Recap: Week BORE Lives Up to Its Name

The NFL in Week 4 was one to forget. Most of the games wound up being rather awful. They were sloppy, they were ugly, and most of them were blowouts. In total, 7 out of 11 daytime games were decided by ten pts or more, and of the seven, three were decided by 17+ pts.

Teams that really made their mark:

Buffalo Bills: After falling behind early, Buffalo STORMS ahead to win battle of the Trents, 31-14 at St. Louis. Lee Evans only caught two passes but they were for 88 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Marshawn Lynch had 57 yards rushing and 24 passing yards. The star of the show was clearly the defense, which held the Rams SCORELESS in the second half.

Washington Redskins: We knew it'd be close, but nothing like this. I am really impressed with the Redskins today, as they not only got their first road win, but beat the NFC favorite Cowboys on the road. I can't say enough about how well Jason Campbell played, with 2 td passes and 231 yds. Santana Moss had a MOSTER day with 145 receiving yards. Jason Witten wasn't bad himself with 90 yards and a touchdown.

Tennessee Titans, with an (*): Even with every potential reason for a letdown, the Titans dominated the Minnesota Vikings 30-17 at Nashville. The 4-0 Titans still haven't played a team with a solid offensive unit. That said, you gotta beat the teams you're supposed to beat, and Tennessee now has a point differential of +43. This is significant because that's the largest point differential among undefeated teams (only the Giants come close with +40). I'll hold cautious optimism for the Titans while I expect them to struggle against teams above .500. Bear in mind, the Titans played 3 of these first 4 games at home.


Teams that fell flat:

San Francisco 49ers: The Saints pounded the Niners today 31-17. Despite making this list, I really thought this kind of loss made sense. First of all, this was the 49ers first road test, and J.T. O'Sullivan hadn't played East of the Sierra Nevadas up to now. Secondly, the Saints are rather good at home to start with. Finally, the 49ers are prone to turnovers, and today O'Sullivan alone accounted for two interceptions and a lost fumble. The 49ers are on the way up, but they'll need to work on these correctable mistakes.

Dallas Cowboys: Defense wins championships. Without a strong defense, there's no long term future against the best of the NFL. OFFENSIVELY, Dallas did very well. For the Cowboys, Romo had another decent game but also another interception. Terrell Owens had 71 yards with a touchdown. Even Patrick Crayton added 87 receiving yards. The main issue for Dallas is, once again, their inefficient pass defense. This is now the third game in a row where the Cowboys gave up over 250 passing yards. In addition, the Cowboys really need to cut down on their turnovers.

Denver Broncos: Boy this is a big disappointment. Going into Arrowhead and losing to KC 33-19 is hard to take. We knew this was coming, but not this soon! Denver's rushing defense continues to be abysmal, and their defense overall is really pathetic. This is now the 3rd game in a row the Broncos gave up more than 30 pts, but giving up 30 to the Chiefs is inexcusable. This was a great opportunity to lock down an opponent and the Broncos failed miserably!

San Diego Chargers: You know, we might as well just put the Chargers on here every week. First the Raiders took a 15-0 lead at the half. Then the Chargers roared back to win by ten, most of those points scored in the 4th quarter. That game was really hard to watch, and credit is due for them coming back to win. The bottom line is the Bolts dug themselves in a hole they could have avoided.