2022 NFL Week 4 Recap

Patrick's payback, fumble mania and double-doinks top off Week 4's games. The first month of matchups leave just one team unbeaten, as MVP favourites start to emerge.

It’s all beginning to take shape for the 2022 season. Let's look at what this week had in store…

Dolphins 15 - 27 Bengals

Miami take their first loss in a pivotal game for Cincinnati.

This one was billed as an offensive explosion, and although it did look that way early, both offenses struggled on and off throughout the night.

Eventually Joe Burrow found his feet and started producing the kind of offense we got used to last year. The Bengals are finally beginning to look like the defending AFC champs. I’m calling a tussle between Baltimore and Cincinnati for the top spot in the AFC North, with an inevitable Browns downfall. Jacoby Brissett can’t stay good for too much longer right?

Tee Higgins had some great grabs, but the completion of the night was a 64-yard juggling catch from Tyreek Hill.

Despite the great competition, a controversial concussion has overshadowed this matchup, and rightly so.... Tua Tagovailoa should never have played this game. He has been cleared from the hospital and is seemingly okay, but remains in the league's concussion protocol. I'm expecting a lot of legal action to ensue in the coming weeks.

Vikings 28 - 25 Saints

A double-doink denial.

The Vikings and Saints tried their best to give London an overtime game, but New Orleans were denied a last-second field goal and flew back across the pond with a tough loss.

The matchup was pretty even, but the Saints were chasing a deficit most of the game with back-up QB Andy Dalton at the helm. They managed to tie things up inside 2 minutes with a 60-yard FG, but fell behind again after a quick Vikings drive.

It all came to an end when a 61-yard attempt double-doinked off the posts and bounced back onto the field... A brutal way to lose.

Seahawks 48 - 45 Lions

Russel who?

Seattle continue to prove that they don't miss their old QB one bit, as Geno Smith tears apart the Lions defense. Of course, there aren't many easier teams to throw the ball against, but 48 points is more-than impressive no matter who you're playing. If he stays in current form, the Hawks could be set to build a crazy team with the haul of draft picks they received in the Wilson trade.

Detroit also continue to find the endzone with ease. Despite missing star running-back D'andre Swift, the Lions offense put up 45 points to become the highest scoring offense this year. I hate to say it, but Goff is looking right at home in Michigan.

Jets 24 - 20 Steelers

Zach is back.

It's a sight I've been waiting to see for a long time - Joe Flacco takes a seat while Zach Wilson bags a win in Pittsburgh. I guess wishes really do come true...

The Steeler's also had a QB switch, with Kenny Pickett stepping in for Trubisky. While he was considerably better at moving the chains than Mitch, he also threw three interceptions (though those were his only incompletions of the night).

Anyway, if Pittsburgh doesn't start beating teams obviously worse than they are, this could be Mike Tomlin's first ever losing season. Although, in fairness, this one came right down to the wire:

Bears 12 - 20 Giants

Barkley is still on the ball.

Chicago's passing game was so awful, it didn't even matter that the Giants ran out of QBs. Dan Jones was having a great game, rushing for two touchdowns early in the afternoon, but left with an ankle injury. Tyrod Taylor stepped in and suffered a concussion after just three passes.

So, New York turned to the always-reliable Saquon Barkley, who continues to shine through week 4 of 2022. He now sits atop the league with the most rushing yards, but is closely followed by Nick Chubb.

In my books, Barkley joins Lamar and Hurts as the three standout MVP candidates so far. He makes it look so easy:

Titans 24 - 17 Colts

Trouble in Indianapolis.

The Colts went into this season with hopes that Matt Ryan would provide the perfect pairing with star RB Johnathan Taylor. But the Indy backfield has been a disaster so far.

Let's be honest, they caught a lucky break with Mahomes on an off-game last week and that's their only win so far. If they don't get JT going soon, I may honestly drop him from my fantasy team - who'd have thought that would be a real option?

In other news, Derrick Henry logs his third game this year with more than 100 rushing yards. The Tennessee Titans are starting to gain some traction - good news for my spread bet.

Chargers 34 - 24 Texans

Scoreline illusions.

They may have only won by 10, but this was total domination from LA. Outplaying Houston in the first half for 293 offensive yards vs 157, the Chargers went into the break with a 27-7 lead. They stupidly took their foot off the gas, gave up two awful touchdowns and a kick return fumble, and were suddenly up just 3 points.

Thank God for Austin Ekeler. With two touchdowns to his name already, Ekeler found the endzone once more and finally put this one out of Houston's reach.

Browns 20 - 23 Falcons

Brissett throws it away - literally.

Two evenly-matched offenses made this game a real tug-of-war, heading into the half at 10 apiece and taking a tie score all the way to the wire. The Falcons made it 23-20 with just 2:28 left and Brissett had a chance to take the win with a score.

His successful start to the season is slightly overshadowed by some terrible decision making in a very close game, as he threw into clear double coverage on 3rd down and handed the win to Atlanta.

