Week 4 Surprises From Each Team

By AJ Olona, Timothy An, and Shawn Stewart

Arizona Cardinals - RB Kenyan Drake

The Cardinals started the season winning their first 2 games, but have now lost 2 games in a row. The offense seems to be out of sorts and could not get much going against the Panthers’ defense. The Cardinals star running back, Kenyan Drake carried the ball 13 times for an abysmal 35 yards which is only 2.7 yards per carry, and he did not find the end zone. He needs to get going to help balance the Cardinals offense. The Cardinals did not commit to Drake as their starter in the offseason, only tendering him to a one-year deal. The Cardinals wanted to see more out of Drake before committing to a long-term deal and so far this season, he has failed to deliver.

Atlanta Falcons - WR Olamide Zaccheaus

The Falcons wide receiver duo had been phenomenal to start the year. Calvin Ridley had racked up 349 yards and 4 touchdowns through 3 games, and Julio Jones is still one of the best receivers in all of football. However, in Week 4 the Falcons lost Julio Jones again right before the 2nd half of the game due to a hamstring injury, and Calvin Ridley does not record a single catch in the game, not a single catch! However, someone had to step up to help this depleted Atlanta Falcons wide receiver core and it was Olamide Zaccheaus, the wide receiver who attend the University of Virginia, who stepped up and had himself quite an evening. He led all Falcon receivers in targets with nine on the night, catches with eight, and receiving yards with 86. It is quite surprising that Zaccheaus was the teams leading receiver coming out of this game.

Baltimore Ravens - MLB Patrick Queen

When the Ravens took Patrick Queen in the first round in the 2020 NFL Draft, they knew that the LSU product was going to need some work. Queen has started every single game this season so far for the Ravens. Queen has played well so far, but he has looked like a rookie. Through 3 games, Queen has allowed 12 completions when in coverage that has gone for 113 yards and has failed to register double-digit tackles in a single game yet. However, Week 4 was finally the game that the Ravens wanted to see out of the young linebacker. In Sunday’s game, he compiled 12 total tackles, including a goal-line stop on Peyton Barber. Through 4 games, Queen leads the team in tackles, solo tackles, and tackles for a loss. The Ravens defense will be that much scarier with Patrick Queen playing as well as he did in Week 4.

Buffalo Bills - RB Devin Singletary

Coming off of a productive rookie season, Devin Singletary entered the season as the unquestioned starter. Despite the Bills starting 4-0 and Josh Allen playing himself into MVP contention, the Bills rushing attack has been less than stellar, and Devin Singletary has been a big part of the reason why. Devin Singletary has yet to rush for 100 yards on the season. In fact, he has not had more than 71 rushing yards in a single game. For a guy that had over 775 rushing yards as a rookie while only starting 8 games, many expected more from the 2nd year back. If Singletary cannot get it going, rookie Zach Moss is waiting in the wings. 

Carolina Panthers - RB Mike Davis

Are the Panthers better without Christian McCaffrey? Of course not, however they are 2-0 without the star running back this season, and the offense has been more balanced. Mike Davis has stepped in for the injured McCaffrey in a big way. He carried the rock 16 times for 84 yards and found the end zone once. He averaged over 5.3 yards per carry. Of course, the Panthers miss the playmaking ability of McCaffrey, but they are playing well while he recovers. If they can stay afloat while he rehabs his injury, the Panthers may find themselves in a good position down the stretch.

Chicago Bears - RB David Montgomery

Many envisioned David Montgomery to be the Bears future lead back when he was taken early in the 2019 NFL Draft. However, Montgomery learned quickly that the transition to NFL from college was not so simple. There were big expectations for him heading into this season. Through the first 3 games of the season, the Bears running game was struggling heavily. Then the Bears lost Tarik Cohen for the season due to injury. The Bears offense needed Montgomery to step up big time and be the featured back. In his first game as the main guy in the running game, Montgomery was only able to rack up 27 yards on the ground on 10 carries. For this Bears offense to be successful, Montgomery will need to step up but time or it may already be time for the Bears to look elsewhere.

Cincinnati Bengals - Joe Mixon RB

After an underwhelming performance thus far in the season, Joe Mixon exploded against the Jacksonville Jaguars, rushing 25 times for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns, along with 6 receptions for 30 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. He single-handedly carried this Bengals offense into their first victory of the season. Mixon worried many of us with his poor performance to start the year, but hopefully, this can be the turning point of the season, and Mixon can continue these dominant performances and give Burrow the help he needs to succeed in his first NFL season. 

