NFL Week 4 In Review

here is nothing quite like starting off the NFL weekend with a double doink across the pond.

Sunday saw a ton of injuries league wide that impacted a handful of this weekend’s slate.

Here are my takeaways from Sunday’s action across the NFL.

Vikings 28, Saints 25

MIN: Despite benefitting from a questionable pass interference call against Marshaon Lattimore in the fourth quarter, the Vikings offense has to feel good about dropping 28 points against a solid Saints defense. The Vikings left a lot of points on the field but finally got Justin Jefferson going again. 

NO: Hats off to Andy Dalton and Latavius Murray for stepping in for the likes of Jameis Winston and Alvin Kamara respectively. Unfortunately, the Saints keep digging themselves holes heading into the fourth quarter (they’ve trailed all four games this season heading into the fourth quarter) and have literally seen the ball not bounce their way so far this year.

Bills 23, Ravens 20

BAL: The addition of J.K. Dobbins has given an already explosive Ravens offense a considerable boost. However, the defense failed to resemble the unit that dominated Josh Allen and a potent Bills offense in the first half, squandering yet another three-score lead in the second half to sit at a head scratching 2-2 through the first month of the season..

BUF: There is no way to sugarcoat this, the Bills are far from an unbeatable team. However, Josh Allen’s greatness often covers up some of the glaring deficiencies on this team. On the flip side, you have to tip your hat to this team’s grittiness by shutting out the Ravens in the second half, buying just enough time for Allen to generate just enough offense on the road to steal the victory. They showed the resolve of a championship caliber team.

Seahawks 48, Lions 45

SEA: I’m not sure many NFL fans outside of Seattle felt confident the Seahawks were going to score 48 points through the first four games of the season, much less in a single football game. Sure, the defense continues to get gouged and can’t stop any opposing team on the ground, but the fact that this team has rallied around Geno Smith… means we should give credit where credit is due to Seahawks coach, Pete Carroll.

DET: There isn’t really a kind way to say this, but the Lions are the best losing team in the NFL at the moment. This team has a lot of fight in them and continues to give themselves a chance to win every single time they take the field… but they can’t seem to finish consistently. Admittedly, the loss of D’Andre Swift and Amon-Ra St. Brown made the Lions a bit short handed on the offensive side of the football, but it doesn’t excuse the defense allowing 45 points at home to Geno Smith. 

Jets 24, Steelers 20

NYJ: Hey Mister Willlllllson. Second year quarterback, Zach Wilson, made his 2022 season debut in front of the terrible towels and a stingy Steeler defense and came out of the Steel City with a win. It wasn’t pretty, but the defense intercepting four passes now has the Jets at a surprising 2-2 through the first month of the season.

PIT: Far be it me to question the greatness of Mike Tomlin, but the move to Kenny Pickett feels like it was two weeks too late. Perhaps the rookie can give the Steelers more splash moving forward than the likes of Mitchell Trubisky, but if they fail to make the postseason by a win or two, it will be hard not to wonder what if about the first month of the season with Pickett mostly on the bench.

Giants 20, Bears 12

NYG: It feels like only a matter of time until the New York Giants honeymoon period  with Brian Daboll comes to an end in 2022. But for the time being… The defense is one of the stingiest units in the league, Daniel Jones has more touchdowns than turnovers and Saquon Barkley is the best running back in football. They are certainly one of the more pleasant surprises of the young NFL season.

CHI: Admittedly, I’m a Justin Fields believer, but this Bears offense has been tough to watch this season. Sure, it was nice to see Darnell Mooney finally involved in the limited action Bears pass catchers have seen so far in 2022, but the offense still feels like it’s stuck in neutral a quarter of a way through the season. 

Titans 24, Colts 17

TEN: The King….. has returned. That’s right, Derrick Henry for a second consecutive game led the way with 25 total touches, 140+ total yards and a score to lead a limited Titans offense. However, with only the young Jacksonville Jaguars appearing to be a threat in the AFC South, Derrick Henry alone might be enough to carry this team to the postseason.

IND: It’s officially time to push the panic button for the Indianapolis Colts. Jonathan Taylor was clearly not himself and might be on the shelf on a short week with an ankle injury. That is majorly concerning for a team whose very identity was meant to be built around this workhorse running back.

Chargers 34, Texans 24

LAC: At least for one week, Charger fans can exhale. Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler and Mike Williams all showed offensively after a putrid outing against the Jags. While the defense made life difficult on Davis Mills, generating two interceptions and four sacks in a dominant performance. Better days may be ahead if Keenan Allen can seamlessly return to the lineup in the coming weeks.

HOU: On the plus side, the Houston Texans appear to have found their running back of the future with Dameon Pierce, who saw 100% of the team’s carries and produced 131 yards on 14 carries. On the negative side, the passing offense continues to be inconsistent at best and has to be wondering if Davis Mills is in their long term future.

