NFL Week Four: Winners and Losers

Week four saw comebacks, standouts, and a few interesting results. Here are my winners and losers.

Winners:

1. Buffalo Bills: Quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw for 246 yards and a touchdown. Kicker Dan Carpenter made three field goals as the Bills shutout the New England Patriots 16-0. Despite injuries, maybe we shouldn’t give up on this team just yet.
2. Atlanta Falcons: Quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones both broke team records. Ryan threw for a team record 503 yards and four touchdowns. Jones had 12 receptions and record 300 receiving yards as the Falcons pulled away from NFC South rival Carolina Panthers 48-33, the Falcons might just be for real.
3. Oakland Raiders: Quarterback Derek Carr threw for four touchdowns. Three of them to wide receiver Michael Crabtree including the go-ahead touchdown with less than 90 seconds left as the Raiders edged the Baltimore Ravens 28-27. Traveling cross-country, noon central time kickoff, three road wins, not too shabby for the Raiders.
4. Los Angeles Rams: Quarterback Case Keenum threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. The defense caught three interceptions including two late as the Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals 17-13. After being shutout in their opener, the Rams are now 3-1.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 300 yards and five touchdowns, two of those to wide receiver Antonio Brown. In his first game back from suspension, running back La’Veon Bell rushed for 144 yards as the Steelers pound the Kansas City Chiefs 43-14. A solid bounce back win for the Steelers.
6. Minnesota Vikings: Quarterback Sam Bradford threw for 262 yards and a touchdown. Running back Jerick McKinnon rushed for a touchdown as the Vikings defeated the New York Giants 24-10. At 4-0 despite injuries, we should be giving the Vikings, their props.

Losers:

1. New England Patriots: The Patriots were sluggish in their shutout loss to Buffalo, it’s their first time being shutout at Gillette Stadium.
2. New York Jets: Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s three interceptions stalled drives in their loss to the Seattle Seahawks 27-17. It might be time for the Jets to make a quarterback change.
3. Carolina Panthers: Interceptions, losing quarterback Cam Newton to a concussion, and the defense giving up too many big plays in their loss to Atlanta. Are the defending NFC champs a one season wonder? Time will tell.
4. Arizona Cardinals: The NFC runner-up are in the same predicament. Late interceptions and losing quarterback Carson Palmer to a concussion were the Cardinals’ undoing in their loss to Los Angeles. The team some people (myself included) picked to go to the Super Bowl might be in some serious trouble.
5. San Diego Chargers: Late turnovers and giving up 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter led to the Chargers’ loss to the New Orleans Saints 35-34.
6. New York Giants: They were 2 for 12 on third downs as the Vikings defense kept the Giants’ offense on neutral for most of the game.

Storylines Going Into Week Five:

Arizona will try to rebound at San Francisco. Now that his suspension is over, Tom Brady returns under center for New England as they face Cleveland. Washington goes to Baltimore.

Minnesota hosts Houston. New York Jets travel to Pittsburgh. Atlanta plays Denver in an intriguing intra-conference matchup. Cincinnati plays Dallas.

Buffalo goes cross-country to battle Los Angeles. San Diego clashes with Oakland. The Giants faces Green Bay at Lambeau.