Cleveland Browns - This Browns Offense

The Browns offense had an impressive performance against the Dallas Cowboys, proving they can put up points at a tremendous rate. After Nick Chubb, the workhorse running back and focal point of this offense exited the game with an injury, many of us expected the offense to drop off. However, Kareem Hunt provided a steller 71 rushing yards on 11 carries for two touchdowns, and D’Ernest Johnson added another 95 rushing yards on 13 carries. Odell Beckham Jr. also had a monster performance with 2 rushes for 73 rushing yards and a touchdown, along with 5 receptions for 81 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The Browns offense finally seems to be clicking on all cylinders, and if they can keep this up, we may finally see this talented roster live up to their lofty expectations. They face the number one rated defense in the Indianapolis Colts next week and it’ll be their first true test in this young season.

Dallas Cowboys - QB Dak Prescott

Though the Cowboys trailed for most of this game, they had a resurgence in the 4th quarter, almost bringing them to complete a wild, improbable comeback. We’ve seen this twice now (Falcons Week 2) with the Cowboys, a very slow start that turns into a tremendous 4th quarter effort to try and make an unlikely comeback. These comebacks have been led by Dak Prescott, who has had an amazing start to the year, leading the league in passing yards by over 300 yards. Dak Prescott threw for 502 yards, 4 touchdowns, and one interception in Sunday’s loss to the Browns. Though Dak has continued to impress us through 4 weeks in the season, the Cowboys still sit at 1-3, which brings upon the question as to whether Dak is enough to carry these Cowboys with his arm alone. This will be an interesting storyline to see as the season unfolds, but as of now, Dak Prescott is showing us something we have yet to see before. 

Denver Broncos - WR Tim Patrick

When Courtland Sutton went down for the year due to an injury, everyone was looking to Jerry Jeudy to step up and be the Broncos go-to guy. And while Jeudy arguably had his best showing in the NFL to date, it was Tim Patrick who’s was Brett Rypien’s go-to guy on the day. The fourth-year wideout exploded for 113 yards on 6 grabs while also being able to find the end zone. If the Broncos can get great production out of both Patrick and Jeudy, this team may be able to stay afloat while waiting for Drew Lock to get healthy.

Detroit Lions - RB Kerryon Johnson

It is becoming increasingly clear that Kerryon Johnson does not have a role in this offense. When the Lions drafted De’Andre Swift in this past draft, many thought the Lions were going to have the best young 1-2 punch in the backfield. Then the Lions went out and signed Adrian Peterson less than a week before the season started. Surprisingly, neither Johnson nor Swift has had much of an impact for the Lions offense. Adrian Peterson has become the lead back for this team while Johnson saw less than 4 carries for the second week in a row. In Week 4, Johnson only had 9 yards on just 3 carries. He now only has 21 carries on the season and looks as though he could be on his way out of Detroit.

Green Bay Packers - TE Robert Tonyan 

With Devante Adams missing another game and Allen Lazard being placed on IR this week, the Packers needed someone to step up big time. That was Rob Tonyan on a Monday Night! Tonyan surprised everyone by finishing the end zone 3 times on the night while grabbing 6 balls for 98 yards. While Tonyan has strung together a few nice games for the Packers this season, no one expected a game like this from him. In fact, many were expecting the second-year tight end, Jace Sternberger, to be the starting tight end for Aaron Rodgers this year. After Monday’s Week 4 performance, it is clear who the starter is in Green Bay as Aaron Rodgers seems to have found his go-to target outside of Devante Adams. 

Houston Texans - Bill O’Brien . . . the GM

Bill O’Brien has managed to lead the Houston Texans to a winning season in five out of the six years that he has coached there. The only season they did not go above .500 was Deshaun Watson’s rookie season, in which he ultimately tore his ACL after a red hot start to his career. However, through all the success Bill O’Brien has had coaching, ever since O’Brien was named both the General Manager as well as the head coach, it seems as if everything has gone downhill for the Texans. They traded away their most valuable player in the offseason in DeAndre Hopkins, and now they see themselves at 0 - 4, most likely out of the playoff picture. After the first three weeks, many fans were willing to give the Texans a pass because of their tough schedule that saw them face off against the Chiefs, Ravens, and Steelers. However, the 0-3 Minnesota Vikings were the Texans’ chance to prove to the world that they aren’t nearly as bad as everybody believed them to be. They failed. And now, Bill O’Brien’s shortcomings as the team’s GM are hurting the team and going to most likely lead to his second season under .500 with the Texans. (Update: The Texans have fired Bill O’Brien, effective immediately)

