After spending the week trying to figure out whether the Colts, Buccaneers, 49ers and Chargers belonged in the same class as the Eagles and Bills, all four surprising teams ended up losing their first game of the season on Sunday.
Some even spent time wondering whether this truly was the end of the Chiefs’ dynasty, only to see Patrick Mahomes light up the banged-up Ravens to get Kansas City to .500 for the first time this season.
Yes, there should be concern about Baltimore dropping to 1–3, but as we found out Sunday, seasons can quickly turn around for better or worse.
It’s hard trying to decipher what’s going on in the NFL on a weekly basis. 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh went as far as accusing the Jaguars of stealing signs in a possible attempt to get a mental advantage. Clearly, that didn’t sit well with Jaguars coach Liam Coen, who had words for Saleh after Jacksonville handed San Francisco the upset loss.
Welp, at least we can all say that the last two undefeated teams are who we thought they were. That one wasn’t hard to figure out. Perhaps the Bills and Eagles are headed for a Super Bowl clash in February.
But let’s pump the brakes there, just like with the praise that was showered on the Colts and Chargers the past few weeks. I’ll be sure to take my own advice.
Here’s what else we learned during an eventful Week 4 in the NFL.
Eagles remain the best team in the NFL
It’s becoming increasingly difficult for the Eagles to find questions that challenge their greatness.
There’s not much to answer at this point, not when the Eagles have pushed around the Chiefs twice in the past year, including the blowout victory in the Super Bowl. What else is there to criticize Jalen Hurts about? His arm carried Philly to victory last week, overcoming a 19-point deficit against the Rams, one of the better teams in the league.
For the nitpickers, there was one fair question to ask this week for the defending Super Bowl champions: Do the Buccaneers have the Eagles’ number?
That one, too, was answered during the Eagles’ 31–25 victory in Tampa to improve to 4–0 and extend Hurts’s winning streak to 18 games when he starts and finishes the game. That sentence alone answered multiple questions and made it clear that Philadelphia remains the best team in the NFL.
You know life is good for Eagles fans when they’re doing E-A-G-L-E-S chants as the visiting team seconds before halftime while their beloved team has a three-touchdown advantage against an undefeated squad.
Opposing teams are so worried about the tush push that now the Eagles can do trick plays off the controversial formation, which they did in the second half to give Saquon Barkley the easiest touchdown run and kill the Buccaneers’ brief momentum. It ended up being a one-score game, but the Eagles always appeared two steps ahead, while Baker Mayfield operated as if he had boulders on his back, searching for ways to steal this one.
So no, the Bucs don’t have the Eagles’ number. But, again, it was a fair question to ask because the Buccaneers were the last team to prevail during a complete performance from Hurts. (The star QB was injured when the Kenny Pickett–led Eagles lost to the Commanders in Week 16 last year.) Also, Tampa Bay had won four of the past five meetings vs. Philadelphia heading into Sunday.
Without question, the Eagles are the best team in football. I doubt the undefeated Bills and their suspect defense, which had trouble against the winless Saints on Sunday, would leave the Buccaneers as frustrated as they looked for nearly four quarters.
But, sure, if you believe the Bills are the better team, the Eagles can answer that question, too, when the two teams meet in December for a potential Super Bowl preview. Until then, there’s not much to criticize about the greatness of this Eagles team.
Chargers’ injury-stricken offensive line could spoil special season
Just when I thought these Chargers were ready to be Super Bowl contenders, they go and suffer a 21–18 upset loss against the struggling Giants who got their first win of the season with rookie Jaxson Dart making his starting debut.
You can’t just chalk it up to one bad game—the Chargers’ offensive line issues were exposed in East Rutherford, N.J. The protection problems only got worse after stud left tackle Joe Alt sustained an ankle injury. It seems L.A. avoided a worst-case scenario with Alt, but he was the glue holding up this depleted offensive line that was already without tackle Rashawn Slater, who sustained a season-ending leg injury in the summer, and guard Mekhi Becton, who missed Sunday’s game due to a concussion.
If Alt is forced to miss games, Los Angeles (3–1) could run into trouble with the Commanders, Dolphins and Colts next up on the schedule. But this is not the time to panic for the Chargers, not when rookie running back Omarion Hampton had a breakout game, with 12 carries for 128 yards and a touchdown.
