NFL Game Recaps: Week 4, 2024

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Cowboys 20, Giants 15

Al Michaels joked during the broadcast that he could have “there’s a flag play” as a looped recording based on how many penalties there were in the opening half. The two teams combined for 12 penalties by intermission, as they both cost themselves scoring opportunities with careless mistakes. The first instance was a phantom face mask call on Daniel Bellinger that took the Giants out of field goal range. Ineligible downfield and illegal shift penalties on the Giants turned two potential touchdowns chance into field goals. Meanwhile, a hold on rookie tackle Tyler Guyton moved Dallas back 10 yards in the red zone. Guyton was later to blame for a hold that disrupted a promising Dallas drive.

The penalties continued in the second half, with infractions wiping out big gains for both teams. Meanwhile, the Cowboys and Giants suffered major injuries. Dallas saw Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Zack Martin get knocked out, with Parsons being carted into the locker room. As for New York, Malik Nabers, who made a deadly double move on Andrew Booth to break the cornerback’s ankles in the opening quarter, tried to make a reception on fourth down late in the game, but suffered a concussion. Injuries occur more often on Thursday nights, so the players paid the price for Roger Goodell neglecting the safety of his workforce once again.

The Nabers concussion occurred on a drop, spoiling a spectacular night for the rookie. This was also the Giants’ best chance to win the game. New York kept the game close against the Cowboys for once with their offensive line giving Daniel Jones more time than usual. However, Jones had to operate his final drive without Nabers, and the possession quickly concluded with an interception on a deep shot.

The Cowboys needed to rebound off two consecutive blowout defeats. They did so, but this was a Pyrrhic victory with all the injuries that transpired. The good news for Dallas is that its run defense performed well for the first time all year. Devin Singletary barely did anything on the ground.

The Giants lost, but have to feel encouraged because they weren’t blown out by Dallas for a chance. Nabers continued to dominate, so hopefully he makes a quick recovery from his concussion.

Colts 27, Steelers 24

The Colts prevailed to improve to 2-2, but this was a potential Pyrrhic victory for them. This is because Anthony Richardson suffered a hip injury on the second drive while scrambling. He missed two plays and then returned, but then was crunched on a late slide right into Minkah Fitzpatrick. Richardson hobbled off the field, eschewing the blue tent and heading straight for the locker room. He was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.

I wrote that this was a potential Pyrrhic victory because the Colts have one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL. Joe Flacco immediately stepped in and threw a touchdown pass to Josh Downs. Flacco was nearly picked once on a throw into the end zone, but he played very well otherwise, just as he had in Cleveland last year. Richardson is an extremely injury-prone quarterback, so Indianapolis’ decision to find a premium backup quarterback has already paid dividends.

Pittsburgh’s defense couldn’t do anything to take the ball away from the efficient Flacco, who knows Mike Tomlin’s defense quite well. The Steeler offense also struggled. Pittsburgh had done a great job of avoiding turnovers through the first three weeks of the season, but that changed in this game. The team turned the ball over on downs when Justin Fields was stuffed on a fourth-down scramble, and then George Pickens lost a fumble in the red zone in the second quarter when he carelessly held the ball for it to be stripped. Fields was next to lose a fumble when he took a huge sack near midfield.

Fields had some nice moments later in the game to trim the score to a respectable margin. However, the Colts were able to lead this game from start to finish.

The Colts saved their season with a couple of wins in the past two weeks to rebound to 2-2. Richardson’s injury has to be a concern for the long term because he cannot stay healthy, but Flacco has proven himself capable of leading a team to the playoffs.

The Steelers lost their first game of the year. This was a bad spot for them as a 3-0 road favorite. They shot themselves in the foot repeatedly, which is something they ordinarily don’t do.

Texans 24, Jaguars 20

C.J. Stroud told reporters following last week’s loss that it was “time to get back to business.” It certainly didn’t seem like Houston was in any sort of business for the majority of this game. The offense stalled far too often thanks to horrible play-calling. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik called far too many touches for Cam Akers, particularly when stuck in second-and-long situations. Akers seldom mustered any yardage, which put Stroud in constant third-and-longs. The Texans also shot themselves in the foot with untimely penalties. This was most prevalent prior to halftime when numerous infractions drained the clock, preventing a chance for a touchdown when the drive reached deep into Jacksonville territory.

The Texans were even more inept defensively. They couldn’t stop the run and surrendered too many chunks of yardage to Trevor Lawrence. Fortunately for the Texans, Lawrence had issues connecting with his targets on deep balls, resulting in just four third-down conversions. Lawrence started well, but declined as the afternoon progressed. This resulted in Jacksonville scoring only seven points in the second half.