Indianapolis Colts - S Julian Blackmon

When the Colts lost Malik Hooker for the season to a torn Achilles, it was a huge blow to the defense. Stepping into his place would be rookie third-round pick Julian Blackmon who was coming off of a torn ACL. Expectations were moderately low for the rookie as it can be hard for young players to adjust to the NFL. However, through two weeks, Blackmon has filled in nicely for the Colts and has looked like a potential star at the position. In Week 4, Blackmon had 3 pass breakups and an interception that helped the Colts win. Blackmon also had a jarring hit on Allen Robinson that popped the ball out and was nearly called a fumble on the day. Blackmon is already tied for fourth in the NFL with 4 pass breakups despite not playing significant snaps until Week 3. Blackmon is one of the reasons that the Colts have the top-ranked defense in the NFL. If he can keep it up, the Colt’s surely have a star on their hands. 

Jacksonville Jaguars - WR Leviska Shenault

The Jaguars have taken a hard crash back to reality in recent weeks. After their opening day upset win against the Colts, the Jaguars have lost 3 in a row. Gardner Minshew had a solid game, but it was not enough for the Jaguars to beat the Bengals. We all know that D.J. Chark is the number one receiver in the Jaguars offense, but the surprise of the game was a rookie wide receiver, Laviska Shenault Jr. from the University of Colorado, who had 5 catches for 86 yards. Chark and Shenault Jr. could offer and nice 1-2 punch for the future of the team. Couple that with the emergence of undrafted rookie running back James Robinson, the Jaguars have a nice young core of skill players on offense.

Kansas City Chiefs - The Defense

For the second week in a row, this Chiefs defense has been a surprise to us. Maybe not as much this week since they were playing against a backup quarterback and a team that had only arrived in Kansas City the morning of their game. We all thought that the Chiefs defense was going to have their hands full when the Patriots came to town, but then Cam Newton was diagnosed with COVID-19 just days before their game and was not able to play or travel with the team. Once the news broke around the league, the Chiefs defense must have been licking their chops, and they did not disappoint in the matchup. The Chiefs defense forced 3 interceptions in the game and only allowed 10 points. Whether it was Brian Hoyer or Jarrett Stidham under center, no one was able to get things going through the air for New England.

Las Vegas Raiders - Josh Jacobs RB

After kicking off the season with a tremendous performance against the Carolina Panthers, Josh Jacobs has struggled in his past three games, putting up low yardage totals compared to how many touches he has been getting. On Sunday, he carried the ball 15 times for 48 yards, averaging 3.2 yards per carry, while failing to find the endzone. The Raiders offense revolves around pounding the rock and throwing off of play actions down the field to their receivers or tight end Darren Waller. If the Raiders want to keep up with their opponents and try to sneak into a wild card spot, they have to be able to pound the rock with Jacobs and improve their rushing attack. 

Los Angeles Chargers - QB Justin Herbert

Justin Herbert went into Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers missing his three best offensive linemen in Bryan Bulaga and Trai Turner, along with veteran center Mike Pouncey who had already been placed on injured reserve. Herbert was also missing dynamic wide receiver Mike Williams and saw the Chargers most explosive offensive weapon, Austin Ekeler, get injured early in the first quarter. Through all these injuries, Herbert was still able to put on an impressive performance, throwing for 290 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. He threw his touchdowns to unknown weapons such as Jalen Guyton, Tyron Johnson, and Donal Parham Jr.. Herbert really showed his arm strength in this game, throwing two bombs down the field for touchdowns, including one being off his back-foot, very reminiscent of a Patrick Mahomes type of throw. Through all the injuries, Herbert is looking better than advertised, and we will continue to see how he develops with this injury-riddled team throughout the season that he wasn’t supposed to be starting.

