| Through four weeks, the NFL will have three unbeaten teams. They are the Chiefs in the AFC who survived in Las Vegas in the same style they used in 2024 (three points, controversy). The two in the NFC are the 49ers (with quality wins over the Ram and now the Broncos) and the Vikings (despite an amazing lack of offensive points). Then there are five 0-4 teams. Two, the Dolphins and Titans, are no surprise. But the Chargers and Texans were playoff teams last year and the Buccaneers missed a division title only through a tiebreaker. Five teams are 2-2 in the AFC, but If The Season Ended Today it would be the Patriots who are in the playoffs: Overall Conf1 Kansas City West 4-0 4-02 Jacksonville South 3-1 3-13 Buffalo East 3-1 2-14 Cleveland North 3-1 1-15 Baltimore WC1 3-1 2-06 Las Vegas WC2 3-1 2-17 New England WC3 2-2 2-18 Denver 2-2 1-19 Pittsburgh 2-2 1-210 Indianapolis 2-2 1-2 11 Cincinnati 2-2 1-2 Cleveland and Las Vegas IN the Playoffs!- – -The NFL has had 11 one-score games so far in Week 4 with Atlanta at New Orleans still to go (and Arizona at the Giants was a one-score game when the clock hit double zeroes) Jay Busbee of YahooSports.com marvels at the amount of competitive games in Week 4. If you happened to be within sight of more than one screen on Sunday around 3:50 p.m. Eastern, either at a sports bar, or with multiview enabled, or with an array of installed man-cave TVs, you would have seen something wonderful unfolding. At almost the exact same moment, you saw multiple late-fourth-quarter scenarios unfolding: New England, down 26-21, driving against Buffalo; Los Angeles, down 20-10 against Philadelphia, attempting a miraculous two-possession comeback; Tampa Bay, down 17-14 to Green Bay, attempting a comeback with a rookie quarterback; Houston, down 27-23 to Dallas, driving for the go-ahead score … and then Dallas, down 30-27, attempting a scoreboard flip. Four games, five late defeat-to-victory drives — and four of them were successful. (Sorry, Tampa Bay. And sorry the defense didn’t hold, Houston.) Parity reigns supreme in the NFL, as always. Hail to the Shield, and order another round! “Parity,” in this context, doesn’t mean there are no dynasties in the NFL, of course. You probably know the famous (and accurate) statistic about how half the NFL’s playoff field turns over every year. (The 2025 teams already on pace to miss the 2026 postseason: Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Houston and the Chargers.) But even that’s looking from too high a perspective. Drill down to the per-game level, and you’ll see the real parity that exists across the league on a weekly basis. The NFL’s perpetual enforcement of parity is no secret, statistically, financially or spiritually. First, some numbers: per a study by NFL Analytics, of the 7,276 games played between 1999 and 2025, 50.7 percent finished with a margin of eight points or fewer between winner and loser. (Another 26.9 percent finished as “blowouts,” defined as a margin of 17 points or more.) The percentage of one-possession games is increasing, from 47.9 percent in the 2005-2010 era to 52.7 percent from 2017 to 2025. Already this year, Week 3 featured 12 of 16 games ending within one possession, tying the most in any single week since 1999. And depending on the outcome of Monday night’s Falcons-Saints game, this week, already with 11 of 15 games within a single possession, could match that total. Statistically, the most common finishing margin of an NFL game isn’t just one possession, it’s one field goal. According to Pro Football Reference, the top four most common scores in NFL games across history are three-point wins. (Trivia winner for you someday: the most common score in an NFL game is 20-17, achieved 303 times, most recently in Week 2 by Green Bay over the Jets.) What the NFL has mastered isn’t season-long parity. Last season, for instance, featured three 14-3 teams and four 3-14 teams, not exactly a clustering around the median. No, the NFL now specializes in in-game parity — the idea that no matter how far apart two teams may be talent-wise, there’s a very good chance the final margin of victory will be within a single possession. Sunday was a perfect example. Coming into the day, the Bills seemed like the best team in the league by a wide margin, whereas there were real concerns about whether New England’s Drake Maye remembered which side of a football to point downfield. Through three weeks, Minnesota seemed like it had leveled up, while Miami looked so bad it might manage to lose 19 games in a 17-game season. And what happened? New England upset Buffalo, while Miami finished an uncomfortably close five points short of Minnesota. The lesson for teams is obvious: first, no matter the opponent, you can win — or lose — on any given Sunday, so every game matters. Second, the margin between victory and defeat is a tiny one, so the winning teams will be the ones that find those edges, over and over again. Last year, the Denver Broncos were 11-2 in one-score games, a run that coincided nicely with division rival Kansas City’s record of 1-9 in such games. It’s better to be lucky than good, but it’s even better to be opportunistic than lucky. This year’s version of Denver might be Minnesota, which is 4-0 but won three of those by a single possession. And the hard-luck team of the year — of the last two years, really — is