Before turning the page to the start of Week 5 on Thursday night, it’s time to take stock of the winners and losers around the NFL in Week 4.
Along with John Harbaugh to the New York Giants, we opined many times this offseason that the Atlanta Falcons made one of the best hires in landing former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
He was a two-time NFL Coach of the Year in Cleveland and led the franchise to two of its only three playoff appearances since returning to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999.
He had running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts and a solid offensive line to work with in Atlanta.
He … just needed a quarterback.
After releasing Kirk Cousins in a necessary move to avoid triggering massive financial guarantees for 2027, the Falcons signed Miami Dolphins castoff Tua Tagovailoa to compete with their own disappointing former first-round pick Michael Penix Jr.
Tagovailoa “won” the preseason QB competition by default as Penix wasn’t fully back from his torn ACL in time to actually battle for the job, and yet Tagovailoa lost out on any chance to get his once-promising career back on the tracks this year by popping on the injured list in Week 1 with an oblique strain.
All of that led to one of the great misdirections of this 2026 NFL season as the Falcons looked feeble and futile in starting 0-2 with third-stringer Cooper Rush at QB.
How bad was Rush, you ask? So bad that Atlanta didn’t even take a single redzone snap during his two starts — a 20-13 loss at Pittsburgh and 34-3 shellacking at home from Carolina.
Despite having Robinson, London, Pitts and that offensive line. That might well be the last time Rush, at one point a useful backup QB for the Dallas Cowboys before diminishing returns in recent years, takes an NFL snap.
Anyways, many had already written the Falcons off. The oddsmakers had already projected them in the preseason to be the worst team in the weak NFC South, which is as bad as it gets.
Some of us were more bullish on the Falcons and what the upgrade from defensive-minded former head coach Raheem Morris to the offensive guru Stefanski could mean with all those elite playmakers. But even us Stefanski stockholders had to question everything after the first two weeks, mostly because it was hard to believe that Penix was going to make a substantial difference upon his return.
Honestly, it’s still hard to believe even while watching it happen the last two weeks.
The former Washington star and Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2023 just hadn’t shown much through his first two NFL seasons while throwing for 2,757 yards, 12 touchdowns and 6 interceptions over 14 games with 12 starts (4-8 record). Also, his injury history is as substantial as any player in the league with three ACL tears already among other maladies.
But this is a major part of why Stefanski was brought to Atlanta — to see if Penix could be salvaged or to otherwise figure out the quarterback position moving forward.
After all, Stefanski once got the Browns to the playoffs while using five different starting quarterbacks in a season. If anyone could do it …
Well, it’s important not to overreact to small sample sizes in the NFL, where plot twists come weekly and even the greatest players are humbled regularly.
But in two games since returning to action, Penix has completed 73.3% of his passes (after rates of 58.1 and 60.1 his first two seasons) for 479 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT.
He is not the star of the show, nor does he ever need to be in this offense. And that was the reason to believe in the Falcons in the first place — they only needed serviceable QB play to be a major factor in the NFC South with the coaching upgrade and surrounding talent.
Penix is giving them that — so far.
And that’s all it’s taken to unlock Robinson (339 rushing yards and 4 TDs over those two games) and London (14 receptions for 290 yards in that time) as the Falcons have rolled to back-to-back lopsided road wins — 35-14 at Green Bay and 45-24 at New Orleans.
Suddenly, Atlanta is a top 10 offense in the NFL for the season — 10th in yards at 360.5 per game overall — and climbing. Over those two games with Penix, the Falcons are tops in the NFL with 40.0 points per game and 459.0 YPG.
Not to pat ourselves on the back, but we ranked the Falcons No. 1 on our list of five teams most likely to exceed their over/under win total this season. It was set at 6.5 in the preseason and that hot take is looking especially good at this point.
Atlanta has a primetime showdown at home with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. If they can keep it rolling in that one, the Falcons’ bandwagon will really start filling up quickly.
Glad we grabbed a window seat in the business class select section back in the winter.
As for the weekly Winners & Losers breakdown, the Falcons were our top winner of Week 4. Let’s get to the rest …
More Winners From Week 4 In The NFL …
Brilliance Of Ben Johnson
If we’re debating who is the best coach in the NFL right now, all things considered, there are there maybe six to eight names that belong anywhere near that conversation.
