The Arizona Cardinals take the top spot in our 2021 NFL Power Rankings after knocking off the Rams and the Dallas Cowboys move up after beating Carolina
There were some exciting games once again this weekend and even a few losses by teams that entered Week 4 undefeated.
One of those losses was the Carolina Panthers being taken down a peg by the Dallas Cowboys and their suddenly hot defense. There was also the Los Angeles Rams who were defeated by the Arizona Cardinals.
With Arizona staying undefeated, they leapfrogged the Rams to the No. 1 spot in our weekly 2021 NFL Power Rankings— and Dallas climbed as well after their big win.
With all that being said, let’s dive in and see how all 32 teams stack up against one another as Week 5 quickly approaches.
New 2021 NFL Power Rankings after Week 4
It looked as though the Jacksonville Jaguars were finally turning things around. They were featured on Thursday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals and had a 14-0 lead headed into the half thanks to a six-yard touchdown run by James Robinson and a seven-yard touchdown run from quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But the second half was a different story.
Jacksonville gave up two touchdowns in the third quarter which made it a tie game. Robinson added another touchdown from four yards out to go back on top 21-14 but Joe Burrow found C.J. Uzomah from 31 yards out to tie the game midway through the fourth.
There was still a chance the Jags could pull it off but a 10-play drive that covered 73 yards ended with a 35-yard field goal from Evan McPherson and the Bengals won 24-21.
After the game, head coach Urban Meyer continued to face criticism, including taking some heat for an ugly fourth-and-goal play that went awry. He’s also still getting heat for taking four weeks to realize that Robinson is the best player on the team and should be featured in the offense.
Plenty of NFL fans and pundits questioned the selection of Meyer as the head coach in Jacksonville and after an 0-4 start, it’s becoming harder to find any reason to think those doubters were wrong.
Things just haven’t gone right for the Detroit Lions yet. They’re now 0-4 on the year after a 24-14 loss to the Chicago Bears, which felt like a game they had a shot in.
unfortunately, they became their own worst enemy as Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press said the Lions, namely head coach Dan Campbell, got too aggressive for their own good. Monarrez said you knew Campbell would be aggressive when he kicked his career off by talking about biting kneecaps but said there needs to be a point where you’re conservative on offense.
"“I get that. And I like Campbell’s aggressiveness. To a point. But Sunday in Chicago was not the time for the Lions to be aggressive on offense. The Bears entered with the NFL’s worst offense, averaging 191.7 yards per game. They had the second-worst scoring offense at 13.3 points per game. They were starting a rookie quarterback in Justin Fields who had been sacked nine times last week.” — Monarrez, Detroit Free Press"
Detroit is still looking for their first win under Campbell and early on, they showed a lot of heart and made it close against the 49ers and hung with the Packers for a half and the Ravens until Justin Tucker drilled a 66-yarder to dash their hopes.
This game felt like one they could have won when it kicked off but it wasn’t meant to be.
Things were really bad for the Houston Texans in Week 4. Like really, really bad.
They were on the wrong end of a 40-0 beat down where they simply never had a chance against the Buffalo Bills. They had no answers for Josh Allen who threw for 248 yards with two touchdowns — and added 41 yards on the ground.
Buffalo also ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns as Devin Singletary went for 79 yards and Zack Moss had 61. But as bad as they were on defense, their offense was an even bigger liability for the Texans.
Rookie quarterback Davis Mills completed just 11-of-21 passes for 87 yards with no touchdowns and an ugly four interceptions. When throwing in the three sacks he took, Houston ended up with just 61 yards passing — which was hardly any better than the 48 yards they had on the ground.
If there was any solace, it would be that Mark Ingram and Duke Johnson had decent averages on their rushes as they had six rushes for 24 yards (Ingram) and five for 21 (Johnson) respectively. They just couldn’t stick with the run since they were losing so badly.
Houston has made news for all the wrong reasons this year and after four weeks, they are one of the worst teams in the league and they’re trending in the wrong direction.
In what was arguably the biggest shock of the weekend, the New York Jets secured their first win of the season — and their first under rookie head coach Robert Saleh — in an overtime contest against the Tennessee Titans. Saleh had said earlier in the week that things would start to click for Zach Wilson and when they did, we would all see why he was taken second overall.
