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After week 4 only two undefeated teams remain while one team still has yet to find their first win of the season.
Dallas Cowboys 20, New York Giants 15
Dak Prescott improved his record to 13-2 vs the Giants as he threw for two touchdowns and led the Cowboys to a 20-15 win in the Meadowlands. The win snapped a two-game skid for the Cowboys and continued their dominance over their lesser NFC east rival. Prescott would finish the game with 221 yards and two touchdowns. One of his touchdowns was a 15 yarder to Rico Dowdle who would finish with 46 yards on the ground and 15 through the air with a score. Ceedee Lamb caught the other touchdown pass and would finish the game with seven catches for 98 yards and the a score. Kicker Brandon Aubrey chipped in field goals from 60 and 40 yards also for Dallas. However, the biggest concern has to be the health of star pass rusher, Micah Parsons. Parsons was carted off in the 4th quarter with an apparent leg injury and was reported to have suffered a high ankle sprain. Greg Joseph made field goals of 52, 41, 38, 22 and 42 for the Giants, who controlled the ball for 35:37 but failed to score a touchdown at home for the second straight game. Joseph made the most of his opportunities after the Giants starting kicker, Graham Gano pulled his hamstring in the loss last week to the Commanders. The Giants failed to capitalize on the league’s worst run defense as Dallas had been giving up an average of 185.7 yards, but it held the Giants to 26 yards on 24 carries, a 1.1-yard average. Daniel Jones tried to keep it close as he finished with 281 yards and an interception. His favorite target for the third consecutive week was again the rookie, Malik Nabers. Nabers finished with 12 catches for 115 yards. Concern does revolve around his health as he left late in the game with a concussion.
Atlanta Falcons 26, New Orleans Saints 24
Young-hoe Koo drilled a 58 yard field goal with two seconds left to give the Falcons a 26-24 win over the Saints. It was a career field goal for Koo who finished the game connecting all four of his field goal opportunities, hitting also from 53, 44 and 42 yards. Alvin Kamara put the Saints ahead on a one yard touchdown run with a minute to go. Kamara finished the game with 77 yards rushing as well as seven catches for 42 yards. Taysom Hill also scored a pair of rushing touchdowns before leaving with injury midway through the game. Kirk Cousins and the Falcons offense did not produce a touchdown instead it was the defense and special teams that provided the scores. First, Kha’Darel Hodge recovered a muffed punt in the endzone and later linebacker Troy Anderson scored on a pick six after he intercepted a Derek Carr pass that was deflected by Matthew Judon. Carr finished his day with 239 yards and an interception. Carr’s favorite target was Chris Olave who had eight catches for 87 yards.
Chicago Bears 24, Los Angeles Rams 18
Caleb Williams got his second career win as an NFL quarterback, leading the Bears to a 24-18 victory over Matthew Stafford and the Rams. Williams finished the game with 157 yards and a touchdown. D’Andre Swift was the big star for the Bears offense and he had a breakout game finishing with 93 yards and a score on the ground and seven catches for 72 yards through the air. DJ Moore caught the one touchdown thrown by Williams and finished with three catches for 22 yards. Matthew Stafford continues to be without his two top wide receivers in Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp but still tried to will his team to the win. Stafford would finish with 224 yards and an interception. Stafford was under duress all day as he was sacked three times and hit another six as the Bears defense also tallied seven tackles for loss. Kyren Williams had the lone touchdown on the day for the Rams as he finished with 94 yards rushing and the lone touchdown. Stafford and the Rams had a chance to go down and win the game after getting the ball back with 1:03 left but on the first play Stafford would be hit, on what could’ve called as roughing the passer, and his pass was intercepted by Jaquan Brisker to seal the win for the bears.
Minnesota Vikings 31, Green Bay Packers 29
Sam Darnold and the undefeated Minnesota Vikings stayed undefeated, as they walked into Lambeau Field and beat Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers 31-29. Darnold and the Vikings stormed out to a 28-0 lead in the first half and were able to hold on for the win. Darnold would finish with 275 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. One of those touchdown passes went to second year wideout Jordan Addison, who finished with three catches for 72 yards, a touchdown catch and a seven yard touchdown run. Justin Jefferson led the Vikings in receiving with six catches for 85 yards and a score. Aaron Jones in his return to Lambeau after signing with the Vikings in the offseason finished with 93 yards rushing and four catches for 46 yards. It was a tale of two halves for Green Bay who were doomed by two missed field goals, and two interceptions in the first half before finally getting on the board with a touchdown after a muffed punt late in the half by Minnesota. Jordan Love in his return after suffering a sprained MCL finished with 389 yards, four touchdowns, but three costly interceptions. Jayden Reed was his favorite target as he finished with seven catches for 139 yards and a score. The Vikings now find themselves firmly atop the NFC North, while the Packers will need to clean up the sloppy play and find out if they can get back to playing defense like they did in week’s two and three.