Also, eight times out of 10, the Chargers’ stout defense will frustrate the opposing quarterback. That wasn’t exactly the case against the Giants because coach Brian Daboll wisely produced a college-like game plan for Dart, who excelled at creating plays while on the move.
The Chargers should be fine—the defense did sack Dart six times and held New York to 250 total yards. But they may need to adjust how they play offensively and possibly return to being a run-heavy team to minimize the damage Justin Herbert could take behind this suspect offensive line.
Sunday’s biggest consequence is bringing the Chargers back down to earth. They no longer look unbeatable with their star QB and dominant defense. Los Angeles now has a glaring weakness and the Giants’ stacked defensive front provided the blueprint for how to beat Jim Harbaugh’s Bolts.
AFC South is a wide open race
I’m not sure whether it was the fake crowd noise that Colts safety Camryn Bynum accused SoFi Stadium of using, but his team appeared frazzled by the racket Rams fans made down the stretch. Daniel Jones (two INTs) looked lost against Los Angeles’s raucous defensive front and second-year wide receiver Adonai Mitchell might have forgotten the rules.
The Colts deserve credit for pushing the Rams before fading in the final minutes of their 27–20 loss, but it’s clear that the team’s 3–0 start was more of an illusion than a sign of a team ready to run away with the AFC South. This division race is far from over and it might be better than what we expected from what’s typically one of the league’s least imposing divisions.
Like the Colts, the Jaguars can’t be called Super Bowl contenders, but they deserve respect for going into the 49ers’ home and handing them their first loss of the season, winning 26–21 to improve to 3–1 and tying Indianapolis atop the division standings. After being accused of legally stealing signs, Jacksonville leaned on running back Travis Etienne (124 yards, TD) to gash Saleh’s defense. Trevor Lawrence is still struggling with consistency, but Coen is making life easier for him by designing productive plays. The Jaguars defense has also improved and forced Brock Purdy into two interceptions while containing Christian McCaffrey to only 49 rushing yards.
The Colts and Jaguars are a lot alike this season, with improvements on both sides of the ball. Still, this division should be viewed as a three-team race.
The Texans, the offseason favorite to win the division, crushed the Titans, 26–0, for their first victory of the season. Yes, Houston has some catching up to do, but that defense will likely keep the team competitive enough to possibly make a late run at the division. It was only against the winless Titans, but C.J. Stroud’s offense showed signs of life, with Nico Collins recording four catches for 79 yards and rookie running back Woody Marks producing 119 total yards and two touchdowns.
Falcons will be O.K. with Penix
First of all, props to me for being the only person at the MMQB this week to pick the Falcons over the Commanders. And, yeah, it doesn’t look so bold now knowing that Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin didn’t play for Washington.
But who cares. I needed this one after a rough few weeks of making picks. The Falcons probably share the same sentiment. Who cares about who played for the Commanders after the Falcons were embarrassed by the Panthers (who reverted to being a bad football team this week, losing by 29 points in New England).
Atlanta desperately needed the results that Michael Penix Jr. (20-of-26 for 313 yards, 2 TDs, INT) provided in the 34–27 victory over Washington to remind the organization that it was the right decision to keep Kirk Cousins on the bench. Penix getting all of the Falcons’ weapons involved is what will be remembered from this game, not that Daniels and McLaurin didn’t play.
The Falcons (2–2) are a young team, but also one that’s been building for a few years now. Patience isn’t exactly what’s needed in Atlanta, not when top-10 picks were used on Kyle Pitts (five catches, 70 yards, TD), Bijan Robinson (181 total yards, TD) Drake London (eight catches, 110 yards, TD) and Penix the past four years. Results are needed now, but growing pains will continue for this talent-filled team.
Obviously, the Falcons were better than what they showed in Carolina last week. Now it’s about developing into a consistent team, which starts by not letting ugly losses pile up. The Falcons still have plenty to prove, but Sunday’s offensive dominance by the trio of London, Pitts and Robinson showed they’re still on track to soon end a seven-year playoff drought.
Playoffs and Panthers (1–3) shouldn’t even be in the same sentence for one of the most inconsistent teams in the league. Again, it’s a good sign that the Falcons quickly showed they’re better than the team that got blown out by Carolina last week.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Four Things We Learned in Week 4: Eagles Are Still the NFL’s Best Team.