Tampa Bay, which has played 10 straight one-score games and lost eight of them, including all four this season. The NFL’s hard salary cap has created this situation by dispersing talent across the league. Its genius scheduling model, clustering most games within a few time slots, contributes to the energy; there’s nothing like those frenetic final minutes of games — what NFL RedZone’s Scott Hanson calls “the witching hour” — when teams can vault to victory or collapse in defeat. And that, for the fan, is what makes parity so thrilling. Your team might win only a third of its games, but it’s almost certainly going to be close in a few of those losses. Your team might rack up a division, conference or Super Bowl championship, but it’s not going to be a smooth, stress-free ride. Game-to-game parity is the NFL’s crown jewel, what makes the sport so compelling, week after week. So, bottom line: You’d better go set up another screen or two for this weekend. Just in case. |
| NFC NORTH |
| CHICAGOIn scoring 23 points in defeating the Jets, the Bears did not punt. Under QB TYLER BAGENT, they marched to 2 TDs, 3 FGs, had 2 turnovers, were stopped at the NY1 and had the game end in possession. @BenjaminSolakThe Bears had 34 first downs today. The Jets had 32 plays. This is only the second game in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) in which a team had more first downs than its opponent had plays, per ESPN Research. |
| GREEN BAYThe Packers have not started the season with a losing record after four games in 20 years: @JohnToddNFLThe #Packers have now been at least .500 through the first 4 games of a season every year since 2007. This 20-season streak is a new NFL record, passing the 2002-20 Patriots #GoPackGo Now the two wins this year are in overtime against the 1-3 Jets and by three points Sunday against the 0-4 Buccaneers. And Tyler Sullivan of CBSSports.com wasn’t impressed with the win over the Buccaneers: With the first month of the season in the books, there are a few teams that haven’t exactly lived up to the hype. Sure, you can look at teams like the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans — who are both still winless this year — as some of the biggest disappointments through the early stages of the 2026 season, but don’t sleep on the Green Bay Packers either. Despite emerging from the first month at 2-2, these Cheeseheads don’t exactly pass the smell test. It’s been a slog for the Packers, and they haven’t instilled much confidence as far as any serious threat in the NFC North. After coming into the year with the second-best odds to win the division and favored to reach double-digit wins on the year, their .500 record feels hollow, with their 17-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 serving as the latest piece of evidence pointing to that fact. They nearly let undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels — who started in place of the injured Baker Mayfield — beat them at the last minute because of self-inflicted wounds. For instance, they committed two fourth-quarter turnovers with a mere field goal lead, basically daring Tampa Bay to pull off the upset. The first was a fumble by Kaleb Johnson, and then, on the very next possession, Jordan Love needlessly tossed the ball into a high-traffic area, and the pass was picked off by Bucs corner Jacob Parish. Despite those golden opportunities, Daniels and company couldn’t capitalize, first punting, then turning the ball over on downs after those two turnovers. Had they been facing a more capable quarterback instead of a UDFA, we could be looking at a different result. As has been the case throughout the year to this point, the Packers have had two adversaries every week: the opposition and themselves. On Sunday, they committed 10 total penalties, bringing their total to 42 infractions for the year (second-most in the NFL). Their 344 total penalty yards also lead the league. That’s not a characteristic of a true playoff contender. When they’re not having laundry thrown at them, the offense hasn’t inspired much fear in opposing defenses. They average just 18.3 points per game, which is their lowest through the first four weeks of the season since 2006. They’re also last in the NFL with a 26.1% conversion rate on third down, while their rushing yards per game average (3.2) is near the bottom of the barrel as well. Their defense is allowing a 48.2% conversion rate on third down (fourth-highest in the NFL), so it’s not great on either side of the ball right now. Yes, external circumstances are contributing to this lackluster beginning. They don’t have Micah Parsons as he’s continuing to rehab his season-ending ACL tear from last year, Josh Jacobs is on the commissioner’s exempt list, and they continue to be inundated with injuries. After losing Jayden Reed and Zach Bako-Bewele in previous weeks, they also just saw linebacker Edgerrin Cooper go down in Week 4. It’s been brutal from that front. Even with that in mind, this team has enough talent that it shouldn’t be this anemic, yet they’re barely getting by despite facing backup and/or bottom-tier starting quarterbacks. So far this season, Green Bay’s two victories have come against the Buccaneers and Jets, who are a combined 1-7 through four weeks. As we mentioned, Tampa Bay started an undrafted free agent, while the Jets had Geno Smith (who nearly beat