The NFL Week 4 slate has a handful of good games on tap, including the undefeated Miami Dolphins taking on the 1-2 Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football. This slate also includes the league’s first London game in 2022 between the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints. Heading into this week, there is only two undefeated teams and one 0-3 team. We’re starting to get a little bit of an idea of what these teams’ identities are but there’s still a lot of football left to find out.
NFL Week 4 Games to Watch
Chiefs vs Buccaneers
The last game on NFL Sunday will feature the 2020-21 Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This is expected to be a great game, despite what happened to both teams last week.
The Chiefs laid an egg against the 0-2 Colts and lost 20-17 on a late touchdown pass by Matt Ryan. This more had to do with the Chief’s misshapes all game than the Colts actually putting together a good performance. Patrick Mahomes didn’t have a Patrick Mahomes game as he only completed 20 of his 35 passes and threw for 262 yards with only a touchdown and an interception. The run game was nowhere to be seen. Their leading rusher was Mahomes at only 26 yards. Clyde Edwards-Helaire did score a touchdown from a yard out but totaled zero yards on seven attempts.
The Chiefs’ defense did record five sacks and limited the Colts to 20 points but the offense was absent. Speaking of absent offense, the Buccaneers had a pretty lousy day as well. They only scored 12 points and their first touchdown came on their last drive of the game, where they failed to make the 2-point conversion after a false start. A portion of Tom Brady‘s 271 passing yards came on that last drive as well. It didn’t help that most of the offense was either suspended or injured but even Brady would tell you he didn’t have a good day.
It looked like the Packers were going to run away with this game but the defense was phenomenal in the second half. The Chiefs will have to figure things out on offense if they plan to get past this vaunting defense. Tampa Bay on the other hand will at least be getting Mike Evans for this game, which will help significantly. Kansas City’s defense will also have to stay strong to help out the offense.
Bills vs Ravens
Both teams come into NFL Week 4 2-1. The Super Bowl favorite Buffalo Bills lost a close matchup to the Dolphins, 21-19. They went into that matchup with a beat-up defense, missing multiple starters but they held their own. The surprising part is the offense not holding up their end of the bargain. Josh Allen passed for an unreal 400 yards and 2 touchdowns but only scored 19 points. The run game didn’t help the cause as Allen was their leading rusher with 47 on the ground but Devin Singletary did have 78 yards and a touchdown on nine targets through the air. If the offense was just a little better, they’d still be undefeated.
The Baltimore Ravens offense on the other hand went off and scored 37 points last week in New England. Lamar Jackson continues to show why he needs to get paid as he threw for 218 yards and four touchdowns but also added 107 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He continues to have a great connection with tight end Mark Andrews, who followed up a 100-yard game in week 2 with an 89-yard, two touchdown performance last week. Even if the Bills’ defense comes in more healthy than last week, it will be hard to stop Jackson, Andrews, and an offense that’s scored 37 or more in back-to-back weeks.
Even with a three-interception and three-sack performance last week, this Ravens defense will need to get back to what we thought they’d be at the beginning of the year if they plan on stopping this lethal Bills offense as the Dolphins did.
Rams vs 49ers
This NFL Week 4 Monday Night Football game features two division rivals who in the end will be fighting for the NFC West. The Los Angeles Rams are coming off another divisional game against the Cardinals, where they only scored 20 points but did enough to win the game because of their defense having a strong performance. The stats on that side of the ball might not be there as they only had two sacks, no interceptions, and gave up over 300 yards passing but didn’t let Arizona get into the endzone once. All of the offense from the Rams came from the ground as Cam Akers and yes, Cooper Kupp, each rushed for a touchdown.
They’re going to have to do more on offense this week against a tough San Francisco 49ers defense, which in a loss gave up only 11 to the Broncos. Yes, you read that right, the 49ers lost but only gave up 11. That’s because their offense only managed to score 10 points.
In Jimmy Goroppolo‘s first start since Trey Lance went down, he only threw for 211 yards and a touchdown with an interception. Brandon Aiyuk caught a touchdown but other than Deebo Samuel (73 yards), no one had over 40 yards receiving. The offense was nowhere to be found and they have to make an adjustment on that side of the ball heading into NFL Week 4 just like the Rams.
Other Games to Watch
Dolphins vs Bengals
Patriots vs Packers
Vikings vs Saints
Broncos vs Raiders
Titans vs Colts
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