Welcome to another installment of my weekly NFL Column. My goal is to watch everything so that you don’t have to. I will present to you the best games to watch back; the craziest moments; the best individual performances and the season-long stat leaders and records. I will also be previewing the upcoming gameweek, too.
If that sounds like something you’re interested in, check in each week.
Not everybody in the UK has the ability to watch almost 20 hours of live NFL every week, but I’ll make sure you don’t miss anything you’d wish you didn’t. Without further delay…
This is what happened This Week in the NFL.
Game of the Week
We’re going to change it up this week, because this week was wild.
This week we had not one but two games that went to overtime! So, instead of the usual single game recommendation, I am going to suggest two games this week…
Los Angeles Rams @ Indianapolis Colts
Washington Commanders @ Philadelphia Eagles
I won’t spoil the winners but I can tell you there’s drama, and plenty of it! Sit back and enjoy.
Other games to watch back
Cincinnati Bengals 3 – 27 Tennessee Titans
The Cincinnati Bengals are perennial contenders. But they’re not playing like it. Joe Burrow isn’t fully healthy, but at the end of the day, this team needs to be winning some football games. In Week 4, they only put up a pitiful 3 points and were hold to just 211 total offensive yards. The defense gave up a respectable 27 to the Tennessee Titans. Usually 27 would be fine, but right now they need more help than that. Plus, to add insult to injury, Tee Higgins got injured and is likely to miss time.
Undefeated Watch!
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers
Winless Watch! (AKA the race for Caleb)
Chicago Bears
Carolina Panthers
Winners and Losers
Winners
Detroit Lions (3-1)
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)
Buffalo Bills (3-1)
Denver Broncos (1-3)
Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
Tennessee Titans (2-2)
Los Angeles Rams (2-2)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)
Philadelphia Eagles (4-0)
Minnesota Vikings (1-3)
Houston Texans (2-2)
Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)
Dallas Cowboys (3-1)
San Francisco 49ers (4-0)
Kansas City Chiefs (3-1)
Seattle Seahawks (3-1)
Losers
Atlanta Falcons (2-2)
Green Bay Packers (2-2)
Miami Dolphins (3-1)
Chicago Bears (0-4)
Cleveland Browns (2-2)
Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)
Indianapolis Colts (2-2)
New Orleans Saints (2-2)
Washington Commanders (2-2)
Carolina Panthers (0-4)
Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2)
Las Vegas Raiders (1-3)
New England Patriots (1-3)
Arizona Cardinals (1-3)
New York Jets (1-3)
New York Giants (1-3)
Standout Individual Performers
Khalil Mack, DE, Los Angeles Chargers
8 solo tackles and 2 assists, plus an incredible 6.0 Sacks and 2 forced fumbles and one pass defended.
I don’t want to talk about it.
Okay, I guess I have to. Khalil Mack had done very little this season so far, with no sacks and just 9 combined tackles through the first three weeks. The ex-Raider is definitely past his best, but this was still a disappointing start for the veteran edge rusher. Turns out, all it took was to play against his old team. In a somewhat shaky Chargers victory, he absolutely decimated his old team. He made 10 total tackles, including an absolutely incredible 6.0 sacks.
You read that correctly, SIX. Khalil Mack is just the fifth player to record six sacks in a game since they began officially recording the stat. The absolute dominance was also punctuated with two forced fumbles and a pass deflection for good measure. What a day.
Devon Witherspoon, CB, Seattle Seahawks
6 solo tackles and 1 assist for 2.0 Sacks, plus a 97-yard pick-six!
Now this is a performance, worthy of the fifth overall pick… Wow. The Seattle Seahawks know cornerbacks, you have to give them that. They drafted Devon Witherspoon with their first round pick, investing some serious draft capital – especially for a cornerback. But, in his third appearance, against the Giants, he proved that he was worth it.
On a primetime stage, he made 7 total tackles including two sacks from the corner/nickel position. Then, he punctuated his electric performance with an epic 97-yard pick-six to put the game to bed.
Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
20 carries for 106 rushing yards and 3 TD’s, plus 7 receptions on 8 targets for 71 receiving yards and 1 more TD.
Time to mix in an offensive player, for a change of pace. This week was exciting and there were plenty of twists and turns. There’s one thing you could have predicted in advance, though, Christian McCaffrey will be pretty good. Run CMC turned 20 rush attempts into 106 yards and 3 TD’s as the Niners hosted the Cardinals. He also added 7 receptions on 8 total targets for an additional 71 yards through the air and his fourth TD.
Harrison Smith, S, Minnesota Vikings
8 solo tackles and 6 assists for 3.0 Sacks and a forced fumble.
If we’re talking about defensive backs getting sacks, we need to show some love to Harrison Smith. Clearly he was fed up with being 0-3, because the Vikings veteran safety absolutely dominated this week. Smith secured 8 solo tackles and 6 assists, and he had a hat-trick of sacks. He doubled his previous career-best of 1.5 sacks, which he had only achieved once. As a cherry on top, he also forced a fumble for good measure.
Nicholas Morrow, LB, Philadelphia Eagles
10 solo tackles and 1 assist including 3.0 Sacks and a forced fumble.
What can I say? The defensive stars absolutely balled out this week! Eagles linebacker Nicholas Morrow was all over the field, making 10 solo tackles and an assist. He also got into the backfield and managed three sacks during the overtime victory as they hosted the Commanders. In such a close-fought game, his efforts were needed to hold on.
Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills
6 receptions on 7 targets for 120 receiving yards and 3 TD’s.
There are not many wide receivers in the NFL who can literally post any stat line possible and you’ll believe it. Stefon Diggs is one of them. This week he absolutely embarrassed a solid Miami defense. In a 48-20 victory, Diggs was everywhere. He saw 7 targets and caught 6 of them for a whopping 120 receiving yards and a hat-trick of TD’s. The ninth-year WR is one of the most consistent wideouts in the league, with three 100-yard games in the first four weeks.
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
84% completion rate, 320 passing yards and 4 TD’s, with a 158.3 QB Rating. Plus, 17 rushing yards and a TD.
Someone had to throw all those touchdowns to Diggs… And that someone was Josh Allen. He posted the elusive perfect 158.3 QB Rating for the first time of his career. He completed 21 of 25 pass attempts for 320 passing yards and 4 passing TD’s. On top of his ‘perfect’ game passing, he also rushed 4 times for 17 rushing yards and a touchdown of his own.
David Montgomery, RB, Detroit Lions
32 carries for 121 rushing yards and 3 TD’s, plus 20 receiving yards.
In a primetime Thursday night matchup, David Montgomery stole the show. The Lions halfback was questionable all week, but it turned out, he was poised for a workhorse game. A whopping 32 carries (tying his career-high) for Montgomery led to 121 rushing yards. He also found paydirt three times, collecting the first hat-trick of his career. While Jahmyr Gibbs fantasy owners were very upset, you have to respect Montgomery keep breaking runs all the way through four quarters.
A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
9 receptions on 13 targets for 175 receiving yards and 2 TD’s.
The Philadelphia Eagles struggled this week and it was a much less comfortable win than you would expect from this matchup with Washington. At least A.J. Brown was having a great time. He had 9 catches for an impressive 175 receiving yards. He also scored twice, although I have to say, he definitely shouldn’t have had that second touchdown. They should have taken a field goal, but instead they threw a TD. I think Nick Sirianni has Brown in his fantasy team.
Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans
7 receptions on 9 targets for 168 receiving yards and 2 TD’s.
The Houston Texans have had a start to the season worth being proud of. Rookie QB C.J. Stroud has continued his good form, and this week their defense showed up in a big way to keep Pittsburgh in check. On offense, the star of the show was wideout Nico Collins. The third-year wide receiver is starting to show the breakout he’s capable of. This week, he caught 7 of his 9 targets for 168 receiving yards and scored twice. This was both a career-high in yards tied a career-high in receptions and was his first multiple-TD game. Somehow I don’t think that this will be the last huge game we see in Collins’ career.
Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams
9 receptions on 10 targets for 163 receiving yards and a TD.
The man who is taking the NFL by storm in his rookie season, Puka Nacua, is still on his path of absolute distruction. He’s breaking records with every passing week. Matt Stafford’s favourite target (for now…) was targeted 10 times and caught nine of them, putting him on 39 for the season – a new record for a rookie through four games. He turned the 9 catches into a career-high 163 receiving yards and scored the game-winning, walk-off touchdown in OT. Not bad for his first ever NFL touchdown!
DaRon Bland, CB, Dallas Cowboys
3 solo tackles and 1 assist, plus two INT’s, including a 54-yard pick-six.
Back to defense for even more big plays! The Cowboys defense continued its impressive campaign this week, forcing three turnovers and scoring two defensive touchdowns. Two of the turnovers came in the form of interceptions from cornerback DaRon Bland. The second year took one of them to the house from 54 yards, ruining Mac Jones’ day. He also added 4 total tackles.
Darious Williams, CB, Jacksonville Jaguars
4 solo tackles and 1 assist, plus a 61-yard pick-six.
The Atlanta Falcons had a disappointing showing in London this week as they visited the fan-favourite Jacksonville Jaguars on their home turf at Wembley. Cornerback Darious Williams had one of the big plays of the game, when he took an interception 61 yards to the house. And it looked even better in Andy’s Room!
Josh Allen, DE, Jacksonville Jaguars
3 solo tackles for 3.0 Sacks, and a forced fumble.
The biggest performance in London, though, came from Josh Allen, the Jags star edge rusher. While he isn’t the one responsible for himself having a household name, he is starting to prove just how dominant he is. He put on a show at Wembley, making just three tackles, but all three of which were for sacks. This was just the second time in his career he’s had a hat-trick, with the first coming in Week 1 this year. Now, it’s time for his biggest challenge of the year so far, stopping his namesake in London.
Stat Leaders Through Week 4
Passing Yards – Tua Tagovailoa MIA, 1306
Passing TD’s – Kirk Cousins MIN, 11
Rushing Yards – Christian McCaffrey SF, 459
Rushing TD’s – Christian McCaffrey SF and Raheem Mostert MIA, 6
Receiving Yards – Justin Jefferson MIN, 543
Receiving TD’s – Stefon Diggs BUF and Tyreek Hill MIA, 4
Total TD’s – Christian McCaffrey SF and Raheem Mostert MIA, 7
Tackles (combined) – Zaire Franklin IND, 57
Sacks – Josh Allen JAX, Khalil Mack LAC and T.J. Watt PIT, 6.0
Interceptions – Jessie Bates III ATL, DaRon Bland DAL and Jordan Whitehead NYJ, 3
Week 5 Preview – What to watch
Teams on Bye
Cleveland Browns (2-2)
Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)
Seattle Seahawks (3-1)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)
Week 5 Best Games
Dallas Cowboys @ San Francisco 49ers
Philadelphia Eagles @ Los Angeles Rams
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Buffalo Bills
Tyler’s Bold Week 5 Prediction
Josh Allen is going to sack Josh Allen twice.
Week 5 Storylines
Josh Allen vs Josh Allen in the first ever back-to-back London game. Jaguars @ Bills, Sunday 2:30pm
After his first solid game of the year, can Justin Fields do enough to break 0-4? Bears @ Commanders, TNF
Will C.J. Stroud’s great start continue in Atlanta? Texans @ Falcons, 6pm
A pair of divisional rivals fighting to make it to 3-2. Titans @ Colts, 6pm
High-flying offense vs stout defense, two huge divisional rivals. Ravens @ Steelers, 6pm
What will Puka Nacua do if Cooper Kupp returns – especially against a great defense? Eagles @ Rams, 9:05pm
Cincinnati need to win badly to give themselves a chance to build some momentum. Bengals @ Cardinals, 9:05pm
Is Taylor Swift willing to venture out on a cold evening in Minnesota? Chiefs @ Vikings, 9:25pm
One of the most iconic rivalries in sports… On Primetime. Cowboys @ Niners, SNF