them in overtime). Meanwhile, their losses have come against the Carson Wentz-led Vikings and the Falcons, with Michael Penix Jr. making his first start since suffering his third career ACL tear. Looking at their upcoming schedule, the offenses that they’re set to face aren’t going to give them much reprieve. Over the next three weeks, they’ll face the Bears in Week 5, the Cowboys in Week 6, and the Lions in Week 7. At the rate at which they’re going currently, it feels like an uphill climb for them to stay at or get over .500 on the season over that stretch. Right now, the Packers are +225 to make the playoffs at DraftKings Sportsbook, which is a far cry from -146 odds they were before the season. I think that number will only continue to inflate as Green Bay moves forward throughout the rest of the year. |
| MINNESOTATE T.J. HOCKINSON opted to keep Minnesota’s offense out of the end zone late in Sunday’s win at Miami. @SeifertESPNYes, T.J. Hockenson could have scored on the final 3rd down. But since he did not: Per ESPN Research, the Vikings are the 3rd team in NFL history to start 4-0 despite going multiple games without a TD. The other two times: 1922 Chicago Cardinals1923 Chicago Cardinals |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASNot only did WR CEEDEE LAMB has 17 catches Sunday, he had them against what should be an elite defense. Ben Solak of ESPN.com: 17: Number of catches for CeeDee Lamb in the Cowboys’ win over the TexansThere were only 11 players Sunday with 17 or more rushes. That’s the incredible volume at which Lamb was just used. It’s only the ninth game in NFL history in which a player had 17-plus catches. The Texans spent much of the game letting the Cowboys play Lamb in the slot and hunt nickel Jalen Pitre in space — and then again with rookie Kamari Ramsey when the Texans were in dime. Lamb saw 42.1% of his targets on the day from the slot, which is the second-highest slot share he has had since Brian Schottenheimer took over as head coach last year. Lamb now has 37 catches for 498 yards – if he plays all 17 games that is a pace for 157 catches and 2,116 yards When Lamb was out wide, the Cowboys threw him hitches incessantly — almost any time they saw off-coverage from the Texans’ outside corners. This was a game in which the Cowboys’ offensive coaching staff dared the Texans’ defensive coaching staff to continue sticking to its characteristically simple defensive approach. Houston refused to blink, and the Cowboys took the free yardage again and again and again. Houston’s defense was a vaunted group last season. This year, the Texans have had too many easy holes — especially in end-of-game situations in which the ball is coming out faster than their pass rush can account for it. This Lamb performance is but an extreme example. |
| PHILADELPHIAA quarter of the way through the season, the Eagles are looking up at the Giants in the standings – and Kevin Patra of NFL.com isn’t enamored with the offense: Eagles’ offensive issues continue in lossSpeaking of not pretty offenses, don’t look at the product in Philly. Yes, the Eagles played without DeVonta Smith and watched Saquon Barkley get knocked out early due to a hamstring injury in Sunday’s 24-20 collapse against the Los Angeles Rams. But the issues that have plagued Jalen Hurts and the offense continue regardless of who is in the lineup. The absence of star weapons simply magnified the concerns. The Eagles were 0 of 12 on third down in Sunday’s loss, their most third-down attempts without a conversion since at least 1991, per NFL Research. Their 172 total yards are their fewest in a game since Week 14, 2014 (139 yards vs. Seahawks). The Eagles have 15 three-and-out drives this season, the most in the NFL, and 11 of those have come in the second half of games, which are three more than any other team. Sean Mannion was hired to bring in elements of the McVay/Shananan offenses to Philly. Thus far, the evolution has been snuffed out. Hurts and the Eagles are morbid from under center and grotesque when trying to execute play action — two staples of the offenses Philly is attempting to mimic. The offensive line has struggled even before missing Lane Johnson on Sunday, and Hurts is as jittery in the pocket as he’s ever been. The Rams blitzed Hurts relentlessly (60.6% of dropbacks), daring the QB to beat them. He couldn’t, completing just 5 of 16 attempts. “I’ve got a ton of confidence in Sean, and he’s going to wear a lot of this,” coach Nick Sirianni said, via The Athletic. “There’s no doubt. I’m going to wear a lot of this. Our offense is going to wear a lot of this. You win together, you lose together.” Perhaps when the weapons return and Hurts gets more comfortable in the scheme, things can perk up. But a month in, I’m not optimistic. We’ve seen this rodeo before. The Eagles defense is going to have to spoon-feed the offense for them to get back on track; even then, against good teams, it might not be enough — like Sunday’s result at home. This from Dan Graziano of ESPN.com: THE EAGLES WILL MISS THE PLAYOFFS For most of the early Sunday window, it looked as if the Rams would be the subject of this particular write-up. The Eagles led the Super Bowl favorites 20-10 with four minutes left in the game, and the Rams were in danger of dropping to 1-3 after all that preseason hype. But L.A. scored 14 points in those final four minutes against a Vic Fangio defense that ranks among the most disappointing units (relative to expectations) in the NFL this season. As a result, the Eagles are 2-2 and tied for second in the NFC East with the Cowboys, who won a last-minute thriller in Houston thanks to Lamb’s performance. They’re one game behind the 3-1 Giants, who held off Arizona thanks to three Jameis Winston touchdown passes. We love it when the NFC East gets loopy. Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION Philadelphia doesn’t look very good. Running back Saquon Barkley left this game because of a hamstring injury. Receiver DeVonta Smith was ruled out Friday because of his own hamstring injury. The offense looks as stuck in the mud as it did last season, and the defense, which was supposed to carry the Eagles through the offense’s inevitable early-season growing pains, has not gotten the stops it needs. Meanwhile, Dallas’ offense looks kind of unstoppable, and the Giants … laugh all you want, but John Harbaugh is the coach there now. They will win the games they’re supposed to win — and some they aren’t. If the Eagles keep struggling with these injury issues, and their offensive line continues to look like a shadow of its dominant 2024 self, they could be the third-best team in their own division. And it would be tough to make the playoffs from that spot. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| CAROLINAAlthough many have been slow to warm up to him, QB BRYCE YOUNG is ascending past the acceptable game manager stage and into stardom – with the help of WR TETAIROA McMILLAN. Mike Kaye of ESPN.com: With the Bank of America Stadium crowd chanting “MVP! MVP!” at his quarterback, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan said he stayed zoned into the action on the field during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 32-26 win over Detroit Lions. While Bryce Young was electric in primetime, McMillan was dominant, catching 14 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns. “Everything just clicked tonight,” McMillan said. McMillan accounted for 43.1% of the Panthers’ net offense against the Lions. He also fell just one catch and nine receiving yards short of tying two longtime franchise records, as Young threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns and led the offense on six scoring drives against Detroit. McMillan, with Jalen Coker (quad) sidelined and Xavier Legette (knee) on injured reserve, was at his best. He dwarfed career-high numbers across the board. He had 16 targets, four more than his previous best. His previous top reception (8) and receiving yards (130) marks were bested as well. “We knew that he was going to be an issue, especially since Coker got hurt,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “That would be a guy they would probably try to get the ball to, and really a lot of those were those RPOs [run-pass option plays] early in the game and those quick strikes right up the hash and right off the seam.” “He was balling today, and that was something super fun to see,” tight end Tommy Tremble said. “He was able to show who he was today, and I think that’s awesome because that’s the type of player he is, that’s the caliber of player. And to show it on ‘Sunday Night Football,’ there’s nothing better. So, I’m really, really happy for him.” The reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was in rhythm with Young, who now has a franchise-record nine passing touchdowns through four games. Their chemistry was unimpacted by what coach Dave Canales said was “not a great week of practice” between Young and McMillan. “There were some misses, they had to work through some stuff [in practice] — they had to talk through it,” Canales said. “I’ve been part of this before where you don’t make a judgement on what’s going to happen on Sunday as the guys continue to work and find that. And then for it to show up like that tonight was beautiful.” “I trust [McMillan] so much,” Young said. “We have so many banked reps from these two years — offseason, OTAs, all that stuff. … I know the player he is. He’s special. I always trust him.” Following the historic performance, McMillan said he felt the trust of Young and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik throughout the game. Young and Idzik have led 22 scoring drives through the first four games — the most for the franchise since 2000 — and McMillan put an exclamation point on two of them against the Lions. McMillan said Idzik’s humility and collaborative nature benefit the offense. “Really, he just does a good job as far as putting everybody in the right positions,” McMillan said. “He gives a chance to everybody across the board. He gives everybody a chance and an opportunity at the ball. And he’s good at communicating throughout the week. Just to see what everybody is feeling, see what we like, what Bryce likes. He likes to communicate in that way as far as getting our opinions. He’s humble in that way as far as just asking everybody for their opinions.” |
| NFC WEST |
