We’ve reached October, which means “it’s still early” is starting to do a lot of heavy lifting for some NFL fan bases. There’s plenty of football left, obviously, but at some point your team has to actually win a game instead of telling everyone it’s going to be fine (it’s not going to be fine, Chargers fans).
Meanwhile, I’m back with another round of opinions that could look brilliant or incredibly stupid by next Sunday (yeah, about last Sunday …). That’s part of the fun. At least, that’s what I tell myself.
Here’s my biggest takeaway from each game on the Week 4 Sunday slate.
Takeaway: That Jonathan Taylor guy is pretty good.
It’s hard to glean too much from a game where the Commanders were forced to go to their third-string quarterback after Marcus Mariota suffered a knee injury in the first quarter. Instead, I’m going to sing the praises of Jonathan Taylor, who has six rushing touchdowns in four games and plays a very old-school game. That’s cool because a few years ago, we thought old-school running backs were done in the NFL. Taylor and Derrick Henry, in particular, aren’t going to let that happen any time soon.
Takeaway: How can any NFL fan not love Jameis Winston eating a W?
Without Jaxson Dart, the Giants aren’t a threat to make a deep run in the postseason. They probably won’t even make the postseason. But right now, who cares? The Giants are 3-1 and currently in first place in the NFC East. Plus, they’ve got the Commanders in Week 5, and Washington’s uncertain QB situation could make that task quite a bit easier. It might not last, but Giants fans should enjoy the early success.
Takeaway: As soon as you think you know something, the NFL reminds you that you don’t.
Of course, the 1â2 Patriots, who looked awful in Week 3, went into Buffalo and beat the previously unbeaten Bills as seven-point underdogs. Because of course. This is the type of game that makes the NFL great. Just when you think you have a handle on which teams are good and which teams are bad, the NFL says, “You don’t know what you think you know.”
Takeaway: Ben Johnson is a damn genius.
Look, I’m not going to overreact to the Bears beating the Jets. But regardless of opponent, Chicago head coach Ben Johnson just went 2-0 with Case Keenum starting in Week 3 and Tyson Bagent starting in Week 4. For the record, entering this stretch, neither Keenum nor Bagent had even started an NFL regular-season game since 2023. The defense deserves a lot of credit (and Johnson deserves credit for hiring Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator), but scoring 50 points with those two QBs shows that Johnson is one of the leagues sharpest offensive minds.
Takeaway: If it’s possible for an October game to be a season-defining game, this was it … for both teams.
This is the type of win that the Cowboys can use to build momentum, especially with two winnable games coming up against the Buccaneers and Packers. Scoring 28 second-half points against one of the league’s best defenses is exactly the type of thing that can instill confidence in an offense for the rest of the season.
On the other side, I don’t know how the Texans recover from this. Not only did they fall to 0-4, but they blew a double-digit second-half lead and allowed the Cowboys to take the lead with an 11-play, 74-yard drive in just 1:43 right after Houston ha
