Week 4 Winners & Losers

Now over a third of the way through the NFL regular season, I really took a lot away from this week, and have a lot of thoughts on some of the action from Sunday. Let's get right to it.

BALvsBUF - This game is the exact reason why winning on the road in the NFL is so tough. It wasn't a long trip for Baltimore, but Buffalo played tough at home as things got a little uncomfortable for them late in this one. Joe Flacco proved my opinion of him that he's the poor man's Eli Manning with five interceptions despite almost 350 yards in the air. If you're Buffalo, you have to be concerned you couldn't take better advantage of  those five turnovers.

NYGvsKC - This score doesn't look as bad as the game was, but it was still ugly for the Giants. After running his mouth after last week's embarrassment, Hakeem Nicks did not back up his talk with several bad drops. Credit the Chiefs though, this was a game they could have easily had a let down, but they played great football. The Chiefs are keeping pace with Peyton Manning and the Broncos while the Giants despite being winless are still to just everybody's astonishment in the hunt in the NFC East.

CINvsCLE - I was screaming this from the top of my lungs all week that this could easily be a trap game for Cincinnati, and I though they'd at least see that themselves and not look past the Browns, but they did, and the Browns burned them. Believe it or not folks, and I know it's only week 5 now, but the Browns are in the hunt in the AFC North. Very disappointed in Cincinnati to this point, who I thought would have a big year in a very down AFC North. Things don't get any easier. They host New England, and then travel to Buffalo and Detroit.

CHIvsDET - I know this was a home game for Detroit, but I think it's safe to say the Lions may just be legit. If they can't stop you defensively, they'll simply outscore you. That's basically what they did here. Jay Cutler didn't play a very good game. Matthew Stafford didn't really either, but he was fortunate the Lions were able to get the running game going. It was a really a game of big plays once the 2nd quarter started. Still like the Bears going forward, I hope they can keep the momentum they had from the first three weeks together. They can't take New Orleans or the Giants lightly at home. While I think they are winnable games for sure, I think they may be tougher than they think.

SEAvsHOU - Lots of thoughts on this game. It really looked like Houston had this one locked up, but poor defensive play and bad offensive decisions turned things around for Seattle. I really thought after a disappointing effort in Baltimore last week, the Texans would seize the opportunity at home against another big opponent and play like they were fighting for their playoff lives. At 2-2 and watching Indy roll, the Texans have to start playing much better. The schedule doesn't get any easier, with games at San Francisco and at Kansas City still in October, the Texans could put themselves in a deep hole heading into their bye week. For Seattle, give them a ton of credit for continuing to fight in this ball game and make a game of it, and utlimately pull out a pretty improbable win. The Seahawks, to me, proved they are more than just a home-field threat. They wll have their hands full heading to Indianapolis on Sunday, but after that, the month of October looks very favorable for them. Seattle out of their bye (Week 12), could be in great position to quickly lock up a playoff birth.

NYJvsTEN - I think I may have drank the Jets Kool-Aid too quick. I forgot how they lack a play maker on offense and Geno Smith is a rookie. While I thought the Jets would win, I did not expect Tennessee to put up 38 points. If you would have told me the teams combined to score 38 points, I would have put money on it they wouldn't. Just goes to show how unpredictable the NFL really is. Going forward, I think the Jets need to seek out the ground-n-pound mentality more, and try to make games as ugly as possible. Their defense is good enough to win those types of games. I don't take much away from Tennessee in this game. They were opportunistic in converting turnovers to points.

INDvsJAX - Nothing surprising about this game. I want to make a few comments about the Colts real quick. I had a couple fans say they disagreed about where the franchise is at. One said they were a 10-6 team. I agreed but two things on that. The Colts last year played a very soft schedule because of where they finished in 2011. They were a Wild Card team last year, and are playing a Wild Card team's schedule again this year. Other than Seattle this week, Indy plays a very favorable schedule here out. I agree the Colts are much more progressed than they may have anticipated, but I think the playoff game last year against Baltimore really showed where they were as an overall team. The fact remains, the FRANCHISE, is still rebuilding. They have a lot of good pieces in place on the field, but they are a year or two at the earliest from being a contender for an NFC title again.

Quick notes on the other games...

PITvsMIN - Other than reaffirming Pittsburgh is terrible, I don't think you take much from this game because it was played in London. Side note -- the NFL trying to force it's way into Europe with it's billions upon billions of dollars I think is a waste of money.

ARIvsTB - Both teams looked completely incompetent. Good for Arizona pulling the win out on the road, but Tampa just can't get out of their own way. The Revis trade looks completely awful right now considering where this team is at.

PHIvsDEN - This was more of a one sided shoot out than I anticipated. There's really not much to say other than Denver is absolutely the favorite at this point in the AFC. I think questions of Chip Kelly to USC and returning to the PAC 12 could begin to swirl and get thicker if Philly continues to struggle.

WASvsOAK - Give credit to Washington  for going west and getting a win. I still think these are two teams that are bad, and it was just a bad football game.

DALvsSD - My prediction of a Cowboys letdown was correct. I don't think it was a hard one to make. Dallas may be the favorite in the NFC East, but more performances like these may make people question them in a big game.

MIAvsNO - This wasn't a hard game to see coming either. Miami is headed in the right direction, but they weren't ready for what they were walking into. That was pretty clear. The struggles of the rest of the NFC South should give New Orleans plenty of opportunity to open things up and quickly clinch the division.

NEvsATL - I was very disappointed in Atlanta. I give them credit for making this close late, but it was too little, too late. Tom Brady continues to roll despite having a bunch of no-name targets. Atlanta is in trouble at 1-3 and may be pushing missing the playoffs if they can't turn things around.

My big winners from Week 4:

Niners - Nice bounce back performance after a couple tough losses.

Chiefs - The Chiefs continue to keep pace with Denver, and are poised to make a return to the playoffs.

Seattle - The Seahawks made a big statement with a come-from-behind victory on the road against a really good team.

Detroit - Also made a statement at home against maybe the NFLs biggest surprise through the first third of the season.

My big losers from Week 4:

Cincinnati - The Bengals let a trap game get them and now at 2-2, will still likely make the playoffs, but it's an uphill battle for sure.

Giants - The tailspin continues as the GMen search for answers.

Texans - Another disappointing performance in a winnable game at home against a heavy-weight opponent. Questions of Houston's realistic contention now warranted.

Falcons - Big loser for the week. Lost a home game to a very weak offensive opponent (even with Tom Brady they're just not a juggernaut)

Power Rankings

1. Seattle
2. Denver
3. New England
4. New Orleans
5 a) Kansas City
5 b) Chicago