My friends, THE GURU smells a rough evening for the winless Bucs (0-4, 0-1 road) in Dallas (2-2, 1-1 home).
Quarterback Baker Mayfield is on the shelf, and Tampa is on the road with backup Jalon Daniels - an undrafted rookie - making his first start. A rough spot for the kid and I see the Cowboys winning, 32-20, on Prime Video. Kickoff is at 8:15 pm.
Yes, it’s another sad tale in Buccaneers history. After all, this is the sad-sack outfit that started 0-26 in its first two years. The team with the lowest win percentage (.412) in National Football League history, even trailing the Cardinals (.419), Jaguars (.429) and Jets (.432).
That said, the franchise launched the careers of Doug Williams and Hall of Famers Barber, Brooks, Lynch, Sapp, and the greatest Buc of all - defensive lineman Leroy Selmon.
They also captured two Super Bowls…and they were the driving force behind one of the greatest revolutions in professional football, a phenomenon that is growing each season.
Intrigued? Let’s take a step back for a moment.
Tampa entered the league in 1976, and, after that awful 0-26 beginning, the franchise found its footing and actually made the playoffs three times in a four-year span: 1979, 1981 and 1982. Williams was the star QB, and things were good under head coach John McKay.
Alas, owner Hugh Culverhouse declined to pay Williams his fair market value, so the strong-armed Grambling alum sat out the 1983 season and, a year later, set sail for the newly formed United States Football League, joining the Oklahoma Outlaws.
The Bucs promptly were a league-worst 2-141 in 1983, beginning a run of 14 straight losing seasons, chewing up five head coaches in the process. But, in ‘84, the franchise unwittingly started the aforementioned revolution.
Here’s how it went down: the team’s kicker from 1981-83 was a gentlemen named Bill Capece, who did a pretty good job for the team. However, the veteran struggled in the 1984 preseason and was replaced by a then-unknown Nigerian named Obed Ariri.
Ariri had been drafted out of Clemson in 1981 by the Baltimore Colts but didn’t make it to the regular season. He then was cut by the USFL’s Washington Federals, making him a man without a football home.
But Tampa came calling in 1984 and Ariri delivered, making 19 of 26 field goal tries2 and becoming the first Buc to hit three kicks of 40+ yards in the same game. In the locker room, teammates called him “The Automatic African” as the league’s first Nigerian player set the franchise record for points and field goals in a single season.
In fact, Ariri was so successful that it might’ve been his undoing. In the ensuing NFL Draft, the Bucs drafted another Nigerian Clemson placekicker - Donald Igwebuike - and the rookie promptly won the job over his countryman. The newcomer owned the role for the next five seasons and ended his Tampa career as the franchise leader in career points and field goals.
The irony doesn’t end there as it turns out that Ariri actually arranged for Igwebuike to attend Clemson. Ariri excelled for head coaches Charley Pell and Danny Ford and Igwebuike kicked under Ford for four seasons, starring on the school’s 1982 national championship team.
So, Pell and Ford were part of the Nigerian football revolution but the real architect, even if it was accidental, was Dr I.M. Ibrahim, the Palestinian American chemistry Ph. D who recruited Ariri and Igwebuike to play soccer at Clemson. A program he started from the ground up and led to two national titles.
Following the success of Ariri and Igwebuike, the Chiefs famously drafted running back Christian Okoye aka “The Nigerian Nightmare” in 1987 from tiny Azusa Pacific, an NAIA school that wasn’t exactly a football factory. But does Okoye get picked that high - or even at all - without the success of Ariri and Igwebuike?
Okoye, of course, became one of the most feared runners of his era, bludgeoning NFL defenses for six years with Kansas City, functioning as coach Marty Schottenheimer’s sledgehammer. And his grand success set the stage for the many Nigerian players who continue to follow in his footsteps.
How grand?
Well, at the start of the 2026 season according to ESPN, there were 93 players of Nigerian origin on NFL rosters or practice squads - an average of nearly three per team - and 137 players of African descent.