The Jaguars constantly stalling following intermission allowed the Texans to mount a comeback at the end. This score was 20-17 Jacksonville seemingly forever, but Houston finally put together a game-winning drive in the final minute. Stroud hit Nico Collins for a 26-yard pass, ultimately setting up a short touchdown to Dare Ogunbowale for the victory.

If this is Houston’s “business,” no one should be investing into this company. The Texans were fortunate to prevail against an awful Jaguars team. If they continue to perform this way, they’ll have no chance of winning in January.

The Jaguars put together a much better effort in this game, but fell to 0-4. Barring some inexplicable surge to end the year, Doug Pederson will surely be unemployed after the season concludes.

There was a potential Tim Donaghy moment at the end of this contest. Travis Etienne was stuffed in the end zone on the final play for a safety, which would have given the Texans the cover. The officials ruled him down at his own 1-yard line even though he tried to run forward in his end zone. It seemed as though someone didn’t want Houston to win by more than 5.5 points.

Vikings 31, Packers 29

Matt LaFleur is a brilliant coach who has done some amazing things with Malik Willis this season. However, he had his first misstep of the year in a decision he made to play his starting quarterback returning too soon from injury.

With Willis performing so well, there was no need to rush “No Cookie” Jordan Love back from the injury he suffered in the season opener. Despite Love failing to log a single full practice this week, LaFleur opted to start Love in a very difficult matchup. This completely backfired in this game. Love had an early interception where he telegraphed a throw that got Christian Watson injured. This wasn’t the only pick Love tossed in the opening half, as he was intercepted a second time on a horrible overthrow.

Love didn’t get any help from his kicker. Rookie Brayden Narveson whiffed on two kicks in the first half alone, including one chip-shot attempt. The Packers didn’t score a single point in the first 29:45 of the opening half as a result, though they got bailed out with a Minnesota muffed punt just prior to intermission. Love capitalized with a touchdown pass to Jayden Reed, but Minnesota still led 28-7 at that point.

The Vikings, meanwhile, had their way with Green Bay’s defense. Aaron Jones was expected to have a huge performance in his return to Lambeau, but it was all Sam Darnold, who had nearly as many first-half touchdowns (3) as first-half incompletions (4). Darnold spread the ball around well, throwing scores to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Josh Oliver.

The Packers made things a bit interesting late in the game, but most of their production came in garbage yardage. Love caught fire at the end to post some brilliant numbers, so perhaps this is a good sign for Week 5 onward.

Darnold made some mistakes late in the game, including a fumble on a strip-sack, but he prevailed to move the Vikings to 4-0. He’ll get consideration for MVP from the media, but Jefferson is the true MVP of the team.

Green Bay dropped to 2-2, but the fans should feel optimistic because Love looked better in the second half, albeit in garbage time. He’ll be healthier next week.

Bengals 34, Panthers 24

The Bengals had some close calls in the first three weeks, but they came into this game at 0-3 and in desperate need for a win. This was a close battle for a while, but Cincinnati took advantage of some Carolina mistakes and established a 31-14 lead prior to the fourth quarter to give themselves their first victory of the year.

The Panthers had a chance to keep this game competitive. They moved down the field on the opening drive and reached the Cincinnati 1-yard line. However, the Panthers went for it on fourth down, only to have Chuba Hubbard stuffed at the goal line. The Panthers retained possession following an ineffective Cincinnati drive that saw an offensive lineman step on Joe Burrow’s foot, but Andy Dalton threw an interception because his hand was hit upon release. Chase Brown capitalized with a touchdown to put Cincinnati up 7-0.

Cincinnati’s other Chase was responsible for an ensuing touchdown. Ja’Marr Chase caught an intermediate pass and broke three tackles to score on a 63-yard play. This was part of a 24-point barrage the Bengals enjoyed in the second and third quarters, ultimately giving them an insurmountable 17-point lead.

The Bengals saved their season … temporarily. They won, but their defense still had issues. Though the Panthers lost, they had just as many first downs and third-down conversions as Cincinnati.

The Panthers lost after their initial victory with Dalton, but they shouldn’t feel discouraged. They outgained a motivated Cincinnati team, but cost themselves with untimely errors.

Bears 24, Rams 18

The Bears were fortunate to win their first game of the year despite being outgained by the Titans. They were able to capitalize on mistakes from Tennessee’s quarterback to prevail in what was their only win heading into Week 4.

