It was less action-packed than we were expecting, with the postponement of both the Titans-Steelers and Patriots-Chiefs games, but the matchups that did kickoff provided no shortage of entertainment. Whether you like upsets, trick plays, or barnburner scores, the NFL’s week 4 had something for you.
New Orleans Saints 35- Detroit Lions 29
The Saints were inconsistent at best on Sunday afternoon. After going down 14-0 early to the lowly Lions, Brees and company fired off five straight touchdowns. The game should have been a lock from that point on, but New Orleans seemed to switch off, allowing the Lions to come back and make a game out of it.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38- LA Chargers 31
Embed from Getty ImagesBrady was back to his old ways, rallying his team to a comeback win with five touchdown passes. The Chargers had surged to a 17 point lead under rookie QB, Herbert, but the defense was no match for the seasoned veteran firing from the other side. Despite the loss, Chargers fans can take comfort in Herbert’s continued progress in the absence of Tyrod Taylor, who’s out with the most unlikely injury report you’ve ever seen…)
Cleveland Browns 49- Dallas Cowboys 38
The best quarterback to take the field for Cleveland was wideout, Jarvis Landry, which should tell you all you need to know. Both teams’ gameplans appeared to be to make defense optional, leaving multiple question marks hanging as the final whistle blew. One thing that definitely isn’t questionable is the fact that the Dallas Cowboys are certainly not “dem boyz”.
Carolina Panthers 31- Arizona Cardinals 21
The Panthers seem to have solved their redzone inadequacies as they picked apart the Cardinals drive after drive. They split their scores between the ground and the air, showing some much needed versatility in the absence of Christian McCaffery.
Baltimore Ravens 31- Washington 17
After an off-week, Lamar Jackson and his Ravens looked more like the league’s reigning highest scoring team. It was a well-rounded performance, using Jackson’s legs, strong defence, and some special teams trickery, Baltimore built themselves a 21-10 halftime lead and didn’t look back.
Cincinnati Bengals 33- Jacksonville Jaguars 25
The days of Sacksonville are a distant memory as the Jags allowed 500 yards for the third time in eight games. Joe Burrow went off for 300 yards on his way to his first NFL win, and looked almost as every bit the saviour the franchise has been so, so, so desperately needing.
Minnesota Vikings 31- Houston Texans 23
Embed from Getty ImagesIn another battle of winless teams, it was easy to see how they got to that point; neither side looked very threatening in any stage of the game. With each passing snap, it becomes more and more apparent why this game was to be Bill O’Brien’s last game as an employee of the franchise. Much like he did to Hopkins, the organization ripped the rug out from O’Brien the next morning, seemingly out of nowhere…
Seattle Seahawks 31- Miami Dolphins 23
It was a clinic on how not to execute in the red zone courtesy of the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. Their only touchdown came in the dying minutes of the game, after they settled for five field goals. The Seahawks, on the other hand, punched in four major scores en route to their first 4-0 start since their Super Bowl winning 2013 campaign…anyone feeling a bold prediction coming on?
Embed from Getty ImagesLA Rams 17- New York Giants 9
This game was a snoozefest until after the clock hit zeros as Jalen Ramsey and Golden Tate started going at each other. Punches were thrown, sidelines were cleared, and nobody wore a mask so stay tuned for the postponement date of these teams’ next action.
Buffalo Bills 30- Las Vegas Raiders 23
Nobody look but the Buffalo Bills are sitting atop the AFC after a perfect 4-0 start and Josh Allen is playing lights out. The competition has been subpar (beating the Jets and Dolphins doesn’t mean a whole lot in today’s NFL) but the Bills are looking more and more like the team everyone was expecting to be able to challenge for the AFC East title.
Indianapolis Colts 19- Chicago Bears 11
New game plan for Chicago: strat Trubisky and pull him halfway through the game in favour of Foles, seeing as that seems to be the only recipe for a competent quarterback in the Windy City. The Bears offence simply did not show up during key drives, and often spent more time on the sidelines than is ever ideal when you’re trying to incorporate a new quarterback into an existing system.
Philadelphia Eagles 25- San Francisco 49ers 20
The best was truly kept for last as we saw one of the biggest upsets of the season on the Sunday nighter. Don’t get it wrong, Carson Wentz still looked abysmal, but lucky for him and the bumbling Eagles, they were playing the 49ers practice squad. The real story of the night however was former Calgary Stampeder, and CFL stud, Alex Singleton picked off Nick Mullens for a pick-six, earning the CFL a massive shoutout on NBC.
Thanks for hanging out with us and talking more football this week! Don’t forget to keep coming back for more headlines, highlights, and sarcasm every week on everyone’s favourite day of the week.
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