NFL 2026 RECAP: WEEK FOUR

After three weeks of figuring themselves out, this was the week that teams had to truly define who they are. For some, the season may already be over. For others, the season may have just been saved. We still have a long ways to go, and it is too soon to be sure of anything yet. However, the season is starting to truly take shape. Let’s recap the action from Week Four.

STEELERS 24 – BROWNS 27

This is early for me to say this but HOLY MOLE HOLES! Who would have thought that the Cleveland Browns would start the season 3-1? (I’m not too proud to admit that I never imagined this scenario.) After losing hold of an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson delivered a late-game performance again Thursday night. Andre Szmyt made a 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds, and safety Grant Delpit intercepted a last-second throw from quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the Browns defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers. The victory marks the first time the Browns have sat atop the division since Nov. 9, 2014. It’s also their first 3-1 start since the 2021 season. Despite cooling down in the second half, Deshaun Watson has done everything he can to keep his starting quarterback job. We’ll see if these Browns can continue the momentum next week on the road against the Jets. As for the Steelers, it was a good effort. They rallied to erase a 14-point deficit. But it was too little too late. Their disastrous second quarter was just too much to overcome, even for future hall of famer Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers will look to bounce back next week as they host the Colts.

COLTS 30 – COMMANDERS 13

Welcome to the 43^rd NFL game played in London. In what looked like a defensive slugfest at first, it quickly became a wipeout as the Indianapolis Colts beat down the ailing Washington Commanders. The Commanders had bad luck as Marcus Mariota was knocked out of the game. Enter Athan Kaliakmanis (say that five times fast) at quarterback. The seventh round pick out of Rutgers University did his best to keep the Commanders in the game, but this was a lot to ask of any rookie. At first, it seemed the Colts couldn’t take advantage as quarterback Daniel Jones was causing mistake after mistake. It wasn’t until the second quarter that things started to turn around for the Colts. There’s a lot to be said for the Colts getting back to .500 after their 0-2 start to the season. But their two victories raise as many questions as reasons for optimism. The performance of QB Daniel Jones in each of the past two games has been concerning, to say the least. After committing three turnovers in a win over the Texans, he was responsible for two more Sunday while the offense was often lethargic. This is something that needs to be addressed before the Colts return to the US to face the Steelers on the road next week. Meanwhile, as the saying goes, it’s getting late early for the Commanders. They were already playing minus their top four offensive players: tackle Laremy Tunsil, receiver Terry McLaurin, quarterback Jayden Daniels and guard Sam Cosmi. Now they lost backup QB Marcus Mariota. Is there any hope of good news for this Commanders squad? Well, they’re hopeful Daniels can return in Week 5, but they need McLaurin (hamstring) and Cosmi (concussion) back ASAP, and we don’t have a timetable for their return yet. The Commanders also have a rough part of their schedule coming up when they return to the US. It starts with a road game against the Giants.

CHARGERS 23 – SEAHAWKS 30

Turn away, LA fans, because this is gonna be rough. The season looks to be in serious jeopardy for the Los Angeles Chargers, as they dropped their fourth straight game to remain winless against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. Look, I will be real with you LA fans, the position that the Chargers are in is next to impossible. 0-4 teams typically never make the playoffs. In the words of the movie “Alice Through the Looking Glass”: it’s not that it’s impossible, just un-possible. It should be encouraging seeing that the Chargers almost closed the gap against the defending champions, and that’s where my concern with the Seahawks comes in. Emanuel Wilson seems to be handling the load for the Seahawks’ running game, but for how long? The Seahawks definitely need Jadarian Price and Zach Charbonnet back before the Seahawks run into a good run defense. Oops, they are about to: next week they host the red-hot 49ers with control of the division on the line. As for the Chargers, I cannot emphasize how disappointed we are with this team. They should be playing BETTER than this. The players they have acquired are not NEARLY talented enough to play with an elite quarterback like Justin Herbert. There is no offensive line, no person for Herbert to pass to, and no run game. It may be early to say this, but the Chargers look to be done for the year as we close the book on any chance of an all LA Super Bowl in LA this year. Don’t expect much as the Chargers host the Broncos next week.

