🏈 NFL 2021-22 Week 4 Review 🏈

        

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Tennessee 9, NY Jets 7 – When it is October and Joe Namath goes on Twitter and asks publicly if this was the first Jets touchdown of the season, and then explains that it sure feels like it, you know that Gang Green has gotten off to another rough start. But yes, the Jets did score a touchdown, and it closed the margin in a game that was threatening to get away from the Jets if they did not do something, and quickly. Michael Carter ran it in from two yards out to cap an 11-play, 75 yard drive that surely qualifies as the best drive that New York has produced so far this season. But that would not be the only positive for Gang Green in this one. It was a weird game, with the Titans actually dominating in yards gained, in first downs earned, and in time of possession. But the Titans kept settling for field goals, especially in the first half. I am sure that they are regretting that now, because they should have taken a more decisive lead. Instead, that first touchdown by the Jets allowed them to get right into the game. Zach Wilson finally showed some real potential, completing 21 of 34 passes for 297 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. The Jets and Titans went to overtime, and once there, the Jets won it late in overtime with a field goal to earn their first win of the season. The Jets earn their first win of the season with far and away their best offensive performance this year so far. As for the Titans, this surely feels like a missed opportunity to take a commanding lead in the AC South. My pick: Inaccurate

Here is the link to that Tweet by Jets legend Joe Namath:

https://twitter.com/ESPNNFL/status/1444731378013286402/photo/1

Washington 34, Atlanta 30 – This was the kind of game where one team, the Falcons, seemed to be winning this game with every update, and then suddenly, right at the end, you find out that they lost. Atlanta was up 30-22 in the fourth quarter, and I had assumed - wrongly, apparently - that they were on their way to a win. But Washington scored two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter, and managed to pull off a shocking, come from behind win. The stats between the two teams were quite even, but it seems that Washington managed to get the job done when it counted the most more effectively than the Falcons. Thus, Washington improves to 2-2, while the Falcons fall to 1-3, and fall farther behind Tampa Bay and Carolina in the NFC South. My pick: Inaccurate                           

Cleveland 14,  Minnesota 7 – The Browns had a tough test this weekend, and man did they pass it! Here's the thing, though: the Browns are known as a team with a ton of offensive weapons, and are regarded as an explosive and dangerous team. Yet, their defense has really shined in the past couple of games, shutting down Chicago one week, and then the defense did a tremendous job once again this weekend up in Minnesota. The Vikings took an early touchdown lead in the first quarter, and then never scored again. The Browns dominated in time of possession for a second straight week, holding onto the ball for over 35 minutes. They certainly did not bury the Vikings under an avalanche of points, but overall, they did enough and scored just enough to make that defensive performance stand up. So far, the Browns are impressing for their ability to win games in ways that perhaps most people would not necessarily have expected them to do before the season started. Cleveland improves to 3-1, and remain tied with Baltimore and Cincinnati atop the AFC North standings, while Minnesota falls to 1-3, and fall farther behind Green Bay. My pick: Inaccurate              

Chicago 14, Detroit 0 – The Bears came out swinging in this one. Running back David Montgomery scored two rushing touchdowns in the first half, and the Bears produced 200 yards of offense in just the first half, one week after producing merely 47 yards in the full game against Cleveland. Do you think that they wanted to put memories of that Browns game behind them? The Bears continued down this path for a while in the second half, before the Lions began to rally and make a real comeback effort. Yet in the end, the Bears pulled off the important road win to improve to 2-2, while Detroit falls to 0-4, and remain winless. My pick: Inaccurate

                   

Indianapolis 27, Miami 17 – The Colts clearly were ready to earn their first win of the season. They dominated the game in time of possession, first downs earned, and yards gained. And they dominated the game on the scoreboard, as well, building up to a 20-3 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Fins finally began to score and make it appear closer than it actually was. Yes, Miami scored some garbage time points, but this was a really impressive win fro Indy, their first of the season. Both teams are now 1-3, but the Colts are only one game behind Tennessee, the leaders in the AFC South. The Dolphins, meanwhile, find themselves at 1-3, tied with New England and the Jets for last place in the AFC East. My pick: Inaccurate              

NY Giants 27, New Orleans 21 (OT)– This one was a back and forth game, with swings in momentum. The stats were deceptive, with the Giants putting up a very impressive number of yards, with 485, yet decisively losing the time of possession battle by over ten minutes. Still, when they were down 21-10 in the fourth quarter, the G-Men answered and played their best, scoring a touchdown with a successful two-point conversion, then a field goal to force overtime. Then, they orchestrated a 9-play, 75 yard drive and capped it with Saquon Barkley scoring from six yards out for the win, which was the first one for New York all season. They now improve to 1-3, while the Saints fall to 2-2. My pick: Inaccurate      

Buffalo 16, Houston 0 – The Bills went out and pounded on their weaker opponent in the first half. They completely dominated, producing 11 first down and a whopping 224 yards of total offense just in the first half, while the Texans were restricted to a total of 8 yards and one first down on offense by the half. It might be troubling that the Bills kept settling for field goals, but they still held a commanding 16-0 lead by the time the two teams went to the lockers for halftime. In the second half, though, they learned to capitalize on their chances a little better, particularly in the fourth quarter. They scored three touchdowns in the final quarter to make what was already a blowout game turn into an absolute rout. The Texans just had no answer for Buffalo in this one. On offense, the Bills hung onto the ball for over 38 minutes, producing 450 yards and 26 first downs, and obviously scored 40 points. On defense, Buffalo not only shut Houston out, but they held them to just 109 total yards and six first downs earned. Plus, the Texans committed the cardinal sin of turning the ball over, again and again. An ugly loss for the Texans, with no real good coming from it. As for the Bills, they really appear to be getting hot. My prediction: Accurate        

