These were the 10 most impressive and impactful performances across the NFL in Week 4.
Maybe the Seattle Seahawks should have found the money to keep running back Kenneth Walker III because the now Kansas City Chiefs staff is going to need to build a new trophy case to store all the TeamFB7 “Game Balls” he’s accumulating this season.
Walker joins the short list of multi-time Game Ball recipients through the first four weeks of the NFL season — a list that includes Detroit Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs, San Francisco 49eres QB Brock Purdy, Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen, Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba and now also Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson, who picks up his second honor (but first solo Game Ball) this week.
The fact that nobody has made the list more than twice so far speaks to how hard it is to make the cut.
After crunching the All 22 game film (not really), digesting troves of highlights (more accurate) and combing through box scores to leave no Stone Forsythe unturned (we’ve yet to award an offensive lineman, but it sounded good), these were the 10 most impressive and impactful performances around the NFL in Week 4.
1. Carolina Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan
Tetairoa McMillan, the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, is also the NFC Offensive Player of the Week and claims the top spot on our Game Balls countdown this week.
Entering last week, McMillan’s single-game highs for his young career were 8 receptions and 130 yards. His season-highs for the first few weeks were 5 catches for 101 yards and he’d yet to score a touchdown this year.
Well, all of those realities changed Sunday in the Panthers’ 32-26 win over the Lions as McMillan piled up 14 catches on 16 targets for 192 yards and 2 TDs. It was the fourth career 100-yard game for the emerging star.
According to the AP, McMillan is now one of only three Panthers all-time to have last 10 catches, 150 yards and 2 TDs in a game, joining Steve Smith Sr. and Patrick Jeffers.
Making the performance even more impressive is that McMillan was the clear focal point for the Lions’ defense — or should have been — with Carolina’s other top receivers Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette out with injury.
McMillan had already set new career highs by halftime with 9 catches for 147 yards and a TD.
2. Kansas City Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker III
As noted, Walker just keep delivering week after week for his new team.
He probably could have even an extra Game Ball by now as he’s had multiple touchdowns in three of the four games and at least 117 rushing yards three times as well, but this one puts him in the aforementioned exclusive company all the same.
Walker set a new season-high Sunday with 177 rushing yards and 2 TDs on 22 carries in the Chiefs’ 30-27 win over the previously-unbeaten Las Vegas Raiders.
His 6.2 yards per carry so far is well above his career-high for a season (4.6) and is tops among NFL running backs this season, as is his rushing total of 537 yards.
Walker is already halfway to his career-high of 1,050 rushing yards set back in his rookie season in 2022 with the Seahawks.
Needless to say, that fat free agent contract he got from Kansas City (three years, $43.05 million) has been worth every penny so far.
3. Chicago Bears RB Kyle Monangai
In just his second NFL season, Kyle Monangai has proven to be one of the biggest steals of the 2025 NFL Draft as a seventh-round pick out of Rutgers and one of the best backup running backs in the league.
He’s also shown he can handle the featured role when called upon.
With D’Andre Swift seemingly being punished for an early fumble Sunday, Monangai got a career-high 30 carries and turned them into 146 yards and 2 TDs in Chicago’s 23-12 win over the Jets.
This was just the third game in his young career that Monangai has received at least 15 carries and he’s delivered big in each of those opportunities. In the other two, last season, he rushed for 176 yards on 26 carries vs the Bengals and 130 yards and a TD on 22 carries vs. the Eagles.
Monangai now ranks seventh in the NFL in rushing this season with 324 yards — one spot ahead of his teammate Swift (311) — despite not getting more than 10 carries in any of the first three games.
4. Dallas Cowboys QB CeeDee Lamb
CeeDee Lamb has had so many gaudy stat lines over the years that for him to set a career-high in anything at this point is especially notable.
Lamb notched a career-high 17 receptions Sunday, totaling 189 yards, and he also scored the decisive touchdown on a 12-yard catch with 40 seconds left to send the Cowboys to a 34-30 road win over the Texans.
Lamb now leads the NFL with 37 receptions for 498 yards and ranks tied for third with 4 receiving TDs.
5. Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson
Last week, Bijan Robinson had to share a Game Ball with teammate Drake London, but he gets the spotlight to himself this time.
The Saints simply had no solution for containing Robinson on Monday night as he rushed for 145 yards and 2 TDs on 19 carries in the Falcons’ commanding 45-24 win.
Less than 2 minutes into the game, he broke off a 59-yard touchdown scamper and then scored the Falcons’ second TD later in the opening quarter.
Robinson was over 100 yards by halftime and simply wasn’t needed as much the rest of the way with the Falcons maintaining control of the game or this could have easily been a 200-yard game for the star. His backfield mate, Brian Robinson (no relation) was the beneficiary of Atlanta’s comfortable lead as he finished with a season-high 14 carries for 62 yards and 3 TDs.