The Chiefs’ Andy Reid, obviously. The Broncos’ Sean Payton, sure. The Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald, most definitely. The 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan, certainly. Maybe a case can be made for the Harbaugh brothers — maybe. And the Patriots’ Mike Vrabel would have been in there before his rough offseason and the seeming carry-over effect into this fall, so in the big picture he should be mentioned too. (The Jaguars’ Liam Coen is another year away from having a seat at the table.)
The other one is the Chicago Bears’ Ben Johnson, in just his second season as a head coach, and he’s climbing that list on a rapid and steady upward trajectory.
Johnson took over a Bears franchise last year that hadn’t had a winning season since 2018 and was coming off a 5-12 finish. He immediately delivered an 11-6 NFC North title and Chicago’s first playoff win 2010.
Now, he’s got the Bears off to a 3-1 start while using three different starting quarterbacks through four games.
He blew out the Eagles two weeks ago with 38-year-old third-stringer Case Keenum playing his first game in three years and then beat the Jets 23-12 last week with backup Tyson Bagent making his first start in three years.
Bagent was OK, throwing for 268 yards with an interceptions, but Johnson directed a rushing attack that rumbled for 232 yards and 2 scores.
Despite the turnstile at quarterback, the Bears lead the NFL in total offense (429.0 yards per game) and rushing (196.3 YPG).
After seeing what Johnson did as offensive coordinator of the Lions and how out of sorts that Detroit team has been since he left, seeing what he did in his head coaching debut last year, and now most impressive of all how he’s managed Caleb Williams’ injury absence, yeah, he belongs near the top of that best NFL coach conversation.
Backup RBs
Speaking of the Bears, the star of the show last Sunday was backup running back Kyle Monangai, the seventh-round pick out of Rutgers last year who is going to very much enjoy the second NFL contract he signs when that time comes.
With D’Andre Swift losing an early fumble, the Bears put their trust in Monangai, who rushed for a career-high 146 yards and 2 TDs on 30 carries.
That was only the third game in his young career that he’s received even 15 carries in a game, and in each of those contents Monangai has excelled — rushing 176 yards on 26 carries vs the Bengals and 130 yards and a TD on 22 carries vs. the Eagles, both coming last season.
Monangai ranks in the NFL in rushing this season with 324 yards despite not getting more than 10 carries in any of the first three games.
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Over in Seattle, Emanuel Wilson played the starring role in a 30-23 win over the Chargers while rushing for 81 yards and a TD on 21 carries along with 39 receiving yards and a score.
Wilson took over as the clear featured back with rookie Jadarian Price sidelined by injury. Undrafted in 2023 out of tiny Fort Valley State — about as far off the NFL draft radar as any college in the country — Wilson spent the last three seasons with the Packers before signing a one-year, $1.595-million contract with Seattle in March.
Just think how much the Packers and their league-worst rushing attack (averaging just 58 yards per game) are missing Wilson right about now after he averaged a solid 4.5 yards per carry while rushing for 1,083 yards and 7 TDs (with 170 yards and a TD receiving) over the last three years for Green Bay.
Wilson, who also had 92 yards on 21 carries in Week 2 vs. Arizona, should remain the Seahawks’ lead back for the foreseeable future with Price landing on injured reserve with his chest injury and Zach Charbonnet still not close to returning from his torn ACL.
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The Dolphins lost star running back De’Von Achane to a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3, so now Ollie Gordon II gets his shot to lead the way for a rebuilding Miami team.
That only amounted to 9 carries last week in a 15-10 loss to the Vikings, but Gordon turned that into 100 yards and a TD with a long run of 53 yards.
A sixth-round pick out of Oklahoma State last year, Gordon now has a prime chance to prove himself as an NFL RB.
Drake Maye Quiets Doubters … For Now
Well, any speculation that Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was playing injured was assuaged Sunday when he threw for 269 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT and rushed for 54 yards in a huge 29-26 win at Buffalo.
That makes his pronounced struggles the first three weeks all the more baffling, though. Maybe it was all in his head.
For now, it looks like Maye is fine and rounding back into form, though his overall passing stats (854 yards, 4 TDs, 7 INTs) will continue to look ugly for a while.
Shoutout To Shane Steichen
We had Indianapolis Colts’ coach Shane Steichen fourth on our preseason Hot Seat Rankings, so it’s only fair that we acknowledge he’s doing one of the better coaching jobs in the league so far this season.
