Week 4 in the NFL season marks the halfway point of the season. Coming into the week, there are six undefeated teams left, but they will not be that many by the end of the week.
Let’s review this week’s action.
The best tie game ever!
The Dallas Cowboys have not had the strongest start to the season. Their only win was against the New York Giants in overtime, and that was only thanks to a very late field goal from Brandon Aubrey. Last week, they struggled against the Chicago Bears and now face the Bears’ long-time rivals, the Green Bay Packers (who were defeated by Cleveland last week). This is the first game between the two sides since Micah Parsons was traded to the Packers. Could he make an impact and defeat his former team?
The Packers had the first possession of the game and scored first. Aided by a 46-yard pass from quarterback Jordan Love, the offense found themselves down at the Cowboys’ two-yard line. Here, Love found Romeo Doubs for the touchdown pass. In response to this, the offense struggles seen in previous games continued for the Cowboys, quickly punting the ball back to Green Bay.
The Packers would add to their lead to begin the second quarter. On this drive, they made their way down to the one-yard line before Love again found Doubs for the touchdown pass. However, the PAT was blocked by the Cowboys, who returned the ball to the endzone for two points. Blocking field goals appears to be a trend that we are seeing a lot of this season.
A few drives later, Dallas was able to put together an effective streak of plays. Starting from their 5-yard line, the Cowboys’ offense, led by quarterback Dak Prescott, slowly moved down the field to the Packers’ two-yard line. Then, Prescott found the endzone for the rushing touchdown.
The good luck continued for the Cowboys on the next drive, when Love was sacked and they fumbled the ball. The ball was recovered by the Cowboys’ defense deep in the Green Bay red zone, giving them a good opportunity to tie the game. This is something that they were able to do, with Prescott finding George Pickens for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
This meant that at halftime, the Packers and Cowboys were tied 13-16.
Dallas had the opening possession of the second half, but was unable to get anything from this. The same could not be said about the Packers’ first drive of the half, as Love found Tucker Kraft for a 15-yard touchdown pass. However, upon review of the score, it was ruled that Kraft was down at the one-yard line, thereby removing the TD from the board. This has little impact on proceedings, as Josh Jacobs would find the endzone for the one-yard rushing touchdown a few plays later to restore Green Bay’s lead.
This lead did not last long, as on the following drive the Cowboys made their way down to the Packers’ eight-yard line before Prescott found Jake Ferguson for the touchdown pass. This gave them the lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Packers would respond with a touchdown of their own to retake the lead, with Jacobs finding the endzone from 18 yards out. Then, Javonte Williams scored a one-yard rushing touchdown to hand the lead back to Dallas with under five minutes left to play. The lead then swung back to Green Bay after Love found Doubs for a 15-yard TD pass, only for Prescott to find Pickens for a 28-yard touchdown pass soon after.
These scores meant that with 43 seconds left on the clock, the Cowboys had a three-point lead. The Packers had possession, needing a field goal to send the game to overtime. This is something that they were able to do. Love and company quickly moved the ball into field goal territory, with Packers’ kicker Brandon McManus finding the uprights from 53 yards out to level the scores at 37-37 as time ran out. This thrilling game was going into overtime.
The Cowboys had the first possession of overtime, and slowly made their way down to the Packers’ four-yard line before stalling. Here, Aubrey made a 22-yard field goal to hand them the lead. However, this meant that the Packers only needed a touchdown to win the game.
Green Bay struggled on this drive, moving slowly down to the Cowboys’ 16-yard line as time was about to run out. This forced McManus to attempt a 34-yard field goal to avoid losing the game, but instead, it ended in a tie. His kick was successful, meaning that the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys played out a 40-40 tie!
Tie games are uncommon but not rare. What is rare is a tie after a high-scoring game like this. This is the first-ever NFL game to end in a 40-40 tie, and it will probably be the only game to do so. Nice bit of history made. This was a game that either team should have won, and a debate has ensued about the NFL overtime rules, with many online advocates suggesting that the league should adopt college football’s approach and play until a winner is determined. Green Bay now has a 2-1-1 record, while Dallas has a 1-2-1 record.
Next week, the Dallas Cowboys face the New York Jets, while the Packers are on a bye week.
The NFL in Ireland
This week, the NFL made its debut in Ireland, as the Minnesota Vikings faced the Pittsburgh Steelers at the spiritual home of Gaelic Football, Croke Park in Ireland. Minnesota comes into this game after an easy win over the Cincinnati Bengals (without Joe Burrow), while Pittsburgh beat the New England Patriots. Who would win this game?
