Instant reactions: Week four

My reactions for the fourth week of the NFL season.

San Francisco 35, St. Louis 11
I take back what I said week one about the NFC West having two wild cards.

Cleveland 17, Cincinnati 6
The Browns are suddenly tied for first in the AFC North. How did that happen?

Detroit 40, Chicago 32
The grudge match in Chicago could have implications on the NFC North race.

Buffalo 23, Baltimore 20

Are the Ravens under-performing, the Bills over-performing, or is it a little of both? 

Kansas City 31, Giants 7
It gets better and better in KC, and worse and worse for the Giants.

Minnesota 34, Pittsburgh 27
What's the difference between these two previously-winless teams? The team that is no longer winless has a starting-caliber running back.

Arizona 13, Tampa Bay 10
If Mike Glennon had a decent head coach, he could have earned his first NFL win today. Either that, or he'd still be on the bench and Josh Freeman's Bucs would be 3-1.

Indianapolis 37, Jacksonville 3
How long do you think it is until Jacksonville's front office caves and calls Tim Tebow?

Seattle 23, Houston 20 (OT)
Interesting stat: The only two overtime games of 2013 have been Houston's first two home games. The Texans are now 1-1 in those two games.

Tennessee 38, Jets 13
3-1 might be as good as it gets for the Titans, as they will likely have to take on Kansas City next week without their starting quarterback. 2-1 might have been as good as it gets for the Jets, who have to face a Falcons team that's better than its record suggests in week five.

Denver 52, Philadelphia 20
Peyton Manning is the best player in the NFL in 2013. The man is 37 years old, making him one of the oldest in the NFL as well. Past his prime? Not a chance.

Washington 24, Oakland 14
Maybe a road win will give RGIII and the Skins some confidence going forward. Washington is currently only one game back in the NFC East, so they have that going for them.

San Diego 30, Dallas 21
The ironic part is that the 2-2 team that lost has a better shot at the postseason than the 2-2 team that won.

New England 30, Atlanta 23

I hate to say it, but Brady's receiving corps is eerily similar to the one that won Super Bowl XXXVIII with him. For the Falcons, Mike Smith's coaching cost them the game. The master of screwing up fourth down could be looking for a new job by the end of 2014. 

New Orleans 38, Miami 17

The Saints were impressive in all three game facets. They are now the best team in the NFC. Miami is not a bad team, but this loss shows that the Dolphins still have a way to go before they are an elite team again. 

Clayton's fantasy update

It was a close loss for Fear The Llama (2-2), who would have won had it not been for a last-minute decision to sit Knowshon Mareno in favor of Eddie Royal. 

Inversely, Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas led Romo No-mo to an easy win against bye week-ridden Razor Sharp. 2-1-1, No-mo will be facing an almost certain loss next week as half of its points take the week off in Denver. 

Instant reactions: Week three

My reactions from the third week of the 2013 NFL season

Kansas City 26, Philadelphia 16
OK, Chiefs fans. You can start getting a little excited. Your schedule is beginning to look insanely easy with the way the NFC East has started the season.

Dallas 31, St. Louis 7
Such a huge win could give the Cowboys a momentum swing going forward in the NFC East standings.

New England 23, Tampa 3
The end of the short-lived Greg Schiano era gets closer and closer with every Tampa loss.

Tennessee 20, San Diego 17
This is another momentum win. The Titans had not beaten the Chargers since 1992.

New Orleans 31, Arizona 7
The Saints are looking pretty at 3-0. They get a big test next week when ESPN and the Dolphins come to town.

Carolina 38, Giants 0
Here come the New York media hotheads demanding Tom Coughlin's head. And a possible trade of Eli Manning.

Baltimore 30, Houston 9
With Ray Lewis in attendance, the Ravens had an exceptional defensive and special teams performance against previously 2-0 Houston. The Texans, having faced their first 2012 playoff team of the year, were completely outplayed in the second half. They used that half to overcome deficits in each of their first two games.

