrick’s interception of Tyson Bagent gave the Jets their first takeaway in 21 games, ending an NFL-record drought that had lasted since Jan. 5, 2025.
The turnover did not change the result: Chicago beat New York 23-13, with Bagent replacing Case Keenum after one ceremonial opening snap and guiding the offense alongside a steady run game.
Aaron Glenn, still waiting for his first win tied to a defensive takeaway as Jets coach, summed up the moment bluntly: “We got an interception; great. We lost the game.”
Week 4 also left three unbeaten teams standing at 4-0 — the Chiefs, 49ers and Vikings — while several quarterbacks swung the day, from Drake Maye’s 26-21 upset of Buffalo to Justin Herbert’s three-turnover loss in Seattle.