| ARIZONAThere is video of an NFL official going out of his way to swear at Cardinals TE TREY McBRIDE. ESPN: The NFL says it is reviewing an official’s apparent use of profanity directed at Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants. Line judge Jeff Seeman was caught on camera apparently cursing at McBride. NFL looking into exchange between Vikings LB Wilson, referee Kevin Seifert NFL Players Association executive director JC Tretter, in a post to X on Sunday, called for the NFL to hold the official accountable. “This kind of behavior from an official towards a player is unacceptable,” Tretter wrote. “Players are consistently held accountable when the roles are reversed. We expect the NFL to hold officials to the same standard.” The NFL Referees Association did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.Advertising The interaction took place with just under five minutes left after officials did not call a pass interference or illegal contact penalty on New York’s Dru Phillips, who made contact with McBride before the ball arrived from Jacoby Brissett on a third-and-2 play. Arizona punted and the Giants went on to win 36-24 after Deonte Banks intercepted Brissett and ran it back for a pick-six as time expired. |
| SEATTLEThe Seahawks are not as buttoned down this year as they were in 2025. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The Seahawks had a 21-point lead over the Chargers in the third quarter on Sunday, but the Chargers had the ball with a chance to tie or win the game with less than two minutes to play. One of the reasons why the Chargers were able to stick around were the Seahawks’ repeated penalties. They were penalized 14 times for a franchise-record 150 yards and the infractions included seven personal fouls. Many of them extended Chargers drives and gave them a chance to pull off a comeback that seemed impossible earlier in the day. After the game, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said the win didn’t overshadow those errors. “To have seven personal foul penalties is unacceptable on any level, however you slice it,” Macdonald said, via the team’s website. “That’s not us, and that’s not going to be how we play football around here.” Linebacker Ernest Jones agreed with his coach and said the defense is “collectively kind of pissed” about their lack of discipline. Jones said the Seahawks will get things fixed this week because they know that they flirted with disaster on Sunday. |
| AFC WEST |
| KANSAS CITYMichael Silver of The Athletic hears the Chiefs are interested in bringing WR TYREEK HILL back into the fold: The Kansas City Chiefs have the AFC’s best record, on the strength of Sunday’s 30-27 victory over the previously undefeated Las Vegas Raiders, a game that featured big-time performances from quarterback Patrick Mahomes and running back Kenneth Walker III. Soon, the Chiefs (4-0) might be even more explosive. Several high-ranking organizational sources confirmed Sunday night that they are very interested in signing free-agent receiver Tyreek Hill, who starred in Kansas City from 2016 to 2021. The sources were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss a potential future transaction. Hill suffered a gruesome knee injury almost exactly a year ago while playing for the Miami Dolphins and was released in February. He’s attempting to recover from a knee dislocation and multiple torn ligaments, including an ACL, and is believed to be targeting a November return. The Chiefs, who traded Hill to the Dolphins in March 2022 after balking at his contract demands, were already interested in a reunion before Sunday. Then, against the Raiders, two receivers suffered injuries: Tyquan Thornton, who could miss the rest of the season with a broken ankle, and Rashee Rice, who could be out several weeks with a hamstring strain. In the wake of those injuries, the Chiefs have already reached out to Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, to express their interest. They’d have to be satisfied with the receiver’s recovery, but there would likely be no other obstacles on the organization’s end. His tenure in Kansas City ended on reasonably good terms, and people inside the organization believe he would fit in well with the current team. After Thornton’s injury, Hill posted “hm” on his X account. Following the victory over the Raiders, several prominent Chiefs players said they’d be in favor of Hill’s return. “That’s out of my hands, but I know I’d love to have ‘The Cheetah’ back in this building,” veteran tight end Travis Kelce said. “He’s a brother. He’s one of those people who, when he sets his mind to something, he usually delivers. You saw that with Miami, when all the haters were saying he couldn’t play and he went and had his best year. I’d be excited by what he could do (here).” Said Mahomes: “I have no idea (if that would happen), but it’d be pretty cool.” Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who returned to the Chiefs in June after two frustrating seasons with the Tennessee Titans, said, “Man, I hope so,” when asked about Hill’s potential return. “I hope we do,” echoed veteran defensive tackle Chris Jones. |
