This week was the week of 400 yard passing games. I could have sworn I was playing Madden this week as Quarterbacks put up historic numbers left and right like it was just another thing. Last year we had 8 total 400 yard passing games. Through this week we already have 12 (4 this week alone!!). There's no way this number doesn't keep climbing next week either. Offense keeps rising in the NFL and that isn't changing anytime soon. This week we had 4 400 yard passing games alone including games from the likes of Derek Carr and Andrew Luck. Mitch Trubisky didn’t throw 400 yards, but he had one of the greatest offensive passing games in Bears' history with 6 touchdowns and more importantly, put a stake through the heart of Fitzmagic.
Week 4 also seemed to be a return to the norm. The Patriots killed the Dolphins, Andrew Luck was healthy throwing again, Josh Allen looked like a rookie and the Chargers almost choked away a game via poor special teams. It seems like we have finally found a rhythm this season as most of the teams that we expected to rise to the top are finally finished figuring out their early season slumps (except you Steelers).
However, just because this week was normal doesn’t mean it wasn’t exciting. We had 3 different OT games and 4 more that came down to the last minute meaning that over half of the games we played this week ended in an exciting fashion which is all I can ask for from a weekend of football! So with all that hype in mind, here are my Power Rankings based off of this week's action:
32. Cardinals. Josh Rosen played really well in his debut! I expected the Seahawks defense to make him look silly, but he did a really good job of controlling the ball and limiting Seattle's offense from getting onto the field. He only threw one interception, kept most of his passes short, and justified my plea that Rosen should just be the starter in Arizona.
31. Bills. Josh Allen looked like a rookie again which was good because expectations for him will now be back down to Earth. That doesn’t excuse how bad their offense was, but it looked like what we expected it to this season.
30. Giants. OBJ threw a fit (luckily no kicking nets were around) and the Giants made the Saints defense look elite. The Giants have come back down to Earth after putting on an impressive performance last week against the Texans.
29. Raiders. They were saved by Derek Carr's variation of the Tuck Rule. A few years too late, but I guess its better late than never to get saved by the officials. On a positive side, the Raiders won for the first time this year and Jon Gruden won for the first time in what felt like "100 years" according to Coach himself. Derek Carr had another good game and has put together 3 solid performances in a row which the Raiders will need every week if they want to win more games this year.
28. 49ers. CJ Beathard had a pretty good debut and wasn’t as bad as I expected! However, this was a good debut but don’t expect the 49ers to remain above water. They almost won this week, but I don’t anticipate them doing that any week going forward.
27. Texans. Well they ended their 9 game losing streak in dramatic fashion and they now officially have a better record than my Fantasy Team does. The Texans offense actually looked (passing) against a competitive Colt's defense and they are starting to click (hopefully) just in time as they play the Cowboys next week on Sunday Night.
26. Seahawks. They won the battle but definitely lost the war because they once again lost every important player to injury. At least we got this Earl Thomas moment.
25. Jets. This was probably the most predictable game of the day. I knew that the Jets would struggle to score, but they didn’t have too many turnovers which is a positive spin on a loss like this.
24. Colts. Andrew Luck is all the way back for sure now. His 62 passes all but solidified that this week. I understand Coach Reich not wanting to settle for a tie, but he set up the Texas perfectly to steal the game from them as a result.
23. Browns. The Browns scored the 42 points, had 12 dropped passes, and had a bad call go against them, and lost in overtime. Sounds like a classic Browns game. However, unlike past Browns games, they have something to look forward to and a future. The fact that their defense didn’t play well and their offense did shows us that if they can get both sides of the ball to click on the same game then they can beat a lot of teams in this league.
22. Lions. Golden Tate continued his hot start, but the Lions lost in dramatic fashion as they wore the worst uniforms in NFL history. I have never seen uniforms that are so boring in my entire life.
21. Steelers. They couldn’t click at all on offense. I feel like they're missing a run game and a player to catch passes out of the backfield and open up their offense. Conner is a good 2nd down back and runs hard, but he hasn’t proven himself enough yet as someone who can be a feature back. Too bad the Steelers' don’t have a Runningback they can get to make up for their inconsistent offense.
20. Cowboys. Zeke ate and had himself a day. Dak had protection and as a result he completed 17 passes to 7 different receivers (including Elliott). This felt like a game that Cowboys were destined to lose dramatically, but pulled out and won. Give them credit for that.
19. Falcons. Is Calvin Ridley better than Julio Jones? The stats and Matt Ryan both seem to think so. He has more targets and touchdowns than Julio through 4 weeks…
18. Redskins. The Redskins didn't play this week so I won't move them in order to be fair to them.
17. Buccaneers. No Fitzmagic this game and Dirk Koetter said that everyone on the field, including himself, should be fired. That may be something he regrets saying.