This Sunday, he might not have lit the world on fire, but he did show signs of what Saleh was talking about. Wilson was 21-of-34 with 297 yards and two touchdowns against one pick. His first touchdown was a three-yarder to Jamison Crowder in the fourth quarter to tie things up at 17.
His second was the one that put them on top 24-17 when he hit Corey Davis from 53-yards out. Tennessee ended up scoring with 16 seconds left to send it to overtime but Wilson and the Jets continued to fight. They scored on their first overtime possession, going 71 yards on 13 plays before Matt Ammendola came in and nailed a 22-yard field goal.
Their defense then held the Titans out of the end zone and lucked out as Randy Bullock missed a 49-yard field goal which gave Gang Green the win.
It was the first time ever that both the New York Giants and New York Jets won overtime games on the same day. The Jets won over an AFC South opponent as they knocked off the Tennessee Titans which was a surprise — and their first win of the season. Coincidentally, the Giants also won a surprise game which was their first of the season, as they took on the New Orleans Saints from the NFC South.
For the Giants, they had some big performances to really build upon. Daniel Jones, who had been an issue for much of the early part of the season had a huge performance with 402 yards passing with two touchdowns. He hit Kenny Golladay six times for 116 yards but also had a breakout by rookie Kadarius Toney as well as John Ross.
Toney had his best game as a pro, pulling in six catches for 78 yards and Ross had 77 yards and a touchdown. Running back Saquon Barkley added 52 yards on the ground and 74 as a receiver while scoring two total touchdowns — he also had the game-winner in overtime.
New York is now 1-3, meaning they need a lot to go their way in order to get into the playoff picture but this weekend was a step in the right direction.
After being blown out in both Week 1 and Week 2, the Atlanta Falcons scored their first win of the season last week over the New York Giants. Head coach Arthur Smith was able to secure his first victory and was looking for more as they faced the Washington Football Team in Week 4.
Atlanta was also facing an NFC East team for the third time in four games as they lost to the Eagles in Week 1 and had their Giants game in Week 3. For a while, it appeared they were going to be able to move to 2-1 against that division as they took an early 10-0 lead and then had a 17-13 lead at the half.
Washington kept fighting back but the Falcons still scored early in the fourth quarter to again go on top, this time with a score of 30-22. However, the Football Team scored to pull within two and the Falcons answered with a three-and-out which allowed Taylor Heinicke to hit J.D. McKissic for a 30-yard touchdown that proved to be a game-winner.
Some positives from the game included Cordarrelle Patterson having a career day with 116 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. Matt Ryan also had a big day with four touchdown passes. As good as that was for them to see, the defense continues to be a major issue as they have now given up 128 points in four games.
For just a minute, the Philadelphia Eagles were teasing us all. They were sticking with the Kansas City Chiefs as they were up 10-7 after the first quarter. Then they hit a field goal late in the second quarter to make it a 14-13 game, pulling within one point.
Unfortunately, the Chiefs started to pull away after that and ended up with a 42-30 win. The Eagles still did well to put up 30 points on the defending AFC Champions and Jalen Hurts put up a solid performance as well.
The second-year quarterback had 387 yards passing and two touchdowns while completing 32-of-48 passes. He also ran for 47 yards which led the team. Even with that being said, there were far too many issues that raised their head for the second week in a row.
Not only did the Eagles surrender 41 in Week 3 to Dallas and 42 this week to Kansas City but they also had some ugly inconsistencies in their play calling. Against Dallas, they only had three runs called with their running backs — nine of their 12 runs were by Hurts. It was better against the Chiefs but Hurts had eight attempts with their running backs getting 10 total.
They need to find some balance and while these were high-scoring games, they still have relied far too much on the pass early on.
Another week, another narrow loss for the Minnesota Vikings. After a three-point loss in Week 1 to Cincinnati and a one-point loss in Week 2 to Arizona, the Vikings had hoped they turned a corner last week. That’s when they took it to the Seattle Seahawks and won 30-17 in their home debut.
They were hoping to score another win at home against a talented team, this time hosting the Cleveland Browns. And Minnesota came out looking as though they were in for a big day. The Vikings went 75 yards on 14 plays to start the game and ate up 7:34 seconds of the first quarter.
