Takeaways From Week 4 in the NFL

Week 4 is in the books and we still have no idea who or what some of these teams are. The Rams were put in their place by the upstart Cardinals who this week take over as the King in the NFC West. The Jets won and so did the Giants. When is the last time that has happened? This league is so hard to predict. Let’s update the divisions.

NFC LEAST: Combined Record 7-9

STOCK UP: Dallas The Cowboys continue to be as impressive as anyone on offense and got a win over undefeated Carolina. No way anyone is close to them in this division.

SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE: Washington came from behind in Atlanta and beat the Falcons 34-30 and they are 2-2. The Giants finally got in the win column after losing a couple of games they could have won. They are better than their record.

STOCK DOWN: The Eagles dropped to 1-3 and Jalen Hurts has to be exhausted. He could use a little help and I guess there just isn’t much. He threw for 387 yards and was the leading rusher with 47 yards in the 42-30 loss to Kansas City. There is no way he survives the season.

NFC NORTH: Combined Record 6-10

STOCK UP: Green Bay is establishing themselves as the class of this weak division and there is nothing unusual about that. They handled the aging Steelers 27-17 and are now 3-1.

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE: Chicago bounced back from an abysmal performance last week on offense and defeated the Lions 24-14. They are sitting at 2-2 and that is better than a lot of teams including 2 in their division.

STOCK DOWN: Minnesota held the potent Browns’ offense to 14 points and still lost 14-7 in a game they really needed They are now 1-3. Detroit continued to lose and are now one of only two teams that are still winless.

NFC SOUTH: Combined Record 9-7

STOCK UP: Tampa Bay took to the road and won a very emotional, hard-fought game against the New England Patriots in a homecoming for Tom Brady. That run their record to 3-1, but they aren’t hitting on all cylinders. Carolina saw their undefeated season in with a loss to the Cowboys in Dallas, but they played fairly well and need to bounce back this week against the Eagles.

GOOD LUCK FIGURING OUT THIS TEAM: The Saints are schizophrenic. Great one week,; awful the next week. The loss at home to the Giants was a killer.

STOCK DOWN: Atlanta blew an opportunity to get to 2-2 by losing late at home to Washington. When you aren’t very good, those are games to have to win.

NFC WEST: Combined Record 11-5

STOCK UP: Arizona is one of the surprised teams of the early going and they went into LA and abused the undefeated Rams 37-20. They now have a 1-game lead over them amd a 2-game lead over the other two teams.

DISAPPOINTING LOSS: The Rams couldn’t get back on the emotional high of the week before and lost a key home game to division rival Arizona.

HUGE WIN: Seattle got a must-win against the Niners on the road and avoided falling to 1-3. They have to figure out why they are playing so up and down and get back to an even keel.

STOCK DOWN: After 2 fairly unimpressive wins on the road, San Francisco has returned home and suffered two losses. They blew a chance to go two games up on the Seahawks, and lost their quarterback to an injury that could keep him out for awhile.

AFC EAST: Combined Record 6-10

STOCK UP: It was another dominating performance for Buffalo as they destroyed Houston 40-0. It won’t be as easy in Kansas City next weekend.

TOUGH LOSS: The Patriots played extremely well Sunday night and came close to knocking off the Super Bowl Champs before losing 19-17. They have to build on that.

GREAT WIN: The New York Jets pulled off the biggest upset of the week by defeating Tennessee in overtime for their first win of the season. They have some direction and are on the right track.

STOCK DOWN: The Dolphins lost their third straight and their offense in

AFC NORTH: Combined Record 10-6

STOCK UP: Cleveland got to 3-1 with an ugly 14-7 win over the Vikings. Cincinnati also is 3-1 as they rallied on Thursday night for a 24-21 win against the Jaguars. Finally, the Ravens took care of the previously undefeated Broncos in Denver, winning 23-7. That makes them 3-1 also, and this division is shaping up as a real dogfight.

STOCK DOWN: The Steelers lost in Green Bay and fell to 1-3. They are struggling on offense and look in total disarray. They need a win in the worst way.

AFC SOUTH: Combined Record 4-12

STOCK UP: Nobody. No one is this division has a winning record and all stock is down.

AT LEAST THEY WON: The Colts have had a brutal schedule and finally broke through with a 27-17 win over Miami. And, now they travel to Baltimore on Monday night.

STOCK DOWN: Jacksonville showed signs of life on Thursday night before losing late to Cincinnati. Trevor Lawrence played very well and they gave a great effort, so they have hope, even though they are 0-4. Houston got beat up in Buffalo and was shut down 40-0. Things are bad in South Texas.

AFC WEST: Combined Record 11-5

STOCK UP: The Chargers looked awfully good Monday night as they defeated conference rival Las Vegas 28-14. They are now 3-1 and have division wins over the Chiefs and the Raiders.

MUCH NEEDED WIN: Kansas City went to Philadelphia and got a win over the Eagles 42-30 to even their record at 2-2. A loss there would have been a disaster. Now, comes a big game in Arrowhead against the Bills on Sunday night.

TOUGH LOSS: Las Vegas got behind 21-0 before rallying to make a game of it against the Chargers. They will have to bounce back and get a must-win this week against the Bears.

STOCK DOWN: Denver couldn’t back up their 3-0 start and got whacked at home by Baltimore. Not only that, starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, went down with an injury.