| LOS ANGELES CHARGERSJim Harbaugh was not deterred by QB JUSTIN HERBERT as the Chargers fell to 0-4. Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com: Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw two interceptions and lost a fumble as his team lost another game on Sunday, but head coach Jim Harbaugh remains confident in his quarterback. Herbert shook off some hard hits and kept fighting, and after falling behind 27-6, the Chargers had three long scoring drives in the second half. The Chargers ultimately lost 30-23 to the Seahawks, falling to 0-4 on the season, but Harbaugh loved seeing Herbert competing until the end. “It was one of the grittiest performances I’ve ever been associated with from a quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “When I say the fight out of our entire team was good, I think that’s epitomized by Justin. There’s no player I’ve ever coached that I respect more, or love the way he competes more, than Justin Herbert.” Harbaugh, who said last month that he thinks Herbert will be remembered as the greatest quarterback of all time, said he remains an enthusiastic backer of Herbert’s. “The grit, the competitiveness, the fight, the skill is what I admire,” Harbaugh said of Herbert. “We’ll take this team and keep fighting. Keep fighting, keep growing, that’s what we’re going to do.” Harbaugh acknowledged that the four sacks Herbert took were a problem but said that’s on the rest of the team to protect him better. “The quarterback taking the hits he did, there’s nobody I respect more, and protecting him is always at the front of the mind,” Harbaugh said. The Chargers are not a good team right now, but Harbaugh does not believe that’s Herbert’s fault at all. |
| AFC NORTH |
| BALTIMOREThe Ravens beat the lowly Titans Sunday and saw their QB leave the stadium with a boot on. Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com: Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson left M&T Bank Stadium with his injured left ankle in a protective boot after not playing the second half of Sunday’s 24-18 victory over the Tennessee Titans. “He was just dealing with a little bit of an ankle,” Ravens coach Jesse Minter said after the game. “I don’t know enough about it right now, but we’ll have to see where that’s at.”Advertising Jackson is believed to be day-to-day, a source told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Jackson was injured on the last offensive snap before halftime, when he was sacked from behind. It looked like Titans defensive end Jermaine Johnson II’s shoulder landed on the outside of Jackson’s left ankle. Jackson then limped to the sideline. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player remained on the sideline in uniform for almost the entire second half before leaving the field with 4:41 left in the game. Asked if Jackson could have returned to Sunday’s game, Minter replied, “There were some talks about that. So, hopefully it’s in a good spot.” Jackson was having a stellar game at that point, completing 15 of 20 passes (75%) for 222 yards and two touchdowns. This was the fourth-most passing yards in a first half of his career. In replacing Jackson, backup quarterback Tyler Huntley completed 8-of-9 passes for 63 yards but failed to lead a scoring drive. In Huntley’s five full series, Baltimore punted four times and missed a 40-yard field goal. Huntley has proven to be a capable fill-in for Jackson. Last season, Huntley won both of his starts, beating two playoff teams in the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. “Obviously, we want [Jackson] out there. He’s the best player in the NFL,” Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “But at the same time, I think we have all the faith in [Huntley] and trust that he can go in there and handle any situation. He’s done that time in and time out. And I don’t think there’s any worry or concern that he can’t go in there and step in and do what we need to do to win the game.” In Jackson’s nine-year career, he has missed a total of 13 games due to injuries. Last season, he didn’t play in four games because of a hamstring injury and a back contusion. In addition to Jackson, Baltimore is dealing with injuries to other significant players. The Ravens ruled out three players during Sunday’s game: cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf), right guard Andrew Vorhees (foot) and tight end Durham Smythe (Achilles). Minter had no updates on any of the injuries, saying, “Probably know a little bit more [Monday].” |
| CINCINNATIDespite QB JOE BURROW throwing for more than 400 yards, it was the Jaguars who claimed victory in Cincinnati on Sunday. And the Bengals have concerns with ace receivers Ja’MARR CHASE and TEE HIGGINS. Ben Baby of ESPN.com: Both of the Bengals’ top wide receivers suffered injuries in Cincinnati’s 22-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Ja’Marr Chase missed the second half because of a concussion, Bengals coach Zac Taylor said in his postgame news conference. Then on the Bengals’ final drive of the game, Tee Higgins suffered an adductor injury after a catch during the game’s final minutes. Even without two of the best receivers in the league, Cincinnati nearly completed a late comeback. But Cincinnati was stopped 1 yard shy of converting a fourth down and 12 yards short of scoring a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute. “Just got to make it work,” Taylor said after the game. “No one wants to hear any reason why that wouldn’t work.” Chase, a two-time All-Pro selection, had three catches for 27 yards before he left the game in the second quarter. Following a catch, Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones dragged Chase down by his facemask, which drew a penalty. On his way to the turf at Paycor Stadium, Chase also took another hit. He lay flat on his back for several seconds before leaving the field and