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The good (Tom Brady), the bad (Urban Meyer), and other telling moments from Week 4 in the NFL

Oct 5, 2021, 03:33 IST
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Kyler Murray. AP Photo/Darryl Web
  • Week 4 of the NFL season is almost in the books.
  • Tom Brady and Kyler Murray were the big winners of Week 4.
  • Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer was a loser.
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Week 4 of the NFL season was filled with action.

Tom Brady won his highly anticipated homecoming, taking down the Patriots in New England and writing his name into NFL history in the process.

Meanwhile, Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer has some explaining to do.

Take a look below at all the winners and losers from Week 4 of the NFL season.

WINNER: Tom Brady

Tom Brady. AP Photo/Steven Senne

In what was billed as the most anticipated regular-season game in recent memory, Tom Brady delivered. While he was far from his sharpest, Brady led the Buccaneers to victory over the Patriots in the GOAT's New England homecoming.

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In the process, Brady became the all-time NFL passing leader, usurping Drew Brees for the top spot on the list. He also joined Brees, Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to record wins over all 32 teams in the league.

Brady's legacy has been secure for years now, but with a win against his old team, he certainly added a few more fun details to his Wikipedia page.

LOSER: Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick. AP Photo/Elise Amendola

To his credit, Belichick and the Patriots put up a much greater fight than many believed they would against the Buccaneers. They covered the spread; that's worth something. But on the biggest decision of the night, Belichick made a decision that felt extremely un-Belichickian.

With just under a minute left in the game, the Patriots were facing fourth-and-3 around the Buccaneers 40-yard line, trailing 19-17. In the pouring rain, Belichick had the option to either send out kicker Nick Folk for a 56-yard field goal attempt or go for it on fourth down.

Belichick elected to kick, and Folk's strong effort wound up doinking off the upright in dramatic fashion. Buccaneers win.

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Folk's kick was inches from giving the Patriots the lead, but even still, the decision to attempt a field goal in that spot felt shockingly un-Belichickian.

Bill Belichick was one of the first coaches in the NFL to exploit the value of going for it on fourth down, especially in high-leverage, late-game situations. Mac Jones had been connecting well with his receivers on short completions all night. If the Patriots picked up the first down, they could have given Folk a closer shot at a game-winning field goal and ensured that Brady wouldn't get the ball back with a chance to win.

By choosing to kick, Belichick set up a best-case scenario for his team that involved Tom Brady getting the ball with 50 seconds, two timeouts, and needing only a field goal to win with the game on the line.

Belichick is the greatest coach ever to lead an NFL team. He doesn't need me second-guessing his decisions. But if you described the situation and asked, "What Would Bill Belichick Do?" I would have guessed he went for the fourth-down conversation 1o times out of 10.

WINNER: Rookie quarterbacks taken in the first round

After a tough first few weeks of the NFL season, the top quarterbacks taken in the 2021 NFL draft shined in Week 4.

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Trevor Lawrence kicked off the week with a solid performance on Thursday night against the Bengals. While Lawrence couldn't get the Jaguars their first win of the season, he did make throws like this one that reminded those watching why he was the highest-regarded college prospect since Peyton Manning.

Zach Wilson led the Jets to an overtime win against the Tennessee Titans. Mac Jones fought hard against the Buccaneers. Trey Lance stepped in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo for the 49ers and looked sharp.

Justin Fields got to start for the Bears and made this throw.

It was a tough start to the season, but the kids are alright.

LOSER: Davis Mills

While the first-round quarterbacks had a field day, third-round selection Davis Mills had another miserable outing for the Houston Texans.

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Mills completed just 11 of 21 passes, throwing for 87 yards and four interceptions. Eventually, the Texans lost 40-0. Not great.

Mills is in a tough spot, taking over the starting job on a bad team that had no chance of competing before he took over under center. With the Patriots visiting Houston next week, Mills' job isn't getting easier any time soon.

WINNER: Bad football teams from New York

Both the Giants and the Jets pulled off overtime upsets this week.

Zach Wilson looked as sharp as he has all year and made a few plays that will have Jets fans feeling hope for the future for the first time in a long time.

For the Giants, Daniel Jones once again played like a man who will earn a second contract, leading the Giants on a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Saints.

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The New York teams are still bad, but for one day, they looked alright.

LOSER: The New Orleans Saints

Due to Hurricane Ida disrupting the start of the season, Sunday's afternoon affair against New York was the first true home game the Saints had had in New Orleans.

The Saints led the Giants 21-10 with seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter. In front of 69,170 fans, they blew it.

WINNER: Cordarrelle Patterson

Cordarrelle Patterson has been in the NFL for nearly a decade. Teams have been attempting that entire time to figure out how to set him up for success beyond sitting him back as a kick returner.

Patterson is a game-breaker but had often been stifled by his situation. But with the Falcons, Patterson is cooking, putting up 116 total yards and three touchdowns against Washington on Sunday.

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Keep at it long enough, and you'll find your spot.

LOSER: Ben Roethlisberger

After the Steelers' loss to the Packers on Sunday, Roethlisberger acknowledged that his team is at a crossroad.

"I think this is going to test us all," Roethlisberger said, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "We need to look in the mirror and figure out what path we want to take."

Hate to break it to you Ben, but the Steelers are looking for a path that involves you retiring as soon as possible. In the meantime, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is already making eyes at Aaron Rodgers.

When was the last time Tomlin looked at Roethlisberger like that? It feels like it's been a while.

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WINNER: Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are the last remaining undefeated team in the NFC after an upset win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Quarterback Kyler Murray is the most exciting player in football and leads the way-too-early battle for MVP honors thanks to plays like this one.

The race for the NFC West is going to be a blast this year.

LOSER: Urban Meyer

After losing to the Bengals on Thursday night, Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer decided to stay back in Ohio to catch up with family. While there, he stopped by his restaurant - Urban Meyer's Pint House - in Columbus, where he was captured on video dancing close with another patron.

"I just apologized to the team and staff for being a distraction," Meyer said on Monday. "Just stupid, and so I explained everything that happened and owned it. Just stupid. Should not have myself in that kind of position."

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At least get a win first coach.

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