The first weekend of October for the NFL season is in the books. The slate included a handful of return games, although not all were as highly talked about as Tom Brady‘s. His return to Foxborough, for the first time since leaving for Tampa was the headliner. Chiefs coach Andy Reid returned to Philadelphia, where he was the Eagles head coach for 14 years. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski returned to Minnesota where he had spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach and the final two as Offensive Coordinator.
Here are 10 Takeaways from Week 4.
Maybe You Can’t win Without your Top Two Receivers
The Titans were without their top two wide receivers, A.J. Brown and Julio Jones for Sunday’s road game against the winless Jets, due to hamstring injuries. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill at times seemed to hesitate in his decision making, which was compounded by the pedestrian performance of the offensive line. The overtime loss on a missed field goal, may not have been if the playmakers were on the field, for the Titans who settled for just field goals before halftime.
Or can you…
The Giants were on the road against the Saints. Their leading receivers, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, were out with injuries. Quarterback Daniel Jones still managed to lead his team to the overtime win, throwing for over 400 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
A Pair of Stunning Upsets
The end result in both previous takeaways, if that the previous pair of winless teams who share MetLife Stadium, the Giants and the Jets got their first victory of the season. Both in overtime in games they were both underdogs coming into.
Two Tales of Texas
The Cowboys continued their impressive start to the season, by defending the previously undefeated Panthers to move to 3-1 on the season. Meanwhile the Texans lost to the Bills in a 40-0 blowout to drop to 0-4.
Shouldn’t Have Taken the Over
Novice and professional gamblers alike, probably put their money on the over in Sunday’s Vikings and Browns matchup. It seemed like a no-brainer between two high powered offenses. The game ended with the Browns winning 14-7, definitely not the over.
Back on Track
After losing back to back games, a rarity for the Chiefs, they rebounded with a 42-30 win in Philadelphia against coach Andy Reid’s former team. Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes, three of them to Tyreek Hill, and the Chiefs also got a 100 yard rushing performance from Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Safe to say they’re back to clicking on all cylinders after their skid.
Poor Sportsmanship or…
The Ravens win in Denver against the previously undefeated Broncos, resulted in a bit of controversy on both sides, all in the final two minutes of a game that was already decided on the scoreboard. The Ravens took exception with the Broncos trying to score a meaningless touchdown late, which was more about pride in front of the home fans, than anything diabolical. After Baltimore’s defense ended the drive, instead of taking a knee, Lamar Jackson ran for a five yard gain, which kept the Ravens consecutive 100 yards rushing games intact, which the Broncos took exception with.
Two More Starting QB’s go Down
49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, with a calf injury and Broncos Teddy Bridgewater, to a concussion, were knocked out of their respective games on Sunday. Both their teams lost. Adding to the ever growing list of starting quarterbacks out, and so far has derailed their teams seasons as a whole.
Party Like You’re… 0-4
Head coach Urban Meyer, who’s Jaguars team dropped to 0-4 on the season after Thursday’s loss to the Bengals, was caught partying and dancing with girls over the weekend. Social media vilified him both because the assumed ages of the girls who weren’t his wife, from the ‘morality police’. Though the more common theme was with the lackluster start to the season, he should’ve been partying with his coaches and players trying to figure out how to win games.
And Then There was One
With Monday night’s Chargers defeat of their division rival Raiders, the Cardinals are the lone undefeated team after Week 4. On Sunday Kyler Murray and company, in large part the defense, defeated the Rams to break the tie between the two for the top spot in the NFC West.
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Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