Indianapolis Colts 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 24
Coming off a magical run with the Browns last year, Joe Flacco was just supposed to be the veteran mentor to young quarterback Anthony Richardson. However, after Richardson left with a hip injury, Flacco was thrust into the game and threw 2 touchdowns and led the Colts to a victory over Justin Fields and the undefeated Steelers. Flacco finished with 168 yards and two touchdowns while Jonathan Taylor added 88 yards and a score on the ground. Michael Pittman Jr finished with six catches for 113 yards, his best game of the season, and Josh Downs added eight catches for 82 yards and a score. The Steelers’ and their top-ranked defense on the other hand, allowed a season high in points as Pittsburgh’s six-game regular-season winning streak ended. Justin Fields did play well again, finishing with 312 yards and a touchdown through the air while also adding 55 yards and two scores on the ground. George Pickens was the favorite target for Fields, who finished with seven catches for 113 yards. Pat Freiermuth had five catches for 57 yards, and a score for Pittsburgh. However, Fields was sacked four separate times, and he and Pickens each lost fumbles. When it came down to making plays though Flacco outdueled Fields, and when the Colts needed Flacco to make plays late, he mostly succeeded. After Fields scored on a five-yard run late in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 17-10, Flacco found Alec Ogletree for a score to grow the lead back to 24-10. After Fields again scored, this time on a two-yard run, to get the Steelers within 24-17 with 11:23 left, Flacco led the Colts on a 10-play, 54-yard drive that took nearly five and a half minutes and resulted in a 33-yard field goal for 27-17 cushion and sealed the win.
Denver Broncos 10, New York Jets 9
Bo Nix threw his first career touchdown pass as he led the Broncos to a gritty, hard fought win in the rain against the New York Jets. Nix and the Broncos overcame an abysmal first half that saw Nix throw for negative seven yards on seven of 15 passing. He was able to rebound in the second half and finish with only 60 passing yards and a touchdown, but the Broncos ran for 126 yards and were able to wreak havoc on the 40 year old Aaron Rodgers to secure the victory. Rodgers finished the game 225 passing yards as all the offense the Jets could muster came by virtue of three field goals. Rodgers came up limping a bit after a sack late in the fourth quarter, and seemed to be favoring his left leg the same on which his Achilles tendon was surgically repaired last year. Rodgers came back on the Jets’ next possession with 2:31 remaining but couldn’t get anything going. Facing fourth-and-10 on New York’s 45, Rodgers was sacked from behind by a blitzing P.J. Locke gave the Broncos the ball at the 35. The Jets defense was able to get another stop after Broncos kicker, Wil Lutz, pushed a 50-yard field goal wide left giving Rodgers and the Jets one last chance. New York got down to the Broncos 32 yard line and Greg Zuerlein, who made three earlier kicks, lined up for a potential winning field goal but his 50-yarder curved to the right. Nix and the Broncos were able to kneel down for their second straight road victory after also topping Tampa Bay last week.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33, Philadelphia Eagles 16
Baker Mayfield threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns, as the Buccaneers destroyed the short-handed Philadelphia Eagles to improve to 3-1 and sit atop the NFC South division. Mayfield’s favorite target on the day was Mike Evans who became the Buccaneers career scoring leader. Evans finished the game with eight catches for 94 yards and a score. The win came off a game last week where the Buccaneers got dismantled by the Broncos at home. The Bucs held a 287-67 edge in yardage at halftime, with most of Philadelphia’s offense coming on a 14-play drive that Hurts finished with a one-yard TD throw to Parris Campbell. Tampa Bay ran 22 plays in Eagles territory before the Philadelphia offense finally crossed the 50-yard line in the second quarter. The Eagles offense were once again without A.J. Brown or Devonta Smith and it showed. They were outgained 445-227 and Jalen Hurts finished with -only 153 passing yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 20-yards and a score. Hurts was also sacked six times and fumbled twice. Saquon Barkley had a quiet game finishing with only 84 rushing yards and catching two passes for 32 yards.