The Steelers had the opening possession, but could not do anything with it, and quickly gave the ball to the Vikings. Minnesota would be able to get the opening points of the game from this drive. Led by quarterback Carson Wentz, the Vikings’ drive stalled at the Steelers’ 23-yard line. This setup kicker, Will Reichard, was given a 41-yard field goal attempt, which he would succeed with, giving the Vikings the early lead in the game.
This lead would not last long. On the following drive, the Aaron Rodgers-led Steelers offense made its way down to the Vikings’ one-yard line. Here, Kenneth Gainwell found the endzone for the rushing touchdown to give Pittsburgh the lead. They would be able to add to this on their next drive, with Rodgers’ finding DK—Metcalf for an 80-yard touchdown pass.
Things got even better for them soon after when their defense intercepted Wentz’s pass. This led to another opportunity to increase their score, with Chris Boswell facing a 30-yard field goal attempt. The Vikings blocked this attempt. On the following drive, the Vikings had a field goal attempt from 28 yards out, with Reichard’s kick being successful.
This meant that at halftime, the Steelers had a 14-6 lead over the Vikings.
Minnesota did not have a great start to the second half and made another pivotal mistake during the third quarter. Wentz threw another interception, and this would be something that the Steelers were able to capitalize on during the following drive. On this drive, Pittsburgh made its way down to the Vikings ‘ four-yard line before Gainwell found the endzone to further add to its lead.
This lead was made even larger on their next drive, when Boswell made a 33-yard field goal.
The Vikings had to do something to keep themselves in the game. In the fourth quarter, they would finally have some success on offense. First, Wentz found Zavier Scott for a 16-yard touchdown pass, and then had a successful two-point conversion to reduce the Steelers’ lead to 10 points. Then on their next drive (which started on their one-yard line), Wentz found Jalen Nailor for a two-yard touchdown pass to make it a three-point game with two minutes to go.
However, Pittsburgh had the ball, forcing the Vikings to get possession somehow. Luckily, the Steelers did that themselves. On a fourth down, with the Steelers needing six yards to seal the game, they decided to punt, giving the Vikings one opportunity to tie the game at least.
Unfortunately, this drive went nowhere, meaning that the Pittsburgh Steelers had defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24-21.
The scoreline does not give this game much justice. Pittsburgh was the far better team in this game and should have been able to seal the game a lot earlier than they did. The win means that they improve to 3-1 for the season, while the Vikings fall to 2-2.
Next week, Pittsburgh is on a bye week, and the Vikings cross the Irish sea to face the Cleveland Browns in London.
The Successful Debut of Jaxson Dart
After a poor start to the season, the New York Giants decided to bench veteran quarterback Russell Wilson after three games and replace him with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart. Dart excelled during the preseason and is seen by many as the next franchise quarterback for the team. His first test would be against the undefeated Los Angeles Chargers. Could we see an upset?
The Chargers had the opening drive of the game but were unable to do anything with the ball, quickly punting it to the Giants. This finally allowed fans to see how Dart would fare in a competitive NFL game. His opening drive went very well. Starting from the Giants’ 11-yard line, he was able to move the offense down to the Chargers’ 15-yard line. Here, Dart himself found the endzone for the rushing touchdown to give the Giants the lead.
A few drives later, the Chargers would make a mistake when Dexter Lawrence intercepted quarterback Justin Herbert’s pass. Lawrence would slowly bring the ball down and field, and look like he would score a pick-6 touchdown. However, he was brought down at the three-yard line. While the Chargers prevented a touchdown on that play, they were unable to prevent the Giants from extending their lead. New York struggled to find the endzone from three yards out, forcing Irish punter Jude McAtamney to kick a 22-yard field goal.
The Chargers would finally have some success on offense during the following drive. Herbert and the company were able to bring the ball down to the Giants’ 25-yard line before the drive stalled. This then gave Cameron Dicker (the Chargers’ Kicker) a 43-yard field goal attempt, which was successful. In response to this, McAtamney kicked a 31-yard field goal. However, this drive was overshadowed by the injury to star wide receiver Malik Nabers, who has been ruled out of the season.
Los Angeles was able to close the deficit before halftime, with Herbert finding Quentin Johnson for a 36-yard touchdown pass. This meant that as the teams returned to the locker room, the Giants had a 13-10 lead over the Chargers.
