A quarter of the season is in the books and some familiar names took their places with great performances in Week 4 along with some unexpected players.
Arizona Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald
The wonderful and classy Larry Fitzgerald moved into second on the all-time catch list Sunday. He surpassed Tony Gonzalez with his 1,326th grab and is behind the legendary Jerry Rice.
Atlanta Falcons: Austin Hooper
The Falcons tumbled to 1-3. Don’t blame TE Austin Hooper, who caught 9 passes for 130 yards. Matt Ryan targeted Hooper 11 times compared to 7 for Julio Jones, who usually attracts double coverage.
Baltimore Ravens: Sam Koch
You know it is a bad day in Baltimore when the punter gets the accolades. Sam Koch had a trio of punts for a 43.7 yard average and each of those pinned Cleveland inside the 20. Koch did his job quite well.
Buffalo Bills: Frank Gore
The incredible Frank Gore broke the 15,000-yard plateau in the loss to the New England Patriots. He did it in style, rushing 17 times for 109 yards, a 6.4 ypc clip.
Carolina Panthers: Christian McCaffrey
Christian McCaffrey is a wonderful player for Kyle Allen to have in the backfield. The wondrous RB from Stanford had 37 touches and 179 yards in total offense. He also found the end zone.
Chicago Bears: Defense
The Monsters of the Midway put on a vintage performance, stifling Dalvin Cook, recovering two fumbles and sacking Kirk Cousins a half-dozen times in a win over the Vikings.
Cincinnati Bengals: Nick Vigil
Nick Vigil was a lone bright spot for the Bengals. He forced a fumble and was in on 11 tackles in the loss to the Steelers.
Cleveland Browns: Nick Chubb
Nick Chubb was on the run all game against Baltimore. He rushed 20 times for 165 yards and 3 TDs in the victory over the Ravens.
Dallas Cowboys: Defense
Granted there was no Drew Brees, but the Dallas defense kept New Orleans in check and held the Saints without a TD. The first time New Orleans won a game without a touchdown since Mike Ditka was its coach in 1998. Leighton Vander Esch led the way with 11 total tackles.
Denver Broncos: Colby Wadman
There isn’t a ton of good going on in Denver with the team at 0-4. At least the defense got some sacks and punter Colby Wadman knocked four of his six punts inside the Jacksonville 20.
Detroit Lions: Kenny Golladay
Kenny Golladay caught two TD passes from Matthew Stafford among his five catches for 67 yards in the Lions’ tough loss to Kansas City.
Green Bay Packers: Davante Adams
Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesThe wideout had a monster game until his toe injury, catching 10 balls for 180 yards and it was no coincidence that when he went out Green Bay had trouble closing late in the loss to Philly.
Houston Texans: Bryan Anger
Another quiet game for an offense, another time to spotlight a punter. Bryan Anger averaged a booming 51.4 yards per punt on five kicks and put three of them inside the 20.
Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Walker
The Colts took it on the chin from the Raiders in Indy. Anthony Walker had 10 tackles in the loss and a sack.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Josh Lambo
A game-winning field goal is a game-winning field goal, no matter the distance and Josh Lambo delivered for the Jaguars against the Broncos.
Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes
Not for his arm, which went for 318 yards, but for his legs, which went for 56 rushing, including a critical 15-yard run on a fourth-and-8 with 2:25 left as Kansas City went on its winning drive at Detroit.
Los Angeles Chargers: Austin Ekeler
Austin Ekeler found the end zone on a run and a reception as he continued to show his ability to be a duel threat for the Chargers. Overall, he had 23 touches and 122 yards.
Los Angeles Rams: Robert Woods
Miami Dolphins: Devante Parker:
Another week, another loss for Miami. Devante Parker did catch a 34-yard TD pass to give the Dolphins the lead before falling to the Chargers.
Minnesota Vikings: Eric Kendricks
There was nothing going on with the Minnesota offense against the Bears. Eric Kendricks was solid on defense with 12 total tackles, including 8 solo.
New England Patriots: The defense
In what figured to be a test of top defenses, New England came out on top of Buffalo. The Pats made four picks and had five sacks, led by Kyle Van Noy’s pair. That’s how you go on the road and improve to 4-0.
New Orleans Saints: The defense
The New Orleans defense has risen with Drew Brees out. It thwarted Dallas in the Superdome, stifling Ezekiel Elliott and sealing the victory with a pick of Dak Prescott.
New York Giants: Wayne Gallman Jr.
Stepping in for an injured Saquon Barkley, Wayne Gallman Jr. came up big for Big Blue. Gallman had 118 yards and a pair of TDs on 24 touches as the Giants squared their record.
Oakland Raiders: Erik Harris
Erik Harris, the fourth-year DB from California (PA), scored the TD off the first pick of the year for Oakland that made the eventual difference as the Raiders went on the road and won at Indy for the first time since 2001. In case you wondered, the Raiders’ coach to win at Indy that year was Jon Gruden and he got the measure of Jim E. Mora.
Philadelphia Eagles: Running game
Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard combined to rush for 159 yards and the former Chicago Bear scored a pair of TDs on the ground as the Eagles evened their record through four games.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Mason Rudolph
Filling in for Ben Roethlisberger means stepping into some big cleats. Mason Rudolph did well against Cincinnati with a sharp 24-of-28 performance for 229 yards and a pair of TDs. Well played.
Seattle Seahawks: Jadeveon Clowney
The Seahawks got a big play from the big acquisition from the Houston Texans. Jadeveon Clowney batted a Kyler Murray pass, caught it and returned it for a TD in the victory over Arizona. The score made it 10-0 and the Cardinals weren’t about to catch Seattle from behind.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Chris Godwin
Chris Godwin was targeted 14 times by Jameis Winston against the Rams. He caught a dozen balls for 172 yards and a pair of TDs in a splendid effort at the Coliseum.
Tennessee Titans: A.J. Brown
A.J. Brown grabbed some headlines as a rookie wideout from Ole Miss. DK Metcalf isn’t the only former rookie from Oxford who can catch. Brown had a trio of grabs for 94 yards and a pair of TDs.
Washington Redskins: None
Absolutely nobody.