History repeated itself in this game. The Rams have a much better quarterback than the Titans, but Chicago’s defense befuddled Matthew Stafford at crucial moments in this game. Stafford moved the chains well in between the 20s, but made constant mistakes deep in Chicago territory. He had a couple of field goal drives early in the contest, but was intercepted in the end zone on an underthrown pass. Stafford later had a lost fumble on a strip-sack, and he added another turnover later when he was intercepted on the final possession. This wasn’t on Stafford, as his arm was hit upon release, but the ball fluttered into the arms of a Chicago defender to end the game.

The Rams outgained the Bears, 322-264, and they had more first downs and third-down conversions. The turnovers were a killer, and they couldn’t generate any take-aways of their own. Caleb Williams wasn’t very sharp either – he missed a wide-open D.J. Moore for a touchdown – but he refrained from committing any turnovers and was able to complete all but six of his passes. It wasn’t a very good showing, but the Bears will take a turnover-free performance from their first-round rookie at this stage of his career.

The Rams had a great comeback last week, but fell to 1-3. Their defense is a complete mess because of injuries and Aaron Donald’s retirement. The Rams have their own first-round draft pick this year, so that’s at least a positive.

Chicago is now 2-2, but it doesn’t feel deserved. The Bears were outgained in three of their four games this year, but at least Williams didn’t give the ball away like Stafford did.

Broncos 10, Jets 9

There were some fun stats during the course of this game. At halftime, Bo Nix was 7-of-15 for minus-7 yards. That’s right – he completed seven passes, but had negative-7 yards. Of his receivers who saw a target, there was a six-way tie for the receiving yards leader with zero yards.

It’s safe to say that Nix was horrible to begin this game. Granted, this contest was played in the pouring rain, but Aaron Rodgers had 81 passing yards by intermission. He moved the Jets into field goal range twice to give his team a 6-0 lead heading into the broke. So, while offense was difficult in this game, it wasn’t impossible.

The Broncos finally generated some positive production in their passing game in the third quarter when Nix delivered a couple of deep throws to Courtland Sutton. The running game picked up as well, as Javonte Williams reestablished himself as the primary back after splitting touches with two other players in the opening half. The Broncos were able to pound the ball effectively against the Jets’ poor rush defense, ultimately setting up the lone touchdown in this game, as Nix found Sutton in the back of the end zone. Sutton impressively tapped his feet inbounds to give Denver the lead.

The Jets had some chances to go ahead, but many of their drives stalled because of constant miscommunications between Aaron Rodgers and his receivers. New York kicked a field goal early in the third quarter, but needed one more successful kick from Greg Zuerlein. The man known as “Greg the Leg” had enough distance from 50 yards, but the attempt went wide right in the inclement weather to allow Denver to pull the upset.

The Jets were in a rough spot in this game. Following a win over a divisional rival on national TV, they had to play this game while preparing to travel overseas. Big favorites have a poor track record prior to traveling to Europe.

The Broncos have inexplicably improved to 2-2 after getting negative passing yardage from their quarterback. The dark cloud over this victory was an injury to explosive rookie running back Tyler Badie, who was tackled routinely but then suffered an episode on his sideline and then had to be taken away on a stretcher.

Buccaneers 33, Eagles 16

The Eagles wouldn’t have A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, or Lane Johnson in this game. With three top players sidelined, the defense had to step up with a great performance to give Philadelphia’s limited offense a chance.

That did not happen. Instead, the defense looked completely helpless for most of the afternoon. The Eagles surrendered 445 net yards of offense on six yards per play. The Buccaneers were able to achieve 29 first downs and win the time of possession by 13 minutes. It also didn’t help Philadelphia that it made mistakes to help Tampa’s output. The Eagles, down 14-0, muffed a punt to set up a quick Baker Mayfield touchdown. Jalen Hurts was later charged with a lost fmble on a strip-sack.

The final score says that the Buccaneers won 33-16, but this should have been a much wider result. The Eagles did most of their damage in garbage time, and two of their points came off a blocked extra point that was returned the distance.

This was a horrible, all-around performance by the Eagles, who didn’t achieve a first down until 6:20 was remaining in the second quarter. This team will be much better once Brown, Smith and Johnson return – presumably after the Week 5 bye – but the defense must improve to give Philadelphia a chance to win the Super Bowl.

The Buccaneers are now 3-1, but they’ve gotten all but one of their opponents at their worst. They won convincingly in this game, but the Eagles were so shorthanded that they would have lost to almost anyone.

