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Santiago Leon and Dan Madden discuss Jaguars head coach Dough Pederson being in the hot seat or not and recapping NFL Week 4.
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Dan Madden – @danimal2478
Top Headlines
- Dikembe Mutombo dies at 58
- Rashee Rice carted out, believed to be have an ACL injury
- Doug Pederson has to be on the hott seat
- 4-0: The Vikings beat the Packers, 31-29, to move to 4-0 for the first time since 2016, and Sam Darnold (three more passing TDs to give him an NFL-best 11) kept his surprise MVP candidacy alive.
- 82.1: Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels was superb once again in a 42-14 beatdown of the Cardinals. No QB has ever had a higher completion rate (82.1%) through the first four games of a season (min. 75 attempts).
Recap
Saints 24 at Falcons 26
Younghoe Koo kicked a 58-yard field goal with two seconds remaining and the Atlanta Falcons rallied for a 26-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints without scoring an offensive touchdown Sunday.
Koo kicked four field goals in all, also connecting from 53, 44 and 42 yards to give the Falcons (2-2) a desperately needed home victory.
They had lost their first two games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and seemed on the verge of falling to 0-3 in Atlanta when Alvin Kamara scored on a 1-yard run with a minute remaining to push the Saints (2-2) to a 24-23 lead.
- 58: The Falcons beat the Saints, 26-24, on Younghoe Koo’s career-long 58-yard field goal with two seconds left. He’s now a perfect 15-15 on all kicks this season.
Rams 18 at Bears 24
Caleb Williams led four scoring drives, D’Andre Swift had 165 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, and the Chicago Bears held off the Los Angeles Rams 24-18 on Sunday.
Jaquan Brisker intercepted Matthew Staffordwith about a minute remaining after the Bears punted on the previous play, helping Chicago (2-2) end a two-game skid.
Williams threw for 157 yards and a touchdown after setting a Bears rookie record by passing for 363 yards at Indianapolis last week. The No. 1 overall draft pick and former Heisman Trophy winner out of Southern California was 17 of 23 with a 9-yard TD pass to DJ Moore in the third quarter.
Vikings 31 Packers 29
— Sam Darnold threw three touchdown passes and Jordan Addisonscored twice as the Minnesota Vikings built an early 28-point lead and hung on down the stretch to beat the Green Bay Packers 31-29 on Sunday.
The Vikings (4-0) are off to their best start since 2016, when they won their first five games before slumping to an 8-8 finish. They have trailed for less than 3 1/2 minutes all season.
Minnesota spoiled the return of Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who returned after missing two games with an injured left medial collateral ligament. He threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns, both career highs. But he also matched a career high with three interceptions while going 32 of 54.
- 4-0: The Vikings beat the Packers, 31-29, to move to 4-0 for the first time since 2016, and Sam Darnold (three more passing TDs to give him an NFL-best 11) kept his surprise MVP candidacy alive.
Steelers 24 Colts 27
Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes in relief of the injured Anthony Richardson, and the Indianapolis Colts came up with a stop in the final minute to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 on Sunday.
Indy (2-2) has won two straight since opening the season with back-to-back losses — and two straight against Pittsburgh.
The Steelers (3-1) fought back from a 17-0 deficit but fell just short of extending their six-game regular-season winning streak. Pittsburgh’s top-ranked defense allowed a season-high point total.
- 39: Joe Flacco led the Colts past the Steelers after replacing an injured Anthony Richardson, whose mom is eight days older than the 39-year-old QB.
Broncos 10 Jets 9
— Bo Nix threw his first NFL touchdown and the Denver Broncos overcame a miserable first half on offense and held on to beat a banged-up Aaron Rodgers and the sloppy New York Jets 10-9 in a defensive standoff on a rainy Sunday.
Rodgers came up limping a bit after a sack late in the fourth quarter and seemed to be favoring his left leg — the same on which his Achilles tendon was surgically repaired last year — and was looked at on the sideline by trainers.
It appeared Rodgers might have also fumbled on the play, but the Broncos were out of challenges so Sean Payton couldn’t ask officials to review.
- 60: Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix set the NFL record for fewest passing yards in a win (min. 20 pass attempts), finishing with just 60 yards on 25 attempts in a 10-9 victory over the Jets.
Eagles 16 at Buccaneers 33
— Baker Mayfield threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Evansbecame the Buccaneers’ career scoring leader Sunday during Tampa Bay’s 33-16 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Mayfield, who completed 30 of 47 passes without an interception, also ran for a TD in helping the Bucs (3-1) dominate the rematch of a lopsided NFC wild-card game they won against the Eagles (2-2) last January.
Rebounding from a poor performance in a loss to Denver the previous week, Mayfield and the offense scored a touchdown on its opening possession for the first time in 21 games. Evans’ 2-yard scoring reception finished a 10-play, 79-yard drive that set the tone for the Bucs, who outgained the Eagles 254 yards to zero in building a 24-0 lead.