The Colts’ roster got worse over the offseason, and the decision to overpay and miscast wide receiver Alec Pierce as a true WR1 looks even worse now that he re-injured the heel/foot injury that sidelined him most of the preseason following surgery.
Daniel Jones hasn’t looked the same at quarterback after coming back from a torn Achilles tendon either.
And Steichen has the Colts at 2-2 with back-to-back wins over the Texans and Commanders after taking the Chiefs to overtime on the road in a narrow Week 2 loss.
Running back Jonathan Taylor is one of the best in the game, no doubt, but it’s hard to believe the Colts are going to be a playoff team this year. Except … they’re looking the part so far.
Kudos to Steichen, though it’s early and the pressure from Colts ownership is clear — and unique.
Rams Stave Off Scrutiny With Late Rally
Just imagine if the Rams hadn’t rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit last week to beat the Eagles ….
The preseason Super Bowl favorites — sorry, overwhelming preseason Super Bowl favorites — would be 1-3 with a tough schedule and playing in the best division in football if not for that come-from-behind 24-20 victory and the two 10-play fourth quarter touchdown drives that made it happen.
Seriously, imagine the hot takes and narratives that would have been flying around this week!
But the Rams indeed did win that game — pulling ahead on Kyren Williams’ 7-yard touchdown run with 1:10 remaining — and are 2-2 rather than 1-3.
Having Puka Nacua back sure helped as the star receiver had 2 catches for 41 yards on the first touchdown drive of the fourth quarter and finished with 9 catches for 125 yards and a rushing TD, while the underrated Williams was clutch down the stretch on the way to tallying 80 rushing yards and both of those late TDs along with 10 catches for 67 yards.
Klint Kubiak, Kevin O’Connell And Kyle Shanahan Coach Of The Year Consideration, Kirk Cousins, K9 and Keon Coleman
Let’s wrap the winners column with the weekly alliterative speed round …
Here are the latest NFL Coach of the Year odds from DraftKings Sportsbook: Johnson (+500), Klint Kubiak (+600), Todd Monken (+750), Kevin O’Connell (+850), John Harbaugh (+1100), Liam Coen (+1200) and Kyle Shanahan (+1200).
We touched on Johnson already, but it seems like Kubiak is the favorite if the Raiders keep playing like they have this first month.
Even in their first loss of the Kubiak Era, they pushed the unbeaten Chiefs all the way in a 30-27 defeat.
Specifically, what Kubiak has done with that offense and 38-year-old Kirk Cousins is incredible. Cousins has 1,026 passing yards, 11 TDs (tied for the NFL lead) and 4 INTs and has thrown multiple touchdowns in every game.
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As for O’Connell, he’s showing — much like Stefanski in Atlanta — what he can do with even marginal QB play.
Sadly, that’s all Minnesota has gotten from high-profile free agent Kyler Murray, who has thrown for just 433 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs with only 42 rushing yards in two-plus games (while getting concussed early in the opener and then missing Week 2).
Regardless, the Vikings are one of only three unbeaten teams left — along with the Chiefs and 49ers — after an ugly 15-10 win over Miami last week.
That was without star receiver Justin Jefferson, who missed the game with an ankle injury but is expected back this week against the Saints.
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And then Shanahan just keeps trucking along no matter who is or isn’t available to play for him.
Big free agent addition Mike Evans has been in and out while dealing with a painful rib injury after the 49ers were already down a couple other key receivers (Ricky Pearsall for the season and top draft pick De’Zhaun Stribling for most of the season after ankle surgery).
No matter. San Francisco beat the Broncos, 24-14, in Week 4 and has the best resume in the league so far with that Week 1 win over the Rams another early highlight.
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It may just become a weekly feature here to spotlight Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III, who is somehow making his big free agent contract (three years, $43.05 million) look like a bargain.
Walker is leading the NFL in rushing yards (537), yards per carry (6.2) and combined rushing/receiving yards (621) with 6 total TDs through four games.
That yards per carry is well above his career average (4.5) and career-high (4.6) and he’s on pace to obliterate his previous high-water rushing mark of 1,050 yards set in his rookie season back in 2022 with the Seahawks.
He’s had at least 178 total yards in three of the four games, including a season-high 177 yards and 2 TDs rushing (plus 2 receiving yards) in the Chiefs’ win over the Raiders, with both touchdowns coming in the fourth quarter to help decide the game.