From that point on, they were held scoreless by a hungry Browns defense.
Kirk Cousins, who entered the game with no interceptions, was 20-of-38 with 203 yards and a touchdown while also throwing a late pick to Greedy Williams. His final pass of the game was nearly picked as well, as he threw it to the end zone with no time on the clock and it hit the turf a half-yard before being picked off by John Johnson III.
He was also sacked twice while being hit several other times. Now at 1-3, the Vikings are in danger of letting the 2021 season get away from them — much in the same way they did in 2020 with a horrible start to the year.
In 2020, the Miami Dolphins were one of the surprise teams. They finished with a record of 10-6 and while they missed out on the playoffs (several teams finished 11-5), they were still very impressive and head coach Brian Flores earned some believers in the process. They then went out and added more help on offense by bringing in Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller to help Tua Tagovailoa as he entered his second season.
So far in 2021, things have not gone as expected. Miami just dropped their third game of the season to fall to 1-3. It was their second game in a row starting Jacoby Brissett in place of an injured Tagovailoa, although Brissett played the majority of their 35-0 loss to Buffalo in Week 2 as Tua was hurt after throwing just four passes (with one completion).
While they’re not winning, it’s hard to put blame on their backup quarterback. Brissett was fine on Sunday with 199 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-30 passing. He wasn’t exactly great but he’s not a liability either, they’re just simply getting beat.
Looking ahead, they have to hope Tua gets healthy but even when he does, they’re going to keep holding their breath every time he gets tackled because injuries continue to be an issue for the former Alabama star.
As weird as it may seem, this was the first time Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers played against one another since back in 2011 when the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl. Since then, Big Ben is undefeated against the Pack but he beat Matt Flynn and Brett Hundley as Rodgers missed each of those contests.
Now with Rodgers back, Roethlisberger lost to the Packers once again. Of course, the Steelers are doing an awful lot of that lately. In fact, ever since the infamous “losing, never heard of her” comment from Chase Claypool, that’s pretty much all Pittsburgh has done.
Losing? Never heard of her.
— Chase Claypool (@ChaseClaypool) November 1, 2020
After starting out 11-0 in 2020, they lost four of five regular-season games before being knocked out of the playoffs in Round 1 by the Cleveland Browns. They then won in Week 1 over the Bills but it’s now three straight losses since then.
That means since their insane start to the 2020 season, they’re now 2-8 and it doesn’t look as if they’re going to be turning things around anytime soon. Their offensive line remains an issue and Roethlisberger hasn’t been as effective as he once was.
Their defense is still solid and could help them win some games but they no longer feel like a threat.
It was an ugly, rainy night under the bright lights in Gillette Stadium and while Mac Jones may not have scored the win for the New England Patriots, he again proved he deserves to be respected. The Pats rookie quarterback played in his most pressure-packed game as a pro, as he had to face off against Tom Brady and the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jones proved again the moment wasn’t too big as he had 275 yards passing and even set his team up for a potential game-winner after the Bucs took a late lead. Jones and the Pats moved the ball to the Tampa Bay 37 but Nick Folk hit the upright as the kick to take the lead with less than a minute to go was unsuccessful.
Overall, Jones was 31-of-40 and had a stretch of 19-straight completions. He also kept his team in the game even though there was literally no running game. New England finished with negative-one-yard on eight rushing attempts.
New England had a ton of success with Brady and while they did lose to him and the Bucs, they look to be in good hands. Jones has played better than any of the other rookies and despite their 1-3 record, they could be back in the mix sooner than expected.
On Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts faced an opponent who they know well, Jacoby Brissett. The Miami Dolphins are still without Tua Tagovailoa which has opened the door for Brissett to start. A former third-round pick of the New England Patriots, Brissett was traded to the Colts in 2017 to replace an injured Andrew Luck.
He then spent 2018 as Luck’s backup before again taking the starting role in 2019 after Luck retired. The back and forth continued as he was on the bench behind Philip Rivers in 2020 before opting to sign with Miami this offseason.
With Tua out, Brissett was again under center but he struggled to move the ball down the field. He finished with 199 yards and two touchdowns but the Colts handed their former quarterback a loss by a score of 27-17.
