Neil Reynolds' Wraps Week 4

It’s always dangerous to start talking about a team delivering a statement win when the victory in question comes in just the fourth week of what is sure to be a long and gruelling season with multiple ups and downs.

That said, the Buffalo Bills did indeed tell the rest of the NFL, ‘How dare you forget about us’ in their 48-20 win over the previously-red hot and undefeated Miami Dolphins. The Bills are apparently battling against a closing Super Bowl window… that sure didn’t appear to be the case in Orchard Park on Sunday night.

The whole football world was talking about the 3-0 Dolphins heading into the Week 4 showdown. Miami had scored 70 points and gained more than 700 yards in defeating the Denver Broncos the previous Sunday. By the end of the Week 4 action, the conversation was firmly centred around Bills quarterback Josh Allen, wide receiver Stefon Diggs and a swarming Buffalo defense.

The game started as expected. Five drives, five touchdowns and both offenses were humming. But then the Dolphins started to get rattled by Sean McDermott’s defense. The pressure proved too much for an offensive line that was becoming increasingly banged up and it started to affect the decision making of Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback.

With a raucous crowd baying for Dolphin blood, Buffalo’s defense was fired up. You could tell they were probably sick of hearing about the 70 points and 726 yards. They had a message to deliver and they did it in the form of four sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. Miami still had their moments, of course, but their offensive fins were very much clipped in the final three quarters of this contest.

The only negative for Buffalo’s defense was a significant one as cornerback Tre’Davious White left the game on a cart with what is feared to be a torn Achilles. That was a sickening blow for a player who had already overcome so much injury adversity after missing the second half of the 2021 campaign with a torn ACL.

Offensively, Allen and Diggs were keen to distract from all the Tua and Tyreek talk. And boy did they do that in emphatic fashion on Sunday. Allen has been very successful against Miami in recent years and it was more of the same in Week 4 as he hit on 21 of 25 attempts for 320 yards and four touchdowns. Allen also ran for a score, reminding us that he is one of the league’s most dangerous playmakers. Diggs caught six passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns and was largely uncoverable.

This turned into a perfect day for the Bills. They not only served a reminder to the Dolphins that the AFC East has belonged to them in recent years, they informed the rest of the NFL that their Super Bowl window remains firmly open. Message received.

Who’s Hot…

The Dallas Cowboys defense… The Dallas Cowboys have not exactly faced an elite group of quarterbacks so far this season, squaring off against Daniel Jones, Zach Wilson, Josh Dobbs and Mac Jones. But the old adage rings true… you can only beat what’s in front of you. And the Cowboys have taken advantage of every opportunity served up by three of those four passers and it’s a big reason why Dallas are 3-1. They scored two more defensive touchdowns in Sunday’s 38-3 thrashing that proved to be Bill Belichick’s biggest loss as Patriots head coach. Dallas have now forced at least three turnovers in three of their four games to date. The Cowboys have now scored four touchdowns on defense and special teams. I worry if the offense can ever really compete with the likes of Kansas City and San Francisco, but maybe they don’t have to when those other two units are playing so well.

Khalil Mack… After recording just 14 sacks in his previous two seasons combined, Los Angeles Chargers pass-rusher Khalil Mack reminded us that he is very much still playing in the NFL. Mack recorded six sacks in LA’s 24-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders – one shy of the NFL record set by Derrick Thomas, of the Kansas City Chiefs, back in 1990. This was probably not all about the Raiders offensive line, either. Mack feasted on rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell holding the ball a beat too long on quite a few occasions in his first NFL start. Veterans love it when those wide-eyed rookies enter the fray!

The Houston Texans… Or maybe they don’t! It’s certainly not an easy ride when taking on the Houston Texans these days, not with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud leading the way. The second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft threw for 306 yards, two touchdowns and no picks in a 30-6 thrashing of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Texans are alive and kicking in the AFC South! They have won their last two games (against the Steelers and Jacksonville) by a combined 67 points to 23 and have secured back-to-back victories for the first time since December 2021. Nico Collins caught seven passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, but Stroud is the key. He is the first player in NFL history to throw for at least 1,200 yards with no interceptions in his first four starts.

Who’s Not…

Mac Jones… Time may be running out on New England’s quarterback and he is certainly running out of excuses. Last year we talked about Jones flailing because defensive mind Matt Patricia was his offensive coordinator. This season, with Bill O’Brien back in New England to hold the hand of the struggling quarterback, we tend to talk about the lack of weapons around Jones. But a lot of Sunday’s humiliating loss to Dallas fell on Jones. He lacked feel and presence when getting chased down and sacked on a play that resulted in a Dallas touchdown. And he thought he was Patrick Mahomes or John Elway when throwing across his body and across the field for a pick six. Jones got benched in the third quarter and this is most worrying, he looked relieved and almost happy. I would rather have seen him fuming.

The Cincinnati Bengals… When Joe Burrow injured his calf during training camp, I wondered if the Bengals would protect him and sit him down for the first couple of weeks of the season. They didn’t and they opened 0-2. Then I felt like the team might intervene, especially after footage emerged of Burrow and owner Mike Brown deep in conversation during warmups at a Cincinnati practice. But Burrow struggled through a Monday Night football win over the Rams and then the wheels came off again on Sunday as the Bengals were beaten 27-3 by the Tennessee Titans. Burrow is clearly struggling with his injury and Cincinnati have scored three touchdowns on 41 possessions this season. I get that you want your leaders out there at all times, but the Bengals should have played the long game and sat Burrow in Weeks 1 and 2. They probably don’t have that luxury now they are in a 1-3 hole and one of the leading contenders in the AFC is being left behind.

