The one thing NFL fans can always expect is that the unexpected is bound to happen. This certainly was the case in NFL Week 4, as some stunning events unfolded around the league.
An undefeated team was absolutely throttled and looked completely inept in the process. A quarterback who’s generally been unimpressive early in his career busted out with a performance that any legend would be proud to claim.
We’ll focus on both of those situations and plenty more looking at the biggest winners and losers from NFL Week 4.
Winner: The Mitch Trubisky Awakening Game
Chicago Bears fans have been waiting over a year to see their young quarterback break out. It finally happened on Sunday as Mitch Trubisky absolutely exploded with the kind of career game every quarterback wishes they could have at least once in their lifetime.
Before halftime, the second-year passer had thrown five touchdowns, sparking an overwhelming response on social media.
By the end of the game, he had piled up 354 yards and six touchdowns on 19-of-26 passing. Folks, that’s an average of 13.6 yards per attempt. That’s about as good as it gets at this level, and his passer rating of 154.7 reflects it.
Loser: Dolphins forget how to football
Coming into Week 4, the Miami Dolphins were undefeated. Many wondered if this might finally be the moment where this franchise could wrest the AFC East away from the New England Patriots, who have been pretty bad early this season.
Guess again.
Not only did Miami lose, but the Fins were inept to the point of embarrassment. The offense gained a total of 172 yards and 11 first downs and didn’t score until late in the game. The defense missed tackles and assignments, allowing Tom Brady and Co. to score 38 points.
The only positive we can take from the game is that the secondary came away with two interceptions of Brady, who had his rough moments.
Winner: Jadeveon Clowney and J.J. Watt — the wrecking crew
There was a ton of offense in Sunday’s battle between AFC South rivals Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. The Texans cannot feel great about allowing Andrew Luck to go off the way he did — throwing for 464 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
That being said, it was pretty encouraging to see J.J. Watt show up huge for the second weekend in a row. The last two games, he’s racked up five sacks, which is pretty remarkable considering his last sack before Week 3 came during the 2016 season.
His running mate, Jadeveon Clowney, also had a huge game on Sunday. He sacked Andrew Luck twice, had four tackles for a loss and scored a touchdown in the first half.
This type of disruptive play is exactly what the Texans have been missing.