For the Colts, it was their first win of the season and the first time they won with Carson Wentz under center. Wentz finished with 228 yards and two touchdowns of his own while running back Jonathan Taylor added 103 yards and a touchdown on 16 rushes. Defensively, they had a big day from Kemoko Turay who had two sacks.
Now at 1-3, the Colts are still in decent shape since the Titans lost to the Jets which dropped them to 2-2. The AFC South is still wide open.
The Chicago Bears hit a brick wall in Week 3 when the Cleveland Browns held them to just six points. They were on the wrong side of a lopsided game where they averaged 1.1 yards per play and had a total of 47 yards on the day. That led to some worries that they could be free-falling but they got themselves a confidence booster in Week 4 — a game against the Detroit Lions.
Detroit is one of the remaining teams without a win and while they lost to Baltimore the prior week due to a huge 66-yard kick as time expired, they weren’t able to slow down the Bears. Instead, they were run out of the stadium as Chicago had 188 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
David Montgomery had a huge day with 106 of those yards and two touchdowns. Through the air, Justin Fields was much better than the prior week, gaining 209 yards on 11-of-17 passing. Darnell Mooney led the way with 125 yards on five receptions and Allen Robinson pitched in 63 yards on three catches.
Chicago’s defense also got after Jared Goff all day with four sacks as Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, Roquan Smith, and Trevis Gipson all got in on the fun. Now at 2-2, the Bears are still treading water — which kind of summarizes their tenure under Matt Nagy.
Taylor Heinicke became a household name for the Washington Football Team when he took over for their playoff game last season. He played incredibly in that game despite the team suffering a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — who ended up winning it all.
This season, he again started out on the bench but after Ryan Fitzpatrick was injured, he’s taken back over. And it might be hard to sit him again, especially after his performance on Sunday.
Heinicke led Washington to a comeback win late, and it was quite the finish. After the Atlanta Falcons scored early in the fourth quarter to go up by eight, Heinicke led a 70-yard, 10-play drive which was capped off with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin. They missed the two-point conversion but got one last shot after the defense got them the ball back.
Again, they covered a lot of ground as they went 76-yards on seven plays and Heinicke hit J.D. McKissic for a 30-yard touchdown that gave them the 34-30 win. Washington moved to 2-2 and they’re still within striking distance of the Dallas Cowboys who led the NFC East with a mark of 3-1. They’re still alive and they can play better than they have so far, which should give them hope that they can get hot and stay in contention as the season goes along.
Players leave teams in free agency all the time. While that’s a fact of the NFL, it’s also true that it could come back to haunt a franchise when they let a good player walk.
For the Tennessee Titans, that happened on Sunday according to Geoffrey Knox of Titan Sized. As Knox pointed out, Tennessee moved on from Corey Davis, who wanted to stay in Nashville, and he was a huge reason the Jets upset them on Sunday. This led to Knox asking if moving on was a mistake.
"“No one’s saying Corey Davis is better than Julio Jones. That would be ridiculous. You have to ask a question though. Was releasing him a mistake? Davis finished with four receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown, but in all honesty, that stat line could have been even larger. Zach Wilson missed Davis on a few occasions including a third-down pass during the latter stages of the fourth quarter that, in essence, should have ended the game much earlier and a touchdown opportunity that was missed in overtime by Wilson, one in which Davis was running wide open in the end zone.” — Knox, Titan Sized"
One game doesn’t mean they were wrong in their decision but it’s also disheartening to see a young player who used to wear your uniform running all over the field on you the way Davis just did to Tennessee.
Now at 2-2, the Titans are still in first place in the AFC South, but that’s mainly just because the division is so bad.
“It was a homecoming for the New Orleans Saints who were in their home stadium for the first time since Aug. 29. Hurricane Ida was the reason they were displaced and they started this game on a high note. taking a commanding 21-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
Considering they were facing a team without a win in the New York Giants, they seemed to be on the way to a 3-1 start on the season. That wasn’t the case, however, as Saquon Barkley took a Daniel Jones pass in from 54-yards out, and then Jones ran in a two-point conversion to make it 21-18.
Graham Gano then hit a 48-yard field goal with 31 seconds left to play, which sent it to overtime. The Saints never got the ball in the extra frame as the defense surrendered a touchdown to Barkley after a nine-play 75-yard drive.
