*some information courtesy of espn.com

With week 4 in the rear-view mirror; we are starting to see which teams are contenders and who are pretenders. Let’s get started!

Dolphins @ Bengals 

The biggest headline in this game revolved about another injury to star quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. The backlash poured in from social media the moment Tagovailoa walked onto the field following his Week 3 injury. Videos of doctors and neurosurgeons being interviewed after seeing the footage of Tua’s past two injuries surfaced days after. They mentioned the spastic behavior his arms exhibited as he crashed to the turf. Bodily reactions like that are only something you see after severe head trauma. First off, I’m not a doctor and don’t claim to be, but Tua should have never been out there playing in the first place. In Week 3, the Dolphins stated the star quarterback had a back and ankle injury. The unaffiliated doctor who cleared him through concussion protocol was fired after the Week 4 loss. The NFLPA has opened an ongoing investigation into the Dolphins’ organization. Tagovailoa flew home with the team after being released from the hospital. Final score 15-27, Bengals.   

Vikings @ Saints

What a close one out in London! A narrow three point victory sees the Vikings get the 28-25 win over the New Orleans Saints. Andy Dalton was the signal caller for the Saints as Jameis Winston was out with the injury. He played well with an efficient 20 for 28 on completion percentage with a touchdown on the day. The star matchup of the day was wide-out Justin Jefferson against Marshon Lattimore. Jefferson would have 147 yards on 13 receptions. As a whole, I think both sides could learn a lot from this game. The Saints need to go back to the drawing board under new head coach Dennis Allen. Something that neither team couldn’t have prepared for was Will Lutz missing a 61 yard field goal that took two bounces, one off the left upright and one hitting the crossbar before it fell out costing the Saints the ability to tie the game. 

Browns @ Falcons

The Cleveland Browns let one one slip right through their fingers against Atlanta. Cleveland fell by three, leaving the squad at 0.500 through Week 4. In all fairness, Jacoby Brissett has actually done a very good job with the mess he was thrown into. He threw for 234 yards on 21 of 35 pass attempts and one interception. Onto Atlanta’s sideline we go. For the Falcons, I’m actually really impressed with how they’ve played this season. Specifically, the resurgence of Cordarrelle Patterson as a valuable piece on an NFL team. While the box score in this game is not going to jump off the page at you; Patterson was able to put in 84 yards and a touchdown. If there is one take away from this game; it would be that the Browns are desperately hoping for Week 11 to get here as soon as possible. 

Commanders @ Cowboys 

Ladies and gentlemen, Cooper Rush is 4-0 as a starter. Rush has fit in well for an offensive scheme that calls for good quarterback play, he delivered. He threw 15 passes on 27 attempts for two touchdowns in the outing. The game wasn’t solely won by good quarterback play. The Cowboys’ defense had a big impact on the outcome. The Dallas defense hasn’t given up more than 17 points in a game during Rush’s run. It is the first time the defense has held the team’s first four opponents to 19 points or fewer since 1973. The Commanders are a dumpster fire on both sides of the ball. Carson Wentz is looking like a desperate pick up that didn’t pan out. It’s time for someone else to get a look at the quarterback position after the 1-3 start to the season. 

Seahawks @ Lions

If you like high scoring games and little to no defense, I think this is the game for you. Geno Smith and Rashaad Penny were so good the Seattle Seahawks never needed their punter. Smith accounted for three touchdowns in the first half and Penny had a pair of long second-half scoring runs, helping Seattle hold off the Detroit Lions for a 48-45 win Sunday. When describing Sunday’s win, Smith had this to say: “[It was] An old-fashioned shootout.” It was yet another high-scoring game for the Lions, who are averaging 35 points and giving up slightly more. They are the first team in NFL history to have scored and allowed a combined 281 points through the first four games of a season. “We’re going to look at everything,” coach Dan Campbell said. “I have a lot of faith in (defensive coordinator) Aaron Glenn. That’s why I hired him, but I think we need to take a deep dive on our defense from the coaching all the way down.”

