Miami Dolphins 7 at Cincinnati Bengals 22
Offensively: The player that stood out offensively in this game was A.J Green. Green had 10 catches for 173 yards & a touchdown in this game. The Dolphins had no answer for him all night throwing different coverages at him but he still couldn’t be stopped.
Defensively: The Bengals defense in this game played perfect besides the one 74 yard touchdown they allowed to Kenny Stills. Besides that they shut the Dolphins offense down & sacked Ryan Tannehill 5 times with Carlos Dunlap having 2 of them.
Biggest Takeaway: The Bengals seemed do be doing something different with A.J Green this game where instead of him playing on the outside all game they had him moving around & creating matchups they wanted which could make this offense even more dangerous.
Indianapolis Colts 27 at Jacksonville Jaguars 30
Offensively: Allen Robinson had another good week this week finishing with 5 catches for 55 yards & a touchdown. T.J Yeldon also had a good game with 71 rushing yards & 46 receiving yards.
Defensively: The Jaguars pass rush in this game was phenomenal sacking Andrew Luck 6 times & hitting him 13 times.
Biggest Takeaway: Most people thought once Andrew Luck came back that the Colts would take back the AFC South but that has not been the case with all the holes the Colts have on their team.
Tennessee Titans 20 at Houston Texans 27
Offensively: Will Fuller had another great game in his young career totaling 81 yards on 7 catches & a touchdown. Deandre Hopkins was surprising in this game only getting 1 catch for 4 yards on 6 targets.
Defensively: The Titans were able to intercept Brock Osweiler twice in this game while the Texans intercepted Marcus Mariota once while also not allowing him to throw a touchdown either.
Biggest Takeaway: I have yet to see a game this year that proves to me that Marcus Mariota could be a star QB in the NFL.
Cleveland Browns 20 at Washington Redskins 31
Offensively: Matt Jones had a nice day running the ball for the Redskins rushing for 117 yards & a touchdown. Jordan Reed had a nice game as well catching 9 receptions for 73 yards & 2 TDs.
Defensively: The Redskins defense forced 2 fumbles in this game (1 on Cody Kessler, 1 on Duke Johnson).
Biggest Takeaway: I still don’t see the same Kirk Cousins as last year even though he played well in this game but it’s the Browns & we all know how bad they are.
Seattle Seahawks 27 at New York Jets 17
Offensively: Russell Wilson played great in this game throwing for 309 yards & 3 TDs. Jimmy Graham looked healthy in this game finishing the game with 113 yards on 6 catches.
Defensively: The Seahawks absolutely shut down the Jets running game with the Jets only running for 58 yards on 20 carries. The Seahawks also got 3 interceptions on Ryan Fitzpatrick with Richard Sherman getting 2 of them & Earl Thomas getting the other.
Biggest Takeaway: The Jets are 1-3 to start the season & it’s not looking good for them to get any better playing the Steelers in week 5.
Buffalo Bills 16 at New England Patriots 0
Offensively: Tyrod Taylor had a nice game with 246 yards & 1 touchdown. LeSean McCoy had a good game as well rushing for 70 yards & also getting 38 receiving yards & a touchdown.
Defensively: The Bills did a great job slowing down the Patriots offense. The Bills also recovered a fumble from Jacoby Brissett.
Biggest Takeaway: The Bills might’ve won this game but the Patriots had an injured QB in this game & they get Tom Brady back in week 5 against the Browns so I still don’t see the Bills making a push in the AFC East.
Carolina Panthers 33 at Atlanta Falcons 48
Offensively: Matt Ryan & Julio Jones both put up Madden type numbers in this game. Matt Ryan threw for 503 yards, 4 TDs, & 1 interception while Julio Jones had 12 catches for 300 yards & 1 touchdown.
Defensively: The Falcons defense did a surprising job of stopping the Panthers rushing attack & Cam Newton. The Panthers were only able to run for 49 yards on 15 carries.
Biggest Takeaway: The Panthers are 1-3 & are tied for last in the AFC South because their defense doesn’t look like the same defense as last year & they’re failing to protect Cam Newton who got hurt in the 4th quarter in this game. The Falcons are 3-1 but I’m still not ready to take this team seriously yet.
Oakland Raiders 28 at Baltimore Ravens 27
Offensively: Michael Crabtree led the way with Derek Carr in this game. Carr had 199 yards & 4 TDS with 3 of those TDs going to Crabtree.
Defensively: The only thing worth mentioning on defense in this game is that the Ravens stopped the Raiders running game to 62 yards on 19 carries despite losing the game.