RAMS 24 – EAGLES 20

This was the win the fans of LA needed so badly. The last hope for an LA team in this year’s Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium managed a miracle comeback. The last second drive and a poor fourth down decision gave the Los Angeles Rams a much-needed win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Rams had struggled offensively all afternoon, and a win seemed out of reach until late in the fourth quarter, when Eagles coach Nick Sirianni decided against kicking a chip-shot field goal that would have made it 23-10 and instead went for it on fourth down. That proved to be costly for the Eagles as the Rams then completed the comeback. As a result of penalties, turnovers and special teams errors, the Rams struggled to get into a rhythm on offense until late in the fourth quarter. The penalties have been an issue this season; through four weeks, the Rams had 10 penalties accepted against them in red zone situations, which is three more than any other team. On Sunday, the penalties came all over the field, as Los Angeles was called for eight penalties for 100 yards. This is definitely a problem that needs to be solved as the Rams host the Bills on Monday Night Football next week. As for the Eagles, I’m not going to use the “Trouble in Shangri-La” reference (since I used that Stevie Nicks reference last week). However, the Eagles are in deep trouble. Injuries are mounting, and with more tough games upcoming, they’re facing a critical stretch of the season. The Eagles’ defense, coming off a rough game against the Bears, rebounded with a two-takeaway performance in the first half. But a late Rams surge turned a double-digit lead into a disheartening defeat. In the meantime, they lost edge Jonathan Greenard (ankle), cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (knee) and running back Saquon Barkley (hamstring) to go with a host of injuries entering the game. Now the Eagles will limp their way to the second London game of the year next week against the Jaguars, who have historically done pretty well across the pond.

JETS 12 – BEARS 23

I don’t want to use the phrase “same old Jets” here, but…it’s kinda what we have here. The New York Jets seem to be falling back into their bad habits as they fell to a relentless Chicago Bears team. We expected Case Keenum to once again lead the Bears, but the rug was pulled out beneath all of us when 3^rd string quarterback Tyson Bagent was put in. He did a decent job, completing 25 of 34 passes for 268 yards, but he didn’t throw a touchdown pass and he threw an interception. This could have been worse, as Bagent threw three other interceptions, but they were all negated by penalties. Head coach Ben Johnson told the media that he expected Bagent to start next week. I feel like he didn’t do enough to actually earn that designation. Maybe he’ll pull Bagent and put Keenum back in like he did this week, or maybe the run game will drive this offense forward. Either way, the Bears will have to make do next week when they go on the road to face their hated divisional rivals: the Packers. Back to the Jets, look…they played without four starters, including RB Breece Hall, but this was inexcusable. QB Geno Smith played his worst game; the third-down offense was terrible (0-for-7); and Garrett Wilson (3 catches, 27 yards) and Kenyon Sadiq (0 catches) were nonfactors. The Jets had 99 total yards before a 58-yard TD strike to Isaiah Williams in the fourth quarter. They’re having an identity crisis. The Jets want to be a physical, run-heavy team, but they veer from the plan because of inconsistent execution and/or lack of commitment. It’s time for a long hard look in the mirror, because the time for identity searching is practically over. The Jets have a hard game next week as they host the red-hot Browns.

PACKERS 17 – BUCCANEERS 14

If this win looked ugly, that’s because it was. The Green Bay Packers have every right to feel dissatisfied with how they played. But beggars can’t be choosers, and so they’ll reluctantly take this win over the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Packers wasted two opportunities to extend the lead in the fourth quarter that ended up being turnovers. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers failed to capitalize on these mistakes. This is where the Buccaneers really missed Baker Mayfield. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels threw two picks that led to 10 points in his first career start filling in for Mayfield, who missed a game for the first time in his three-plus seasons with the Buccaneers because of a dislocated thumb. Is this enough to think the Packers are back on track? Well, they needed to go the distance to beat a winless team that started an undrafted rookie quarterback, so it probably won’t convince anyone of much. Add this to the mix, sources told the media on Monday morning that Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper tore his Achilles tendon. What does this mean for all you non-sports fans? Well, in basic terms, it usually means his season is over. Now the Packers need Micah Parsons back more than ever. The good news is the Packers will host the Bears who are still without Caleb Williams next week, but this is a hated rivalry…so anything can happen. Like the Chargers, the Buccaneers’ season appears to be over as they also fall into the 0-4 hole. Jalon Daniels had some promising moments in this game. Although Zac Robinson didn’t do him many favors with playcalling, he orchestrated two touchdown-scoring drives, including one that ended on a 10-yard throw to Kenny Gainwell. On the final drive, Daniels also made clutch passes to Ted Hurst III on fourth-and-1 and Cade Otton on third-and-3. But that drive ultimately ended in an unblocked Evan Williams forcing an interception on fourth-and-11. I don’t see a good scenario going forward for the Buccaneers. They will go on the road to face the Cowboys next week on Thursday Night Football.

