Week 4 is a pretty big point of the NFL season. If you start 1-3 or 0-4, it’s very tough for you to turn things around and fashion a playoff contender out of that start. Similarly, if you’re 3-1 or 4-0, you’re very well-positioned for a potential playoff run. With that in mind, there are a lot of teams at something of a tipping point as the week kicks off.
What big items are we watching this week? Here are 15 major questions to be answered in NFL Week 4.
1. Can the Patriots avoid a full-blown crisis?
Make no mistake: if the Patriots were to lose to the Miami Dolphins at home and drop to 1-3, a full-blown frenzy would develop around them. The constant noise about whether the New England dynasty is over — which has already started — would grow deafening. In other words, it’s safe to say there’s a bit of pressure on the Patriots this week. The Dolphins come into Foxboro unbeaten and playing very well, so this won’t be an easy game for the home team, either.
2. Will Baker Mayfield’s magic continue in his first start?
Mayfield is officially the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns, and his first test as a starter is probably similar to what the New York Jets gave him. The Oakland Raiders are winless and struggling, and Mayfield has clearly won the respect of their head coach. Road games in Oakland aren’t easy, but the Mayfield hype will hit a fever pitch if he gets out of there with a win — which would leave Cleveland with more wins than losses.
3. Can Jon Gruden stop the Raiders’ second-half slide?
Speaking of the Raiders, this is probably not how they anticipated Gruden’s tenure in Oakland beginning. The Raiders have been outscored 37-3 in fourth quarters this season, which is the primary reason they sit at 0-3. Combine this with the comeback ability that Baker Mayfield showed a week ago and you have what looks like another potential recipe for disaster. Gruden needs to sort this out. It’s been three weeks, and they look no closer to being competent in late-game situations than they did in Week 1.
4. Will the Broncos be able to make a statement about their AFC West intentions?
The Broncos are a surprising 2-1, and host the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. Denver hasn’t really blown anyone away in their victories, and Case Keenum hasn’t been exceptionally impressive in any of those performances, but their record does not lie. They’ll have to find a way to contain Patrick Mahomes, but the fact is, the Broncos have a chance to make an early statement about their staying power in a potential playoff race.
5. Can the Lions send another high-profile opponent into panic mode?
A week ago, the Lions sent the Patriots hurtling to earth with a surprising and emphatic victory. They’ll have the opportunity to send another high-profile team into crisis mode if they can win on the road in Dallas on Sunday. The Cowboys are a disappointing 1-2, and Dak Prescott has been ineffective and inconsistent in moving the Dallas offense. Another middling performance and defeat will really raise questions about the Cowboys — and whether Prescott has what it takes to succeed at the highest levels.
6. Which early-season surprise turns legit?
The unstoppable Ryan Fitzpatrick heads to Chicago to meet the 2-1 Chicago Bears, who are the surprise early leader in the NFC North. One of these feel-good stories will subsequently be hit with a dose of reality. Fitzpatrick faces a tough test against Khalil Mack and the Bears’ defense, while Mitchell Trubisky has had his moments of inconsistency this season. Whoever wins this game will be in good position to continue surprising in the weeks to come.
7. Will a rivalry game spark an Antonio Brown breakout?
Pittsburgh’s star receiver hasn’t really gotten going this season. He has 24 catches for 210 yards this season, which isn’t bad but also isn’t quite up to the lofty standards he’s set for himself. A primetime matchup with the Baltimore Ravens could be just what he needs to pick up the pace. Baltimore’s defense has been good, but the Steelers appeared to come alive against Tampa Bay last week. It just feels like Brown is waiting to go off and will sooner or later.
8. Can the already-struggling 49ers hang without Jimmy Garoppolo?
C.J. Beathard takes the reins in San Francisco, where the 49ers’ once-promising season is looking shakier by the day. It’s hard to envision the former Iowa Hawkeye being a sturdy stopgap for the Niners, who already sit at 1-2. Jimmy Garoppolo’s ACL injury has changed the course of the season for the Niners, who are facing the prospect of a lost season that started with playoff ambitions. To make matters worse, they’re at the Chargers this week, a team with plenty of firepower that the Beathard-led offense probably won’t match.
9. How will Josh Rosen look in his first NFL start?
Rosen entered the Cardinals’ loss to the Chicago Bears so late that it was hard to draw any meaningful conclusions from his performance. This week, he’s at home against the Seattle Seahawks, a tough test to be certain for his first NFL start. It’s hard to see Rosen being anything but an improvement on what Sam Bradford was bringing to the table, but how he’ll look is entirely up in the air. The Cardinals will probably be content with “competent.”
10. Can the Bills make it back-to-back upsets?
Fluke or turning point? That’s the question for the Bills after their stunning road upset of the heavily-favored Minnesota Vikings. This week they travel to Green Bay to face the Packers. The Pack are not quite as well-rounded as Minnesota, but Aaron Rodgers, at his peak, is better than anything the Vikings can throw at them. Josh Allen may have some success this week, but the Bills’ defense — a turnover-creating machine a week ago — will really have to be on their game.
11. Do the Texans have what it takes to avoid disaster?
If they lose on the road to the Indianapolis Colts, the Texans would drop to 0-4 on the season, a near-unimaginable start for a team that harbored playoff ambitions at the start of the season. Deshaun Watson hasn’t quite been as electric as they’d have liked, and you have to think that coach Bill O’Brien’s seat is starting to get warm. It’s not too late for Houston to start turning their season around, but if they drop to 0-4, it’s hard to see anything but disaster in their 2018 future.
12. Can Eli Manning exploit the Saints’ defense enough?
The New Orleans Saints will probably score a lot of points on Sunday. That isn’t really news. The Saints’ offense has been a high-flying machine this year, win or lose. Their defense has generally made opponents look like high-flying machines, too. Thus, Eli Manning has a real opportunity on Sunday. The New York offense has often struggled this season, and Manning has looked generally shaky. Can he outgun the New Orleans offense? It’s hard to say, but this is his best chance at a huge stat line in a while.
13. Can Clay Matthews finally avoid a roughing penalty?
It seems inevitable that the roughing the passer rule will come into play in Week 4, and at this point, it would be a surprise if Clay Matthews were not involved. He’s picked up three very curious penalties in three weeks, with his most recent one eliciting a lot of negative responses from fans and players alike. Will things change this week? That seems quite unlikely, and it’s hard for Matthews to adapt his play style on hits that have been legal for him as long as he can remember.
14. Will Carson Wentz look like his old self against a solid defense?
Wentz understandably looked a bit rusty in his season debut against the Indianapolis Colts last week, and things won’t get easier this week. The Tennessee Titans’ defense has been solid this season, and they’ll be up for the challenge. On the other hand, Wentz looks like he has a good shot at getting Alshon Jeffery back at wide receiver, which should help him. How close will Wentz be to his old self could have a lot to do with how the Eagles fare in this one.
15. Was Jacksonville’s shaky Week 3 showing a fluke?
More than any other top-tier team, the Jaguars seem quite prone to the occasional stinker. Perhaps that’s owing to the inconsistency of Blake Bortles and their offense as a whole, but they got one against the Tennessee Titans. They’re handed a pretty straightforward rebound game at home against the New York Jets. But even taking into account opponent quality, they’ll want to put together a good all-around performance and put last week well and truly out of their minds, especially after an outstanding start to the season.