Falcons 26, Saints 24
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Why did this line have to be -2.5? The public wouldn’t have bet the Saints at +1.5? Come on!

The Saints should have won this game, as they outplayed Atlanta. However, New Orleans gifted Atlanta a special teams touchdown and a defensive touchdown to lose this winnable game. The New Orleans defense did not allow a touchdown, but Younghoe Koo was deadly, including a career-long 58-yard field goal to win the game with only seconds remaining.

Early in the first quarter, Rashid Shaheed muffed a punt at the 2-yard line, and the Falcons won a scrum in the end zone for a gifted touchdown. The Saints responded by marching down the field and finished the drive with a touchdown plunge from Taysom Hill. Paulson Adebo intercepted a terrible Kirk Cousins pass to get up New Orleans near midfield. The Saints took the ensuing drive down the field, and Hill again powered the ball into the end zone. Atlanta responded with a field goal drive.

The Falcons caught another lucky break when a deflected pass by Matt Judon floated to Troy Anderson for an interception. Anderson raced down the field for a 47-yard pick-six and a 17-14 lead for Atlanta that held for the rest of the first half.

In the third quarter, Atlanta struck first with a field goal drive, and the Saints got one of their own to make it 20-17 Falcons entering the fourth quarter. New Orleans’s defense was without Demario Davis, Willie Gay, and Tyrann Mathieu, and that left the middle vulnerable to the ground attack as Tyler Allgeier pounded the ball down the field. A Jake Matthews holding took away a Bijan Robinson touchdown, and Chase Young abused Matthews for a sack that forced Atlanta to settle for another Koo field goal to go up 23-17.

The Saints moved down the field with Carr and Alvin Kamara, but on fourth-and-goal with four minutes remaining, Carr threw incomplete for Shaheed in tight coverage. New Orleans had all their timeouts remaining, so Dennis Allen made a questionable decision not to kick the field goal, make it 23-20, and use the timeouts with four minutes on the clock to give your offense a shot at forcing overtime or winning the game. The Saints defense had not allowed an offensive touchdown all day, so getting the ball back seemed very feasible.

New Orleans’s defense did force a quick three-and-out, with a punt return from Shaheed that started the possession around midfield with 3:30 remaining. Carr and Chris Olave moved the ball on a few completions to set up a first-and-goal at the one-yard line. On third-and-goal, Kamara scored to have the Saints go up 24-23. With about a minute remaining, the Falcons got a 30-yard pass interference penalty on Paulson Adebo. On fourth down, Koo made a 58-yard field goal to give Atlanta the win.

This win keeps Atlanta and New Orleans tied at 2-2, one game back from Tampa Bay. Stealing this win is huge for the Falcons to narrowly escape a big hole with a 1-3 start.

49ers 30, Patriots 13
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I must be on drugs because I swear I heard that Deebo Samuel would be out for six weeks. Instead, he barely missed any time at all!

After a letdown loss to the Rams last week, the 49ers got back on track as they cruised over the Patriots. New England wasn’t competitive against the reigning NFC champs, and the Patriots were outclassed on both sides of the ball.

The 49ers produced a field goal drive, and San Francisco stripped Rhamondre Stevenson for a fumble that set up the offense at the Patriots 30-yard line. San Francisco settled for another field goal, and their defense found the end zone first. On the next New England possession, Jacoby Brissett did not see Fred Warner in coverage, and he made a leaping interception with a 45-yard return for a touchdown. San Francisco opened up a big lead when George Kittle made a leaping touchdown catch over three Patriots defenders. The Patriots hit a 63-yard field goal on the second quarter’s final play to make it 20-3 at the half.

New England finally caught a break when the 49ers fumbled away the kickoff to open the third quarter. The Patriots took advantage of this with a short touchdown toss to Austin Hooper. The touchdown was quickly matched by San Francisco, with Brock Purdy connecting with Deebo Samuel for a 55-yard connection and Jordan Mason powering into the end zone from a few yards out to go up 27-10.

After a Patriots field goal, Purdy threw into double coverage in the end zone and had the ball picked off by Jabrill Peppers. New England could not score and the 49ers added a field goal drive. The Patriots got moving with a 49-yard completion to Antonio Gibson, but Nick Bosa strip-sacked and recovered the fumble to slam the door on the Patriots.

At 2-2, the 49ers have overcome many injuries to stay competitive in the NFC, and it looks like that trend might need to continue to be an issue as Warner was unable to finish this game.

