It's a long season and anything can happen, but Week 4 felt a bit like Separation Sunday for some of the better teams in the league. Teams still desperate to keep their season alive and teams that have been up and down thus far played in some nail biters. I saw bad officiating, historic performances, and some interesting situations that were head scratchers for me, though.
Bad coaching decisions
In a battle between the two biggest dumpster fires so far this season, the Bears looked like it would roll to its first win against the Broncos. Credit to Denver for fighting back from a 28-7 deficit late in the third quarter and an injury to their stud running back Javonte Williams.
But the Bears had a chance to kick a field goal late in the game on a 4th-and-1. Instead, Chicago coach Matt Eberflus elected to run the ball up the gut, which was promptly turned away. First of all, kick the field goal. I'm sure analytics suggested they would win the game if they convert, so that's hard to pass up, but the high risk of losing the game if you don't convert always should be enough to kick it and hope the defense holds. It was highly unlikely Denver scores a touchdown, so the risk of losing is much lower. Second of all, how do you not give Justin Fields a chance to keep the ball on that play? Oh right, because he has turned the ball over so many times in crucial situations. Still, Fields finally found some momentum, and for a QB badly in need of a win, let the relatively easy play for him fall on his shoulders.
Eagles' coach Nick Sirianni made a very questionable coaching decision as well, but luckily for him, it didn't backfire as Philadelphia got incredibly lucky with the way their game against Washington played out.
The Eagles had a third-and-short situation late in a 24-24 tie game. Instead of running the ball for a first down to set up a likely game-winning field goal, Sirianni elected to let Jalen Hurts take a deep shot to A.J. Brown, who ran a double move (no I'm not only upset about it because I was facing both Hurt and Brown in multiple fantasy leagues). Yes, Brown beat the corner for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 31-24 lead, but it also left 1:42 on the game clock for the Commanders to respond. And they did; a long drive ended in a game-tying touchdown pass as regulation expired. The Commanders should have gone for two and the win because the Eagles defense was out of sorts that entire drive.
Poor camera angles
What's luckier for Philadelphia is a brilliant catch in overtime by Terry McLaurin was ruled incomplete. To me, the replay suggested he got the toe tap down before the rest of the second foot went out of bounds. But what's frustrating is the cameras couldn't show definitively one way or the other. Had the referee initially ruled it a catch like he nearly did, there's no way they would've overturned it to an incompletion. The play virtually would've put the Commanders in field goal range with a first down. Who knows what happens if that call flipped.
In the Bills-Dolphins game, Miami went for a fourth-down conversion and nearly got it. Coach Mike McDaniel challenged the spot, as he should have. The receiver clearly got the ball past the first-down marker, but the question was whether he crossed the sideline first. Here's my problem: if the first-down marker does not extend forever the way the goal line/pylon does, then why doesn't the NFL have multiple overhead cameras to see where the ball crosses the sideline? I mean, spotting punts that get kicked out of bounds is total guesswork. And why does it seem like referees are bad at piecing together multiple camera angles? It was clearly a first down. Not to say it would've affected the outcome though, because....
Buffalo 48, Miami 20
Well, Buffalo just reset reality a bit, huh? I told you that scoring 70 points in a game said more about Denver than it did Miami. The Dolphins' offense is still a juggernaut, but the Bills reminded everyone that they are still the team to beat in the AFC East. Tua faced the most pressure he's seen so far this season (sacked four times), and Tyreek Hill's damage was held to a minimum (3 rec., 58 yds.). The Dolphins' defense had no answers for Stephon Diggs; he even scored a long TD after drawing an interference call.
San Francisco 35, Arizona 16
The Niners ended their 30-point score streak in a good way by scoring more. Other than an annoying 99-yard drive the Cardinals put together to get within one score in the third quarter, San Francisco was in control from beginning to end.
If ever there was a season that a quarterback would not get an MVP, it would be this season. Christian McCaffrey has unlocked the Niners' offense since joining the team midway through last season, and he set multiple franchise records Sunday, which says A LOT considering the rich history of offensive weapons who have donned the red and gold. McCaffrey scored the most TDs in a single game (4), and he broke a tie with Jerry Rice by scoring a TD in his 14th straight game.
Brock Purdy also set a franchise record for completion percentage in a game (95.2 on 21-of-22 passes). That's saying just as much considering the legacy of great QBs (including the real G.O.A.T.) who have won Super Bowls for the franchise.
San Francisco's biggest test of the year by far will come at home next Sunday night against the Cowboys. Speaking of...
Dallas 38, New England 3
Why isn't Mac Jones getting raked over the coals more in the media? He was atrocious against the Cowboys. And not just because Dallas' defense is good. He made some of the dumbest throws I've seen by anyone all season. He single-handedly gave Dallas two defensive touchdowns. He had zero awareness to get rid of the ball or take off running on one play, and he threw all the way across the field on another pass that led to incredibly easy interception (he got away with throwing a similar across-the-field throw earlier on the drive). Jones was inaccurate when he had to throw on the run or out of the pocket. He's just not a great quarterback.
The loss was Bill Belichick's worst loss of his career. Glad to see he didn't depend too much on Tom Brady, though.
Los Angeles Chargers 24, Oakland 17
For the second week in a row, the Chargers found a way to win a close game that they've lost so many times in the past. The Raiders, who were without Jimmy Garoppolo, had a chance to tie the game in the final minutes, but Asante Samuel Jr. made the play of the game by jumping an out route for a game-clinching interception.
Detroit 34, Green Bay 20
The Lions are for real. They dominated the Packers on their home turn; the game wasn't nearly as close as the score would indicate. Jordan Love took a step back in this one. Hopefully Christian Watson gets back to form for them next week. He had a touchdown, but not much else. Jahmyr Gibbs gets the attention on Twitter, but David Montgomery is the key to their running game, and he took it to Green Bay with his 121 yards and three touchdowns.
Players facing former teams
I always love when a player sticks it to a team for which they previously played. Jacksonville's Calvin Ridley scored a touchdown against Atlanta, where he was a key cog for a few years. New England's Ezekiel Elliott didn't fare so well against the Cowboys, where he spent his first seven years as a pro with former teammate Dak Prescott. Oh, and Khalil Mack romped the Raiders for six sacks, one off the single-game record.
New frontrunner for ROY
I was convinced that Bijan Robinson was the runaway choice for Rookie of the Year, but man, Sean McVay is sure trying to replace Cooper Kupp with Pacu Nacua as much as possible. He has 39 receptions for a whopping 501 yards (the yardage total is second only to the great Justin Jefferson). The biggest hurdle he faces may be the return of his all-pro MVP teammate in Kupp.
Fantastic Fantasy
-I have Christian McCaffrey in every one of my fantasy leagues, so that was nice. Nico Collins came through for me today, too (Don't sleep on the Texans; all four AFC South teams are 2-2). I had Lamar Jackson and Mark Andrews on my team-league bench, so that was rough.