Titans @ Colts

It was an AFC south clash as the Tennessee Titans traveled to Lucas Oil stadium to take on the Indianapolis Colts. Going into this game both teams were on rocky ground, as they stumbled out of the gates to begin the 2022 season. Tennessee was fiery throughout the first half scoring 24 points before halftime. The  Colts struggled throughout the entire game to get consistent offense, even with a superstar like Jonathan Taylor. The second half is where the game gets interesting. Short and sweet; Tennessee did not score one point in the second half. Indianapolis would fight all the way back but for short by seven when the game went final. It was a sloppy performance from both sides and clearly both teams need to go back to the drawing board. Final score 24-17

Bears @ Giants

The New York Giants are 3-1 in 2022. I’ll be honest, this truly shocks me. I can also say one thing: Saquon Barkley is back and better than ever! He’s back in prime form… as a quarterback? With Daniel Jones limited by an ankle injury and backup Tyrod Taylor down with a concussion midway through the fourth quarter, New York Giants rookie coach Brian Daboll reached for his grease board and went to work. Jones ran for two first-half touchdowns before his injury and Saquon Barkley capped a 146-yard rushing effort by running a last-resort wildcat offense in leading the Giants to a 20-12 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday. 

Jaguars @ Eagles

I can confidently say that a game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles has never been entertaining in my 20 years on this earth. However, I think I’m not allowed to say that anymore because this one was exactly that. An eight point victory for the Philadelphia eagles sees them win 21–29 over Trevor Lawrence and the resurgent Jaguars. Before we go to Jacksonville, let’s focus on Philly. The Eagles are undefeated going into Week five, and the dynamic duo of Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown look extremely deadly. After seeing the struggles that the Titans had on offense this week; I can guarantee you that they are missing number 11 right about now. As much as that duo is elite, this game was all about Miles Sanders in the run game. He finished the game with 27 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns on the day. He was absolutely unstoppable. I will say this, the numbers don’t jump off the page immediately; but sometimes you don’t need dominant numbers to put up a dominant performance, and Sanders proved that. Onto Jacksonville, Trevor Lawrence is finally what we expected him to be. He threw for two touchdowns with 174 yards. The only thing that definitely needs to be improved on is the amount of socks that Jacksonville is allowing Trevor Lawrence to take. He took four in this game alone. Jacksonville has a scrappy, young, and talented defense that is very entertaining to watch. The crazy thing is that they are not even 100% what they’re going to be yet. Things could get deadly in Duval in the next few years. 

Jets @ Steelers

The Mitchell Trubisky experiment seems to be over. Kenny Pickett finally got a chance to play for the Steelers against the Jets. If you know anything about the Jets-Steelers game, you know that Kenny Pickett threw an interception on his first play in the game. It wasn’t his fault his receiver dropped it right into the hands of a defender, so I don’t really blame him. Quarterback play on both sides of the ball was shaky. Zach Wilson threw two interceptions while Kenny Pickett threw three. The biggest take away from this game for both sides is that the future is not right now; they still have to develop into what they’re going to be. 

Bills @ Ravens

This game was a very interesting one. First off, the Ravens choked and lost this game for no reason. Just like Tennessee, Baltimore did not score one point in the second half. However, they were not as lucky as the two-tone blue; as the bills staged a comeback and won the game. Lamar Jackson threw two interceptions and just had a bad outing. Josh Allen had 200+ yards with one touchdown and one interception on the day.  The biggest take away for me if I am the ravens is that they need to lean more on their running game and not the theatrics of Lamar Jackson as much. If they do that, they should be a little bit more consistent. For the Bills, I think they need to get back to the 1-2 punch of Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs a lot more.

Chargers @ Texans

This game had Justin Herbert’s fingerprints all over it. He threw for 340 yards with three touchdowns on the day. As I say that, it’s not like this game was a blowout, it wasn’t. The final score was 34–24, Chargers. Outside of quarterback play, running back Austin Ekeler had a resurgent game. He managed three scoring drives with three touchdowns and had a very steady performance on the ground. The interesting part to this game lies with Houston. First off, Davis Mills had a shaky performance. Yes he did throw two touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions on the day. The bright spot for Houston was running back Dameon Pierce who had 131 yards on the day as well as a monster 75 yard run. Other than quarterback play, Houston played well and just has to clean up a few things. I don’t see the most contenders or even a solid franchise yet but they might have pieces.

