NFL Week 4 Recap: New York, New York, Brady Returns Home

It has been said that one can never go home again. Those who said that clearly weren't interested or well-versed in the story regarding one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr. I still remember when I heard the news that Tom Brady was leaving Foxboro, leaving the Patriots. I had heard that rumor for several months and never believed it; I figured he'd retire as a Patriot. In fact, my exact words were, "I'll believe it when I see it." Actually, I said, "Even if I see it, I still won't believe it." And those words were true, even a year later.

The story of how Brady ended up out of Foxboro has been told a lot. Long story short, it was a case of Brady basically being run out of Foxboro; how he agreed to take pay cuts to get players around him, yet the appreciation didn't seem to be there--especially when it came to Bill Belichick. I've said for years that when it came to their success, Brady and Belichick complemented each other. There are cases where the QB makes the coach (examples include Aaron Rodgers carrying Mike McCarthy, as well as Peyton Manning making Tony Dungy relevant) and vice versa (Pete Carroll getting Russell Wilson his ring). Brady and Belichick needed each other, and even in this continuous argument over who was more important, I still say that it was an equal effort from both QB and coach.

While the story of Brady's big return to Foxboro was a good one in Week 4, the game itself, well, wasn't. It was ugly, low scoring, and lethargic from both sides. Brady was without his #1 target in Rob Gronkowski, and while Antonio Brown racked up a lot of yards, it wasn't really an exciting game. No surprise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won, 19-17, but even in victory, it wasn't really a good way for the Bucs to make up for their loss to the Rams.

Prior to "The Return," New York had a big reason to celebrate. Week 4 saw the New York Giants and the New York Jets escape with overtime wins, with the Giants getting their win against the New Orleans Saints inside the Superdome, which was the Saints' return to their home stadium following the fallout from Hurricane Ida. That was a back and forth game; Graham Gano forced OT with his game-tying field goal, and after the Giants won the coin toss, they took the ball and went all the way, needing 5:05 of overtime to win it. Saquon Barkley scored the winning touchdown, capping off a 27-21 victory for the G-Men.

As for the Jets, when they went up 10-9 during the game, it marked the hard luck team's first lead of the entire season! In fact, the Jets were up 24-17 at the 2:00 warning, but the Tennessee Titans went all the way to tie it and force overtime. In the OT, the Jets reached the one-yard line on their opening drive, but ended up settling for a field goal. Tennessee's possession came with close to 75% of OT gone, and after failing to convert on 3rd down in FG range, Randy Bullock, with about 16 seconds left, was sent to kick a FG that would most likely result in a tie score to end the game afterwards. It was hooked, sealing the Jets' first victory of the season.

I wonder about that call. It was under 20 seconds left; yes, it was 4th and 10, but do you really want to kick the FG knowing that the game will most likely end in a tie? I'm one of the very few people who actually likes ties in football, mainly because they're rare and they cause dents in the standings, but not like this. Honestly, I'd have went for it. If it works, great. If not, well, at least it can be said that the team went down fighting.

I'm just not going to sugarcoat it: Patrick Mahomes went OFF against the Eagles on Sunday! Five touchdown passes! This was the angry performance I expected against the Chargers in Week 3; it came a week late, but it came. Mahomes tore it up, with three of his five TD passes going to Tyreek Hill, and the Kansas City Chiefs won, 42-30, to go back to .500. The Buffalo Bills have been angry and ornery since the Pittsburgh Steelers embarrassed them in Week 1. They blasted the Houston Texans by a score of 40-0; it got so brutal that Mitchell Trubisky (yes, that Trubisky) ended up entering the game, and even he ran one in! Since the Week 1 loss, the Bills won their next three games by a combined 97 points! That includes two blowout shutouts! My goodness! And next week, the Bills and Chiefs face each other in a rematch of last year's AFC Championship!

My main reason for looking forward to Week 4 was this game between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and my main reasons are in that photo: Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger. As big of a Packers fan as I am, I have spent the last 17 years giving that same appreciation and fanaticism to Ben Roethlisberger as I have to Aaron Rodgers. Big Ben's a hell of a quarterback. I have had a lot of fun watching him; he has been the main constant for the Steelers for a long time. At age 39, Ben hasn't been the same QB that he was when he reached the Super Bowl three times, and won two of them, but he still goes out there and gives his all, just like Rodgers does week-by-week. Ever since Super Bowl 45, I've dreamed of those two facing each other in February again, but it hasn't happened.

This year's meeting saw the Packers victorious over the Steelers by a score of 27-17. Big Ben threw his 400th career touchdown pass early in the first quarter, and Rodgers ran one in and continued to move up the TD pass ranks. The moment when the two QBs crossed paths at game's end nearly had me emotional. This could be the last time that Rodgers and Big Ben are on the same field together, and knowing this, I drank that entire game in.

After four weeks, only one unbeaten team exists in the NFL, and shockingly, it's the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards bested the Los Angeles Rams, 37-20, at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, and a day later, that same stadium hosted an AFC West battle between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers. After a 35 minute delay due to thunder and lightning in Southern California, the Chargers defeated the Raiders, 28-14, putting the teams in a first place tie with the Denver Broncos, who lost their game to the Baltimore Ravens. With the Colts and the New York teams' wins, only the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions remain winless. The Jags' 24-21 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was their 19th straight, and the Lions fell badly to the Minnesota Vikings.

Week 5 kicks off with what should be a thrilling NFC West battle between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks. The week also features an international game; the New York Jets facing off against the Atlanta Falcons in London. The aforementioned AFC Championship rematch between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs will take place on Sunday Night Football, and the Indianapolis Colts will battle the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football. This is the final week before bye weeks come into play.

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