New Orleans is now 2-2 on the season which isn’t where they were expected to be. They’re not in bad shape since it’s still early but this is one they should have had — but they let it get away from them.
One issue is Sean Payton’s desire to focus too heavily on Taysom Hill. He’s a fine gadget player but he needs to stop trying the deep pass with him — and if he wasn’t trying that in Week 4, the Saints wouldn’t have had that late pick that really helped the Giants pull this one off.
Trey Lance finally got his chance for some extended time with the San Francisco 49ers when Jimmy Garoppolo had to leave with a calf injury. While we never wish an injury on any player, it really seemed like only a matter of time until such a scenario played out.
Garoppolo has won a lot in San Francisco and even took them to the Super Bowl following the 2019 season but he’s also missed a ton of time. He missed 13 games in 2018 and 10 in 2020. That means since joining the 49ers, he’s managed to play a full season just once. That had as much to do with them trading up for Lance as any other factor did.
Lance has gotten some spot duty early on but Sunday saw him complete 9-of-18 passes for 157 yards with two touchdowns. He also had 41 yards on seven rushing attempts, proving he’s a playmaker even at this level. He also had a great connection with Deebo Samuel who scored from 76 yards out and finished with 156 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions.
Even with all that being said, the Seahawks spoiled the day by winning 28-21. San Francisco is now 2-2 as is Seattle and they both find themselves looking up at the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals.
One of the hardest teams to figure out after four weeks is the Cincinnati Bengals. They have an impressive 3-1 record which has them among the best teams in the league when looking at it from a pure standings point of view. However, their schedule hasn’t been the toughest yet and they have had three games decided by three points.
The first was their Week 1 win over the Minnesota Vikings that might not have happened had it not been for a Dalvin Cook fumble in Cincinnati territory during overtime. They lost the following game 20-17 as a fourth-quarter comeback against Chicago fell short. Their one easy win came in Week 3 as they thoroughly beat up on the Pittsburgh Steelers which gave fans hope as they entered Week 4 that this team could be for real.
However, there could still be some questions even after their third win since they struggled with the Jacksonville Jaguars who are now 0-4. The Bengals not only needed to erase a 14-point first-half deficit, but they also had to rely on a last-second kick to secure a three-point win over the Jags.
While a win is a win and they should cherish this start, things could get serious for them as they have the Green Bay Packers coming to town this week. That will really tell us who this Bengals team is.
As is often the case, the Seattle Seahawks remain a tough team to figure out. They were 1-2 to start the weekend after beating Indianapolis in Week 1 them losing the Tennessee Titans in Week 2 and Minnesota Vikings in Week 3.
That left it up in the air what they would do against one of their divisional rivals as they took on the San Francisco 49ers in Levi Stadium. Looking at the numbers, it would seem as though Seattle lost.
San Francisco had 314 passing yards between Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance and 143 yards on the ground. Seattle, on the other hand, had 149 yards from Russell Wilson and 105 yards on the ground. But they made the most out of their drives as they finished with four touchdowns as the 49ers had three — which led to the 28-21 score.
Seattle is now 2-2 and while they’re tied in last place with the 49ers, they’re within striking distance still and have the all-important divisional win.
Next week is the biggest test for them yet, however. Seattle will be back at home with a game against the Rams who will be out to avenge their loss this week to the Cardinals. That game could have some huge implications further down the road.
(Plays on Monday Night Football vs. Las Vegas Raiders) — Looking at the record for the Los Angeles Chargers, it’s pretty impressive that they’re entering Monday night with a record of 2-1. They got a narrow win over a gritty Washington Football Team but then suffered a last-minute loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2.
Their statement game followed as they upended the Kansas City Chiefs but things aren’t going to get easier for them. After their Monday Night Football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, they’re going to host the Cleveland Browns before going on the road to face the Baltimore Ravens.
It wouldn’t be crazy to see them win all three of those games and get to 5-1, but it’s also not insane to think they could be on the wrong end of each and fall to 2-4. That makes this one of the most important stretches for rookie head coach Brandon Staley.
