By: Jonathan Goad
What did we learn in Week 4? Well, personally, I learned how bad my fantasy teams can be, but this article isn’t about that as much as I’d like to complain…
One undefeated team fell, but other than that, there wasn’t anything too shocking that happened in week four.
Let’s break it down.
Minnesota Vikings 31
Los Angeles Rams 38
Aren’t both of these defenses supposed to be good? Guess not. This game ended up being a shootout (which doomed my fantasy teams. Seriously, I played some combination of these WRs in every league I’m in). Both Goff and Cousins threw for over 400 yards. Goff threw for five touchdowns to Cousins three. Five wide receivers had at least 100 receiving yards. Gurley was fairly close to being the sixth. If you started anyone other than either defense or Dalvin Cook, you likely had a solid week of fantasy. The Vikings fell to 1-2-1, but I still think they’re among the better teams in the league. They’ll bounce back. Meanwhile, the Rams are 4-0. They look like early favorites in the Super Bowl Champion discussion.
New York Jets 12
Jacksonville Jaguars 31
Apparently, the Jets aren’t too happy about the Jags running up the score. There’s an easy fix to that. Stop them from scoring. Leonard Fournette hurt his hamstring…again. Blake Bortles had another nice afternoon. Just wait though. His meltdown is coming. He does have a nice defense that likes to bail him out, so he’s got that going for him, which is nice.
Miami Dolphins 7
New England Patriots 38
Did anyone really think that the Patriots would go 1-3 to start the year? Or maybe more outrageous would have been the Dolphins beating the Pats to go to 4-0? Obviously, this didn’t happen. Sony Michel (like Michelle but without the extra, unnecessary letters) had a breakout game with 25 carries for 112 yards and a score. In addition, Josh Gordon made his debut for the Pats (two receptions for 32 yards).
Philadelphia Eagles 23
Tennessee Titans 26
It’s safe to say the Super Bowl hangover continues. The Eagles can’t find the remedy. Alshon Jeffery made his season debut and performed well. The Titans continue to find ways to win. They’re now 3-1 and are tied with the Jaguars at the top of the AFC South standings.
Houston Texans 37
Indianapolis Colts 34
The other two teams in the AFC South are now both 1-3. This game turned out to be a shootout, though. Andrew Luck threw for 464 yards and four TDs, but it wasn’t enough in the end. Keke Coutee (probably the best name in the league) made his presence felt with eleven catches for 109 yards.
Buffalo Bills 0
Green Bay Packers 22
The Bills are still bad; it doesn’t matter who they play at QB. Rodgers did just enough to help his team, but credit the Packers’ defense for shutting out the Bills. No, don’t credit them. The Bills offense is terrible. Credit Clay Matthews for not hitting anyone too hard.
Detroit Lions 24
Dallas Cowboys 26
Zeke feasted against the Lions defense. 200+ yards and a score sure helped the Cowboys come away victorious, but not without a scare. It was a late field goal by Brett Maher that ended up being the difference.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10
Chicago Bears 48
Fitzmagic is dead. Jameis Winston came on in relief but wasn’t any better. Mitch Trubisky threw six TD passes. Five of those came in the first half, which is a new Bears record. That Khalil Mack guy is still good. He had another sack and forced another fumble. What were the Raiders thinking?
Cincinnati Bengals 37
Atlanta Falcons 36
In another shootout, the Bengals outlasted the Falcons on a TD from A.J. Green. This was another one of the fantasy dream games. Three Falcon WRs rewarded their owners (Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and Calvin Ridley) along with Matt Ryan. The Bengals were just as good with Gio Bernard having a two-touchdown game. The Bengals move to 3-1 while the Falcons fall to 1-3. What’s going on with Atlanta?
Seattle Seahawks 20
Arizona Cardinals 17
Guess who else is still bad. If you said the Arizona Cardinals, you are correct. Some guy named Mike Davis had 21 carries for 101 yards and two TDs for the Seahawks. Go ahead, add him off the waiver wire, and watch him sit the bench until you drop him in Week 7.
Cleveland Browns 42
Oakland Raiders 45
Cleveland took the Raiders to overtime, but couldn’t get their second win of the season. Baker Mayfield turned the ball over four times (2 INTs, 2 fumbles). Maybe hold off on crowning him Rookie of the Year and savior of the Browns. Amari Cooper and Jared Cook had their second good games of the season already. Color me surprised.
New Orleans Saints 33
New York Giants 18
If you would have told me that the Saints would score 33 points and Drew Brees wouldn’t throw a TD pass, I would have checked you into the psych ward. But it happened thanks to Alvin Kamara’s 134 rushing yards and three rushing TDs. Will Lutz also kicked four field goals. How much of a role will Mark Ingram have when he comes back next week?
San Francisco 49ers 27
Los Angeles Chargers 29
The Chargers defense could have showed how good they could be this season. C.J. Beathard had other things in mind. The Chargers did win, but credit the Niners for keeping it close.
Baltimore Ravens 26
Pittsburgh Steelers 14
This is one of the best rivalries in the NFL. It’s always a hard fought game. It was that way just about all the way to the end. The Steelers defense did a good job holding the Ravens to field goals in the second half, but their offense couldn’t help them out. The Ravens are 3-1 and look to have a solid team this season. The Steelers continue to miss Le’Veon Bell.
Kansas City Chiefs 27
Denver Broncos 23
The Chiefs went on the road to battle the Broncos. The Broncos made the Chiefs earn this victory. Denver had a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter and Demaryius Thomas could have sealed the victory, but Case Keenum somehow overthrew the wide open Thomas. The Chiefs continue to find ways to win; this time in a comeback effort.
Lessons learned from Week 4:
- The Rams are really good.
- Alvin Kamara might be the MVP so far. He’s third in receptions among ALL players. He’s tied for the lead in rushing TDs with 5, and he’s seventh in rushing yards. He’s also top 15 in receiving yards. Goodness!
- The Bucs couldn’t keep the Fitzmagic alive. Jameis Winston will start their next game.
- Khalil Mack is worth the money. (Is my point getting across? I’m not sure)
- The Dolphins fell first among the undefeated teams (we knew they would).
Categories: NFL