Dallas 36, Carolina 28  – The Panthers were 3-0 entering this game, but still had not earned much respect. Somehow, I suspect that they may have earned more respect from the fight they showed in this game than they had earned in their first three games. In fact, the Panthers played better than the Cowboys in three of the four quarters of this game. They went into the lockers at halftime clinging to a narrow 14-13 lead, and scored two touchdowns  in the fourth. The only problem? The 'Boys outscored 20 unanswered points in the third quarter, basically putting the game out of reach for Carolina. Still, Sam Darnold had an impressive showing, throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, although he also had two INT's. But Dak Prescott really shined for Dallas, completing 14 of 22 passes for 188 yards and a whopping four touchdown passes. The stats were mostly even between the two teams, except for those two Darnold INT's, which were the only turnovers committed by either team, but proved costly. Big D gets their third win in a row to stay atop in the NFC East, while the Panthers drop their first game to fall to 3-1. My pick: Accurate             

Kansas City 42, Philadelphia 30 – The Chiefs won this one the way that they have won games for the previous four seasons: by scoring a ton of points, so that their opponents simply could not keep up. Yes, the Chiefs dominated the scoreboard, although this was not reflected in dominance in the usual stats, like yards and first downs gained, as well as time of possession. But the Chiefs made the Eagles pay time and time again, converting scoring opportunities much better. Patrick Mahomes was on first, completing 24 of 30 passes for 278 yards and five touchdowns, although he also had one INT. But KC won when they absolutely needed to the most, and improve to 2-2. Meanwhile, the Eagles drop their third straight game to fall to 1-3, tied with the Giants in the cellar in the NFC East. My pick: Accurate              

Arizona 37, LA Rams 20 – Wow, now I  really got this one wrong, didn't I? It was my clearly mistaken assumption that the Cardinals were an improving team, but still needed to get more experience, and needed to continue developing. So it seemed to me that they would not be ready for a game quite this big. Again, though, they made my line of thinking entering this one look absurd. The Rams seemed to have the early leg up, but Arizona, to their credit, kept their composure and answered. They held onto the ball for over 35 minutes, and also took advantage of two Rams turnovers, while not committing any of their own. In the end, they earned a surprising and convincing win, and now stand as the sole unbeaten team in the NFC, and one of two remaining in the entire league. My pick: Inaccurate             

Seattle 28, San Francisco 21 – The 49ers had home field advantage, scored first, and seemed to produce significantly better numbers on offense. They outgained Seattle,  457 yards to 234, nearly doubling them. San Fran gained 23 first downs, to just 14 for the 'Hawks. But they were really hurt by their two turnovers, especially since Seattle did not commit any turnovers. Really, it seemed like Seattle just grabbed the momentum in the second and third quarter, after the 49ers had taken that early 7-0 lead. They scored 21 straight points before San Fran answered with a touchdown of their own. Then, Seattle scored early in the final quarter to take a commanding lead, and they hung on for the win. A strange game, and both teams walk away with identical 2-2 marks. It could have been disastrous for Seattle had they lost, but instead, they pick up an important win that keeps them relevant. My pick: Inaccurate              

Green Bay 27, Pittsburgh 17 – The Packers did what they had to do, and took care of business in a methodical manner. They owned a decisive advantage in time of possession, yards gained and first downs earned. They committed one turnover, but the Steelers had two. And the Pack ultimately get the kind of a win that most people probably expected them to get. They stay hot, winning their third straight to stay ahead in the NFC North. Meanwhile, it feels like Pittsburgh is going in the opposite direction, dropping their third straight after surprising Buffalo in the season opener. My pick: Accurate          

Baltimore 23, Denver 7 – The Broncos wanted to win this one in a big way, to prove that their 3-0 start to the season was real, and that they had elevated themselves to serious contender status. Obviously, then, this was not the result that they wanted. Denver broke through first in this game, breaking a scoreless deadlock by scoring a touchdown early in the second quarter. They never scored again, and after that, it was all Baltimore. The Ravens had a decisive advantage in yards gained, in time of possession, and in first downs gained. They scored 17 points in the second quarter to take a 17-7 halftime lead, and never allowed the Broncos back into the game. If the Broncos had wanted this game to prove that they were serious contenders, let's just say that they failed this particular test. Both teams are now 3-1. My pick: Accurate

      

SNF: Tampa Bay 19, New England 17– The biggest, most eagerly anticipated game of the weekend. Everyone wanted to see what would happen when Brady went back to Foxboro to meet his old coach, Bill Belichick, and his old team, the Patriots. It was probably a little more low-scoring than most people would have expected. Not major offensive fireworks for either team. And it was a game where there were several shifts in momentum. In the end, it feels like this is what we should have expected, a chess match between two great coaches and two closely matched teams. Brady completed 22 of 43 for 269 yards in his return to New England. Jones completed 31 of 40 for 275 yards with two touchdowns, but also one INT. Tamp'as defense really kept solid pressure on Jones, and it seemed to really luster him towards the end, when the outcome was  still very much in doubt. In fact, it may have been a deciding factor. It came down to one final play to decide it, with New England placekicker trying for a long 54-yard field goal in the pouring rain for the win. It came very close, although ultimately, it fell just short, boinking the goalposts and then falling flat. Of course, that iced it for Tampa Bay. The Patriots now fall to 1-3, as they fall farther behind the Bills in the AFC East. Meanwhile, the defending champion Buccaneers manage to win an important road game. My pick: Accurate