Either the season started to settle into normalcy or I finally settled into the season in Week 4 because things went mostly how I expected, starting with a solid trifecta hitting the pick, the spread, and the over/under on Thursday Night Football.
I finished the week at 12-4 and I was very close to going 14-2 but I didn’t see the last-minute injury news for Cleveland in time and I talked myself into the Giants on Monday night as a sleeper. I’ll take it though because I got off to a good start but finished dead even ATS and against the over/under. Christen also went 12-4 this week to prevent me from gaining any ground on her, and she won the tie-break in our league to win the week overall. Ridley went 7-9 so the random control isn’t above .500 currently.
| Nick W | Nick L | Nick T | ATS W | ATS L | ATS P | O/U W | O/U L | O/U P | Christen W | Christen L | Christen T | Rids W | Rids L | Rids T | ||||
| 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | ||||
| 27 | 21 | 0 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 1 | 28 | 20 | 0 | 15 | 17 | 0 | ||||
| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | ||||
| 39 | 25 | 0 | 35 | 26 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 1 | 40 | 24 | 0 | 22 | 26 | 0 |
Week 4 came to a close in disappointing fashion for everyone except the Seahawks, their fans, and the Giants’ NFC East rivals as Seattle continued their dominance at the meadowlands with a 24-3 win over the G-Men on Monday Night Football. The New York defense gave them a chance as they were able to contain the Hawks’ offense for much of the first half, but it was the underappreciated Seattle defense that really made the splash plays.
Sure, the Devon Witherspoon pick-six off Daniel Jones was the nail in the coffin after Seattle had missed a 3rd-quarter field goal to leave the door open but the Hawks also sacked Danny Dimes 10 times. Yes, 10. That is not a typo and forced two fumbles and an additional interception. I know the Giants had some O-line issues heading in, so it’s tough to say how much was their failure vs. Seattle’s success, but if the Seahawks can get that kind of defensive production they are going to be tough.
I didn’t get to see much of the Chiefs /Jets game but I am also not shocked to hear that a penalty came at an opportune time for KC. I didn’t see the play in question, but the bigger story here was the Jets scrapping and fighting their way back from down 17-0 to make it a game. Not only did the New York defense hold the Chiefs to just six points beyond the 1st quarter, but they also tied it late in the game on the strength of Zach Wilson. I had to do a double-take myself because the Chiefs’ defense was being floated by some “experts” as maybe the best in the league before this game and the Jets’ offense had only mustered 36 points total in the three previous games.
The Chiefs went on to win, 23-20, like they were supposed to, but it was probably too close for comfort. Even more unfortunately, the game was close enough for Aaron Rodgers to show up on the Pat McAfee show running his mouth, singling out “Mr. Pfizer” Travis Kelce like Johnson & Johnson doesn’t own the Jets, and acting like he had anything to do with the Jets’ performance. Really cringey, bitter, pure-hater stuff to be perfectly honest. Even if it is just a joke, it’s not a particularly funny or well-informed one. The fact that so many people think he’s legitimately hilarious for that is scary. I hope he injects ayahuasca into his Achilles or whatever he needs to do so he can come back this season and actually have to put up or shut up.
It was a little dicey there for the 49ers as the Cardinals gave them a scare, but Kyle Shanahan’s squad remained unbeaten with a 35-16 win over Arizona. Christian McCaffrey had one of those annoying days for anyone playing against him in fantasy, scoring 4 TDs. I will say though, it’s refreshing to see the Cardinals playing hard and competing against good teams without Kingsbury and/or Kyler Murray involved. Read between the lines on that.
The Cowboys got back on track with a 38-3 smashing of the Patriots. It’ll be interesting to see how Dallas does when they have to play some teams at the top of the NFC because their defense feasts on inferior competition. However, they struggled with and lost to the Cards last week. This was a good get-right spot for Dallas, but I am not sure how good they actually are.
Justin Herbert led the Chargers to their second-straight win and improved to 2-2 on the year with a win over the Raiders, but the Bolts didn’t score in the second half and it almost got away from them. The thing with the Chargers is that the talent is so apparent, it’s frustrating to see them underachieve constantly. I still don’t trust Brandon Staley and even with all the additions on the defense haven’t made them much better on that side of the ball, if at all. It’s a long season and maybe they get right at some point, but Herbert just broke a finger on his non-throwing hand too. So, keep an eye on how much we are going to see him under center.
It wasn’t the biggest surprise of the week, but Houston has to be the surprise of the season so far. After a 0-2 start, they put up back-to-back stompings. This time they embarrassed the Steelers 30-6. C.J. Stroud looks like the real deal and they are going to be a fun story to watch develop over the rest of the year.
The Vikings picked up their first win of the season over the winless Panthers, 21-13, but it was not a convincing one. Outside of Justin Jefferson and Alexander Mattison, the Minnesota offense looked really stale against a defense that had given up 37 points the week prior. A win is a win, but Minnesota better find something quickly.