Cincinnati Bengals 34, Carolina Panthers 24
Joe Burrow and the Bengals finally got their first win of the season after a 34-24 win over former Bengal, Andy Dalton, and the Carolina Panthers. Burrow threw for 232 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. Chase Brown had a very nice game for Cincinnati as he finished with 80 rushing yards and two scores. Ja’Marr Chase had a quiet game finishing with three catches for 85 yards and a score, with 65 of those yards coming on his touchdown catch in which he broke a few tackles and made a few Carolina defenders miss before running down the sideline all the way into the endzone. Tee Higgins in his second game back this season finished with six catches for 60 yards as the Bengals offense is beginning to figure themselves out. Carolina’s pass defense continues to be a problem, having allowed nine touchdown passes in four games and more points than any team in the league. Burrow didn’t make it easy on Carolina, however. Burrow showed outstanding command and pocket presence, with his only mistake coming on an interception in which he misread how Chase was going to break on his route. Dalton in his second game as the Carolina starter finished with 220 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. Chuba Hubbard had a great game for Carolina rushing for 104 yards and a score. Diontae Johnson hauled in seven catches for 83 yards and a score and rookie wide receiver Xavier Leggette hauled in his first career NFL touchdown along with six catches for 66 yards.
Houston Texans 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 20
C.J. Stroud’s touchdown pass to third string running back Dare Ogunbowale with 18 seconds sealed the comeback win for the Texans over AFC South rivals Jacksonville Jaguars. The loss dropped the Jaguars to 0-4, and the only team in the NFL without a win yet this season. The drive by Stroud and the Texans came in the second half where they hadn’t scored in the second half and punted on five straight possessions. Stroud finished with 345 yards and two touchdowns. The Texans were again without star running back Joe Mixon as the run game struggled, only tallying 101 yards on 26 carries. Nico Collins was Stroud’s favorite target, hauling in 12 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown. Houston defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with less than three minutes to go and a chance to drive down and win the game. The Texans bounced back from a 34-7 rout at Minnesota to get the victory, despite fumbling a punt return early and committing 12 penalties to give them 35 combined in their past three games. The Jaguars continue to fall deeper into the pit of despair, as they were not able to close out the game and secure the victory. Trevor Lawrence had a bounce back game after an abysmal performance against the Bills on Monday Night Football, finishing with 169 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie Brian Thomas Jr. led Jacksonville in receiving, finishing with six catches for 86 yards and a score. The Jaguars had plenty of chances in this one. They led through much of the second half after a touchdown reception by Christian Kirk with about six minutes left in the third. They had a chance to pad the lead after that when a 58-yard run by Tank Bigsby got them to the Houston 4 yard line. Two runs by Bigsby moved them to the two yard line before an incomplete pass by Lawrence. Jacksonville went for it, but Lawrence was stopped for no gain on the first play of the fourth quarter. Jacksonville will have to regroup and see if they’ll be able to get their first win of the season when they square off against the Colts next Sunday.
Washington Commanders 42, Arizona Cardinals 14
Jayden Daniels and Kliff Kingsbury seem like the perfect match through four weeks, as the Commanders dismantled the Cardinals 42-14 to improve to 3-1 and a lead atop the NFC East division. Daniels finished the game with 233 yards, a touchdown and an interception through the air and 47 yards and a score on the ground. Daniels became the fourth quarterback in the Super Bowl era to run for four touchdowns in his first four career games, joining Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Anthony Richardson. The Commanders have scored at least 30 points in two straight games for the first time since 2017. Daniels has an absurd 82% completion percentage in his short career. He hit Terry McLaurin for a 10-yard touchdown strike midway through the fourth quarter, and found Zach Ertz in the back of the end zone on the two-point conversion, for an insurmountable 35-14 lead. Jeremy McNichols ran for two touchdowns and Brian Robinson Jr. had 101 yards on the ground also for Washington. Washington’s offense has been the talk of the NFL over the past few weeks. It scored on every drive during the past two games, with the exception of kneel downs, becoming the first team since at least 2000 to accomplish that feat. Kyler Murray had a quiet game for Arizona throwing for 142 yards and a touchdown, that touchdown going to Marvin Harrison Jr, who finished with five catches for 45 yards and the score. James Connor added 104 yards and a score on the ground but it wasn’t enough as the Cardinals just weren’t able to stop Daniels and the Commanders.
