The quarter mark of the 2018 season has already passed and with it, we have another set of notable performances to talk about. Here are the top five studs and duds from the fourth week of the 2018 NFL season.
Stud: Jared Goff
If anyone ever tells you that Jared Goff is just a system quarterback, then direct them to highlights of the Rams week 4 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Goff shredded the Vikings elite secondary with 465 yards and five touchdowns through the air with a near-perfect passer rating. Los Angeles’ young quarterback made high caliber throws both inside and outside the pocket that only top-tier passers are capable of making.
This Rams offense is starting to have shades of the greatest show on turf and it’s all thanks to high-quality play from the seemingly reborn Jared Goff.
Dud: Falcons Defense
Atlanta has certainly seen better days on defense. The once fast young core has been decimated by injuries looks like a shadow of what it once was.
Last week Drew Brees lit them up while leading the Saints to an overtime win, but this time it was Andy Dalton and company’s turn to stun the Falcons at home with a game-winning drive of their own. Cincinnati scored 37 points while was accumulating over 400 yards of total offense before AJ Green’s game-winning touchdown.
The Falcons are now 1-3 and have to travel to an also struggling Steelers team that can move the ball themselves. Get ready for fireworks at Heinz Field for week five.
Stud: Corey Davis
The Titans pulled off a stunning overtime upset of the Philadelphia Eagles and it all happened thanks to a clutch overtime touchdown from Corey Davis.
Davis’ touchdown wasn’t his only highlight play however as the wide receiver caught nine passes for 161 yards on top of it. The 2017 first-round pick hasn’t made a lot of noise thus far in his young career, but he finally had a highlight game in week four.
Dud: Ryan Fitzpatrick
The Fitzmagic fever came to a screeching halt this week and the Chicago Bears stifled the Buccaneers offense.
Fitzpatrick completed nine of his 18 passes for 126 yards and an interception before being benched for the now suspension free Jameis Winston.
Many wondered whether Winston would ever get his job back after three strong performances from Fitzpatrick, but the former number two overall pick is finally back in the starting position.
Stud: Calvin Ridley
Calvin Ridley featured on the studs list a week ago, but his impressive followup performance has earned him a repeat appearance.
One week after scoring a hat trick, Ridley racked up another 54 yards with two more touchdown receptions. He also looked very confident making blocks and Atlanta even tried to get him involved in the run game.
If that isn’t impressive enough for you, the former Alabama star already has more touchdowns in two weeks than Julio Jones has since the start of the 2017 season.
Dud: Josh Allen
One week after an impressive upset of the Minnesota Vikings, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills came crashing down to Earth with a loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Allen looked like a rookie with two bad interceptions and was not able to lead the offense to a single scoring drive as the Bills were shut out. While Allen has a very impressive arm, his poor accuracy and pocket presence were on full force against the Packers.
Stud: Mitchell Trubisky
Mitch Trubisky didn’t have a very strong rookie year, but he looked like an offensive player of the year candidate against the Buccaneers.
It remains to be seen if he can remain at that high level of play, but the Buccaneers defense never stood a chance. Trubisky accumulated 354 passing yards but also had a whopping six touchdowns passes—five of which came in the first half.
Chicago also managed to rack up 139 yards on the ground to help their young quarterback out.
Dud: The Pittsburgh Steelers
Everyone has an opinion as to what is wrong with the Steelers, but the fact of the matter is that it’s a full system failure in Pittsburgh.
Keith Butler’s defense is poorly schemed and lacks both an identity and talented players. They allowed more yards through the year and touchdowns through four weeks than any Steelers team in history.
Mike Tomlin has done a poor job of keeping the locker room under control and keeping things well run. Le’Veon Bell’s absence is starting to prove costly as the Steelers only managed 19 rushing yards against Baltimore. Ben Roethlisberger has been very streaky and can’t seem to find his usually stellar chemistry with Antonio Brown.
Stud: Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes is the real deal. After three weeks of putting up video game-like numbers, the Texas Tech product found a new way to impress.
His line of 304 passing yards and two total touchdowns is respectable, but the plays he made on the Chiefs game-winning drive against Denver were simply absurd. Mahomes converted a second down and 30, completed a third-down pass with his non-throwing hand, and threw a dart of a Touchdown to start the Chiefs comeback.
The future is certainly bright in Kansas City.
Dud: Cardinals Kickers
Is Arizona cursed to have kicker troubles for the rest of time? The Cardinals suffered yet another heartbreaking loss after their kicker wasn’t able to come through in the fourth quarter.
Phil Dawson missed two of his three kicks and did not look like a confident player during any of them.
