NFL Week 4 Five Take Aways

Time to start paying attention to the 2-2 teams while you may have missed some excellent football

1. The Rams continue to baffle and confuse anyone who watches them season to season. We should have known better to write them off against the Cardinals. This team knows how to play good teams, especially in their own division. Todd Gurley had a strong showing for not just a rookie but any running back who has knowledge for the game. When the game was on the line, Gurley showed smarts by taking a hit in bounds rather than avoiding it and maybe stopping the clock. His final run of the game saw him potentially being able to power his way into the end zone but instead laid down to end the game. The Rams defense may not have shut down the Cardinals but they stopped them from getting in the end zone which made the difference of winning and losing. If even one touchdown is scored by the Cardinals, I would wager they win. The question on everyone’s mind is can the Rams work around the loss of Alec Ogletree?
2. The Cowboys/Saints game was a much better game than I anticipated for all the right reasons. It wasn’t sloppy, there was no one rightful winner over another with an odd ending, it was two teams trying to stay relevant giving it their all. Brandon Weeden played alright for a back up but there is a reason Drew Brees is the starter and their numbers show. Brees threw 15 more times and 113 more yards than Weeden (Although 80 of them came in the OT TD pass to CJ Spiller. The two teams matched each other nearly point for point right up until only one team could score first, and it just so happened to go to one of the best gun slingers in the modern day old west.
3. I think a lot of people wrote of the Giants after their first two games but they did not get blown out, they just gut beat in the end. Yes Eli Manning looked bad trying to lead the team in the final seconds in the loss against the Falcons but they have since bounced back and won two in a row to take a share of the lead in the NFC East. Washington was also able to knock off the Eagles to also move to 2-2. I think it is safe to say that this is not a division that is going to be decided early.
4. Andy Dalton is really coming into his own. The throws he is making are elite QB type throws. Four of his throws went for over 30 yards, two went for over 50. He gets his team close enough to be able to put points on the board and that shows week in and week out. As one of the six remaining undefeated teams, they have looked the best. Although I said that about the Cardinals last week too. Every team has their kryptonite I suppose.
5. Over half the games played in week 4 game down to a single score. Only one game was decided by more than two scores. Maybe it was just an odd week but if this is the type of season we got to look forward to moving forward, how can you not be excited about what’s to come? There is just no predicting these games any more.