(Image credit Katie Stratman/USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
Week 4 of the NFL Season has concluded and it was an unsurprising week in Survivor as except for a few games many advanced. Let's dive into how I did, giving my top 5 options that I gave to pick in survivor and a trap game to avoid choosing for Week 4 of the NFL season.
Week 4 Top 5 Survivor Options
Week 4 Record (4-1)
Overall Record (16-4)
1. Buffalo Bills vs Houston Texans
No surprise with this game at all. If I can describe this game in two words it would be “Total Deletion’’. The Buffalo Bills deleted the Houston Texans as they were completely dominating them all game. Excluding a terrible interception thrown by Josh Allen, he had a strong performance in this game. I thought Davis Mills was okay last week but my goodness he was awful in this game. He threw a ton of terrible interceptions in this game. The only receiver that showed up for the Texans was Brandin Cooks and whatever happened to utilizing the running backs. The most carries were with Mark Ingram as he had 6 carries. The Houston Texans were completely outmatched on offense, defense, special teams, and with coaching
2. Cincinnati Bengals vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Now that was a close one. Especially as the Jacksonville Jaguars had a 14 point lead at one point in this game. This led to many fans being concerned that they could be eliminated from survivor. Luckily the Jacksonville Jaguars have an incompetent head coach in Urban Meyer (We Will get to him later). The Bengals were completely terrible in the first half of this game but Joe Burrow and the Bengals came back from a 14-0 lead by the Jaguars. Let's get into it. What a completely embarrassing choke done by the Jacksonville Jaguars. First, let's get to the big injury in WR DJ Chark as he suffered a season-ending broken ankle injury which is a big loss for this offense and robs Trevor Lawrence of a target to throw too. Trevor Lawrence also has no help at all from this terrible offensive line that is not giving him enough time to throw the football. This defense completely collapsed in the second half after a strong performance in the first half. This game was over when CJ Uzomah, who I forgot was still on the Bengals roster, completely exposed how terrible the linebacker core has been when covering Tight ends. Now let's get to the coaching for the Jaguars. Urban Meyer has made a ton of questionable calls in this game and I got to ask this: you're up 14-0 in this game. You are at the goal line where if you score a touchdown you would lead 21-0. What play call does Meyer call? Well, He decides to go in the shotgun and have Trevor Lawrence try to scramble for the first down. Why? In fact, why not give the ball to James Robinson as he was unstoppable in this game or I don't know run a quarterback sneak. You do realize that the o-line has been completely terrible all season right. If you think it couldn't get worse for the Jaguars look at the whole bar fiasco that is involved with Urban Meyer. He has started to become the distraction for this organization and when a head coach is a bigger distraction than the players in the organization, that goes to show how they don't have a proper leader. Especially when trying to maintain the culture of the locker room. Remember how I said that I doubted Urban Meyer would be one and done as the Head Coach but my goodness it is a possibility now.
3. New Orleans Saints vs New York Giants
Wow. This game surprised me the most. I really thought that the Saints would completely destroy the New York Giants. But the Giants Proved me Wrong. I want to welcome back Saqoun Barkley as he had one heck of a game and heavily exposed the Saints defense. The Giants finally had a game where they properly utilized Kenny Golliday and Kadarius Toney who was missing the last two weeks. A player who impressed in this game was John Ross as he caught a 52-yard touchdown in this game. Daniel Jones performed well in this game. The New Orleans Saints were completely disappointed in this game. Jameis Winston did not have a terrible game but he was very inconsistent in this game. We saw Taysom Hill in this game and even though he rushed for two touchdowns angering Alvin Kamara's fantasy owners he threw a terrible interception in this game. Nothing much from the Saints receivers Deonte Harris got a couple of passes but Marquez Callaway showcased his skills and got a 58-yard reception in this game. Callaway had suffered an ankle issue and is a question mark for next week. The Saints defense has been extremely disappointing and this Peyton Turner they took in the first round has been terrible so far in his career even though he did pressure the QB one time in this game.
4. Green Bay Packers vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Not a surprise here at all. Big Ben is done, he looks cooked all game. Except for that one touchdown where I think it was Kevin King blew coverage and it was an easy TD. He has never been the same QB since he suffered his brutal elbow injury. This game was a mismatch from the offense, defense, special teams, and even coaching. Again this is something that I just don’t understand with the Steelers. So the Steelers are down by 17 points and they need to score a touchdown in order to have a chance of winning and what do the Steelers decide to do. Well on a 4th and 4 Big Ben throws a screen pass to Harris for like the thousandth time in this game. That was the moment I knew that the Steelers would lose that game with that horrible play call. Why is Mike Tomlin still the Head Coach of the Steelers again? The Steelers are a complete mess and I don't see this team being successful with Big Ben as the quarterback, this o-line, this mediocre defense, or Tomlin as the Head Coach. This team is not going anywhere at all. If I was the Steelers I would tank for the top pick and during the offseason just blow it up. But this is the Steelers we're talking about. They never tank or fire coaches, they retire or conveniently let their contracts expire. That is the “Steelers Way’’ and this organization will continue to be a mess for many seasons until they look in the mirror and realize that the organization needs to change the Steelers Way. But overall, a good performance by the Green Bay Packers.
5. Washington Football Team at Atlanta Falcons
This was a close one as well. Let's start with the Atlanta Falcons as they have exposed how terrible this Washington Defense is. Matt Ryan played like himself again as he threw for 4 touchdowns. The player of the Game for the Atlanta Falcons is RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson. Where the heck has this been for the past few years as he was unstoppable all game as he had 5 catches for 82 yards and had three total touchdowns in this game. He even had 34 rushing yards as well. One criticism that I have with the Falcons offense in this game involves Kyle Pitts. I hate the way that the Atlanta Falcons have been utilizing 1st round pick, Kyle Pitts, throughout his Rookie Season. In fact, I rarely see him on the field when the Falcons are in the red zone. But he has a ton of targets when the ball is thrown to him but I hate how they are mainly utilizing him as blocking Tight End. But the Falcons defense continues to be a mess. Washington’s offense has impressed me a lot this season. Taylor Heinicke continues to impress me as he made some impressive throws all game. Especially to Terry McLaurin who is no question the player of the game for Washington. In fact, it would be best if Heinicke becomes the Long term starter for the Washington Football Team even when Ryan Fitzpatrick is fully healthy from his injuries. Washington lost a big part of the o-line as Brandon Scherff suffered an injury that will take him out a few weeks. I got to say Washington’s defense has been a big disappointment to me this season. Overall this was a fun game and great performances by both offensives in this game.
Trap Survivor Pick: Tennessee Titans at New York Jets
I knew something was completely fishy with this game. Especially when news came out that AJ Brown and Julio Jones would not play this game. Then more news came where DE/EDGE Rusher Bud Dupree was also not going to play in this game. That added more issues for the Titans terrible defense. I will say Kudos to Harold Landry as he had a strong game and did a solid job replacing Bud Dupree in this game. Ryan Tannehill tried in this game but he was beaten up all game and the Titans o-line did a poor job blocking for him. Derrick Henry and Jeremy McNichols had solid performances in this game. The Jets heavily impressed me in this game and Zach Wilson excluding a terrible interception he threw was fantastic in this game. This was a Corey Davis Revenge game and he had a strong performance in this game as he had a touchdown in this game and had a nice 53-yard reception in this game. The o-line was solid in this game excluding Greg Van Roten (Who should be benched). But the Jets defense did their job in this game. It was a strong performance for both teams and could have gone either way.