Money well spent indeed.
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Lastly, Keon Coleman’s performance in that loss to the Patriots is worth noting.
The 33rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Florida State has had a rough start to his pro career, getting benched at times for disciplinary reasons, falling out of favor with the previous coaching staff, getting singled out publicly by the owner as a draft mistake of that previous coaching regime, etc.
Coleman had just 67 catches for 960 yards combined over his first two seasons — far short of expectations given his draft slot.
New head coach Joe Brady, who was the offensive coordinator the last two years, made a big deal about giving Coleman a clean slate for 2026.
The talented receiver may be rewarding that patience — finally.
After flashing with 6 catches for 63 yards in a Week 2 win over the Lions, Coleman took it up a notch in Week 4 with WR1 D.J. Moore limited by his shoulder injury. Coleman reeled in 6 of 7 targets for 116 yards and a TD for his third career 100-yard game.
NFL Week 4 Losers
The Nick Sirianni Era In Philadelphia
Didn’t we touch on this last week in this column? Sure did.
But then Nick Sirianni’s Eagles blew that 10-point fourth quarter lead at home to the Rams in the 24-20 loss. They’re 2-2 with a two-point win over the Commanders and four-point victory over the winless Titans (only after a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes).
Jalen Hurts threw for 93 yards on 27 passing attempts last Sunday, took 4 sacks and attempted only 5 rushes for 18 yards. Hurts has attempted 5 or fewer runs in three of the four games now (with a high of 7 in Week 1). If he’s not going to return to being a truly dynamic, high-volume dual-threat quarterback, then he’s simply not a top 10 or even top 20 NFL QB at that point. His rushing ability (and what it opened up for the Eagles offense in general) is what made him an MVP candidate in the past. As purely a pocket passer, he is quite underwhelming.
Yes, star WR DeVonta Smith missed the game with a hamstring injury, thinning out an already thin WR corps. That’s a factor, sure, but the Hurts dilemma is more overarching.
Then there’s the offensive line, which will likely be Philadelphia’s ultimate undoing this year.
Right tackle Lane Johnson, a potential future Hall of Famer with 6 Pro Bowl nods, two first-team All-Pro honors and four second-team All-Pro picks over 14 seasons, was a surprise scratch Sunday and then abruptly announced his retirement Tuesday while citing the need to prioritize his mental health.
Left guard Landon Dickerson, a three-time Pro Bowl honoree, is still on injured reserve with a bone bruise in his left knee after struggling through one game.
And then the team went and traded center Cam Jurgens, a two-time Pro Bowl pick and fourth-year starter, to the Ravens for a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 second-round selection (with a 2027 seventh-rounder also going to Baltimore).
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman maintains the Eagles aren’t throwing in the towel on the season. (It’s was a small sample size, but Jurgens had not been off to the best start of his career either).
“We weren’t looking to move Cam,” Roseman said. “Obviously, the Ravens had been looking for a center. They lost three centers. I speak to Eric [DeCosta] a lot. Originally, kind of told him it wasn’t anything we were looking to do. Over the last 24 hours it got to the point where we felt like it could be a win-win for them obviously getting a player who was a two-time Pro Bowl center for us. And for us, being able to get the picks we were able to get and use that money also to sign players.
“Had a chance to watch Drew [Kendall] here play center. He’s doing a nice job, have a young player there. I think for us, when you talk about the 2 and the 5 and going from the 7 to the 5th, we’ve had success in the 5th round. Plus, the money, plus Drew playing, we felt like we were getting four players for one. We just felt like for us with all of these guys that we’ve got coming up, a lot on the defensive side of the ball we want to re-sign and extend, felt like that was a good situation for us.”
So Kendall (a fifth-round pick out of Boston College last year) takes over at center while Markel Bell (a third-round rookie) and veteran Fred Johnson (dealing with a knee injury) handle right tackle and Willie Lampkin (an undrafted free agent last year) fills in at left guard until Dickerson is back.
It may not be tanking, but it’s not the Super Bowl version of the Eagles that was built on having a pronounced advantage on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
Add in a totally unproven first-year offensive coordinator in Sean Mannion, a depleted receiving corps for now, what looks to be a different stage of RB Saquon Barkley’s career (he’s also dealing with a hamstring injury now) and Hurts’ seemingly disinterest in being a dual-threat QB anymore and … this may not even be a playoff team.