Detroit Lions 14 at Chicago Bears 17
Offensively: Jordan Howard started his 1st career game at RB for the Bears & he didn’t disappoint rushing for 111 yards & also getting 21 receiving yards.
Defensively: The Bears shut down the passing & running game of the Lions in this game. The Bears got 2 interceptions off of Matthew Stafford as well.
Biggest Takeaway: This was one of the worst games for the Lions offense since Jim Bob Cooter became offensive coordinator. Stafford threw 2 interceptions which was 1/3 of the picks he threw under Cooter before this game.
Los Angeles Rams 17 at Arizona Cardinals 13
Offensively: Case Keenum had his best game this year throwing for 266 yards & 2 touchdowns with both touchdowns going to Brian Quick.
Defensively: The Cardinals were able to shut down Todd Gurley & the rushing offense to an abysmal 41 yards on 23 carries but still lost this game. The Rams were able to pick off Carson Palmer & Drew Stanton 3 times in total with T.J McDonald getting the 3rd on the last play of the game in the end zone to end the game.
Biggest Takeaway: The Cardinals & Panthers are the most surprising teams so far to me both starting the season at 1-3 & both have their QBs going through concussion protocol this week.
Denver Broncos 27 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7
Offensively: Demaryius Thomas & Emmanuel Sanders both totaled 14 receptions for 182 yards & 2 TDs together in this game.
Defensively: The Broncos were harassing Jameis Winston all game sacking him 5 times & forced him to throw 2 interceptions.
Biggest Takeaway: The Broncos defense never fails to impress week after week. Trevor Siemian got hurt in the 2nd quarter & was replaced by rookie Paxton Lynch which is an injury worth monitoring.
New Orleans Saints 35 at San Diego Chargers 34
Offensively: Mark Ingram looked impressive in this game with 56 rushing yards & touchdown while also adding 49 yards receiving to lead the team on 6 catches.
Defensively: There wasn’t much defense in this game which was to be expected. The Chargers were able to intercept Drew Brees twice while the Saints were able to force 2 fumbles on the Chargers as well as intercept Philip Rivers once.
Biggest Takeaway: The Saints get their 1st win this year & at 1-3 they’re technically tied for 2nd in the NFC South to the Falcons which is kind of sad.
Dallas Cowboys 24 at San Francisco 49ers 17
Offensively: Ezekiel Elliott impressed again rushing for 130+ yards for the 2nd straight week but this time he added a touchdown to go along with the yards. Dak Prescott looked like a veteran again throwing for 245 yards & 2 TDs.
Defensively: The only turnover in this game came off an interception by Morris Claiborne who seems to be playing the best he has in his young career so far this season.
Biggest Takeaway: Dallas is now 3-1 & could’ve had a shot to be 4-0 if Terrance Williams gets out of bounds in week 1 against the Giants. The decision on whether to put Tony Romo back in when he’s healthy is going to be interesting but I believe the Cowboys will start Romo.
Kansas City Chiefs 14 at Pittsburgh Steelers 43
Offensively: Ben Roethlisberger balled out in this game throwing as many touchdowns as he did incompletions with 5. Three of Big Ben’s touchdowns came in the 1st quarter & 4 of them came in the 1st half.
Defensively: The Chiefs didn’t even want to try to stop this Steelers offense in this game. The Steelers defense on the other hand sacked Alex Smith 4 times & intercepted him once. The Steelers also recovered a fumble from Spencer Ware.
Biggest Takeaway: The Steelers returned to their dominant self after the return of Le’Veon Bell from suspension. Bell didn’t miss a beat getting 23 touches for 178 yards.
New York Giants 10 at Minnesota Vikings 24
Offensively: Sam Bradford improved to 3-0 as the starter of the Vikings in this game by throwing for 262 yards & 1 touchdown. Jerick McKinnon also impressed with 85 yards rushing & 1 touchdown.
Defensively: This Vikings defense is legit. They were unable to sack Eli Manning but were able to shut down the impressive trio of Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz & Sterling Shepard to a total of 103 yards on 12 receptions. They also intercepted Eli Manning in the 4th quarter.
Biggest Takeaway: The Vikings are 4-0 & they are by far the best team in the NFC in my opinion with both sides of the ball looking great for them especially on defense.
Things to look forward to in Week 5:
- Will Cardinals respond with a W on Thursday night against the 49ers?
- Tom Brady’s return after suspension against the Cleveland Browns (RIP Browns 2016)
- Are the Falcons legit? We’ll see how they fare against the Broncos in week 5
- The Bengals & Cowboys face off in what seems to be one of the better games in week 5
- Can the Panthers bounce back on Monday night in a divisional game against the Buccaneers?
