The fourth game day of the NFL offers thrillers and records: Russell Wilson and his Broncos shock the Bears, two rookie sensations have a hot duel and the Bengals go down in humiliation. Later, Christian McCaffrey excelled with four touchdowns, while Khalil Mack caused nightmares.
Jaguars dominate with Wembley record
Jacksonville has probably never been able to enjoy London so relaxed. In their tenth game there, the Jaguars were able to convert a 17-0 halftime lead into a 23-7 win against the Atlanta Falcons, who now have two wins and two losses each after a 2-0 start to the season. Jacksonville won largely because of a dominant defense (allowing just five yards in the first quarter), led by linebacker Josh Allen. His three sacks were the most ever at Wembley Stadium.
Bengals experience bitter defeat
Things should actually be better now that Joe Burrow is back. In the first game with the quarterback returning from injury, it worked with a win, but this Sunday the co-favorite for the Super Bowl had to accept a painful defeat. The Tennessee Titans, who had lost the last seven of nine duels against their old rivals, won 27:3.
Running back Derrick Henry ran 29 yards for a touchdown and even found rookie tight end Josh Whyle for a touchdown with a jump pass just before halftime. Henry, who only ran for 20 yards last week, had 122 yards on 22 carries, including an angry run like in his best days to make it 17-3.
For the Bengals, one of two teams without a single touchdown in the first half this season, nothing was working offensively. They also lost wide receiver Tee Higgins with a rib injury. If Burrow and Co., something of a feared opponent of the Kansas City Chiefs before last season, want to achieve something this year, they have to change something quickly.
Eagles keep clean slate with overtime win
Jake Elliott decides the crime! The fifth game-winning field goal of the kicker’s career, this time from 54 yards away, the fourth in this game, allowed the Philadelphia Eagles to survive overtime against the Washington Commanders. Thanks to the 34:31 win, the runner-up remains undefeated – even though they are not playing their best football this year.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts, who threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns, found AJ Brown for a 28-yard touchdown with 1:28 left in regulation for a 31-24 lead. But because the egales didn’t let the clock run down to tie the game with a field goal, the Commanders were able to strike back again in the last minute and a half. Then Elliott struck ice cold in overtime.
99-yard touchdown is not enough for the Pathers
Don’t do it, Kirk Cousins! But the quarterback throws. Not even five minutes had been played when the Minnesota Vikings playmaker made a momentous decision: his pass into the end zone was far too easy to calculate and too short, so Sam Franklin of the Carolina Panthers intercepted the ball – and scored an incredible touchdown runs for 99 yards.
But because the Vikings returned the favor with a defensive touchdown of their own and have the best wide receiver in the NFL in Justin Jefferson in their own ranks (2 touchdowns, 85 yards), they were able to achieve their first triumph in the duel of winless teams. The 21:13 win leaves the Panthers with four bankruptcies and little hope for the playoffs: Of the 164 teams that have ever started the season 0:4, only one made it into the knockout. Round.
Jackson is busy collecting MVP points
The Cleveland Browns defense allowed just one offensive touchdown and just 335 yards in the first three games. Historically good. Then she met Lamar Jackson, who literally dismantled Cleveland and his Baltimore Ravens in the first half. Jackson looked like an MVP, running for two touchdowns and throwing for another. After the break, the quarterback went one better and completed 15 of 19 passes for 187 yards. The dominant 28-3 win brought the Browns, who had to compete without playmaker Deshaun Watson, back to earth.
Broncos shock Bears with comeback
The Denver Broncos were down. Everything looked like the next embarrassment after the 20:70 defeat last Sunday. After all, seconds before the end of the third quarter they were down by 21 points against the still winless Chicago Bears. But this is the NFL, where anything can happen.
There were 14 seconds left in the third quarter when Russell Wilson found Brandon Johnson for a touchdown to make it 14:28. Ten minutes before the end of the game, the quarterback scored another touchdown to make it 21:28. A recovered fumble and touchdown brought the score level before Will Lutz sank a 51-yard field goal shortly before the end to make the final score 31:28. Breathe a sigh of relief for superstar Wilson and the beleaguered Broncos. The playoffs are still a long way off. Chicago has now lost 14 straight games across seasons and allowed at least 25 points in each of them.
One rookie sensation chases the next
Remember the name: Puka Nacua. The 22-year-old wide receiver, who was only selected in the fifth round of the NFL draft before this season, caught nine passes for 163 yards and the decisive walk-off touchdown in overtime for his Los Angeles Rams’ 29:23 triumph the Indianapolis Colts. Overall, the rookie now has 39 catches for 501 yards, the most by an NFL player in his first four games.
But the Colts also have a super rookie in their own ranks who brought his team back into the game after falling behind 0:23. 21-year-old Anthony Richardson is the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to score with a touchdown run in all of the first three games of his career. His fourth touchdown run made him the fourth player – and first quarterback – since 2000 with four rushing scores in his first three games.
Texans dominate Steelers
Another top rookie gave the Houston Texans their second win in a row: quarterback CJ Stroud had another big game, throwing for 306 yards and two touchdowns and leading his team to a 30-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The second pick in the draft continued his strong NFL start: He passed for 300 yards for the second time and now has six touchdowns without a single interception.
Mayfield almost makes Brady forget
Even the surprising return of quarterback Derreck Carr after a shoulder injury cannot save the New Orleans Saints: Baker Mayfield threw three touchdown passes for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 26-9 victory. NFL legend Tom Brady’s former team managed three wins and only one loss under Mayfield’s direction, surprising some experts. On October 15th, after a bye week, the team from Florida will face an exciting duel with the Detroit Lions and German star Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Cowboys prevent Belichick record
Can the Cowboys bounce back from their surprising loss to the Cardinals against the New England Patriots? Dallas answered the question with a resounding yes. With the dominant 38-3 win, the Cowboys prevented a record for Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who could have become the third coach ever to celebrate his 300th regular season win, and remain close on the Eagles’ heels in the NFC East. The tenth home triumph in a row, which the defense achieved with two interceptions, means Dallas’ longest home series since 1991/92.
Sack-Machine Mack nightmares
Aidan O’Connell is likely to see Khalil Mack in his nightmares after his Las Vegas Raiders’ narrow defeat, because the Los Angeles Chargers pass rusher brought down the rookie quarterback six times. Mack’s phenomenal game marked just the fifth time in NFL history that a player has recorded six sacks in a game. Former Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas holds the record with seven. O’Connell almost led the Raiders to a comeback victory against the Californians despite numerous fumbles, but the Chargers intercepted his last throw to equalize the game inches from the end zone, meaning Los Angeles won 24:17 and their second win in a row is slowly getting rolling.
McCaffrey excelled with four touchdowns
Christian McCaffrey tops them all: The running back scored four touchdowns (three runs and one catch) and showed the world why he is considered one of the NFL’s best offensive weapons. His San Francisco 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals 35-16 and won their 14th straight regular season game. For the fifth time in the franchise’s history, the Californians started the season 4-0.
Brock Purdy, infamously known as “Mr. Irrelevant,” completed 20 of 21 passes for 283 yards, setting a new 49ers franchise record for percentage of completed throws in a game. Purdy, selected last in the 2022 draft, won all nine regular-season games he started and led the 49ers to their fourth straight win with at least 30 points. The 49ers cemented their status as real challengers to NFL champion Kansas City.