NFL Week 4 Recap: Swift, Yet Steady

The game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets was originally highly anticipated. It was originally a battle between the GOAT himself, Aaron Rodgers, and the heir apparent to Rodgers' GOAT throne, Patrick Mahomes. Sadly, Rodgers' injury reduced the game's status big time--to the point where football fans wanted this game flexed off NBC's Sunday Night Football slot.

Then, a funny thing happened. Travis Kelce suddenly started dating Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift saved this game. NBC knew this game would be a complete dud, so what did they do? Simple. They put the camera on Swift and her celeb friends as much as possible. As for the game itself, it ended up being closer than a lot of us figured, which many see as damning to the defending Super Bowl Champions. Travis Kelce had a few touches in the first quarter, but none until the fourth. Patrick Mahomes was suddenly throwing interceptions, but despite all of that, the Chiefs managed to survive the Jets, 23-20.

You know, that's one thing I've been noticing for the past two or three seasons. The Chiefs have a slight tendency to barely survive teams they should be blowing out. Thankfully, that's a problem I'm not familiar with, because I'm a Packers fan, and I watched Aaron Rodgers blow out everyone. Regarding the Chiefs, they do get away with this because they have their usual long playoff runs, but if you barely survive a team with an impostor at QB, then that's a problem. Luckily for the Chiefs, they have the ultimate impostors as their opponents next week: the Minnesota Vikings. Seriously, Mahomes can take that game off and KC would still blow them out.

Before Week 4 began, I made up my mind to start Josh Allen on one of my Fantasy Football teams this week. I have Allen and Jalen Hurts, and after going with Hurts for the first three weeks, I decided to finally give Allen a shot for Week 4. Allen and the Buffalo Bills hosted the Miami Dolphins in an anticipated AFC East clash, because that is the top rivalry in that division now. The Miami Dolphins entered Week 4 as the AFC's only unbeaten team, but after Sunday, not anymore. The Bills won, 48-20, giving the Dolphins a bit of a taste of their own medicine. As for Josh Allen, well, let's go to the numbers.

Fantasy scoring for quarterbacks goes like this: 1 point for every 25 passing yards (or 0.04 points per passing yard), and passing touchdowns are 4 points each. Rushing rules also apply; 1 point per 10 rushing yards, and touchdowns are 6 points. Josh Allen threw for 320 yards (12.8 points) and four touchdowns (16 points), while also running for 17 yards (1.7 points) and a touchdown (6 points). In all, Allen had 36.5 fantasy points. Just amazing!

What could be better than having Josh Allen on your Fantasy team? Having Josh Allen and Christian McCaffrey on your Fantasy team. A select few enjoyed that luxury on Week 4, and thankfully, I was one of them. The San Francisco 49ers hosted the lowly Arizona Cardinals, and because their coach actually has more than one brain cell (unlike the clown coaching Dallas), the Niners blasted the poor Cards. It was also because of the efforts of the man known as "Run CMC." 106 rushing yards (10.6 points), 7 receptions (7 points), 71 receiving yards (7.1 points), 4 total touchdowns (3 rushing, one receiving--24 points). That's 48.7 points on Fantasy right there. If you had Josh Allen and CMC on your team, that's big time. If you had those two and Dallas' defense, that's epic. The Cowboys blasted the Patriots, 38-3, and it was another masterpiece from that defense--two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and two touchdowns.

Week 4 began with an NFC North clash between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers that did not go the latter's way. A terrible first half for the Green and Gold, and though there was some life in the second half, it wasn't enough, and the Lions won 34-20. Even in defeat, Jordan Love continues to earn his stripes; he has eight touchdown passes--the same number as some guy named Patrick Mahomes. The second game of the week was the season's first international game, as the Atlanta Falcons faced off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London's Wembley Stadium. There was something extra special about this telecast.

The game aired exclusively on ESPN+, but it also featured a Toy Story version of the game--played entirely in Andy's room. This isn't the first time ESPN's done something like this; an NHL game between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers was simulcast on The Disney Channel featuring the characters for the animated show, Big City Greens. To me, this was ESPN flexing their connection to Disney, and it's also their version of how Nickelodeon's been working with the NFL in recent years. I watched the live version of the game, of course, but I did peep in on the Toy Story version because it was so cool. The Jags won 23-7, and as for me, I'm hoping the next time they do something like this, they involve the Marvel characters. After all, Disney does own Marvel.

We were treated to a pair of overtime games in Week 4, with the Los Angeles Rams winning, 29-23, over the Indianapolis Colts, though the Rams actually led 23-0. The other thriller took place between the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles, with the latter surviving with a game winning field goal to remain unbeaten. As for Pennsylvania's other team, well, it was a bad day at the office. The Pittsburgh Steelers were blasted, 30-6, by the Houston Texans in what was supposed to be an equivalent of a bye week for the team. The Cincinnati Bengals' blow out loss has many criticizing the team for putting an injured Joe Burrow out there on the field, and Monday Night Football saw the Seattle Seahawks easily take down the New York Giants.

After four weeks, the Eagles and Niners are the only two unbeatens in the league, and after the Minnesota Vikings' win over the Carolina Panthers, as well as the Denver Broncos defeating the Chicago Bears, the losing teams are the league's only 0-4 teams, and their season is pretty much done. The AFC South is quite interesting: every team is 2-2. The Baltimore Ravens are one of the conference's four 3-1 teams. Good God, the AFC is getting real good!

Week 5 will kick off with Thursday Night Football between the Chicago Bears and the Washington Commanders, and we are getting another London game as well. The Jacksonville Jaguars will remain in London, this time facing the Buffalo Bills. Sunday Night Football is a big time NFC battle between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers, and on Monday Night Football, the Green Bay Packers will be in "Sin City" to face off against former Packer Davante Adams and the Las Vegas Raiders. This week, the first byes are given out, as the Seattle Seahawks, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Cleveland Browns will be off.

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