Commanders 10 - 25 Cowboys

Dressed for a disaster.

Washington's debut of their all-black uniforms was a little untimely, as it looked like they had dressed for their own funeral.

The loss only highlighted that no matter what Washington seems to fix, new problems continue to arise. Stop taking so many sacks? Throw two interceptions instead. Outrush Dallas 142-62? Commit 11 penalties for a total loss of 136 yards - two of which offset takeaways that could have changed the outcome of the game. Putting up more penalties than points on the board is not ideal...

On the other hand, Cooper Rush yet again proves that the Cowboys might just be okay with Dak steering the ship. Rush ended the game with a QB rating of 107.5, more than double what Carson Wentz managed. The back-up QB is now 4-0 as a starter. Who'd have thought?

Jaguars 21 - 29 Eagles

The Eagles go 4-0.

Jalen Hurts has certainly had an impressive start to the year, leading the offense to four consecutive games with over 400 yards, but this one was a ground-game all over. Hurts threw for 204 yards but failed to find the endzone through the air, while the run game amassed 210 yards and 4 TDs, with Miles Sanders leading the way.

Now, you could attribute this win to great work on the ground, but the leading stat of the day was 4 fumbles from Trevor Lawrence - the first time a quarterback has done so this century. The Jags' butter-fingers created key turnovers that gave Philly the chance to come back from a 14-0 deficit early on.

In any case, there's a lot of good vibes surrounding both of these teams. Will Kyler Murray break the Birds' streak next week?

Bills 23 - 20 Ravens

John Harbaugh chokes.

Lamar Jackson started the day off in usual form, bagging two touchdowns on consecutive drives for Baltimore. Josh Allen, on the other hand, threw an INT on his third play of the game and failed to find the endzone until 9 seconds before the half.

Emerging from the break, the tables flipped.

Ravens held a 10 point lead but had four drives the whole of the second half. They went like this: Punt, Punt, Interception, Interception... It looks bad I know, but there's more to it than Lamar losing his touch.

So, it's tied 20-20, there's 4 minutes left, Ravens are at the Bills 2 yard line with 4th&Goal. And, guess what? John Harbaugh goes for it. Lamar throws an interception. The Bills take a nice, slow drive down the field and kick a field goal to end the game...

Look, I get putting the ball in your star QB's hands and trusting him to do the job. I also understand being scared of the Bills offense, but it's not like Josh Allen was on fire. This call definitely threw the game away... That's just undeniable.

Cardinals 26 - 16 Panthers

The JJ Watt factor.

Not only did Watt play this game just days after some scary heart complications, he dominated and made the game-changing play when it mattered most.

Besides JJ Watt being reliable as ever, the game was rollercoaster for many others. Murray threw a pick-six, Mayfield threw 2 interceptions, McCaffrey logged just 27 rushing yards but clocked 81 in the air.

It was tough to know which way things would go with Arizona down 10-3 at the half, but great players make great plays when they count. This man deserves a ring and we all know it.

Broncos 23 - 32 Raiders

Scoreline illusions pt.2.

The Raiders may have put up 32 on Sunday night, but they're not the team that it makes them out to be.

Josh Jacobs was the star of the show with 144 yards and 2 touchdowns, and that's about it... Derrick Carr threw 188 yards but no touchdowns, leading 4 underwhelming drives to just 3 points. And the defense took a turnover to the house to put 6 on the board. A great passing offense was not the winning factor here.

Josh McDaniels may have his first win with Vegas, but if Derek Carr doesn't open his eyes and see one of the best wide receivers in the league, they'll continue losing like they have been. Sure, he found Devante Adams much more in this game than any other, but he's still be underutilised in the Raiders offense.

Patriots 24 - 27 Packers (OT)

Green Bay needed overtime to defeat a bad team, made even worse by their two back-up quarterbacks taking to the turf.

The Pack outgained New England 443 yards to 271, but still couldn't make it happen without help from the flip of a coin and an extra 10 minutes.

As a result, issues have become glaringly obvious for the Pack who desperately need to work on their run defense. Sure, it didn't help that Rodgers threw a pick six right before the half, but interceptions are the least of their worries.

Chiefs 41 - 31 Buccaneers

Patrick's payback.

Kansas City finally get revenge for their Super Bowl loss in Tampa.

Mahomes was simply unstoppable as he led the Chiefs to points on almost every drive of the game. Sure, Brady put up a reasonable score, but the young buck had a lot to teach the old GOAT - including plays like this... I mean, NOBODY else does this... Pure, vintage Mahomes:

Rams 9 - 24 49ers

The final game of Week 4 pitted two NFC titans against each other. The 49ers looking the much stronger team, having won six of their last seven games they have played against the rams.

It was a hard fought game but in the end there was only team that ever looked as though they would win. Stafford never really seemed to start, making basic errors, the Rams were simply outclassed.

No time to rest, Week 5 will be here soon and there is still so much to play for! Will the Eagles continue their incredible streak. We will see!