16. Panthers. These guys didn't play either.
15. Vikings. The fact is the Viking's defense isn't as good as it was last year (which makes sense because it as a historically great defense). They just don’t seem to have the same amount of swag and rhythm that they had last year which explains their slow start. Kirk Cousins has been inconsistent this year, but that's normal for a new Quarterback with new receiving core. Despite not scoring a ton of touchdowns, he is finding Diggs and Thielen well which will eventually lead to success.
14. Packers. They won, but their offense looked bad and Aaron Rodgers even said so. It's easy to win against the Bills, but if they cant improve their offense then they'll be in trouble going forward.
13. Chargers. The Chargers were just as painful to watch today as usual. Their defense saved them by picking off Beathard twice, but their special teams once again kept their opposition in the game and allowed them to squeeze out another road game (they played in LA).
12. Titans. Mariota had another good game in a row! Plus he threw the pass of the weekend to win against the Eagles in OT! I loved that they gambled and went for it on 4th down in OT; I especially love when the gamble pays off.
11. Dolphins. Tannehill has come back to Earth and the Patriots exploited the Dolphins poor run defense which totally took their corners out of the game and allowed Tom Brady to throw to wide open men in coverage time after time.
10. Broncos. They didn't play poorly on Monday night, the Chiefs were just better. Case Keenum put together some good drives in the second half to give them a ten point lead in the 4th quarter, but they couldn't put together another drive when they needed to at the end of the 4th. The defense also did a good job of taking Travis Kelce out of the Chief's offense for one half, but then lost track of him in the 2nd half as they allowed the Chiefs to ride him to the win.
9. Ravens. Their offense is surprisingly fun to watch when they make a big play and then bring in Lamar Jackson to try to get the defense on its heels. Also, has Justin Tucker ever missed a kick? Yeah, I didn’t think so…
8. Bears. Mitch the comeback kid!! After everyone was down on him last week and said he was a bust we proved everyone wrong. Trubisky threw 6 touchdowns and got everyone on the offense (except Jordan Howard) involved! This is another one of those games that reminds you how the NFL is unpredictable from week to week.
7. Patriots. After an abysmal week in Detroit, Sony Michel bounced back this week and rushed for 112 yards on 25 carries. His effective running allowed the Patriots to get them into a rhythm and got the Pats off to a fiery start. Josh Gordon looked good in the offense, but Rob Gronkowski went down with an injury so we'll see if he's okay. It's too bad the Patriots dynasty ended last week or else I'd declare they're fine now.
6. Bengals. Just when you think they're going to be bad again, they go on the road and pull off a big upset! AJ Green's game winner was one to remember and Andy Dalton threaded two defenders perfectly to get him the ball in the Endzone. However, they lost Tyler Eifert which will impact their offense negatively this season.
5. Eagles. The Eagles lost a tough game on the road against a great defense and a very well coached team. They don’t need to overreact and panic because of this loss, but now you need to start winning since Carson Wentz has two weeks under his belt.
4. Saints. Once The Saints converted the fake punt I had a feeling that the Saints were going to control this game. Fortunately, that’s exactly what they did. Alvin Kamara is so versatile offensively and he takes so much pressure of Drew Brees. If Kamara continues to improve like this from game to game, he can singlehandedly extend Brees's career so that he can play even longer than Tom Brady can.
3. Jaguars. The defense had another great performance and again this time the offense didn’t waste this performance and Bortles threw two touchdowns and an unnecessary two-point conversion attempt at the end, as the Jags easily took care of the Jets. They're looking like the best team in the AFC so far this year (although the Titans are a close second).
2. Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes once again proved that he's legit and not just a 3 week anomaly. I don't think I have enjoyed watching a payer this unconventional and explosive since Steph Curry's 2016 MVP season when he was making 3 pointers from 25-30 feet out. Mahomes' accuracy outside the pocket is something we haven't seen since Michael Vick and he truly is an amazing QB to watch. Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt, and Travis Kelce coupled with Mahomes have made them the most fun offense to watch so far this season.
1. Rams. This team is the best team in the NFL so far this season. Goff has clearly taken a step forward from last year and the Rams' defensive line, led by Suh and Donald, is putting so much pressure on offensive lines that the Rams' corners , despite their injuries, aren't getting pressured nearly as much as I expected them to. The Rams and the Chiefs are both great offensively, but what separates them is their defense. The Rams' defense is elite and the Chiefs' isn't.
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