- 2-2: The Eagles went 6-0 across the last two Septembers, but fell to 2-2 this year following their 33-16 loss to the Buccaneers
Bengals 34 Panthers 24
— Joe Burrow threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns, Chase Brownran for 80 yards and two scores and the Cincinnati Bengals held on to beat the Carolina Panthers 34-24 on Sunday for their first win of the season.
Ja’Marr Chase had three catches for 85 yards, including a 63-yard catch-and-run touchdownas the Bengals avoided a potentially disastrous fourth straight loss to open the season. Of the 155 teams to start 0-4 since the merger, only the 1992 Chargers were able to rebound and make the playoffs.
Zack Moss had 78 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown reception for the Bengals (1-3).
Jaguars 20 Texans 24
— C.J. Stroud threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns, capped by a 1-yard pass to Dare Ogunbowale with 18 seconds left, to give the Houston Texans a 24-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Houston forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with less than three minutes to go.
Stroud then led a nine-play, 69-yard drive to give the Texans (3-1) their first points of the second half and survive a scare by the winless Jaguars (0-4).
- 0-4: The Jaguars lost to the Texans to become the league’s only 0-4 team. The Titans, also in the AFC South, can join them tonight.
Commanders 42 Cardinals 14
Jayden Daniels threw for 233 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in his desert return, and the Washington Commanders extended their winning streak to three with a 42-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Daniels — the No. 2 overall pick last spring — became the fourth quarterback in the Super Bowl era to run for four touchdowns in his first four career games, joining Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Anthony Richardson.
Daniels also completed 26 of 30 passes and has an absurd 82% completion percentage in his short career. He hit Terry McLaurin for a 10-yard touchdown strike midway through the fourth quarter, and found Zach Ertz in the back of the end zone on the 2-point conversion, for an insurmountable 35-14 lead.
- 82.1: Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels was superb once again in a 42-14 beatdown of the Cardinals. No QB has ever had a higher completion rate (82.1%) through the first four games of a season (min. 75 attempts).
Patriots 30 49ers 13
Brock Purdy threw a touchdown pass, Fred Warner returned an interception for a score and the San Francisco 49ers snapped a two-game skid by beating the New England Patriots 30-13 on Sunday.
After losing on the road at Minnesota and against the Los Angeles Rams the past two weeks, the Niners (2-2) found their footing quickly back at home against the struggling Patriots (1-3).
San Francisco got field goals from Jake Moody on the opening two drives before Warner delivered his latest big play of the season, making a diving interception against Jacoby Brissett and returning it 45 yards for his second career TD. Warner has three forced fumbles and two interceptions through four games this season.
Browns 16 Raiders 20
The Las Vegas Raiders used a strong defense as well as a balanced running game to hold off a late rally to beat the Cleveland Browns 20-16 on Sunday.
Cleveland drove to the Raiders 9-yard line, but Deshaun Watson was sacked by Charles Snowden with 41 seconds left to seal the victory.
The Raiders held on for the win despite star wide receiver Davante Adams (hamstring) and premier pass rusher Maxx Crosby (ankle) missing the game because of injuries. And the defense held the Browns to 241 total yards.
Chiefs 17 Chargers 10
— Patrick Mahomespassed for 245 yards and a touchdown while rediscovering his connection with Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs rallied from an early 10-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 17-10 on Sunday.
Making his 100th regular-season start, Mahomes completed 19 of 29 passes for the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs, who are 4-0 for the first time since 2020. Kelce had a season-high seven receptions for 89 yards and set the franchise’s career receptions record, surpassing fellow tight end Tony Gonzalez.
Kansas City has won six straight over the Chargers. It also has 11 straight road victories victories its AFC West rival, the longest active winning streak by a visiting squad and tied for third all-time.
Bills 10 Ravens 35
Derrick Henry busted out the longest run in franchise history on the way to a 199-yard game, Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, and the Baltimore Ravens handed Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills their first loss of the season, 35-10 on Sunday night.
Henry took his first handoff 87 yards to the house to give the Ravens (2-2) an early lead they never relinquished. Jackson, the two-time and reigning NFL MVP, completed 13 of 18 passes for 156 yards with TD throws to Henry and Justice Hill and ran for 54 yards, with Buffalo (3-1) finding no answers to stop Baltimore’s offense.
Henry tormented the Bills in prime time for the second time in his career, averaging 8.3 yards on his 24 carries three years after running for 143 yards and three TDs against them while with Tennessee. His 5-yard reception from Jackson in the end zone in the second quarter was just the fourth TD catch of his career and first since 2019.
- The Bills’ NFL-record streak of 43 consecutive regular-season games without a loss by six or more points came to an end with their 35-10 loss to Derrick Henry (199 rushing yards), Lamar Jackson (3 TD) and the Ravens.
PREDICTIONS
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Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.