San Francisco 49ers 30, New England Patriots 13
Brock Purdy threw a touchdown pass, and Fred Warner returned an interception for a score and the 49ers bounced back by beating the New England Patriots 30-13. The Niners found their footing quickly back at home against the struggling Patriots. The defense delivered six sacks and a touchdown in the first game since losing Javon Hargrave to a potentially season-ending injury, Purdy hit three deep passes and Jordan Mason rushed for 123 for his third 100-yard rushing game in four weeks. San Francisco got field goals from Jake Moody on the opening two drives before Warner delivered his latest big play of the season, making a diving interception against Jacoby Brissett and returning it 45 yards for his second career touchdown. Warner has three forced fumbles and two interceptions through four games this season. New England, meanwhile, was held under 150 yards passing in each of the first four games of the season for the first time since 1971 and was only able to accumulate 216 yards of total offense the entire game. They were only able to get in the end zone once after a muffed kick by the 49ers set up a touchdown pass to Austin Hooper.
Las Vegas Raiders 20, Cleveland Browns 16
The Las Vegas Raiders used a strong defense as well as a balanced running game to hold off a late rally to beat the Cleveland Browns 20-16 on Sunday. The Raiders held on for the win, despite star wide receiver Davante Adams (hamstring) and premier pass rusher Maxx Crosby (ankle) missing the game because of injuries. Despite this, the defense held the Browns to only 241 total yards. Alexander Mattison rushed for 60 yards for the Raiders, who totaled 152 on the ground and five different players had runs for at least 10 yards, the highest number since 2010 against the Seahawks. The Raiders also became the first team since the Jets in 2010 against the Bengals to have two receivers score rushing touchdowns with DJ Turner and Tre Tucker each having one. Las Vegas didn’t rush for more than 55 yards in a game yet this season. The loss was a major setback for the Browns (1-3). Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to get into playoff contention, the Browns now find those chances fading. Only 42 teams since the 1970 merger have made the postseason after opening 1-3. Cleveland appeared to take the lead on an 82-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Amari Cooper, but backup center Nick Harris was called for holding Raiders defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, and the Browns eventually had to punt. The Browns had that final last-gasp drive, but were forced to go for the touchdown rather than the field goal because of Hopkins’ missed PAT. Deshaun Watson wasn’t able to connect on a pass and was sacked as he scrambled to his left to seal the win for the Raiders.
Kansas City Chiefs 17, Las Angeles Chargers 10
A stout defense and a clutch offense is what led the Chiefs to yet another win, this time a 17-10 win over division rival Chargers. It was yet another ugly game for Patrick Mahomes and the offense who after rookie Carson Steele fumbled on the opening drive. Mahomes then threw yet another ugly interception on the second drive, and quickly found themselves down 10-0. But that’s when the Chiefs defense, led by Chris Jones, stepped up. Kansas City prevented the Chargers from scoring another point the rest of the afternoon. Jones tallied two sacks, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits in the win. Travis Kelce, after being a no show through three weeks, had a huge game finishing with seven catches for 89 yards. Kareem Hunt, who signed to the active roster this week for Kansas City, finished with 14 carries for 69 and got a majority of the carries on the day. However, the biggest news for Kansas is the health of Rashee Rice, who left early in the first quarter and is feared to have torn his ACL, which would likely end his season. The win makes the Chiefs 4-0 for the first time since 2020. Kansas City has now won six straight over the Chargers. It also has 11 straight road victories over its AFC West rival, the longest active winning streak by a visiting squad and tied for third all-time. Los Angeles went three-and-out on four of its eight possessions in the final three quarters. Nonetheless, the Chargers had a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter when they drove to the Kansas City three-yard line, but Justin Herbert’s pass intended for tight end Hayden Hurst was incomplete after Chris Jones and Felix Anudike-Uzomah applied pressure on fourth-and-1. Seven minutes later, Samaje Perine put Kansas City ahead with a 2-yard touchdown run up the middle. The Chargers, who won their first two games behind a strong running game, finished with only 55 yards rushing and averaged 2.3 yards per carry. Xavier Worthy had three catches for 73 yards, including a 54-yard pass from Mahomes in the second quarter for the Chiefs’ first touchdown. Kansas City’s defense also took advantage of a hampered Herbert, who was playing with limited mobility because of a high ankle sprain and had a patchwork offensive line because of injuries to tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt. The Chiefs now hold a firm two game lead on everyone else in the AFC West division while the Chargers head into their bye week hoping everyone can get healthy for them.