Cleveland 31, Minnesota 27
Start 0-2 against the NFC North, and it's a disappointment. Lose at home to the Browns and their third-string quarterback? It's time to start looking forward to 2014.

Cincinnati 34, Green Bay 30
Andy Dalton's fourth quarter comeback and the Bengals being able to overcome a handful of turnovers against the reigning NFC North champs suggest that Cincy is the real deal this year.

Detroit 27, Washington 20
Congratulations, Robert Griffin III. You are now the first Redskins quarterback to lose at home against Detroit since Bill Shepherd in 1935. That's a 78-year streak you just broke. Impressive.

Miami 27, Atlanta 23
This was an outstanding game between two of the league's top teams. The Falcons have now become the team that chokes in the regular season as well as the playoffs.

Indianapolis 27, San Francisco 7
These two teams will meet in the Super Bowl before their next regular season contest. Hopefully they will change the host site of said Super Bowl to Stanford, because it will basically be the Stanford Bowl.

Seattle 45, Jacksonville 17
What happens when the worst team in the league pays a visit to arguably the best? Well, the Seahawks' backup quarterback ended up throwing for one touchdown and passing for another. That's about how things went down.

Jets 27, Buffalo 20
It looks like Geno could be the answer to the question: How can Rex Ryan keep his job? But let's not rush into that conclusion too decisively. The Jets will travel to the Georgia Dome in two weeks and Smith will have to prove himself against the Falcons.

Chicago 40, Pittsburgh 23
Apparently, the Bears were right to fire Lovie Smith and hire Marc Trestman to take his place. That defense is still dominating. On Pittsburgh's end, the Steelers are dead last in the AFC North cellar. Even CLEVELAND is better than them right now.

Denver 37, Oakland 21
This tweet pretty much sums it up.

Clayton's fantasy update:
-Despite gaining no points from Reggie Bush, Fear The Llama earned an impressive 13-point win to reach 2-1 in the adjusted league. Made even more impressive because Matt Bryant (12 points), DeAngelo Williams (12.7) and Antonio Brown (33) all rode the FTL bench.
-In the standard league, Romo No-mo suffered a heartbreaking 67-63 loss. Peyton Manning was the only player in double-digits for No-mo; week two studs Martellus Bennett and Tavon Austin combined for four points. Romo No-mo takes a 1-1-1 record into a rivalry match against 3-0 Team Underwood.

Instant reaction: Week two

My instant reactions for Week Two of the NFL season.

New England 13, Jets 10

Go ahead and mark the AFC East teams on your schedule as wins. This game was terribly ugly. 

Chicago 31, Minnesota 30

Getting into an early 0-2 hole in the NFC North is not good for the Vikings' playoff chances. 

Buffalo 24, Carolina 23

Congratulations to EJ Manuel on his first NFL win.

Atlanta 31, St. Louis 24

The Rams must REALLY be done with Steven Jackson. 

Green Bay 38, Washington 20

OK guys, the East divisions of both conferences will be sending an 8-8 division champ to the playoffs. As an aside, Brandon Merriweather deserves a suspension with two helmet-to-helmets in this game. 

Miami 24, Indianapolis 20

This game could be the difference between a bye week and hosting the wild card round. 

Kansas City 17, Dallas 16

Don't get excited yet Chiefs fans, no one wants to win the NFC East. Be proud of 2-0, though. You've already matched last year's win total. 

San Diego 33, Philadelphia 30

It is the NFC East, so take it with a grain of salt. However, San Diego is quickly becoming my dark-horse in the AFC wild card race.

Baltimore 14, Cleveland 6

Congratulations to Joe Flacco on being a dad for the second time. That's about the only notable thing about this game.

Houston 30, Tennessee 24 (OT)

The good teams find a way to win, but I wouldn't be surprised if these two teams are playing week 17 for a playoff spot. 