Bijan Robinson is second in the NFL in rushing with 494 yards, third in YPC at 5.8 and also has 120 receiving yards, placing him a close second behind Walker (621) in combined rushing/receiving yards with 614.
6. New York Giants CB Deonte Banks
Deonte Banks was already having an impressive performance Sunday on the way to finishing with 4 tackles and 4 pass breakups, but he punctuated that in a big way with a 98-yard interception return for touchdown as time expired to seal the Giants’ 36-24 win over the Cardinals.
The play of the game came on fourth-and-goal from the Giants’ 4 with the Cardinals threatening to steal the win.
Also, extra credit to Banks for not “nobly” taking a knee at the 5-yard line or something silly and unnecessary and reminding football players at all levels it’s OK to score touchdowns late in games.
That was Banks’ third career interception — first since his rookie season in 2023 — and his first NFL touchdown.
He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week, which is almost as prestigious as a TeamFB7 Game Ball.
7. New England Patriots QB Drake Maye
After weeks of concerning struggles and a mounting chorus of mocking nicknames — Drake Maybe, Drake Maye-Day, etc. — Patriots quarterback Drake Maye started to resemble the guy who finished a narrow second in NFL MVP voting last year.
Maye entered the weekend with 1 TD and 6 INTs on his season ledger before passing for 269 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT along with 54 rushing yards in a significant 29-26 win on the road over the Bills.
Maye’s overall stats still look ugly — 854 passing yards, 4 TDs, 7 INTs with 136 rushing yards — for a guy who threw for 4,394 yards, 31 TDs and 8 INTs in the 2025 regular season while leading the NFL in completion percentage (72.0%).
But Sunday was a good first step back toward that level of play.
Any questions about whether Maye is playing injured were assuaged for now as he showed nice zip and touch on his passes again.
8. Carolina Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard
Sometimes two teammates have to share in the spotlight and maintain joint custody of a Game Ball, but this week there was room to spotlight two Panthers separately.
Running back Chuba Hubbard had by far his best games of the season in that win over the Lions, rushing 20 times for 122 yards and 2 TDs.
It was Hubbard’s first 100-yard game since 2024 and his third-highest rushing output in his five-year NFL career.
9. Los Angeles Rams RB Kyren Williams
Kyren Williams’ steadiness can make it easy to take him for granted at times. He also gets overshadowed by some of his high-profile teammates like reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford or star receiver Puka Nacua.
But week after week, year after year, he’s one of the most dependable running backs in the league.
Williams had 16 carries for 80 yards and 2 TDs and 10 catches for 67 yards in the Rams’ 24-20 come-from-behind win over the Eagles in Week 4.
It was actually the second week in a row he rushed for at least 80 yards while having at least 65 receiving yards as well.
Williams’ second TD, a physical 7-yard score with 1:10 left in the game completed the comeback and put Los Angeles ahead for good.
10. New York Jets S Minkah Fitzpatrick
It’s hard to make the Game Balls cut in a loss, but Minkah Fitzpatrick gets on the list this week despite the Jets’ 23-12 defeat at Chicago.
First, the nine-year veteran, five-time Pro Bowl pick and three-time first-team All-Pro was everywhere in a vintage performance with a team-high 16 tackles (8 solo), but he also notched the Jets’ first interception since 2024.
That’s right, the streak is over after the Jets became the first team on record to go an entire season without a defensive interception last year.
Fitzpatrick wasn’t a part of that futility, coming over this offseason in a trade from the Dolphins, but he helped end it all the same. In fact, the Jets had 3 more interceptions negated by penalties.
Honorable Mentions
Kansas City Chiefs WR Tyquan Thornton: 5 catches for 111 yards and 2 TDs, with a 55-yard reception down to the Raiders’ 5-yard-line that set up the Chiefs go-ahead score. Thornton dislocated his ankle on that play and is likely out for the season.
Seattle Seahawks RB Emanuel Wilson: 21 carries for 81 yards and a TD plus a receiving TD in Seahawks’ 30-23 win over the Chargers.
Minnesota Vikings WR T.J. Hockenson: With star WR Justin Jefferson out with injury, Hockenson stepped up big and had nearly half of Minnesota’s receiving yards with 13 catches for 119 yards in a 15-10 win over the Dolphins.
Jacksonville Jaguars LB Foye Oluokun: 7 tackles, a forced fumble and a fourth quarter interception at the Jacksonville 10-yard line to help the Jaguars hold on for a 22-17 road win at Cincinnati.
Green Bay Packers S Evan Wilson: 7 tackles, a sack, 2 passes defended, 2 QB hits and an interception in a much-needed 17-14 win over the Buccaneers.