Pittsburgh’s offense… By the time you read this, Matt Canada could be gone as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers. His unit produced just two field goals in Houston on Sunday and head coach Mike Tomlin was seething after the loss; hinting at upcoming changes. It’s not really been good enough all year long on the offensive side of the ball for the Steelers. They get by on their defense and that’s not nearly enough in today’s NFL. In four games to date, Pittsburgh have scored just four offensive touchdowns. That’s a damning indictment if ever there was one.

The Fast Five…

Eyebrows were raised when the Washington Commanders suggested Sam Howell was going to be their quarterback for the 2023 season – after making just one start in Week 18 last year. But Ron Rivera was clearly onto something. He has ups and downs, but Howell could be the answer. I was so impressed with how he drove Washington late against the Philadelphia Eagles, tying the game with no time left on a touchdown strike to Jahan Dotson. The Eagles took the game in overtime on Jake Elliott’s 54-yard field goal, but Howell caught the eye by throwing for 290 yards and that score in a 34-31 defeat.

• The Los Angeles Rams took a funny game against the Indianapolis Colts, 29-23 in overtime on Puka Nacua’s first NFL touchdown. The Rams led 23-0 but Anthony Richardson brought the Colts back to 23-23. The Colts are not the finished product, but Richardson is proving to be worthy of our attention every week. The comparisons to Cam Newton are fair and I cannot wait for this young passer to continue his NFL journey and development.
• It was not spectacular at Wembley Stadium, except for a couple of big plays from either side of the ball, but the Jacksonville Jaguars are now 2-2 after Sunday’s 23-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons. And they leant heavily on the defense in Week 4, scoring on a 61-yard interception return from Darious Williams and adding three Josh Allen sacks. That unit will be sorely tested this coming week as the Bills march into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
• Players not plays. That’s a motto so often thrown around when games enter key stages. Well, the same applies when a season reaches a critical point. The Minnesota Vikings had hurt themselves with turnovers in their 0-3 start and it was more of the same early against the Carolina Panthers. So, Minnesota leant on proven veteran playmakers. Justin Jefferson caught two touchdown passes from Kirk Cousins, safety Harrison Smith recorded 14 tackles and three sacks and the Vikings escaped Charlotte with a 21-13 win.
• On another night of high drama around the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers marching on in emphatic fashion might get overlooked. But their consistency is ridiculous right now. With Christian McCaffrey leading the way with four touchdowns, the Niners registered a 35-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals. They have now scored at least 30 points in all four games to start this season – that’s the first time that has happened in club history and this is a team that has been marshalled by Hall of Famers such as Joe Montana, Steve Young and Jerry Rice!

Fact of the Week

Buffalo’s win on Sunday means that quarterback Josh Allen is now 10-2 against the Miami Dolphins, including the playoffs. In games against the Dolphins, Allen has a quarterback rating of 109.2. Against all other NFL teams, that rating falls to 91.1.

Finish That Sentence

Each week in this spot I ask readers – via Twitter – to randomly send me the start of a sentence and, as we so often did on our NFL Live stage show tours, I will finish the sentence with the first thought that comes into my head. Here we go…

From Allan Worthy (@DocTchock) The first head coach on the hot seat in 2023 is… Matt Eberflus, of the Chicago Bears. His side blew a 21-point lead against the previously-winless Denver Broncos on Sunday and fell to a 31-28 defeat. The Bears have now lost 14 in a row under Eberflus and have conceded at least 25 points in each of those contests. That doesn’t make good reading for a head coach whose expertise is on defense. And what is going on with receiver Chase Claypool? Eberflus told us the under-performing receiver was given the option to attend the game or stay away. And he stayed away. Only for the Bears public relations department to tell us 30 minutes later that Claypool was instructed to stay away. It’s a hot mess in the Windy City and it starts and ends with the head coach.

From James McDougal (@JamesMcDougal) For the good of the Patriots, Robert Kraft should… exercise some patience and realise tough times don’t last, tough people do (to quote Julian Edelman). I know where you wanted me to go with this answer and Bill Belichick might yet find himself on the hot seat by the end of this season (legendary coaches have been fired before and will be fired again), but would you trust another coach to do a better job with this roster? Maybe what Bill needs to do is give up some of that general manager power and focus solely on coaching the team. I think the solution in New England is clear and it does not centre on firing Belichick. They need a better quarterback than Mac Jones and they need way more talent around whoever leads their attack in the coming years.

From Fantasy Poll (@NFLfantasypoll) The NFL London games bring… a wonderful football community together. It was great to be out and about at Wembley Stadium yesterday even though Falcons-Jaguars was an ITV game (Sky gets the Ravens-Titans on October 15 and the two Frankfurt games). I love seeing all the fans together in all the different jerseys, but it was also rewarding to see more and more Jaguars jerseys popping up each year. I had to leave just as yesterday’s game kicked off, but I took in the scene as Trevor Lawrence ran out of the tunnel and, trust me, it never gets old. Don’t ever take these games for granted, people. I worked as a journalist and lived as a fan through dark times when we could never have dreamed of a single regular season game anywhere in Europe and this year we’ve got five with the promise of more markets opening up in the future. It’s still one of the most stunning and historic developments in NFL history.

Final Thought…

What a joy it was to see Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin back on the field in a meaningful game for the first time since suffering a cardiac arrest during a January 2 contest against the Cincinnati Bengals. Hamlin’s heart stopped beating on that horrific night and he nearly died. So, there was understandably going to be some fear and trepidation there for Hamlin. But he was on the field for the opening kickoff and contributing to his team’s big win. There was a celebratory mood in Buffalo on Sunday and it was not just about that 48-20 victory. With Hamlin’s return, it turned into a celebration of life.