Evan’s Guide to All Things NFL – Recapping Week 4

The Chiefs might have an incredibly explosive offense, but the Rams are far and away the most well-rounded team in the league. The defense stood up to the Vikings well on Thursday night, and the offense looked as good as it ever has under Sean McVay. Jared Goff looked absolutely incredible, and I’m confident that Goff and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes will be leading the MVP race....

Things got off to a rough start for the Chiefs on Monday night, but behind the skill and intelligence of one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City pulled out a win. With 192 passing yards outside the pocket alone, Mahomes became the first QB to post such a high outside-the-pocket total in ten years. This guy is so, so good.

The Saints got off to a somewhat rocky start this season, but have since rebounded with wins versus a good Falcons team and a mediocre Giants team. The win over the Giants was less impressive, as you’d expect more than a 15-point margin of victory, but the Saints, iffy as their defense may be, have many of the qualities of a team that could make a Super Bowl run.

Trust me, it’s not my Panthers bias that’s keeping them in the top four even during their bye week. It’s that even though they were one of only two teams on bye this week, they stayed active. Carolina signed veteran safety Eric Reid, who is currently involved in the collusion case also involving Colin Kaepernick, and the Panthers’ secondary just got a lot better.

The Packers haven’t looked completely like themselves so far this season, but so much of that is due to Aaron Rodgers essentially playing with one leg. His limited supply of offensive weapons hasn’t helped him much in his effort to create offense, but the Pack is still performing well and even though they’ve only posted two wins in four weeks, they’re still a top tier team....

Don’t look now, but Mitch Trubisky is looking more and more like the quarterback Chicago drafted him to be. He was incredibly efficient on Sunday, completing 19 of 26 passes for 354 yards and an eye-popping six touchdowns. The man threw a touchdown on 31.5% of his pass attempts. He even recorded a near-perfect passer rating of 154.6. I’ll let those stats speak for themselves, because Trubisky is...

Imagine having a player as promising as Joe Mixon on your team, losing him to a brief injury and still winning three of your first four games. That’s the power of a strong backup running back, which the Bengals have in Giovani Bernard. But more importantly, we can credit this revitalized Bengals offense to Bill Lazor, who is in his second year as the team’s offensive coordinator....

The Jaguars got back on track in Week 4, handling the Jets in a game that they were rightfully expected to win despite the poor showing against Tennessee in Week 3. Leonard Fournette aggravated his hamstring injury and will miss more time, which doesn’t bode well for this run-heavy offense, but sometimes Blake Bortles thrives when he’s forced to throw the ball more often....

The Patriots don’t always get off to a hot start in the month of September, so don’t even think about predicting that they’ll fall off. With the emergence of the Chiefs as the best team in the AFC, maybe New England’s Super Bowl hopes need to be tampered, but as long as Tom Brady is quarterbacking this offense and Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels are coaching it, the Pats are in good shape....

The Ravens got a fairly impressive win on Sunday night against the Steelers, winning ultimately by kicking four field goals. Joe Flacco has looked very solid through the first month of the season, and should continue to perform well since he seems to have good chemistry with his fellow offensive players. The Ravens defense, while perhaps not one of the league’s absolute best, doesn’t seem to have lo...

Here are teams 11-21 after Week 4: 11. Los Angeles Chargers (2-2) - The Bolts didn’t blow out the 49ers on Sunday like they maybe should have, but despite Joey Bosa’s injury, the Chargers look to be a solid team all around. 12. Tennessee Titans (3-1) - I’m finally realizing that the Titans aren’t as bad as they initially appeared, and they’re finding ways to win despite the odds. 13....

Here are teams 22-32 after Week 4: 22. Dallas Cowboys (2-2) - Consider every team in the 21-25 range almost equal in terms of overall talent. 23. Detroit Lions (1-3) - And even though each team from 21-25 looks bad to start, expect at least one to regain their footing soon. 24. New York Giants (1-3) - Honestly, I don’t think it’ll be the Giants who regain their footing. Regaining it by...

Derek Carr, Raiders Marcus Mariota, Titans Joe Flacco, Ravens Baker Mayfield, Browns C.J. Beathard, 49ers ...

Nyheim Hines, RB, Colts Keke Coutee, WR, Texans T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jaguars Taylor Gabriel, WR, Bears Mike Davis, RB, Seahawks ...

Carolina Panthers (vs. Giants) Cincinnati Bengals (vs. Dolphins) Tennessee Titans (vs. Bills) New York Jets (vs. Broncos) New Orleans Saints (vs. Redskins) ...