Maybe Sirianni gets a chance to rebuild and reset the roster after reaching two Super Bowls and winning a championship in Philadelphia, but that’s far from certain at this point and almost seemingly like more of a longshot.
Houston, The Texans Have a Problem
Another week, another painful loss and mounting questions for the still-winless Houston Texans after a 34-30 defeat to the Cowboys.
First and foremost, what in the world happened to the Texans’ defense?!
Houston gave up the fewest yards (277.2 per game) and second-fewest points (17.4 per game) last season and returned all of the stars of the unit while adding pieces in free agency and the draft.
Through four games, the Texans rank … 20th (343.8 YPG) and tied for 26th (27.3 PPG)!
They’ve given up at least 34 points in two of their four games.
This week, head coach DeMeco Ryans announced he’s taking over defensive play-calling from Matt Burke, who has been the team’s defensive coordinator since 2023.
The Texans won 10 straight games through the end of the regular season and the wildcard round last year. They were a trendy Super Bowl pick this season.
Now, they’re 0-4 and staring at some pretty bleak history in that only one NFL team has ever overcome an 0-4 start and made the playoffs — the 1992 Chargers. That’s it.
At least the Texans get to play the equally winless Titans this week.
Testy Jim Harbaugh
Speaking of 0-4 teams, the Chargers also maintained their winless start and things seems to be getting testy between coach Jim Harbaugh and the media.
This was a pointed, yes, but fair and justified question to Harbaugh about why QB Justin Herbert is still under constant siege behind what is again one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.
Harbaugh never actually answered the question, which is probably telling as the Chargers’ inability to answer it on the field remains the biggest reason for the team’s downfall at the moment. Herbert’s 12 sacks taken are tied for third in the league behind the Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield and Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers, both at 13.
Detroit’s Defensive Downfall To Be The Demise Of Dan Campbell
No, this isn’t an alliterative speed round — just about the demise of the Lions.
While we do often note that the Lions haven’t been the same since Johnson left as OC to become the Bears’ head coach, the offense most weeks isn’t really the problem (even if it’s not running at the same peak efficiency it had under Johnson).
The total defensive downfall the last two seasons is ultimately what is going to get head coach Dan Campbell run out of town.
It’s not even so much about former coordinator Aaron Glenn leaving for the Jets job. Injuries to star (and highly paid) safeties Brian Branch (nearing a return from a torn Achilles) and Kerby Joseph (no timetable for return from a chronic knee injury) have been painfully felt in the secondary as neither has played yet this season while the cornerback depth is also depleted.
But the issues go deeper than that, clearly. Maybe second-year DC Kelvin Sheppard is in over his head.
Overall, the Lions have by far the worst defense in the NFL, allowing 423.8 YPG (31.5 yards worse than any other team) and 31.8 PPG (second-worst after the Saints).
They simply had no answers Sunday night in a 32-26 loss to the Panthers, giving up 445 yards, and it’s hard to see anything changing.
Sure, Detroit will win some shootouts with its still-loaded offense, but that’s not a recipe for accomplishing anything significant.
And another disappointing season should spell the end for Campbell ultimately.
Overhyped Bengals And Saints?
A lot was made about how different the Cincinnati Bengals were going to be this season with their revamped defense, and that opening win over the sloppy Buccaneers reinforced that narrative.
Well, four weeks in and the Bengals rank 22nd in total defense (347.5 YPG) albeit 13th in scoring defense (21.3 PPG).
But does this sound familiar?
Joe Burrow throws for 282 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs and loses 30-27. The next week, Burrow throws for 428 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs plus a rushing TD and loses again.
Has anything really changed in Cincinnati?
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As for the Saints, the Tyler Shough slow-start-but-second-half-magic formula ran out of power Monday night in a 45-24 loss to the Falcons.
Shough threw for 286 yards, but several stalled second-half drives effectively eliminated any chance for a comeback this time.
And just like that New Orleans is 1-3 with one of the league’s worst defenses, giving up the most points in the NFL (32.0 per game) and seventh-most yards (360.3 per game).
Not for nothing, but both the Bengals and Saints made our preseason list of 5 teams most likely to fall short of their over/under win total. (No need to mention the other teams on that list, though!)