TITANS 18 – RAVENS 24

Boy, did the Baltimore Ravens dodge a bullet here. They were counting on a quiet, boring victory at home against the Tennessee Titans. It certainly was going that way as they approached halftime with the Ravens rolling with little to no resistance. And then…Lamar Jackson got hurt. Jackson’s ankle appeared to roll under a Tennessee defender in the final seconds of the second quarter, and although the Ravens held on for a 24-18 win over the Titans on Sunday, they didn’t score after their star quarterback left the game. Tyler Huntley, no stranger to replacing Jackson when needed, took the snaps for Baltimore in the second half. So far, it has been reported that head coach Jesse Minter is unsure if Jackson will be able to start while adding that he doesn’t think Jackson’s ankle injury is going to be “crazy long-term.” The Ravens go on the road next week to face the Falcons on Sunday Night Football, and we’ll see if Jackson makes the trip. As for the Titans, yes, they are in the 0-4 purgatory most teams are haunted by. But I was encouraged by what I saw. The Titans took advantage of no Lamar Jackson and nearly completed the comeback. The player to watch for the Titans going forward is wide receiver Carnell Tate. Tate became the first Titans receiver to gain 100 or more receiving yards since Calvin Ridley (131) against the Cardinals on Oct. 5, 2025. Tate also drew an illegal contact call on the team’s second drive, which led to their first touchdown. Although he had a few drops and a fumble, he has clearly emerged as the top receiver for Cam Ward, who said last week that he noticed Tate getting open and wanted to increase his targets. The Titans host the Texans next week.

CARDINALS 24 – GIANTS 36

Well, this game was a classic case of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” when it comes to football. No person showed that more than Jameis Winston of the New York Giants. This wasn’t a good performance, not even close, but it was good enough…and at the end of the day, the Giants will take it. Winston threw three touchdown passes to offset a pair of interceptions, Deonte Banks had a 98-yard pick-6 to seal it and the Giants won another not-so-pretty game, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 36-24 on Sunday to take sole possession of first place in the NFC East. I know what you’re thinking: wait, the Giants are in first place? HOW?! Well, the Giants are in an underperforming division, and they have yet to lose at home so far this season. So, does Winston keep the starting quarterback job? Uh, well…the Giants are winning, that’s important. Yes, there were two ugly interceptions. But there were also some “Wow!” throws and three touchdown passes. So, my overall assessment is that Winston has earned…a stay of execution. With JJ McCarthy waiting for his chance, Winston will have to face a week-to-week task of keeping his job. The Giants next week will host the injury-laded Commanders, fresh off their beatdown in London. As for the Cardinals, what happened? It seemed when Marvin Harrison Jr. picked off Jacoby Brissett on the second play of the Cardinals’ third drive…it all fell apart on the Cardinals. What looked so encouraging in Week One for the Cardinals…has turned to more of the same struggles. The Cardinals host the Lions next week.

COWBOYS 34 – TEXANS 30

Wow, this was an intense thriller with plenty of ups and downs. Nevertheless, the Dallas Cowboys managed to pull off an incredible comeback to beat the winless Houston Texans. It went down to the wire in this battle for the Lone Star State, as both teams were desperate for a win. How badly did the Cowboys need this win? The phrase “really badly” doesn’t do the Cowboys justice for how much they needed to win. Since 2000, the Cowboys have not opened a season with just one win in their first four games and made the playoffs. Coming off a debilitating late loss last week, the Cowboys won for just the third time with Dak Prescott as their starting quarterback when trailing by double digits at halftime. The Cowboys are only 2-2, and that isn’t too much of a comfort, but it’s better than the alternative. They have some things to figure out, especially field goal protection, as they face a short week to play host to the ailing Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. As for the Texans, this is bad in every sense of the word. The defense, which was supposedly the best in football, collapsed at the worst possible moment. This season has been the opposite of complementary football. If the offense plays well, the defense doesn’t match it. And when the defense plays well, the offense struggles. Now the Texans are in 0-4 purgatory, and in deep trouble. Next week, they go on the road to face the Titans, where one of these teams will finally win their first game of the year.

JAGUARS 22 – BENGALS 17

This might be hard for some of you to believe, but going into this game…Trevor Lawrence had never beaten the Cincinnati Bengals before. It just seemed like something, or another prevented the Jacksonville Jaguars from finishing off the Bengals. But this time, the Jaguars finally won out over the Bengals. Lawrence completed 18 of 23 passes to beat the Bengals for the first time in four attempts. The sixth-year quarterback, the top pick in the 2021 NFL draft, has at least one win over every AFC opponent. It was also Lawrence’s first victory over Bengals counterpart Joe Burrow in four matchups, dating to the 2020 College Football Playoff title game between Clemson and LSU. Lawrence is definitely grateful to his defense, who took the ball away twice and should have had a third (a Travis Hunter INT was wiped out by a roughing the passer penalty). That is 10 takeaways in four games, which has helped make up for an inconsistent pass rush. That is obviously something that needs addressing. The Jaguars prepare for their yearly trip to their second home in London next week where they will face the Eagles. As for the Bengals, this game was extremely costly as they lost star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase to a concussion. Not only are the Bengals already down two receivers (Andrei Iosivas, Colbie Young), but Chase also tilts the field like few players in the NFL (obviously aside from Justin Jefferson). It’s a good thing they still have Tee Higgins and Mike Gesicki, otherwise this would be enough to make the Bengals start smashing the panic button. The Bengals will play the Dolphins next week.