They don’t need to win all the tough games coming up but they have to keep their momentum going. The good news is, they’re playing much better defense this season under Staley and Justin Herbert is blossoming into a star in his second year in the league. L.A. is a team to watch out for, especially if they get out of this stretch with a winning record still intact.
For the first time this season, the Kansas City Chiefs won easily. That feels weird to even say considering how dominant they were during the regular season in 2020 — and this season, they re-stocked their offensive line in an effort to make life easier on Patrick Mahomes.
In Week 1, however, they needed a second-half comeback to edge out the Cleveland Browns. They then lost 36-35 to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 before suffering a 30-24 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
This week, they were able to win by 12, knocking off the Philadelphia Eagles 42-30, which brings them to 2-2 on the season. It was an impressive game for the offense as Patrick Mahomes looked like Patrick Mahomes again — throwing for 278 yards and five touchdowns. Three of those scores went to Tyreek Hill, who had an unreal 11 receptions for 186 yards and three touchdowns.
As a unit, they also had 200 yards rushing, led by Clyde Edwards-Helaire who had 102 yards on the ground — he also had a receiving touchdown for good measure. Having said all that, not everything was pretty.
Kansas City got the win but their defense continues to be a problem. With Philly scoring 30 points, that means they have now surrendered at least 30 in three of their four games this season. Overall, their opponents are averaging 31.25 points per game with Cleveland’s 29 being the lowest offensive output thus far. This is something they need to get figured out or it could prevent them from getting back to the Super Bowl.
They’re no longer undefeated but the Carolina Panthers shouldn’t be feeling sorry for themselves after Sunday. They went into AT&T Stadium and were knocked off by a surging Dallas Cowboys team but they continued to show that they weren’t pretenders even in defeat.
Carolina was up 14-13 at the half thanks to a one-yard run by Sam Darnold in the first quarter and an 11-yarder in the second. He finished with 35 yards on the ground with the two scores. Dallas then put up 20 in the third quarter to take control but the Panthers continued to fight back.
Darnold threw two touchdowns to D.J. Moore in the fourth quarter which pulled them to within eight points. Dallas was able to run the clock out after that but their fight was impressive. Darnold finished with 301 yards passing and Moore had 113 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions as he continues to show out in 2021.
It’s been night and day for Darnold who looks so much better since leaving the New York Jets — and Adam Gase. For Carolina, they also seem a lot better since Darnold is able to run the Joe Brady offense efficiently. They’re still in first place in the NFC South even with the loss and could continue to surprise.
Losing to the Baltimore Ravens was tough to swallow for the Denver Broncos but even worse than suffering their first defeat of the season was the fact that they lost even more key players to injury.
Travis Wakeman of Predominantly Orange highlighted how many players were already out for Denver before the game, while also saying that they lost Teddy Bridgewater and Patrick Surtain in their Week 4 loss.
"“The Broncos entered Week 4 against the Baltimore Ravens already missing several key players. Wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler are down and Bradley Chubb is still out of the lineup. Both of the team’s starting guards, Dalton Risner and Graham Glasgow, also missed Sunday’s game. Just before halftime, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater went down and was being evaluated for a concussion. First-round pick Patrick Surtain was also injured in the defeat.” — Wakeman, Predominantly Orange"
He added that Bridgewater sustained a concussion and is expected to be further evaluated. If he’s out for an extended amount of time, they will lean on Drew Lock but the team has clearly been better when Bridgewater plays.
They do have a winnable game next week against the struggling Steelers but that’s followed by a game against the Raiders, who enter Monday night without a loss on their record.
After a loss in Week 1 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dallas Cowboys have been on a roll. They’ve reeled off three wins in a row and have put up 77 points over the past two weeks in their wins over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 3 and this past weekend over Carolina.
They’ve been doing it while showing off their versatility as well, moving the ball both through the air and on the ground. In Week 4, they had 245 yards on 34 rushes with Ezekiel Elliott going for 143 and Tony Pollard adding 67.
Dak Prescott only threw 22 passes and completed 14 but had four touchdowns with no picks. He made the throws he needed to and even took off on a 21-yard run on a fourth-down attempt — while finishing with 35 yards on the ground.
As impressive as they were on offense, it was again the defense that stole the show. Dallas was one of the worst defenses in the NFL and under Rod Marinelli for years and Mike Nolan in 2020, they couldn’t buy a turnover.
