10 key takeaways from Week 4
Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines the significance of those events moving forward.
Lions impress against Mahomes
It didn't result in a win, so the Lions will come away disappointed, but there was a lot to like about their tightly contested loss to the Chiefs. Most importantly, from both Detroit's perspective and that of desperate teams around the league, Matt Patricia's defense provided a blueprint for limiting Patrick Mahomes and Co.
Heading into the weekend, there was plenty of talk about the superstar quarterback playing his first NFL game in a dome. If he can light up the best defenses outdoors, the sky (or roof?) appeared to be the limit for what he could do in a controlled environment. But we all seem to have underestimated just how well the Lions' defense is coming together in Patricia's second season.
Don't get us wrong: Detroit didn't shut down the Kansas City offense. But since Mahomes is already establishing himself as one of the most talented passers the game has ever seen, merely containing him is a win. Zero touchdown passes and 7.5 yards per attempt certainly qualifies. By following upset wins over the Chargers and Eagles with this promising defensive effort (without No. 1 cornerback Darius Slay, no less), Patricia looks like he's well on the way to becoming the rare ex-Belichick assistant to thrive in a lead job elsewhere.
Bills hang tough
Speaking of impressive defensive performances, how 'bout those Bills?
As we outlined last week (albeit while encouraging everyone not to get too carried away by a 3-0 start), the defense's continued improvement is an obvious reason for excitement in Buffalo. Holding the Patriots' offense to 224 yards and 11 first downs is perhaps that unit's best performance in the Sean McDermott era.
The Bills' issue is their unbelievably frustrating passing attack. Yes, the Patriots' defense is one of the more formidable units Josh Allen will face this season, but that's no excuse for completing 13-of-28 passes for 153 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions at home. With bad decision-making and a tendency to flat-out miss throws that should be completed, Allen just isn't ready to carry a team.
If the Bills do emerge as true contenders in spite of their passing troubles, the running backs will play a major role. Frank Gore, somehow still chugging at the age of 36, racked up another 109 yards Sunday to become the fourth player in NFL history to top 15,000 for his career. But keep an eye on Devin Singletary, too. The third-round rookie should be back from his hamstring injury next week. He flashed some impressive playmaking ability in limited work early in the season, and his dynamic skill set - both as a runner and as a receiver out of the backfield - can bring the Bills' offense some much-needed explosiveness.
Back on the Browns' hype train!
A week after some pundits wrote them off as the "same old Browns" and called for Freddie Kitchens to surrender play-calling responsibilities, the preseason darlings in Cleveland look very much alive.
In a divisional clash in Baltimore that was as pivotal as any game played this season, the Browns handed the AFC North favorites a beatdown and saved their own season in the process.
It started and ended with Nick Chubb, who was the most dazzling sophomore in a game that featured MVP candidate Lamar Jackson. Chubb took 20 carries for 165 yards and three touchdowns, including an 88-yard romp.
Remarkably, the Browns scored 40 points despite just two catches for 20 yards from Odell Beckham Jr. We still haven't seen this offense firing as intended.
With the Steelers hurting and the Bengals presumably on the verge of a full rebuild, the Browns made it clear they should still be taken seriously as contenders in the North.
Bears better with Daniel?
Quarterbacks mean everything in the NFL. Year after year, would-be contenders' seasons effectively slip away as a direct result of their starter going down with an injury. So when Mitchell Trubisky exited Sunday's game with a left shoulder issue, any concern about the already anemic Bears offense was understandable.
But here's the thing: Trubisky's lack of development is at the core of all the issues Chicago has been experiencing on that side of the ball. There is not that much of a drop-off from Trubisky to Chase Daniel, who has long been a perfectly capable backup - in fact, there's reason to believe that Daniel is actually the better option right now. We saw that reality begin to take shape in Sunday's 16-6 win over a stout Vikings team.
Daniel will never be mistaken for a supreme talent who can put a team on his back and lead the way to a win. But that's not Trubisky either, despite all the upside and promise he had as the No. 2 overall pick in 2017. Daniel's advantage here is that he won't necessarily lose the game for you. Missing the throws that are so often schemed open in Chicago's offense - throws that Daniel made with regularity Sunday - wastes a great defense and holds the team back. Trubisky will likely start if and when he's healthy, given how much the Bears have invested in him. The offense finding its rhythm so quickly under Daniel, however, should start a conversation that makes that decision more complicated.
Jones takes Round 1 vs. Haskins
Sunday's meeting marked the first of what could be more than a decade of battles between two passers drafted nine picks apart by NFC East rivals. Daniel Jones took Round 1, leading the Giants to a blowout win over Dwayne Haskins' Redskins and looking much closer to sustainable pro success.
Anointed the NFL's next superstar by the New York media after accounting for four touchdowns in his first start a week ago, Jones came down to earth a bit. He dropped 225 yards passing and a touchdown on the Redskins, but April's sixth overall pick also made some typical rookie mistakes, including interceptions on consecutive passes in the second quarter.