PATRIOTS 29 – BILLS 26

Games like these are the reason I love divisional matchups. In a game that could have gone either way, the New England Patriots handed the Buffalo Bills their first loss of the season, and the Bills’ first loss in their new home stadium. Yes, quarterback Drake Maye still made some crucial mistakes, but the young quarterback was still able to lead the Patriots to victory. That included another interception and another fumble (he actually fumbled two other times that were thankfully recovered). However, the rest of his game was impressive: 22 for 37 passes completed for 269 yards and three touchdowns. But has Maye truly turned a corner after a shaky start to the season? The “experts” think so, but I’m going to say pump the brakes on that. Maye still leads the NFL with eight turnovers, so I’m not ready to give this kid the “Comeback Player of the Year” award just yet. Patriots have a tough test next week when they host the Raiders. Looking at the Bills, their issues with man coverage is costing them big time. If Anyone Falls for this loss, it’s going to be whoever came up with this makeshift secondary for the Bills (FYI, the first part of this sentence is your Stevie Nicks reference for the week). Missing Christian Benford, Dee Alford and Jordan Hancock didn’t help. But the Patriots’ vertical attack exposed weaknesses in outside cornerbacks Maxwell Hairston and Davison Igbinosun. Making his first career start, Igbinosun got beaten one-on-one by seldom-used receiver Efton Chism III for the game-winning touchdown. What I’m saying in regular non-football language is that the Bills’ defense is an accident waiting to happen, and it did in this game. The Bills need to fix their defense, because the Rams are coming into town for a heated Monday Night Football matchup next week.

DOLPHINS 10 – VIKINGS 15

Well, it doesn’t come much closer than this, folks, but the Minnesota Vikings remain unbeaten thanks to this victory while the Miami Dolphins still look for their first win. I’m sure there were many Vikings and Viking fans that would have loved a touchdown for their efforts. However, tight end TJ Hockenson did the right thing by sliding down after the winning catch to seal the Vikings’ victory. The eighth-year tight end was wide open and could’ve coasted into the end zone, but he wisely slid in front of the goal line to drain the clock to the two-minute warning. That’s the selfless and smart play that gets you into the hall of fame one day. At the end of the day, the Vikings are 4-0. They really are! Now I get everyone is going to criticize the Vikings’ offense, but I am going to point out something that a lot of people overlook. I challenge you, the readers, to go back and look at the Vikings offense in this game and answer me this question: what is missing? You may notice something is off, something that is preventing the Vikings from steamrolling opponents. Give up? Well, I’ll answer it with one simple question: where…is Justin Jefferson? That’s right, the league’s top wide receiver is still hurt, and we don’t know his status yet for next week’s road game against the Saints but stay tuned. As for the Dolphins, look, this is an offense that is trying to find itself now that De’Von Achane is done for the year. The new plan should be to find Ollie Gordon II as much open field space as possible. The second year back led the team in rushing with a career-high 100 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, including a 53-yard run on third down to set up Miami’s first points of the game. Miami’s defense played well enough to win, but its offense noticeably held the team back for the second straight game. The Dolphins won’t get their first win until their offense finds some sort of repeatable rhythm. Next week, the Dolphins will be home hosting the Bengals.

BRONCOS 14 – 49ERS 24

This was definitely a very close game that could have flipped either way. In the end, the San Francisco 49ers passed their toughest test so far this season by defeating the Denver Broncos. With all the injuries that the 49ers have had, it was difficult to see how they would respond to the Broncos’ rock-hard defense. Fortunately, who needs too many players when you got Brock Purdy putting up MVP numbers? Purdy finished this game with 218 passing yards and two touchdowns to add to his 29 rushing yards. The defense and special teams had some of their best efforts of the season, limiting the Broncos to 4.6 yards per play and coming up with the game’s lone turnover. The Broncos were the 49ers’ first real test…but now they have an even tougher one next week: a road trip to face the defending champion Seahawks with the division up for grabs. For the Broncos, the slow starts for the offense caught up to them again. Only scoring 3 points in the first three quarters of a game is NOT going to get you many wins. Worse, they may be without cornerback Pat Surtain II for about two weeks. Surtain, who suffered a leg injury just before halftime, is essentially the starting point for the Broncos’ defensive game plan each week — impacting how they choose coverages, match up on the opponents’ best receivers and use certain personnel groupings. The Broncos can right the ship next week at home against the winless Chargers but expect Justin Herbert to take full advantage of Surtain’s absence.

