NFL Week 4 Recap: Panic at the Disco

For the first time since opening week, I decided to split this recap up. Having five teams at 0-4 is asking or the Week 4 recap to be split up. Now the 0-4 teams have no reason to panic, because for all but one of them (the Bucs, because of that division), their season is pretty much over. But there are others who are in a peck of trouble.

Let's start with a team who has quite the Sword of Damocles hovering over their heads: the Eagles. They were coming off a bad blowout loss to a Bears team who started Case Keenum. Case Keenum. They needed to make up for that badly. The Eagles were at home in Week 4, but there were a few problems. One, they were facing the Rams. Two, Devonta Smith, now at the WR1 position, was out for that week. Three, an in-game problem: the game's progression saw Saquon Barkley injured. And four, the constant one: Nick Sirianni is still their head coach.

So how did Sideshow Nick blow it this time. Well, he went for it on 4th down at the opposing two yard line. It does sound harmless, right? Normally, it would. Here's the problem. The Eagles were up 20-10. That's not the time to try to run up the score like that. Taking the chip shot FG would have been just fine. They didn't get it. Eagles wouldn't score anymore. Rams did. Two unanswered TDs, and the Rams went on to win 24-20. A team who the Eagles had been owning recently beat Philly... in Philly. And now, the Eagles are in a bit of trouble.

Here's why:

Guess who's leading the NFC East? That's right, folks! The New York Football Giants are all by themselves in first place in the division! Can you believe it?! The Giants dominated the Arizona Cardinals, 36-24, to improve to 3-1 and take over the division lead. The Cowboys, thanks to a monstrous performance from CeeDee Lamb, won 34-30, and the Commanders were defeated by the Indianapolis Colts in London, and regarding the Colts, that's back-to-back wins after a nine game losing streak that dated back to last season. So the Eagles are tied with Dallas, but behind the Giants, and Philly has yet to play either of those two teams.

Another team who is surprisingly in first place: the Browns. Week 4 began with Thursday Night Football between the Browns and Steelers, and as someone who is enthused with the Steelers, I actually feared they may lose to Cleveland. However, that was countered with this statement in my head: "Steelers don't lose division games." After all, they always find ways to beat the Ravens, especially during years when the Ravens are better than them. On that Thursdayy, the first day of October, though, the Browns beat the Steelers, 27-24. They, with DeShaun Watson, have won three straight games. This is absolutely mind-boggling. I would love to say that it's too early to say that Watson's found the form he used to have, but I don't know if I can. Regarding the rest of the AFC North, the Bengals, despite Burrow's awesome performance, lost at home to the Jags, and while the Ravens did pull out a win over the Titans, they did lose Lamar Jackson, and now, it's a matter of not if Lamar's out, but how long he'll be out for.

Leave it to Josh Allen to lose at home to this guy. Patriots and Bills faced off for the first of two times this year, and well, Drake Maye had been a mess so far. Even so, I still expected it to be close. This is the top rivalry in the AFC East. Bills were at home, and I figured they'd get it done. They didn't. Drake Maye had a near perfect performance that had me saying, "I apologize, Mr. Maye. I was not familiar with your game." 29-26 was the final score, all because Josh lade another egg out there. Yet the excuses for this guy just keep on coming. Just admit it, people. Josh Allen is not that guy. He's not.

The game of the week in the regional coverage group was definitely Chiefs/Raiders, with both teams unbeaten entering this week. It was back and forth, as Chiefs/Raiders games go, and Vegas had a chance to win it, but KC came back, thanks to Kenneth Walker III, to win it 30-27 to remain unbeaten. The San Francisco 49ers also remained unbeaten after their victory over the Broncos, and the same went for the Vikings, who defeated the very hapless Dolphins. That part didn't please me as a Packers fan; while we did win in TB, so do the Bears, so did Minnesota. Yikes. Thank goodness for the Carolina Panthers, as they pulled out the win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football! Though I was happy that Sam LaPorta's late touchdown helped keep one of my fantasy teams undefeated.

Are the Atlanta Falcons legit? It looks that way. Over a week after they tore up Lambeau Field, the Falcons entered New Orleans and absolutely dominated the Saints to the tune of a 45-24 victory. This was a Saints team who had been looking amazing all season; nearly beating the Lions, actually beating Lamar on the road, 1-2 entering Monday, but a threat to win the division. This divisional loss is a small setback, but the South is still messy. They have time. As for the Falcons, they are really turning this into a three-team race, and there's a lot of the season to go!

Week 5 kicks off with the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, and we have another week early international game on Sunday, as the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Philadelphia Eagles face off in London. On Sunday Night Football, the Baltimore Ravens (without Lamar) will head to Atlanta against the Falcons, and Monday Night Football will feature the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi.

If you like this story, click the heart and the subscribe button, and feel free to comment below! Tips and pledges would be greatly appreciated, but only if you want to do so!

Check out my review of the winless' teams defeats in Week 4!