Now, they keep taking the ball away as Trevon Diggs now has five picks in four games. Randy Gregory also recorded two sacks as the defense made sure to do enough to help seal this win over a talented Carolina team.
It feels like a lifetime ago when we thought Aaron Rodgers was punting on the season. After growing frustrated with the Green Bay Packers front office, Rodgers grudgingly showed up and demanded they bring back his old friend, Randall Cobb.
Then in Week 1, they were housed by the New Orleans Saints and it looked like it could be a long season. Then from Week 2 through now, the Pack has been putting on a clinic. Their latest win was over the Steelers as it was the first time Rodgers played Pittsburgh since beating them in the Super Bowl.
Rodgers was sharp in this win and even showed us all why he wanted Cobb back. The two connected on two touchdowns and Cobb finished with 69 yards on five receptions.
"“He understands how I move, so whenever I’m getting ready to break on my route, he knows,” Cobb said about his rapport with Rodgers via ESPN. “It’s muscle memory. It’s been a couple of years, but it’s kind of like when you get back around your friends and you remember things that you hadn’t even thought about in so long. It’s kind of that connection that we have.”"
At 3-1, they now have a lead in their division and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them again run away with the NFC North. Like they usually do.”
The Cleveland Browns moved to 3-1 with a narrow win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4 but quarterback Baker Mayfield was not happy with himself. He ripped his own performance while saying the defense bailed him out.
It’s hard not to agree with Mayfield on this one because he was simply off all game. He missed Kareem Hunt in the first quarter when he was standing alone in the end zone. Mayfield also overthrew Harrison Bryant in the second half when he should have had a huge gain after getting behind the defense.
The worst, however, may have been the third-down pass on the Browns’ final drive. Up 14-7 and looking to seal the win, Odell Beckham, Jr. beat his guy and should have had a walk-in touchdown but Mayfield was short on the throw and the Vikings got one last chance.
Again, the defense stepped up and that should be the real story here. Cleveland has a talented enough roster that they can win games even when their quarterback is struggling to find any kind of rhythm. After a slow start, the defense has come to life and given up just 13 points in the past two games as they beat Chicago and Minnesota.
Next week will be a really tough one for them, however, as they face the Los Angeles Chargers on the road.
Week 3 brought out the best in the Los Angeles Rams as they knocked off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which led to them moving to No. 1 in our 2021 NFL Power Rankings. Week 4, however, was a different story.
Los Angeles was beaten handily by the Arizona Cardinals who improved to 4-0 on the season. Now at 3-1, the Rams can learn from this game and make sure to improve going forward. And as Bret Stuter of Ramblin Fan said after the game, this is still a very good team with some new coaches.
"“The Rams are not the best team in the NFL, not yet. But they are still a very good NFL team. This is a team with five new positional coaches, a new quarterback, a new offensive center, a new running back, a new Special teams Coordinator, a new Defensive Coordinator, and five new starters on the defensive side of the ball. No, those are NOT excuses. Simply the logical reasons why the LA Rams team is still getting better.”"
He also added that they were never going to run the table, which means there’s no reason to bail on them after one loss. Sure, it knocks them out of the No. 1 spot in these rankings but that’s not the end goal. Their end goal is much bigger than that.
All eyes were on Foxborough this week as Sunday Night Football brought us the return of Tom Brady. After 20 years of being the hero for the New England Patriots, Brady returned to Gillette Stadium as the enemy, facing off against his old team for the first time ever.
And as fate would have it, it was a tight contest the entire game as Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were given everything they could handle from the Pats. Mac Jones did his best to take down Brady, throwing for 275 yards on 31-of-40 passing. He even gave his team a 17-16 lead in the fourth quarter, but then Brady got to work.
The veteran went 45 yards in seven plays and set up a 48-yard field goal from Ryan Succop. If there was anything to criticize about this drive, it would be the fact that Brady seemed to go for it all, and missed twice to Antonio Bryant, rather than try and milk the clock.
That opened the door for Jones who got them to the Tampa Bay 37, but Nick Folk’s kick just missed as the Bucs took back over and got into victory formation. Now at 3-1, Tampa Bay is playing well and they have a meeting with another team Brady knows well, the Miami Dolphins, next Sunday.