Redskins 42, Cardinals 14

Jayden Daniels entered the week with an unbelievable streak of scoring on each possession. The Redskins punting unit hadn’t even seen the field since Week 1. Daniels didn’t score on every drive for once, as he threw an interception on a pass where the defensive back made a great play and later had a series end with a punt. It was quite the disappointment for those expecting this flawless play to continue.

Those without unrealistic expectations continued to be amazed. Daniels destroyed the Cardinals. He completed all but four passes, converting an unbelievable 9-of-12 third downs. He helped outgain Arizona’s explosive offense by about 150 net yards. And by the end, Daniels closed out his fourth game with the best completion percentage for any quarterback in NFL history through four starts in any season.

Despite this ridiculous play from Daniels, the most surprising thing from this game was how Washington’s defense performed. The Redskins couldn’t stop anyone through three weeks, and it looked like history would repeat itself when the Cardinals scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the afternoon. Arizona, however, scored just seven points after that. The Redskin pass rush swarmed Murray, sacking him four times. Murray is protected well for the most part, so it’s not even like Washington had an easy matchup.

Given the Cowboys’ incompetence and the Eagles’ injuries, the Redskins could be considered favorites to win the NFC East. The Eagles could challenge that if their players recover.

The Cardinals fell to 1-3. They looked like a potential threat when they trashed the Rams in Week 2, but they’ve been outscored 60-20 in the past two games.

Raiders 20, Browns 16

No Maxx Crosby, no Davante Adams, no problem. The Raiders were missing their best offensive and defensive players, and yet it didn’t matter. They managed to upset the Browns to improve to 2-2.

How could this have happened? Cleveland’s ineptitude is the answer. The Browns constantly shot themselves in the foot with dumb mistakes in this game. They got off to a 10-0 start, but it was all downhill after that. Deshaun Watson, who spent plenty of time yelling at an offensive line that was missing four starters after Ethan Pocic suffered an injury, was charged with an interception that bounce off Amari Cooper’s hands. Watson and Cooper had a poor miscommunication to negate a big play, and then Cooper, who dropped multiple passes, had an 82-yard touchdown negated by a hold.

Cooper’s touchdown would have given the Browns the lead, but they still trailed 20-16 after the penalty was enforced. Cleveland had multiple chances to take the lead, but the offense couldn’t sustain drives because of the pressure. The depleted offensive line couldn’t block the Raiders despite Crosby’s absence. Christian Wilkins and company shut the door on a potential Cleveland comeback with several fourth-quarter sacks.

The Raiders saved their season with a victory, though the team has to be disappointed with Brock Bowers’ performance. Bowers was expected to have a huge performance with Adams and Michael Mayer sidelined, but he caught only two passes and had a drop on what would’ve been a big gain.

Cleveland, conversely, is on life support at 1-3. The team doesn’t seem likely to rebound, given the offensive line injuries. As mentioned, the team lost a fourth starter when Pocic was knocked out. Backup center Nick Harris botched a snap to help disrupt a drive.

Chiefs 17, Chargers 10

The Chiefs got out to an awful start in this game. Not only did they see Carson Steele lose a fumble in Chargers territory, and not only did Patrick Mahomes heave an interception on an ugly overthrow, but Rashee Rice suffered a knee injury and had to be carted off the field.

It appeared as though the Chiefs would suffer their first loss of the season. They were quickly down 10-0, thanks to a terrible call on Ladd McConkey’s touchdown where it was obvious that McConkey did not catch the ball. This would have been a humiliating defeat because the Chargers, with a hobbled Justin Herbert, were down both tackles, Joey Bosa, and Derwin James.

However, Kansas City’s defense dominated following the 10-0 deficit. The Chiefs didn’t surrender a single point following the first quarter. They nearly did, but they had a great goal-line stand when Jim Harbaugh eschewed kicking a field goal with 13 minutes remaining to take a 13-10 lead. That was the Chargers’ best chance to score because Herbert saw tons of pressure. Herbert, who constantly was limping around, was hit 10 times. The 10th occasion was the final offensive play for the Chargers, as a third-down play was ruined by a sack. The Chargers punted the ball away, and never saw it again.

Despite not having Rice at his disposal, Mahomes did a good job of moving the chains following a slow start. He finally had a great connection with Travis Kelce, and he hit Xavier Worthy with a 54-yard touchdown bomb. Meanwhile, the Chiefs had a solid performance from old friend Kareem Hunt, who supplanted Steele following the fumble.