Falcons 23, Browns 20

ATL: This just in… Overlook the Atlanta Falcons at your own risk. Despite a rough outing from Marcus Mariota, the Falcons triumvirate of Cordarrelle Patterson, Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley combined for 178 yards rushing to go with two scores on 29 carries to literally carry the offensive load for the Falcons in a winning effort to pull even with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers atop the NFC South.

CLE: If not for a colossal late-game meltdown against the Jets, the Jacoby Brissett led Cleveland Browns could be sitting at 3-1. However, it felt like you could hang this loss mostly on the play at the quarterback position. 

Cowboys 25, Commanders 10

DAL: I’m not exactly sure what to make of this… but Cooper Rush is now 3-0 as the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys in 2022. It’s worth noting that defense has generated 13 sacks in the last three games, but Rush has played pretty clean football under center with 4 touchdown passes to zero interceptions over this three game winning streak. I’m not predicting a quarterback controversy in Big D once Dak returns, but it is certainly worth monitoring if Rush continues to win football games in this fashion.

WAS: It’s hard to put too much of the blame on Carson Wentz given some of the struggles the offensive line unit is having through the first games of the season. Wentz has been sacked more than any quarterback in the league (17 times). However, Wentz definitely deserves some of the blame… seeing that he leads the league with 5 interceptions and has been an instrumental part in the teams slow starts over the last three weeks, generating just 7 total points in the last three first halves combined. However, the Commanders next four games comes against the Titans, Bears, Packers and Colts, who are all struggling to find consistency on the offensive side of the football. If there was ever a stretch of the season to right the ship… now would be the time.

Eagles 29, Jaguars 21

PHI: For the first time all season, the Philadelphia Eagles faced some adversity in the form of a 14-0 first half deficit. They responded by scoring the next 29 points and forcing five turnovers. This team can beat you in a variety of different ways and comes loaded with a formidable offensive line, talented offensive playmakers and a nasty defensive unit. The Eagles are for real.

JAX: Through the first quarter of action, Doug Pederson appeared ready to win his revenge game in front of the Philly faithful. Unfortunately from that point on, Trevor Lawrence had one of his rougher outings of his young NFL career. Undoubtedly, the Jags are a far better football team than last season, but it’s still hard to tell whether or not they are the team to beat in the AFC South through four games.

Cardinals 26, Panthers 16

ARZ: The Arizona Cardinals are going to go as Kyler Murray goes. In this one, Murray outdueled another former number one overall pick in the NFL Draft. It will be interesting to see what the arrival of DeAndre Hopkins will do with this offense once he returns from suspension.

CAR: The usage of Christian McCaffrey continues to be an ongoing experiment for Matt Rhule in 2022. This week McCaffrey saw just 8 carries (season low) but hauled in all 9 targets (season high) for 81 yards and a score. The Panthers offense continues to ride the wave of Baker Mayfield’s inconsistent play, who has thrown three picks (two on Sunday) and fumbled the ball a league leading five times (one on Sunday) in 2022.

Raiders 32, Broncos 23

LV: The Raiders played like a team that was trying to save its season… and the results speak for themselves. Josh Jacobs played arguably the best game of his career, while Davante Adams showed exactly why he is still one of the premier pass catchers in the league by registering 9 receptions for 101 yards against one of the better young corners, Patrick Surtain, in the NFL.

DEN: The Broncos offense actually had its best outing of the season against the Raiders but will likely still need some time to adjust to life without running back Javonte Williams moving forward, who tore the ACL in his right knee on Sunday. Melvin Gordon fumbled for the fourth time this season, which consequently led to Russell Wilson pacing the team in rushing with 29 yards. On paper, the Broncos have 7 fairly winnable games but the offense will need to build off of this performance if they hope to take advantage of this seven game stretch.

Packers 27, Patriots 24

GB: Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers offense will only be able to get away with slow starts on offense for so long. They should consider themselves fortunate to avoid an overtime loss at home at the hands of a third string rookie quarterback.

NE: For all of the jabs Bill Belichick has taken this offseason for appointing the likes of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge as playcallers heading into the season, he and the Patriots should be commended for giving the back-to-back MVP all he could handle with a third string quarterback in his house. It will be interesting to see if Bailey Zappe gets the starting nod if Brian Hoyer is available in the coming weeks. 

Chiefs 41, Buccaneers 31 

KC: Whether you want to label this a revenge game for Super Bowl LV or not, there is no denying that Patrick Mahomes was on a mission to make a statement against Tom Brady in this contest.Travis Kelce followed his lead by absolutely torturing Lavonte David and every other Buccaneer that attempted to check him in this contest.Simply put, the Chiefs dominated every facet of this football game and very much looked like the Super Bowl contender many expect them to be.

TB: Despite Tom Brady getting three pro bowl calibur receivers back in this contest, the offense looked a bit out of sorts because of the immediate deficit they faced early in the game, forcing them into a one dimensional aerial display that has no chance for long term success. The Bucs -3 yards rushing in the first half is alarming and needs to be a point of emphasis in their upcoming contest against the Atlanta Falcons for the top spot in the NFC South.