When thinking about the Buffalo Bills, it’s usually the offensive stars that stick out. That makes sense with Josh Allen on the heels of an MVP-caliber season in 2020. He also signed a massive extension ahead of this season, becoming one of the highest-paid players in the NFL.
There’s also Stefon Diggs who was added in a trade last season with Minnesota. He’s completely revamped their offense and is one of the best wideouts in the game. There’s also Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders who help round out this offense and make it incredibly dangerous.
What might not be getting enough credit though, is their defense. After four games, their defense has already pitched two shutouts, including a 35-0 outing in Week 2 against Miami and now a 40-0 win over the Houston Texans in Week 4.
Overall, they have given up just 44 points meaning they’re surrendering just 11 points per game — and that includes a blocked punt being returned for a touchdown. Take that out, and the defense is responsible for just 37 points in four games. For some perspective, their offense has scored more than that in each of their past two games.
This is a team to watch out for in the AFC and outside of a poor start to the season in their Week 1 loss, they have looked like a team with very few weaknesses.
This was a weird game for the Baltimore Ravens since they were in control all game long. They lost to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1 in a game that went to overtime. This loss was followed by one of the best games of the season when they knocked off the Kansas City Chiefs 36-35 in a late-game win.
As if that wasn’t enough, they then made it look as though they would lose to the Detroit Lions before Justin Tucker came on and drilled an NFL-record 66-yard field goal to give them a shocking win. After that game, they were 2-1 with all three games coming down to the wire.
Then in Week 4, they were against the undefeated Denver Broncos and after falling behind 7-0, they went with 23 unanswered points as they beat Denver 23-7. The Broncos had some bad fortune with Teddy Bridgewater and Patrick Surtain suffering injuries but with how Lamar Jackson and the Ravens were playing, that wouldn’t have mattered.
Jackson had 316 yards and a touchdown while Marquise Brown put up 91 yards and a score. On the ground, they had 102 yards and Latavius Murray ran in a touchdown. But it was the defense that registered five sacks — including two from Tyus Bowser — that really made the difference. Baltimore is knotted up with the Bengals and Browns in a very tough AFC North.
(Plays on Monday Night Football vs. Los Angeles Chargers) — Entering the season, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock were two men on the hot seat. They had yet to field a winning team and there were so many moves being made that were highly questionable that it became commonplace to ask if they were going to survive beyond 2021.
Now, it’s still early but so far, it looks as though they might have finally gotten things figured out in Las Vegas. The Raiders have a tough game ahead of them as they face off with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football but they’re entering the game with an unblemished 3-0 record.
It’s been easy for some to shrug off their hot start as a fluke but it shouldn’t be. Derek Carr has found the right formula and is playing the best football of his life. Their running game also looks solid and they even had a great performance from veteran Peyton Barber in the absence of Josh Jacobs in their win over Miami.
Should they be able to move to 4-0 with a win over a very strong Chargers team, it should erase any doubt still left out there. Of course, even if they were to fall to 3-1, this is still a team that’s trending in the right direction.
We have a new No. 1 team in our 2021 NFL Power Rankings and it’s not one that many of us saw coming. The Arizona Cardinals announced themselves as contenders in a huge way this weekend when they headed into SoFi Stadium and knocked off the Los Angeles Rams — who were the No. 1 team in these rankings entering Week 4.
It wasn’t just any win either as the Cardinals made it look easy. Following a 10-7 start for the Rams, Arizona took a commanding 24-13 lead into the half and extended that lead to 37-17 in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles scored again on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford with just over a minute to go but this game was never truly in doubt.
Quarterback Kyler Murray continued to show off his growth, completing 24-of-32 passes for 2685 yards and two touchdowns — as well as adding 39 yards rushing. A.J. Green and DeAndre Hopkins each had 67 yards and Maxx Williams added 66 with Green and Williams each scoring a touchdown.
On the ground, they were unstoppable with 216 yards and two touchdowns — each from James Conner. He was second in yards, however, with 50 while Chase Edmonds had 120.
On defense, they continue to do enough to win and while the Rams moved the ball, they were mostly kept out of the end zone and Byron Murphy added an interception as well.