CHIEFS 30 – RAIDERS 27

Now, I can already hear the “experts” claiming the Chiefs are back and they’re going back to the Super Bowl. Let me slow down the Kansas City Chiefs bandwagon right now. First off, I am aware of the favoritism toward the Chiefs that leaves everyone blind to their red flags, and this is only Week Four. Nevertheless, the Chiefs did pass an important test against a very good Las Vegas Raiders team. What red flags do I mean? Well, the Raiders got in a LOT of hard hits on Patrick Mahomes. That’s definitely going to hurt the Chiefs in the long run if they don’t better protect Mahomes. Full props to Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, who managed six catches for 86 yards and a touchdown while being under the weather. Now that is definitely impressive. Looking at the Chiefs, I can see why the Chiefs would want to add another receiver. Tyquan Thorton and Rashee Rice both left the game and are worth watching. Maybe a reunion with Tyreek Hill would be beneficial. If they can put up with his baggage, then the Chiefs might ACTUALLY be back. The Chiefs have the first bye next week, but they’ll be back to host the slumping Chargers. Looking at the Raiders, this was a very good effort for a team that is ahead of schedule on their rebuild. I am concerned that they are not using and creating enough opportunities for star Ashton Jeanty to be truly unleashed. The offensive line needs to do its job better, not just protect Kirk Cousins. I will say this: this offense looks a lot better with Cousins leading the way and Brock Bowers piling it on as the league’s top tight end. The scary part is that Fernando Mendoza is still waiting in the wings and absorbing all this knowledge. This is a setback for the Raiders, but it’s not fatal. We will see how they do next week on the road against the Patriots. Expect Maxx Crosby to make life a nightmare for turnover-prone Drake Maye.

LIONS 26 – PANTHERS 32

HOLY MOLE HOLES! NFL fans and people that play fantasy football are probably wondering who wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is after lighting the world on fire with 14 catches for 192 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Evidently, he was a big part of the Carolina Panthers’ big win over the Detroit Lions. Fun fact, this is the first time in 11 years that Sunday Night Football has been in Carolina, and the Panthers and Lions game did not disappoint. As I said, McMillan looked as good as any receiver in the league, even…dare I say…Justin Jefferson himself. I haven’t seen numbers like this put up in a Lions game since the days of Calvin Johnson. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young completed his first 11 passes against Detroit, and his established chemistry with McMillan is now the worst kept secret in the United States. McMillan is only the third Panthers player to record 150 or more receiving yards and two touchdowns in a game. We can all only hope McMillan doesn’t cool off as the Panthers have a bye week next week. But they’ll be back the next week when they go on the road to face the Eagles. As for the Lions, there’s a hole in the secondary you can drive a truck through…and boy did McMillan drive through it. The secondary needs help immediately, as it took another hit when CB Rock Ya-Sin was ruled out during the second half with a hamstring injury. But even before that, Detroit’s defense struggled and has now allowed 127 total points through the first four games. The Lions had no answers for McMillan, who torched them pretty good. The Lions go on the road next week against the Cardinals to try and right the ship.

FALCONS 45 – SAINTS 24

It was 20 years ago that the Saints reopened the Caesars Superdome after it was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans Saints played the Atlanta Falcons on that day to celebrate the return of the Superdome with the Saints beating the Falcons 23-3 in a landslide victory. Flash forward to today, history reversed itself with the Falcons beating down the Saints. Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was efficient and managed a good game as the ground attack led the way. He was 15-of-20 passing for 223 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Atlanta was 4-of-8 on third downs, a major negative for Penix in the past. In just two games since returning from a torn left ACL, Penix has looked like he could develop into the quarterback the Falcons envisioned. Add that to the fact that Bijan Robinson is lighting up the league, and the Falcons look pretty scary. They will host the Ravens next week on Sunday Night Football, but there may not be any sign of Lamar Jackson with the Ravens. As for the Saints, it was an emotional night, but this kind of performance is inexcusable. Losing to a bitter rival with eight penalties, a missed field goal, and yet another slow start on offense. The Saints need answers, and they need them fast before next week when the undefeated Vikings come into town.