Week 4 of the NFL is in the books, and the intrigue is building! If someone told you at the start of the season that the Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be the division leader in the NFC would you believe them? Probably Not! Would you believe the Chiefs are 4-0 but have won those games by a combined 20 points while the Bengals are 1-3 and had to survive a comeback scare from the Carolina Panthers in week 4? Yes, the NFL has fascinating storylines after a month of football. In this article, we will discuss the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from week 4.
The Good
1. Purple Rain- the album and smash hit was released in 1984 by Grammy Award Winner Prince. Ironically, the legendary artist hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the two best performances of week four by teams who embrace the color purple. Prince’s hometown team, the Minnesota Vikings, now reigns as the front-runner in the NFC North. Many were skeptical about the Vikings chances of remaining unbeaten because they faced a tough matchup in Green Bay. However, Sam Darnold responded through a dominant first half that led to a 28-7 halftime lead. The Packers made a remarkable comeback to score 22 points in the fourth quarter. The comeback came up short because the Vikings managed to add a field
The AFC Team clad in purple that dominated in week 4 is the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens snapped into gear last week when they ran for 274 yards, including 151 yards and two touchdowns for Derrick Henry. Henry delivered an encore performance against the Bills by rushing for 87 yards in their first drive of the game. It was an ominous sign for the Buffalo Bills. The Ravens were dominant on offense and ground by tallying 271 yards, including 199 yards for Henry. The defense played a great game by holding the high-flying Buffalo Bills to just 10 points and 3 of 13 on third downs. After back-to-back wins, the Ravens finally look like the team many picked to go to the Super Bowl.
2. Commanders take Control of the NFC East- Jayden Daniels announced his arrival with a signature performance against the Bengals in Week. The big question among the critics was whether this was a fluke performance or whether they are the real deal. We got our answer on Sunday when Daniels carved up the Arizona Cardinals’ defense. Daniels was spectacular by completing 26 of 30 passes for 233 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Daniels is a two-way athlete because he rushed for 47 yards on six carries and scored a touchdown. The Commanders offense has scored 80 points in the past two games and averaging 40 points. The Commanders look poised to surprise in the division with matchups against the Browns, Panthers, Bears, and Giants in 4 of the next five games.
The Bad
1. Eagles struggle without Wide Receivers- two teams that are hard to predict week to week are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams faced each other on Sunday Jalen Hurts was hamstrung without his two best weapons, DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown. Hurts could only manage 158 yards, and his top Wide Receiver on the day was Parris Campbell, who caught four catches for 17 yards. The Eagles’ offense would have struggled to keep up because the Bucs bludgeoned their defense to take a 24-0 point lead. It remains to be seen how soon these two superstar players will return to the lineup, but the Eagles need them desperately.
2. Steelers rue slow start to fall to Flacco- the Steelers headed into their matchup against the Colts riding the momentum of being unbeaten after three games. However, the Steelers offense has gotten away with starting slow in games and relying on their defense to overwhelm opponents in providing them the lead. However, against the Colts, the Steelers fell behind 17-3 because Najee Harris struggled with only 13 carries for 19 yards. The team has scored only 29 points in the first half of games. The offense woke up in the second half and outscored the Colts 21-10, but it left them needing them to be perfect to complete the comeback. Instead, they dropped a winnable game to arch-enemy and backup quarterback Joe Flacco and to a defense that allowed 179 rushing yards per game in the first three games. Yikes!
The Ugly
1. Jets crash in the Swamp-Airlines often cancel flights during stormy weather. On Sunday, the Jets’ offense crashed in soggy conditions to lose 10-9 to the Denver Broncos at home. Aaron Rodgers looked frustrated with his teammates, who played a sloppy afternoon of football. The Jets committed 13 penalties, which included several false starts. The Jets lost by a point in a game in which they benefited from a past interference call that brought them to the 1-yard line. In that sequence, Breece Hall ran into his lineman twice, then an incomplete pass and a false start on 4th down. It was a terrible loss against a rookie quarterback who tallied only 60 yards and completed 48% of his passes. If the Jets do not make playoffs, then they can look back on this stinker as one of the losses that contributed to their demise. Unfortunately, the schhedule gets tougher with matchups against the Vikings, Bills and Steelers in the next three weeks.
2. Jaguars sink to 0-4 start- The Jaguars have suffered a disastrous start to the season. However, this team was trending in the wrong direction from the end of the 2023 regular season when 5 of their last six games and dropped out of the playoff race. At times, Trevor Lawrence may flash his brilliance, but he is now wildly inaccurate and prone to making mistakes. They had chances to win this game, and coach Doug Pederson must be questioned for throwing the ball with a lead instead of running it. It feels like this ownership will soon have to hit the reset button on this team.