Cardinals @ Panthers 

I might be the first to say this but it’s panic time in Carolina. Baker Mayfield is not the guy to fix this quarterback position and the backup quarterback is even worse. Coach Matt Rhule has some serious cracks in the armor that he has to fix because honestly his job has been on the line for the past two seasons. What baffles me is that when you have poor quarterback play, usually there is something that you can Leon to fix it. The issue with the Panthers starts with three things. They don’t have anything they can lean on offensively because Christian McCaffrey is a shell of himself, the defense is horrible, and the play-calling is not any good. Carolina has the perfect recipe for disaster. The Cardinals did win this game against the Panthers, but I don’t know how much that says about the team. The Cardinals are just 0.500 on the year. I can promise you that they are severely missing DeAndre Hopkins about right now. And like I said last week, I just don’t think the play-calling from Kliff Kingsbury is effective but I’ve always said that because I don’t think he is an NFL coach.  

Patriots @ Packers

Given the circumstances that the patriots were under, I think Bailey Zappe played well. It was nothing special than another performance with only 99 yards and one touchdown to his name; but given what he was asked to do he did a good job. I also want to give credit to the patriots defense because at the end of the day it was only a three point victory for the Packers. So that is definitely something to hold your head high too. For the Packers, Aaron Rodgers has found a target in Allen Lazard. With eight total targets for 116 yards our Lazard carved up the field. This matchup doesn’t mean what it used to do anymore now that Brady has been out of town for years, but nonetheless it was a good game.

Broncos @ Raiders 

Remember when every analyst thought that the AFC west was going to be completely stocked? I can promise you that they won’t be purchasing any lottery tickets anytime soon. And what should have been a superstar matchup; this game was the battle of mediocre. Coming into this game, the Broncos were 2-1 on the season and the Raiders were 1-2. The Raiders finally get their first win with a final score of 32-23. The glaring red flag that this game showed was Derek Carr. He played absolutely horrible. He only threw 188 yards on the day with no touchdowns to his name. The bright spot for the Raiders, Josh Jacobs, played very well and carried the offense. The former Alabama product had two touchdowns on the day to go alongside 144 yards. Let’s talk about the dysfunctional Denver Broncos. Does anyone else feel like Russell Wilson is sleepwalking? Like he just doesn’t know what to do anymore? I will give credit where credit is due, he did have a nice connection with Jerry Jeudy all game. And if you do need to look for the bright spots in Mile High city; I think that is one. Nathaniel Hackett is clearly on the hot seat and if they do not get back to their winning Waze there’s going to be major issues in Denver. 

Chiefs @ Buccaneers

I think it’s safe to say that Kansas City has the best offense in the league so far. Patrick Mahomes is Patrick Mahomes, that’s all that needs to be said. His dominant play week after week speaks for itself. A sad story to report is that Chris Godwin went down with injury in this game making Brady’s limited receiver core even more thin. It may seem like Tom Brady did not play well; he played extremely well throwing three touchdowns on the day, 385 yards total. This was another storied entry into the Brady-Mahomes rivalry. 

Rams @ 49ers

What in the world happened to Los Angeles in their Monday night matchup against the San Francisco 49ers? The final score was 9-24, 49ers. Matthew Stafford could not get the passing game going at all, with no touchdowns in one interception on the day. The running game wasn’t much help either. This is the part where I should say that the Los Angeles Super Bowl winning defense carried the team, right? No. Garoppolo and company tore up the field against them. Here’s a statement that shocks nobody: Deebo Samuel is that dude. He had a monster game, recording one touchdown on 115 yards receiving. Back to Los Angeles, I’m not as worried as most people but the Rams have got to figure out how to get back to their superstar ways.