Around the AFC
Chiefs keep losing (WRs). First Kansas City lost Hollywood Brown for the year to a collarbone injury. Now it appears they may have lost Rashee Rice to a knee injury, as well. So far Patrick Mahomes and company have rolled along, charging out to a 4-0 mark. At some point, though, between the attrition and TE Travis Kelce’s modest start to the season, you’d think the losses would start to catch up to them. Of course, normal football assumptions don’t always apply to Mahomes.
Ravens are fine. Baltimore shrugged off a slow start to throttle Buffalo on Sunday night and through four games they have the second-best DVOA — a metric developed to measure efficiency — of any 2-2 team in NFL history. Basically, the numbers match the eye test: There’s no reason to worry about the Ravens. Still, a matchup with the dangerous (but 1-3) Bengals on Sunday is an interesting one.
A disappeared offense. Imagine a year ago after four games saying the Broncos had one of football’s best defenses and Miami had one of its worst offenses. That’s been the case, though. This ain’t your 70-20 Mike McDaniel juggernaut. The Dolphins haven’t scored more than 12 points in any of their last three games and have lost all three by three scores. Maybe they’ll send Tyreek Hill back to Kansas City. Wait… that wouldn’t be fair, right?
Around the NFC
Special rookie. It would be difficult to overstate the start that No. 2 overall pick and Washington QB Jayden Daniels is off to. He followed up a terrific Week 3 outing by leading the Commanders to a 42-14 beatdown of Arizona. He leads the rookie class easily in essentially every category and his 73.3 QBR is tied for fourth in the league. Oh, and he’s rushed for 218 and four touchdowns and Washington is third in the NFL in scoring
Flores rolling. Minnesota’s been arguably the best team in football. Its offense has been really good but Brian Flores’ defense has been even better. Through four weeks Minnesota’s defensive DVOA is almost twice as good as any other team. They rank No. 1 against the run and against the pass. That’s doing serious work. Could Flores be in for another shot at a head coaching job sometime soon?
Jameson, neat. Jameson Williams might have just 13 catches through four games for Detroit, but he’s averaging 22.2 per reception. He pairs with Amon-Ra St. Brown to give the Lions an enviable 1-2 punch at receiver and his 70-yard touchdown catch helped power a 42-29 win against Seattle on Sunday. Not only that, but the performance helped Jared Goff to an 18-of-18 outing, the first perfect game of 11-plus attempts in the Super Bowl era for a quarterback.
Game of the Week
Buffalo at Houston
This is the kind of matchup that could have consequences regarding home-field advantage in the AFC come January. Both teams are considered among the favorites in the conference, both have star quarterbacks in the Bills’ Josh Allen and the Texans’ C.J. Stroud and both have defenses that can wreck an opposing offense’s day. Allen and Stroud alone make the game must-watch. Then consider this: The leading receiver in the NFL so far this season is playing in this game and it’s not Stefon Diggs. It’s Houston’s Nico Collins. He’s got 489 yards through four games, 103 more than anybody else. Even with all that and a disruptive pass-rush, the Texans are still 1-point home underdogs.
Bills 28, Texans 27
Lock of the Week
New York Giants at Seattle
The Seahawks lost for the first time this season at Detroit, but Mike MacDonald’s team has been good. Now the Giants have to go coast-to-coast to face them. That doesn’t bode well for the Giants, who are 1-3 and haven’t shown a ton on either side of the ball. There’s a reason they’re 6.5-point underdogs. The Seahawks could really use a win, too, because they turn around and play San Francisco on Thursday night afterward.
Seahawks 27, Giants 17
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Upset of the Week
Dallas at Pittsburgh
Yes, the Cowboys’ defense has been a disaster under Mike Zimmer. And yes, that defense will be playing without DeMarcus Lawrence and perhaps Micah Parsons, too. But the Steelers offense hasn’t done all that much so far this season with Justin Fields at the helm and the Dallas offense is still dangerous with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. They’re 2.5-point road ‘dogs this weekend, but the Cowboys really need a win. If they get one Sunday, might it lead Mike Tomlin to start Russell Wilson in Week 6?
Cowboys 20, Steelers 17
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