Haskins never had much of a chance in his debut after entering the game in relief of Case Keenum with a two-score deficit in the second quarter. The 15th overall pick led the Redskins to a field goal on his first drive but followed that minor success with three second-half interceptions.
Neither rookie has much in the way of offensive weapons at his disposal, and both of them could have new coaches next season (or next week, if you buy the latest Jay Gruden rumors). For each quarterback, this will be a process, but it's interesting that Jones had the better start considering the negative evaluations he received leading up to and through draft day.
Texans, Falcons getting exposed
Houston and Atlanta were popular playoff picks as either division champions or wild-card entrants in prediction pieces throughout the NFL community - for good reason, given the talent on each roster. Neither club's season is over, but four weeks in, it's becoming difficult to see how they were considered among some of the league's top contenders.
After a brutal effort in their season-opening loss to Minnesota, the Falcons bounced back and seemingly vindicated their believers with a convincing prime-time win over the Eagles in Week 2. They've since dropped to 1-3 after losses to the Colts and Titans, the latter coming Sunday afternoon at home.
An "all-in" preseason trade for Laremy Tunsil has done little to solve the Texans' offensive-line woes, as the passing game is still limited by constant pressure on Deshaun Watson. So Houston's offense is still experiencing the same problems it did last year, and the defense, having lost a few key players in the offseason, has taken a step back.
At a certain point (right about now) it's fair to wonder whether either club should be deemed a pretender. They go head to head next week, and a loss could dig one of these teams a hole too deep to escape.
Cousins not living up to contract
Kirk Cousins broke new ground when he signed with the Vikings as a free agent in 2018, parlaying his leverage into a fully guaranteed three-year deal. At the time, it looked like a fantastic situation for all parties involved.
Twenty games in, it's safe to say the return on investment hasn't been great for Minnesota. It hasn't been a disaster - Cousins is a fine starting quarterback, the short-term deal minimized the Vikings' commitment, and $28 million per year already seems affordable by quarterback standards. But Minnesota had to be hoping for more than this.
Cousins has not been the final piece for a roster that's stacked with talent. With three touchdowns through four contests, topping out at 233 yards in Sunday's loss to the Bears, he's essentially been a game-manager for an offense that's dedicated to the running game. That philosophy is partly stubbornness from the coaching staff and partly a reaction to necessity; things just haven't worked when the game is in Cousins' hands.
It should come as no surprise if the Vikings aren't eager to re-up on a new deal worth more than $30 million annually before Cousins is a free agent at the end of next year.
Burfict needs major punishment
If the NFL cares about player safety - and the league very much wants you to believe it does, even if some of its actions suggest ulterior motives - it must banish Vontaze Burfict.
The NFL's dirtiest player went headhunting again, driving his full body weight into a defenseless receiver's head Sunday on a play that was already over.
Some fans resist rules aimed at taking big hits out of football, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a consumer of NFL content who supports Burfict's continued employment. There's hard-nosed football and then there's heartless, borderline criminal violence.
Rosen showing signs
Josh Rosen might have a future in the NFL. It won't be in Miami, where Tua Tagovailoa or another rookie passer will almost certainly take over next spring, but it's too early to dismiss the possibility that Rosen could carve out a fruitful career as a pro quarterback.
No player in league history has been set up to fail more than Rosen, who had the NFL's worst supporting cast in Arizona last season before his trade to the football wasteland that is Miami.
You had to squint to see it Sunday, but Rosen showed that he can make high-end throws - in the rare moments when he's not running for his life. He was 12-of-16 for 169 yards, one touchdown, and no turnovers before halftime despite multiple drops by his subpar receivers. Then the wheels came off, as they will most weeks this season.
It will be nearly impossible for Rosen to put long stretches of positive play on film this year. If he plays too well, the tanking Dolphins will probably figure out a way to take the ball out of his hands. But if he can find small successes between the long stretches of misery, a team that won't finish dead last in 2020 might give him a lifeline.
Is NFL listening to your officiating gripes?
The NFL has done more than enough over the years to deserve our criticism when it comes to officiating, among other things. From an outside perspective, it can be maddening that such a massive, resource-rich corporation constantly gets such simple things wrong. Below all the headline-making controversies, however, there are small signs of progress.
After two weeks of offensive holding penalties slowing certain games to a crawl (64 accepted calls in Week 1 and 74 in Week 2), an officiating conference call was held Sept. 22, reported ESPN's Kevin Seifert. The results were almost immediate: There were just 45 accepted offensive holding calls in Week 3, and heading into Monday night, there have been 43 in Week 4.
And while there's no word about a change to the officiating process in this department, it was similarly encouraging to see officials let the play run when Kansas City returned a Detroit goal-line fumble 100 yards the other way for a touchdown. Had they blown the whistle thinking that Kerryon Johnson was down by contact before losing possession, as happened on a Saints turnover against the Rams in Week 2, a review that concluded there was a turnover could only give the Chiefs possession at the spot of the recovery, not award return yards.
It's minor, but it seems as though the NFL is at least hearing concerns and doing what it can do address these issues as they arise. Now the league just needs to figure out pass interference and that whole catch rule ...