Ravens 35, Bills 10

This game was over in a flash. Following an initial Buffalo possession that concluded with a punt, the Ravens got the ball and scored instantly. Derrick Henry exploded for an 87-yard touchdown to give Baltimore a quick 7-0 lead.

The Baltimore offensive onslught continued throughout the opening half. Buffalo surrendered big gains to Henry, while Lamar Jackson both completed passes for chunks of yardage over the middle of the field and scrambled for nice gains. The Bills, meanwhile, couldn’t get anything going offensively. Josh Allen saw pressure, while his receivers dropped passes. The Ravens took a 21-3 lead into intermission.

The Bills were able to obtain some momentum in the second half. Khalil Shakir secured a 52-yard bomb from Allen, who took a shot downfield while drifting out of bounds. Keon Coleman, who had an early drop, made two terrific back-shoulder sideline catches. However, the momentum screeched to a halt when Allen lost a fumble on a strip-sack. This set up a Baltimore touchdown, giving the Ravens an insurmountable 28-10 lead.

The Ravens got off to a rough 0-2 start, but they’ve dominated their previous two opponents to improve to 2-2. Offensive line and cornerback concerns still linger, however.

The Bills are 3-1, but some of their flaws were exposed in this game. Their receivers couldn’t take advantage of Baltimore’s cornerbacks, while the defense really struggled to defend the middle of the field as a result of two starting linebackers being out of the lineup.

Titans 31, Dolphins 12

It looked like this would be another long game for Will Levis. The second-year quarterback threw an interception right away. He was overheard saying, “I didn’t see him” on the sideline, indicating that he didn’t notice the defender in coverage. No one was surprised by this.

What would have been shocking at the time was an error-free evening from Levis the rest of the way, but that’s exactly what we saw because Levis exited with a shoulder injury. Mason Rudolph took over, and while he didn’t commit a turnover, he also didn’t do much to push the offense down the field. Luckily for the Titans, the Dolphins didn’t either. Miami’s offense continued to look lost even though Tyler Huntley supplanted Skylar Thompson as the team’s starting quarterback while Tua Tagovailoa recovers from his concussion.

The Dolphins couldn’t do much of anything with Huntley, particularly in the 2-minute drill prior to halftime when Mike McDaniel once again displayed that he doesn’t know how to operate in that situation. Miami later had repeated issues with illegal shift penalties. This was part of the reason why the Dolphins took their time with a 7-minute drive while down 16 points in the fourth quarter. Huntley eventually ran into the end zone after converting a fourth-and-12, but it didn’t matter because the ensuing two-point conversion failed.

The Titans found their way into the win column, as Levis didn’t get an opportunity to sabotage another potential victory. This final result makes it seem like Tennessee blew out Miami, but this was a 9-3 affair at halftime. Neither offense did much until Tony Pollard broke some long runs in the second half. One Tennessee touchdown was scored in garbage time.

Miami dropped to 1-3 in another pathetic offensive showing. McDaniel has done some serious damage to his reputation in the previous few weeks, and that continued in this game. It’s unclear why McDaniel let go of Mike White or failed to sign Ryan Tannehill, as he had an opportunity to possess a quality backup behind Tagovailoa.

Lions 42, Seahawks 29

Perfection. That is a word that has likely never described Jared Goff despite the great moments in his career. That word is appropriate for Goff in this game, as he completed every single pass he attempted. He was 18-of-18, and he didn’t just dink and dunk. He took several deep shots, hitting Jameson Williams with a 70-yard bomb. He also caught a touchdown pass on the Philly Special.

The Lions were able to establish multiple two-touchdown leads in this game, thanks to Goff’s perfection and a crucial error by D.K. Metcalf. The star Seattle receiver enjoyed a great performance, but committed a gaffe in the early stages. Down 7-0, Metcalf fought for extra yardage in field goal range, but lost a fumble. The Lions took over and scored a touchdown via Jahmyr Gibbs to give themselves their first two-touchdown advantage of the evening.

This game went back and forth in the second half, with the two teams combining for 43 points following halftime. The Seahawks, however, could never quite catch up, failing to draw to within fewer than eight points. Their defense couldn’t get off the field at all, with Goff completing every pass, and Gibbs and David Montgomery churning out positive gains on their 26 combined runs.

The Lions had their doubters heading into this game, as they suffered a defeat versus Tampa Bay two weeks ago. Goff hadn’t played his best heading into this contest, but he certainly made amends for his mediocre performances in this contest.

The Seahawks lost their first game of the year. This was their first test against a tough opponent. While their offense performed well, their defense failed miserably.