later going into the locker room. The Bengals (2-2), who never led, leaned on Higgins in the second half. He finished with 11 catches for 157 yards, his most since setting a career high in 2021 with a 194-yard performance against the Baltimore Ravens. During Cincinnati’s final push, Higgins moved gingerly after a leaping catch down the sideline.Advertising “Tee just wants to help us win,” Taylor said. “He knew the situation we were in. He just couldn’t do it.” The extent of Higgins’ injury is unknown, and Chase will now go through the NFL’s concussion protocol as the Bengals prepare to play the Miami Dolphins next Sunday. With both hurt Sunday, the Bengals were down four of the receivers who started the season on the 53-player roster. Andrei Iosivas, who was sporting a cast on the sideline, is on injured reserve after surgery to repair an injured thumb. Colbie Young suffered a knee injury in last week’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his return timetable is unknown. To boost the team’s depth, the team re-signed Mitchell Tinsley, who played all 17 games for the Bengals last season but failed to make this year’s active roster. He was on Houston’s practice squad before rejoining the team last Tuesday. Tinsley had three catches for 49 yards. Dohnte Meyers, who was in the CFL last season, had a career-high seven catches for 82 yards. “We called it just like we would have if anybody else was in there,” said Burrow, who was 39-of-54 passing for 428 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. “Those guys make plays.” But the Bengals finished Sunday a few plays short of a victory. On the final drive, Burrow cited miscommunication with tight end Mike Gesicki on a potential winning pass that fell incomplete. That would have been Gesicki’s second touchdown of the day and fourth of the season. Instead, the Bengals are in a familiar position. For a second straight year, Cincinnati is at .500 after Week 4 despite winning the first two games of the season. Even with what happened to Chase and Higgins, Burrow wasn’t resentful of the injuries. “Certainly no frustration,” he said. “Those [other] guys really step up. I had a lot of confidence in those guys going into the year, and they just keep proving me right.” Scott Kacsmar is a QB PATRICK MAHOMES fan boy and marshalls an army of stats to extol the Chiefs QB’s greatness and laugh at those who others might think are in his league. With Tom Brady retired, he has turned his aim to Joe Burrow – who it must be noted did not get the late game-winning drive in the books Sunday. @ScottKacsmar(after Sunday’s results, updated records when trailing in the last 8:00) Burrow 1-35Mahomes 18-35 |
| AFC SOUTH |
| JACKSONVILLEMike Florio warns us: @ProFootballTalkGet used to the possibility that the road to the Super Bowl will go through a stadium that has a capacity of 42,000 for 2026 due to ongoing renovations. So does Kevin Patra of NFL.com: You should be taking the Jaguars seriously If you haven’t been paying attention to the ball being played by the men from Duval, you’re missing out. Liam Coen’s squad has proven it can win any way it needs to in 2026, whether with an explosive offense or an opportunistic, stingy defense. On Sunday, the Jags created havoc around Joe Burrow, generating 20 pressures, the most the Bengals QB has faced in a game since Week 11, 2024, per NFL Research. Jacksonville only earned two sacks, but they forced Burrow to get rid of the ball quickly. As he does, Burrow racked up yards (428), but Anthony Campanile’s defense remains opportunistic. They picked off Burrow twice, including a massive red zone takeaway by Foye Oluokun. Sunday marked the Jag’s 13th game with multiple takeaways since the start of the 2025 season, most in the NFL. They have forced 39 total takeaways over the last two seasons, tied with the Bears for the most in the NFL over that span. “Gritty not pretty,” Oluokun said after the 22-17 win, per the team’s official site. “Whatever it looks like, spot the ball and keep playing.” The Jags were flagged for 13 penalties for 125 yards, or the victory could have been more emphatic. Jacksonville had a couple of TDs wiped off the board, but Chris Rodriguez Jr.’s 25-yard scamper put the Jags up late, and the defense held Burrow and the Bengals short on a late fourth down to seal the game. “Cincy did a nice job for the most part against our run in a lot of ways,” Coen said. “It was kind of grimy. We had to earn a lot of our yards that we did gain. That was a huge one for us to break that thing open a little bit, give us a little breathing room.” The 3-1 Jags are playing complementary football on par with any elite team in the league. |
| AFC EAST |
| MIAMIThis: @ByTimReynoldsHere are the three most recent NFL teams that failed to score more than 13 points in any of their first four games: — 2026 Dolphins— 2019 Dolphins— 2004 Dolphins |