Philadelphia got more than they bargained for against Washington but ultimately walked away with the 34-31 win in overtime. Sure, the Eags put one in the win column but that was more like a win for the Commanders. They had beaten Philly last season and this was a litmus test game. It’ll always be tough to beat the Eagles, but this tells me Washington can make some waves. It sure makes the Bills’ win over them look better.
If the Texans are the best surprise 1A, then the 3-1 Buccaneers are 1B. Tampa went into New Orleans and did something they struggled to do, even with Tom Brady at the helm, and beat the Saints easily, 26-9. Baker Mayfield just fits well with what this team does and the defense is still pretty stout. Even with Alvin Kamara back, the Saints could only muster 9 points. I know Derek Carr is in pain with the shoulder injury, but if this is what they are going to look like while he recovers, they may want to go with Taysom Hill of Jameis Winston.
The Colts have been a bit of a surprise as well, but their 23-point rally wasn’t enough to complete the comeback against the Rams. The fact that LA blew a 23-0 lead in the 4th quarter is very concerning though, but managed to hang onto the win in overtime. I will be curious to see what the Colts look like if Jonathan Taylor does come back and is at 100%.
If the Texans and Bucs are pleasant surprises, what are the Bengals? Well, they are 1-3 and they have gotta be thinking about pushing the panic button. I know getting to the AFC title game in back-to-back seasons is tough and tiring, but they look like a shell of themselves. Even their win over the Rams was barely that. It would be one thing to lose to the top of the food chain, but the Titans have been pretty mid so far and they dominated Cincy, 27-3. If this Titans team finds its rhythm, they are going to be a pain. The AFC South could be pretty interesting with everyone deadlocked at 2-2.
DeShaun Watson was a last-minute scratch and the Browns got properly whipped by the Ravens, 28-3. Baltimore was really banged up heading into that game too, but the defense really made short work of Cleveland’s rookie backup QB. The AFC North is in the Ravens’ hands now.
The Bears and the Broncos duked it out in the cellar and it looked like the Bears were going to leave victorious, but they blew a 28-7 lead to lose 31-28. That’s embarrassing. At least DJ Moore had himself a game.
In my Game of the Week, the Bills regained the AFC East lead and likely the top spot in the AFC when they whooped the Dolphins’ asses 48-20. Miami is a good, fun team to watch and it was neck and neck through the 1st quarter. However, as I had hoped, the gap between the defenses showed up as the Bills only allowed 6 points after the first quarter. What we also saw was the gap between the offenses. Josh Allen was great and Buffalo’s offensive balance has made them scary. As I wrote about the Bills regularly last season, it was easy to see a direct correlation between the playcalling and the results, so it’s no surprise to see the Bills lost the only game where they called 50 passes this season. But it seems like Dorsey learned the lesson early this season.
Before the slate of morning games, the Jaguars beat the Falcons 23-7 across the pond. It was almost a must-win for Jacksonville and they got it done, but I wasn’t getting up early to watch that. I don’t have that luxury this week as the Bills travel to London to play the Jags.
And of course, the Lions smacked up the Packers 34-20 in Lambeau to get the week started on Thursday Night Football.
The 49ers hold the top spot, the Eagles cling to second, the Bills and Chiefs are climbing, and the Bears have and Panthers get locked in the cellar.
| 1. 49ers 4-0 (=) |
| 2. Eagles 4-0 (=) |
| 3. Bills 3-1 (+1) |
| 4. Chiefs 3-1 (+1) |
| 5. Cowboys 3-1 (+1) |
| 6. Dolphins 3-1 (-3) |
| 7. Lions 3-1 (=) |
| 8. Seahawks 3-1 (=) |
| 9. Ravens 3-1 (+3) |
| 10. Buccaneers 3-1 (+3) |
| 11. Commanders 2-2 (+3) |
| 12. Chargers 2-2 (+7) |
| 13. Steelers 2-2 (-4) |
| 14. Browns 2-2 (-4) |
| 15. Packers 2-2 (-4) |
| 16. Saints 2-2 (-1) |
| 17. Falcons 2-2 (-1) |
| 18. Texans 2-2 (+9) |
| 19. Colts 2-2 (-2) |
| 20. Jaguars 2-2 (+2) |
| 21. Rams 2-2 (=) |
| 22. Titans 2-2 (-+4) |
| 23. Vikings 1-3 (+6) |
| 24. Bengals 1-3 (-6) |
| 25. Giants 1-3 (-5) |
| 26. Raiders 1-3 (-3) |
| 27. Cardinals 1-3 (-3) |
| 28. Jets 1-3 (–3) |
| 29. Patriots 1-3 (-1) |
| 30. Broncos 1-3 (+2) |
| 31. Panthers 0-4 (-1) |
| 32. Bears 0-4 (=) |
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