The list of Nigerian players includes the 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba; his Super Bowl champion teammates Nick Emmanwori and Uchenna Nwosu; Pro Bowlers like Tennessee kick returner Chimere Dike, Chargers tight end David Njoku and Baltimore defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike; and so many others.
Simply astounding and, at day’s end, they’re really just getting started.
The Week Four record was anything but impressive at 8-8 (.500), dropping the season mark to 37-27 (.578). Let’s go to the games with the Chiefs (4-0) and Panthers (2-2) on their bye week…
SUNDAY
9:30 AM ET — NFL NETWORK
Philadelphia (2-2, 1-1 road) falls to Jacksonville (3-1, 2-0 home) in London, but they won’t go down without a fight. It’s been a brutal week in the City of Brotherly Love with the loss to the Rams and Lane Johnson’s retirement, but I think Sirianni & Co. go down swinging.
Note to local pasty purveyors: TOMMY BIRD is in town for the game and he isn’t counting calories.
1 PM ET — FOX
I like Chicago (3-1, 1-0 road) at Green Bay (2-2, 0-1 home) in a defensive struggle…
…Jayden Daniels returns for My Beloved Commies (1-3, 1-1 home) but we still fall to the visiting Giants (3-1, 0-1 road). I wish the young man would get elbow surgery but, hey, I’m no doctor, despite what DISCO MIKE might tell you…
…Minnesota (4-0, 2-0 road) falls at New Orleans (1-3, 0-2 home) as the Saints bounce back from their tough home loss to Atlanta…
…I’ll take Cincinnati (2-2, 1-1 road) at Miami (0-4, 0-1 home) as SIR STRIPES takes FISHBOY to his second home, the proverbial woodshed.
1 PM ET — CBS
Houston (0-4, 0-1 road) gets in the win column at Tennessee (0-4, 0-2 home). Hang in there, Robert Saleh…
…Cleveland (3-1, 1-1 road) wins at the Jets (1-3, 0-1 home) and TIMMY THE BROWN starts planning the Super Bowl parade. Poor fella…
…Indianapolis (2-2, 1-1 road) drops one at Pittsburgh (2-2, 2-0 home). The Aaron Rodgers/Mike McCarthy marriage enjoys a blissful week, and the gnashing of teeth stops - at least for now - at THE HOUSE OF SUSSEX…
…Las Vegas (3-1, 2-0 road) loses at New England (2-2, 1-0 home) but Cousins keeps it close.
4:05 PM ET — CBS
Denver (2-2, 0-2 road) bounces back with a win at the Chargers (0-4, 0-2 home) as the SoFi air reeks of desperation.
4:25 PM ET — FOX
Detroit (2-2, 0-2 road) wins at Arizona (1-3, 0-1 home) behind Messrs. Goff, Gibbs and Amon-Ra…
…San Fran (4-0, 1-0 road) gets a victory at Seattle (3-1, 2-0 home) as Purdy continues his crazy roll. Playing like the best QB in football right now.
8:20 PM ET — NBC
Baltimore (3-1, 2-0 road) takes the “L” at Atlanta (2-2, 0-1 home). Just give it to Bijan and let him do the rest, Mr. Stefanski.
MONDAY — 8:15 PM ET — ESPN / ABC
Buffalo (3-1, 1-0 road) wins at the Rams (2-2, 1-1 home), bouncing back from last week’s loss to the Patriots. The Bills usually experience a two-game losing streak at some point in the season, but I don’t think this will be it.
That’s all for this week’s games, folks. God bless!
Tied with the Houston Oilers.
Hat tip, Pro Football Reference
good stuff, Randy, and add this Nigerian-American to the list
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/article/vanderbilt-lands-2027-four-star-offensive-tackle-jasper-ngokwere-287477587/
my son, Ben, has been a classmate of Jasper's since 1st grade
i knew 12 years ago Jasper would be this big and on his way to the SEC