NFL Week 4 Winners & Losers

By Lee Wakefield & Peter Mann

 

The NFL is in full swing! It’s October, we have games in London and we are into our rhythm of taking in all the games that the league has to throw at us. This means there are winners and losers to be written about, and we’re building up some tendencies now.

Winners - Lee Wakefield

Sean McDermott, Josh Allen and the Bills

The game of the week was at Highmark Stadium where the Bills hosted the Dolphins in a titanic AFC East clash.

It began with Chiefs vs. Rams vibes but once the Bills’ defense began to take away the middle of the field against Miami, Buffalo was able to exert their dominance.

Josh Allen was at his destructive best, posting a number of incredible throws on film which led him to an impressive stat line by the end of the game, with five total touchdowns.

Sean McDermott will be pleased now his team dealt with a fellow Super Bowl-level opponent. And to me, it felt like the Bills were sending a message here. They just kept pouring on the points in order to show Miami who is boss.

Puka Nacua

Could Nacua have asked for a better start to his life in the NFL?

Through four games, the fifth-round rookie out of BYU has 501 yards off 39 catches. In three of those games Nacua has over 100 yards, but what was missing was his first professional touchdown, which came against the Colts this past Sunday.

Sean McVay seems to have taken Nacua under his wing, and is treating him as his own personal project… Again, what more could a young receiver wish for?

When Cooper Kupp went down prior to the season, it could have been forgiven for Rams fans to despair. Little did they know that Nacua would have such an impact and soften the blow.

Earlier this season, I talked up Sean McVay and how he’s showing his genius with less talent on the roster. I’m sure it’ll be an offensive feast when he has both Kupp and Nacua to play with.

Khalil Mack

A performance of legendary proportions was delivered by one of the best edge players of his generation, according to Chargers’ Head Coach, Brandon Staley.

Staley was beaming as he told reporters that Mack was still that guy.

Mack took over the game on Sunday; his 6 sacks came from 10 pressures. An impressive conversation rate, as he caused havoc against his former team.

It had been almost six years since Adrian Clayborn’s six-sack performance for the Falcons, and prior to that, it’d been ten further years since the previous recording of a six-sack game from a player.

A remarkable game from a future Hall of Fame player.

I wonder how much Derrick Thomas was sweating if he was watching as Mack piled up the sacks?

Losers - Peter Mann

This Week Something a Little Different...

I’m not giving three losers but simply pointing out that this week three was not such a magic number – let me explain.

The Browns (3-28 to the Ravens), Bengals (3-27 to the Titans), and the Patriots (3-38 to the Cowboys) registered low scores this past weekend, with five AFC and two NFC franchises have already lost three times (in the opening throes of the season). 

The New England Patriots, Bill Belichick’s non-Tom Brady-led franchise, have already lost three times this season, this time going down 38-3 against the Dallas Cowboys, at the AT&T Stadium – the Patriots even failed to score in three of the four quarters having notched their three points in the first (10-3; 18-0; 3-0; 7-0).

Image Credit: Sports Illustrated

Just for added measure on the threes-up, the Cowboys knocked a 3-0 third quarter (don’t worry though, we’re on week four, we think); oh, and to keep the October spooks going, the Patriots’ three tied the game at 3-3 with a Chad Ryland field goal. 

The Cleveland Browns are 2-2 after going down 28-3 against the Baltimore Ravens, and again, as with the Patriots, suffered three shut-outs in consecutive quarters, having notched three points in the first at the FirstEnergy Stadium. 

Dustin Hopkins kicked a 53-yard field goal to bring the early score to 3-7 with Lamar Jackson and Mark Andrews on fire for the Ravens who moved to, 3-1; it’s actually the third time in four games the number three has been involved with the Browns.

Week One saw them beat the Bengals 24-3, Week Three was a 37-3 win over the Tennessee Titans, and this, Week Four, was a 28-3 loss for Kevin Stefanski’s franchise, to the Baltimore Ravens the fact they’ve got the San Francisco 49ers next however, really doesn’t bode well. 

As for Zac Taylor’s Cincinnati Bengals, their “unacceptable” 27-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans rankled as they slumped to 1-3 as well this season, having lost to the aforementioned Browns, 24-3, in Week One.

Against the Titans, at the Nissan Stadium, the game was tied at 3-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Bengals having led with a 21-yard kick from Evan McPherson with Nick Folk leveling with a 53-yarder of his own, before the Bengals went the next three quarters in succession without registering, including a 21-point blitz against them in the second quarter.

That second half though, was like pulling teeth – the Titans led 24-3 at the half, and only added three more in the third quarter for a 27-3 success, that being another, Nick Folk field goal. 

As for those franchises having lost three games already this season, and slipping drastically out of the playoff race, are, in the AFC – New England Patriots and New York Jets (1-3, AFC East), Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos (1-3, AFC West), and Cincinnati Bengals (1-3, AFC North); while in the NFC it’s the Arizona Cardinals (1-3, NFC West), and the Minnesota Vikings (1-3, NFC North). 

So you see, three is not always, necessarily, the magic number…

Feature Image Credit: Yahoo Sport

Lee Wakefield

NFL, CFB & NFL Draft

Lee Wakefield IS A defensive line enthusiast, Chargers Sufferer, and LONG-TIME writer and podcaster with a number of publications. Find his Chargers content over at Bolt Beat. @Wakefield90 on twitter

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