Los Angeles Rams - CB Darious Williams

Darious Williams was a lesser-known player on this star-studded LA defense. Coming into the season, he had only started 3 career games. However, this season he is stepping up in a big way that has helped the Rams to a 3-1 record. In Week 4, he made a diving interception when the Giants were driving in the red zone only down 8 points. That interception all but sealed the game and was very reminiscent of when Williams made another diving interception in Week 2 against Carson Wentz and the Eagles in the red zone. Williams has been stepping up big time in clutch moments for the Rams. If they can finally have someone stand out opposite of Jalen Ramsey, teams will find it very difficult to move the ball down the field consistently.

Miami Dolphins - The Running Game

In 2019, the Dolphins had one of the worst rushing attacks in all of football. In the offseason, they were able to bring in both Matt Breida and Jordan Howard to likely shore things up. While expectations were not high, many people expected the rushing game to take a huge step forward. That has not been the case so far. They are barely averaging 106 yards per carry and neither Breida nor Howard have stepped up. While Jordan Howard does have 3 rushing touchdowns in 4 games, he only had 14 yards on 18 carries. Week 4 was no different as it was Ryan Fitzpatrick who was the teams leading rusher. The Dolphins need to get much more production out of the backfield, otherwise, when it is finally time for rookie Tua Tagovailoa to take over as the starter, he is going to struggle heavily.

Minnesota Vikings - WR Justin Jefferson

Many Vikings players had outstanding performances on Sunday, but Justin Jefferson finds himself on this list the second week in a row as he was able to prove his ability as a true number two receiver again. After the departure of Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills, many fans were left wondering how the Vikings offense would look with only one reliable receiver left in Adam Thielen. The Vikings drafted Justin Jefferson, a stud receiver from LSU, but nobody knew how good this young receiver was. After a breakout performance last week, all eyes were on him to see if he could replicate the success. He caught 4 targets for 103 yards and proved that he could consistently be a reliable target for Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense for years to come. 

New England Patriots - RB Damien Harris

When the New England Patriots placed Sony Michel on IR just before their Week 4 matchup versus the Kansas City Chiefs and then subsequently activated Damien Harris, it was clear that Harris would have an immediate impact in the backfield. However, it is always hard to trust which running back is going to be successful with Bill Belichick running things. The Patriots typically use a running back by committee and rarely have a back that handles 15 plus carries. However, in his first game of the year, Damien Harris was able to show that he could be the lead back for this Patriots team. Harris carried the ball 17 times for 100 yards on the day against a very good Chiefs defense. It was an inspiring look for the Patriots team as the will undoubtedly look to continue to establish the run, especially if Cam Newton is forced to miss anytime. 

New Orleans Saints - WR Tre’Quan Smith

Michael Thomas has missed 3 straight games for the New Orleans Saints and it has shown in the offense. At times, Drew Brees has struggled to push the ball downfield and find anyone in the passing game, other than running back Alvin Kamara. With Thomas out, Emmanuel Sanders was going to need to step up and be the team’s go-to receiver. He has been hit and miss in that role thus far. While being held to only 8 catches through 3 games, Sanders finally stepped up with 6 grabs for 93 yards. However, it was the third-year wideout Tre’Quan Smith who stepped up. Smith was able to grab 4 catches and find the end zone on two of those. Smith has stepped up in the passing game with the absence of Michael Thomas and strung together a few nice games. If the Saints can get production from Smith, Sanders, and Thomas, once he comes back healthy, the Saints will have an intriguing trio in the passing game.

New York Giants - The Defense

The Giants gave up 36 points last week against a San Francisco 49ers team led by Nick Mullens and Jerrick McKinnon… I, along with many football fans, were certain that this Giants defense was easily one of the worst in the league, but they proved us wrong on Sunday. Even though they lost 9-17 to the Los Angeles Rams, their defense proved to be better than everyone expected. The Rams came off a 32 point performance against the Bills, and a 37 point one against the Eagles. The Rams are led by offensive genius Sean McVay and have a talented array of weapons surrounding Jared Goff on offense. They are not an easy offense to stop by any means, and the New York Giants were somehow able to strap them down to 17 points and gave us a great performance, making us hopeful for what the future may hold for this defense as the season continues. 