The second half did not begin well for either team, with the first three drives of the half ending in punts. Then, Herbert would throw his second interception of the game, with the ball again being returned by the Giants’ defense to the Chargers ‘ three-yard line. Here, Dart found Theo Johnson for the touchdown pass, and then rookie running back Cam Skattebo found the endzone for the two-point conversion to extend the Giants’ lead.
The Chargers would quickly respond to this with a score of their own. Omarion Hampton would find the endzone for a 54-yard rushing touchdown, and then Herbert was successful on the two-point conversion to make again it a three-point game as the fourth quarter commenced.
The final quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams trying to put an offensive drive together to either secure the game or launch a comeback. Neither of these was successful, meaning that the New York Giants had defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 21-18.
This was not the best game of football, but it was enough for the win. This is the first time since 2002 that a rookie quarterback has defeated an undefeated team in his first game, and it sets Jaxson Dart and the Giants up for a potential revival. If they can fix the hole left by the injury to Malik Nabers, then this team will be on course to save what could have been a wasted season. As for the Chargers, they lose their undefeated record, but should still be a contender for the AFC playoff spots.
Next week, the now 1-3 Giants face a potentially easy game against the New Orleans Saints, while the 3-1 Chargers face the Washington Commanders.
What Happened in the Other Games?
The Seattle Seahawks face NFC West rivals the Arizona Cardinals in the opening match of the week. This was a very close affair, but a last-second 52-yard field goal from Jason Myers gave the Seahawks a 23-20 win.
Last week, the Atlanta Falcons were destroyed by the Carolina Panthers. This week, hopes were low when they faced the Washington Commanders (albeit without Jayden Daniels). Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr had a strong game, throwing for 313 yards with two touchdowns as the Falcons were able to beat the Commanders 34-27.
The Buffalo Bills have had a strong start to the season, while the New Orleans Saints have struggled to begin their 2025 campaign. They faced each other this week, and you could easily predict what happened. The Bills won this game, with Josh Allen being involved in three touchdowns in their 31-19 win.
Potent offense met strong defense this week as the Detroit Lions faced the Cleveland Browns. This was another good performance from the Lions, with the team overpowering the Browns to record a 34-10 win. Browns quarterback Joe Flacco threw two interceptions in this game, and this may be his last game, with the Browns considering rookie quarterback Dillion Gabriel for next week’s game.
The New England Patriots gave the Carolina Panthers a taste of their own medicine this week as they thrashed the team 42-13.
In a battle of undefeated teams, the Philadelphia Eagles faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A recurring theme with the Eagles has been the use of trick plays, and this was again on display in this game. Tush Push’s (now modified to allow for different plays) and more block punts were enough to give the Eagles a 31-25 win, keeping their undefeated season alive.
The Houston Texans met the Tennessee Titans in a matchup between two winless teams. The Texans proved why they are the stronger team, recording a 26-0 win over the Titans, with C.J. Stroud throwing for two touchdowns in the win.
The Indianapolis Colts hoped to continue their strong start to the season against the Los Angeles Rams, which could be considered their first real test of the season. Daniel Jones partly regressed in this game, throwing two interceptions, but the Colts remained in the game throughout. A late 88-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Tutu Atwell gave the Rams a 27-20 win.
Brock Purdy returned to the San Francisco 49ers as his team met the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite throwing for 309 yards, Purdy was intercepted twice in an offensive performance that had some issues. In the end, an 87-yard punt return from the Jags gave them a 26-21 win, giving San Francisco their first defeat of the season.
The Kansas City Chiefs met the Baltimore Ravens in what has been an AFC Championship/Divisional game over the last few seasons. This year, it is unlikely to be the case, as both teams are struggling. Patrick Mahomes returned to his usual strong form, throwing for four touchdowns in a game where Lamar Jackson was injured. The Chiefs easily won this game 37-20.
The Chicago Bears left it late to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders. A touchdown from D’Andre Swift was enough to give them a 25-24 win over the Raiders.
The Miami Dolphins got their first win of the season against the New York Jets. This defeat was all on the Jets. They recorded three fumbles, two of which resulted in touchdowns for the Dolphins in what was a 27-21 win for them.
Without Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals are nothing. Their performance against the Denver Broncos proved this. Jake Browning struggled again, while Broncos quarterback Bo Nix threw for 326 yards in their 28-3 win.
That was week four of the 2025 NFL season. Week five brings us the first London game as the Vikings face the Browns, Tampa Bay meets Seattle in a battle of 3-1 teams, and the Rams face the 49ers.