Arizona 25, Detroit 21

Carson Palmer earned his first win as a Cardinal in comeback fashion. A sign of things to come?

Oakland 19, Jacksonville 9

Terrelle Pryor hopes he's the answer in Oakland, but a ten-point win over the Jaguars won't prove much. 

Denver 41, Giants 23

How good are the Broncos? And how bad are the Giants? Regardless, Peyton wins all-time bragging rights against Eli. 

New Orleans 16, Tampa Bay 14

The Saints are back. Schiano is done.

Seattle 29, San Francisco 3
Don't ever doubt the 12th Man. Ever.

Cincinnati 20, Pittsburgh 10
I drafted Giovanni Bernard in my fantasy league for a reason.

Speaking of fantasy....

Clayton's fantasy update
Fear The Llama earned its first win of the young season with a 115-104.5 victory in the adjusted league, while Romo No-mo played to a 74-all tie in the standard league. Had Martellus Bennett or Tavon Austin gotten the start over Tony Gonzalez or Demaryius Thomas, respectively, Romo No-mo would have indeed prevailed, and thus reached 2-0 on the season. As such, the team will settle for 1-0-1 and move on to next week's division match against 1-1 Team Hartman.

In news of should-have-started, both the Seahawks defense and Giovanni Bernard rode the Fear The Llama bench this week and combined for 40.5 points. I benched the Seahawks in favor of the Bills' D, a free-agent pickup. Boneheaded move of the week.

Instant reaction: Week One

My take on each game from the first week of NFL football in 2013:

Denver 49, Baltimore 27

I hear that Peyton Manning kid from Tennessee is a pretty good quarterback...

New England 23, Buffalo 21

It's no longer a sure deal, but the Patriots still own the AFC East. For now.

Chicago 24, Cincinnati 21

And the award for questionable time management goes once again to Marv Lewis. In a close game, you shouldn't have used up all three timeouts with eight plus minutes to play. 

Tennessee 16, Pittsburgh 9

What an ugly game. The Titans defense was surprisingly successful at stopping the Steelers offense. 

Miami 23, Cleveland 10

Can anyone say Teddy Bridgewater? The sweepstakes starts now for Cleveland. 

Detroit 34, Minnesota 24

Guess who had Reggie Bush on his fantasy football team but didn't start him. That's right, this guy. 

Indianapolis 21, Oakland 17

So, I hear that Andrew Luck kid out of Stanford is a pretty good quarterback too. As an aside, the way Oakland played today this game could end up having wild card implications. Maybe. 

New Orleans 23, Atlanta 17

Did the Saints win this because they're a legitimately good team this year, or just because of the Dome? Only time will tell. 

Jets 18, Tampa 17

Geno got his first win because Greg Schiano needed to remind us that he is the dirtiest coach in the NFL. 

Seattle 12, Carolina 7

Russ Wilson was solid, but there was nothing overly impressive with the Seahawks. They'll need more than the 12th man to keep their domination at CenturyLink alive next week. 

Kansas City 28, Jacksonville 2

Don't get too excited Chiefs fans, the score is deceptive because Jacksonville is so bad. Kansas City is still an average team this year, which is an improvement. 

St. Louis 27, Arizona 24

The NFC West is going to have two wild card teams this year. Count on it. 

San Francisco 34, Green Bay 28

Who knew Colin Kaepernick would have a more impressive passing performance than Aaron Rodgers?

Dallas 36, Giants 31
With the amount of times New York's offense gift-wrapped this game for the Cowboys, it's surprising the game's result was still in question until 10 seconds remained.

Philadelphia 33, Washington 27

Holy crap, that Chip Kelley offense looks good. The Eagles need to be able to finish, though.

Houston 31, San Diego 28
This shouldn't have even been close. But the Texans did what the Redskins, Giants, Packers and Falcons couldn't do: come back and win.