New York Jets - CB Pierre Desir

Perhaps no player in the NFL had as much of an up and down game as Pierre Desir in Week 4. The Jets corner started the night off with a beautiful top dragging interception early in the first corner to give his team the ball right away. A few drives later, Desir was then burned for a 48-yard touchdown by Jerry Jeudy. On the play, the ball was very underthrown to Jeudy and it looked as though Desir was in a perfect position to grab his second interception of the night only for Jerry Jeudy to jump up and over Desir and grab the ball and walk into the end zone. Throughout the night, Desir let up big play after big play, whether it was to Jerry Jeudy or Tim Patrick. Then, in the 4th quarter, Desir was able to step in front of another pass thrown by Brett Rypien and take it 35 yards back for a touchdown. Despite getting burned all night, Desir was able to secure 2 interceptions and a touchdown. With the Thursday nights game, Desir now leads all players in the NFL with 3 interceptions. Were not quite sure how to feel about this game.

Philadelphia Eagles - The Linebackers

The Eagles linebackers are awful. They cannot cover anybody, especially this past Sunday night. In Week 4, the Eagles allowed George Kittle, the tight end for the 49er's, to run all over the field on them. In his first game back from injury, Kittle had 15 catches on 15 targets for 183 yards and 1 score. That is the most receiving yards the Eagles have allowed to a tight end since 1948 when they won the NFL Championship. Both Nate Gerry and Duke Riley have struggle heavily this season. Luckily the Eagles were able to pull off a win against the 49ers, the first of the year for them, but if the Eagles want to have any chance on the defensive side of the ball this year, the linebackers need to play much better and fast! 

San Francisco 49ers - QB Nick Mullens

Nick Mullens started once again for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo but was unable to live up to his week 3 performance against the New York Giants. He was 18/26 for 200 yards and 1 passing touchdown before he threw one of the worst interceptions of the season that ultimately got him benched. It was former Iowa QB C.J. Beathard that entered the game in relief of Mullens. Beathard was able to get into a rhythm early and almost completed a comeback win for the 49ers. However, the team still lost this game that they should have won. With all of the injuries that the 49ers are facing right now, it is clear that they need their starting quarterback Jimmy Garrappolo to get healthy quickly before the season is all but lost. 

Seattle Seahawks  - WR D.J. Moore

We cannot justify putting Russell Wilson on this list each and every week. While he is playing better and better each week and deserves to be on this week, we must praise the others who are also stepping up for the Seahawks. All season long, it seems as though D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett have been gashing defenses left and right. Both the wideouts for Seattle rank in the top 15 in the league in terms of receiving yards. However, in Week 4, it was David Moore, the fourth-year wide receiver from East Central Oklahoma who had himself a solid game. He had 3 catches for 95 yards and 1 touchdown. If teams also have to game plan around Moore in the passing game, on top of Metcalf and Lockett, Russell Wilson will continue to play lights out football and will surely secure his first-ever MVP award.

Pittsburgh Steelers - N/A

The Pittsburgh Steelers were forced to take an early Bye Week due to the Titans COVID-19 outbreak. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers  - QB Tom Brady

After three mediocre performances to start the year, Tom Brady proved once again, why he is arguably the greatest football player of all time. At 43 years old, Brady proved he could still keep up with the kids and threw for 360 passing yards, along with 5 touchdowns and one interception. He started the game with a pick-six but immediately turned it around throwing all five of his touchdowns passes to different receivers. This was a classic, vintage Brady performance and it seems like he is starting to get the hang of the plethora of weapons around him. Even with a hobbled Mike Evans, and without Chris Godwin and Leonard Fournette, Brady was able to pick apart this Chargers secondary. It seems as if Brady is starting to find his groove again, and it’ll be exciting to see if Brady can prove that he can win without Belichick.

Tennessee Titans  - N/A

The Tennessee Titans were forced to take an early Bye Week due to the team’s COVID-19 outbreak. 

Washington Football Team - QB Dwayne Haskins

Does any starting quarterback in the NFL have it worse than Dwayne Haskins? The Washington Football Team has completely let the young quarterback down in his career. While Haskins play has been less than stellar, we all knew that he was going to take some time to develop. Even with little to no weapons around him, Haskins had arguably one of his best games this season. Against the Baltimore Ravens, Haskins was able to throw for 314 yards without turning the ball over. He did not find the end zone through the air but he was able to find it on the ground. Week 4 was not a record-setting day for the young quarterback. But he did show marginal improvement from the prior week. Yet, The Washington Football Team decided that it was time to demote Haskins to the bench. Kyle Allen will be the team’s starter while Alex Smith serves as the team’s primary backup. With Haskins finally showing improvement despite little help around him and a dysfunctional organization, it is surprising and disappointing to see him demoted to the 3rd string quarterback this early into his career.

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