Baltimore Ravens 35, Buffalo Bills 10
Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson ran all over the Buffalo defense en route to a 35-10 blowout win. Henry busted out the longest run in the team’s 29 years in Baltimore on the way to a 199-yard game, Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, and the Ravens handed Josh Allen and the Bills their first loss of the season. Henry took his first handoff 87 yards to the house to give the Ravens an early lead, and they never relinquished. Jackson, the two-time and reigning NFL MVP, threw for 156 yards, two touchdowns and ran 54 yards and a score. One of those passing touchdowns went to Derrick Henry who also had three catches for 10 yards on the night. Henry tormented the Bills in prime time for the second time in his career, averaging 8.3 yards on his 24 carries three years after running for 143 yards and three TDs against them while with Tennessee. His five-yard reception from Jackson in the end zone in the second quarter was just the fourth TD catch of his career and first since 2019. So much went right for the Ravens that even when Henry fumbled at the goal line early in the fourth, Patrick Ricard fell on the ball for their fifth touchdown of the night. Plenty will haunt Buffalo as a bevy of injuries on defense finally took their toll and a lack of depth, playmakers and experience was exposed for a team that looked like one of the league’s best through the opening three weeks. Josh Allen, who scrambled to make one spectacular 52-yard throw to Khalil Shakir that set up Ty Johnson’s TD run, fumbled trying to make another play and finished the night with 180 passing yards and 21 rushing yards. The Ravens outgained the Bills 427 yards to 236 in a dominant performance.
Tennessee Titans 31, Miami Dolphins 12
Mason Rudolph came in for an injured Will Levis and rode the Titans to their first of the season. Rudolph led seven scoring drives following the injury to Levis and finished with 85 yards passing. Tennessee rode two of their running backs, Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears. Pollard finished with 88 yards and a touchdown, and Spears had 39 yards and a score of his own. The Tennessee defense had two sacks, seven tackles for loss and held the explosive Miami offense to just 184 total yards. Kicker Nick Folk hit five field goals for Tennessee. He hit from 53, 52, 47 51, and 29 yards out. Tyler Huntley, who signed with the Dolphins on Sept. 17 off Baltimore’s practice squad, ran for a touchdown and had 96 passing yards. However, the Dolphins’ offense continued to struggle without Tua Tagovailoa, who remains on injured reserve with a concussion. Tyreek Hill was held under 50 yards receiving for the third straight game with 23 yards on four catches.
Detroit Lions 42, Seattle Seahawks 29
Jared Goff had more touchdown passes than incompletions as he led the Lions to a high scoring win over the undefeated Seattle Seahawks. Goff finished 18 for 18, 292 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Amon-Ra St Brown on a trick play inside the Seattle 10 yard line. The win snapped a six game losing streak for the Lions against the Seahawks. Much of those matchups came when Matthew Stafford and Russell Wilson were the quarterbacks for each respective team. Both of Detroit’s star running backs both had very good games. Second year running back Jahmyr Gibbs finished with 78 yards and two rushing touchdowns, while fellow running back David Montgomery had 40 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Amon-Ra St Brown hauled in six catches for 45 yards and a score, while also throwing one and fellow speedster wideout, Jameson Williams, had two catches for 80 yards and an electrifying 70 yard touchdown catch and run that effectively put the game out of reach. Geno Smith had career highs in attempts, completions and yard as he finished with 395 yards, a touchdown and a pick. Kenneth Walker III, back from injury, had a very solid game rushing for 80 yards and three touchdowns. D.K. Metcalf was Smith’s favorite target hauling in seven passes for 104 yards but had a costly fumble early in the game that led to a Detroit score. On the night 10 different Seattle players caught a pass but it was too little too late as the Seahawks found themselves down 21-7 at halftime and were never able to mount a comeback. Detroit will look to clean things up as they had 12 penalties on the night. Seattle, despite the loss still sits atop the NFC West headed into week five.
Week five kicks off on Thursday night as it’s an NFC South showdown as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) head to Atlanta to play the Falcons (2-2). The week concludes on Monday Night Football as the New Orleans Saints (2-2) head to GEHA field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri to play the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.