| NEW ENGLANDAfter three miserable games, the QB DRAKE MAYE of 2026 showed up in Buffalo on Sunday. Steve Buckley of The Athletic: This time, the postgame was not an exercise in studying every Drake Maye eye twitch, every grimace, every drop of the shoulders, and using the data as more evidence that the New England Patriots’ third-year quarterback has “lost confidence.” No. This time, all you needed was to focus on the in-game before the postgame, as in what took place with 4:21 remaining in the fourth quarter Sunday afternoon at spiffy new Highmark Stadium with the Patriots trailing the Buffalo Bills by five points. That was the starting point to an eight-play, 73-yard drive that carried the Pats to a 29-26 victory. It was a big-time quarterback delivering the ball to his receiver, the receiver in this case being Efton Chism III. On third-and-5 from the Buffalo 23, Maye dropped back and stepped to his right, and then, at about the 32, lofted a pass to the end zone that Chism pulled in with a stretching, one-handed catch. Maye did the right thing by leading his receiver and not throwing into bumper-to-bumper traffic. It was gutsy. And, yes, it was big-time. Let’s talk about that word. Maye is coming off a season in which he finished second in the MVP voting and, well, second in the Super Bowl. That kind of makes him big-time, except for the inconvenient truth that he had a rough postseason last year and had been all kinds of concerningly bad the first three games of this season. But if it was fair game to skewer Maye with three weeks of “overrated,” “soft schedule,” “in over his head,” “he and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel don’t like each other,” and, yes, let’s bring out “he’s lost his confidence” for a curtain call, then it’s perfectly acceptable to give him at least a one-day hall pass as a big-time quarterback. Top Plays from Patriots @ BillsHow this will play out in the weeks to come will be determined in the weeks to come. For now, Maye and the Patriots went into the new home of the undefeated Bills and went pound-for-pound with veteran quarterback Josh Allen. What’s that? Allen took the Bills on a five-play, 80-yard drive late in the fourth quarter that culminated in a 34-yard touchdown completion to Keon Coleman? The two-point conversion try failed, but Allen did what veteran, playoff-tested quarterbacks do: He had given his team a lead with under five minutes remaining. Maye had committed just enough mistakes earlier in the day — such as being strip-sacked and losing the ball rather than taking a dive — to make it possible, maybe feasible, and, to a seen-enough cynic, perhaps inevitable that Maye was going to do something terrible on the ensuing make-or-break drive. But no. With pass completions to Hunter Henry (14 yards), Romeo Doubs (12 yards) and Chism (19 yards), the Pats moved from their own 27 to the Buffalo 28. Rhamondre Stevenson picked up five more yards. After the two-minute warning, Maye went ballpark and missed Kyle Williams. And then he threw to Chism, who made the big-time catch. That made Chism a hero, though he later pointed out that the real hero was his girlfriend, who drove to Buffalo to be in attendance. Or we could call Maye the hero, except that he did what big-time quarterbacks do. He delivered in the fourth quarter. If Maye turned on anything last week — be it his radio, his TV or his microwave — he would have heard all the talk about soft schedules and lost confidence. This led to a question being delivered to Vrabel after the game: Had he noticed anything different from his quarterback last week? “Extremely prepared, focused, had a good week of practice,” Vrabel said. “For the most part, I thought there was perfection. I thought he was decisive, everybody’s out of there and taking off and running. That certainly helps.” Taken literally, that could mean Vrabel hadn’t seen these attributes in previous weeks. But let’s not quibble. What matters is that whatever Maye did last week in Foxborough, he packed it up and took it with him to Orchard Park. “I thought he progressed through. There was some ability for him to get the ball out and make good decisions,” Vrabel said, now putting on his analyst’s cap. “I probably would have liked a better ball to Kyle, but he came back and gave a better ball to Chiz.” That he did. The Patriots’ season is back on after defeating the BillsChad Graff“I got full trust in myself, and I think (the way) my teammates came and pumped me up this week was cool,” Maye said. “That’s what made this game so special.” Did Maye think Chism was going to be able to hold onto the ball? “I always get nervous,” he replied. “I’m like the nervous mom sending her kid off to school for the first time.” But, Maye said, “Then he started celebrating. Once they start celebrating, it tells the story.” Though it’s the story of this surprise road victory over the Bills, it’s important to note that every good story has a subplot. This one occurred earlier in the game, in the second quarter, when Maye made an ill-conceived decision to attempt a throw while being swarmed by Buffalo defenders. He lost the ball, of course, and in the moment it was just another example of how the kid’s season was spiraling out of control. But the following Buffalo drive went nowhere. Maye was then seemingly sacked, and seemingly lost the ball, and the Bills seemingly ran it in for a touchdown, but it was all called back on review. That’s when Maye dropped back and delivered a 26-yard pass to Mack Hollins. He also scrambled, Steve Grogan-like, for a 26-yard gain. Those two plays helped set up a 1-yard touchdown by Stevenson. We can have a fun debate over whether it was that drive that helped Maye regain his confidence, or whether it’s all about the touchdown to Chism. Or we can go with this: Maye was big-time on Sunday. There’s no getting around that. |
