Week four is (mostly) in the books, but I am here to discuss the undercard of each week, that being the 1 pm and 4 pm ET games. The main card is tonight and tomorrow night. The day featured games like the Chicago Bears defeating the LA Rams, the Las Vegas Raiders holding on to beat the Cleveland Browns (more on that game later), and the New England Patriots getting crushed by the San Francisco 49ers. Here are the takeaways from Week Four of the season:
Good: The Raiders showed they have a pulse when they narrowly escaped with a win vs. the Browns. Last week they flatlines but Coach’s criticism acted as a defibrillator and it must have succeeded because, even without their best offensive player and defensive player, among other key pieces, they took care of business. Honorable Mentions: the Commanders QB situation, Denver defense.
Bad: The New Orleans Saints losing to the Atlanta Falcons. The QB for the Saints seems to have come back to Earth a bit. Other Noteworthy Mentions: Green Bay Packers losing badly to the Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars still winless through week four.
Downright Ugly: Kickers not making critical kicks. In New York the Jets kicker missed a 48-yard field goal that would’ve won the game for the Jets. He’s not been good this year, so a number of people are calling for a change at Kicker for the Jets. In Cleveland no one is calling for a change, but in Vegas the Browns kicker missed an extra point that would’ve made it a three point game. That turned out to be huge because the Browns drove into the Raiders Red zone and instead of being able to try a game-tying field goal, they had to go for a touchdown and they were stopped on fourth down, giving the Raiders a four point win. Dishonorable Mention: The Steelers losing to a team that lost their starting QB midway through the game.