NFL Week 4 Winners and Losers: Josh Allen, Bills Slow Down Dolphins

The fourth week of the 2023 National Football League's (NFL) season served as a reminder that there is more than one high-powered offense in the AFC East.

A week after scoring the most points in a game by any team in the league since 1966, the Miami Dolphins couldn't keep up with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in Week 4. Allen accounted for more touchdowns (five) than he did incompletions (four) in a 48-20 Bills win over the Dolphins.

But Allen wasn't the only standout performer around the league on Sunday. San Francisco 49ers' Christian McCaffrey and Philadelphia Eagles' A.J. Brown dominated to keep their teams undefeated, while rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud made sure the winning ways continued in Houston for another week. On the other side of things, a pair of AFC North teams appear to be in trouble, while the Falcons and Patriots are among the teams facing quarterback questions.

Here are the winners and losers from the Week 4 games on Sunday.

Winners: Bills in Statement Win

The Bills defense did something the Denver Broncos certainly didn't do a week ago— slow down the Dolphins.

Buffalo's defense was opportunistic despite giving up 393 yards of offense to Tua Tagovailoa and company. The Bills sacked Tagovailoa four times, forced two turnovers, and held the Dolphins to only three third-down conversions on 10 attempts. Add that in with a season-high 48 points, with three touchdowns coming from wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and the Bills became the first team to defeat the Dolphins this season. The Bills are on a three-game winning streak after dropping their season-opener against the New York Jets.

Losers: Ridder, Falcons Offense in London

The Atlanta Falcons didn't exactly provide football fans in London with the best offense the NFL has to offer. Second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder threw interceptions on consecutive plays, including one that was returned for a touchdown, in a 23-7 international loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ridder also lost a fumble and was sacked four times.

"Throughout the first half, I did a terrible job of taking care of the ball," Ridder said postgame.

Former No. 4 overall pick Kyle Pitts continues to be invisible, catching only two passes for four targets against the Jags. And an overall frustration with the offense seems to be settling in.

Ridder hasn't proven he's the QB of the future in Atlanta, but the Falcons' offensive scheme might not be doing him any favors, either. In three years under head coach Arthur Smith, Atlanta has ranked 29th, 24th, and 24th again in total offense.

Winners: Lamar Jackson Leads Short-Handed Ravens

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson didn't have his top two wide receivers, either usual starter at offensive tackle, or the team's No. 1 running back on the field for most of Sunday's game against the league's top-ranked defense.

But the former MVP didn't let that stop him. Jackson threw two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 28-3 win over the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens have been plagued by injuries through the first quarter of the 2023 season. With Jackson under center, though, Baltimore knows it always has a chance.

"Lamar is who he is because of who he is," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said postgame. "He's going to bring his full skillset to every game. That's what he's going to do. That's what he does. That's why he is who he is."

Losers: (Almost) Everything About the Bears

A 28-7 lead over the Denver Broncos late in the third quarter on Sunday made it seem like the Chicago Bears were about to win a game for the first time in nearly an entire calendar year.

But after a questionable coaching decision, two late turnovers, and 24 unanswered points by the Broncos, the Bears fell 31-28 for their franchise-record 14th consecutive loss. The 21-point blown lead is tied for the largest in Bears history.

Bears quarterback Justin Fields completed his first 16 passes of the day and threw for a career-high 335 yards and four touchdowns on Sunday. But a perfect performance was too good to be true for Bears fans. A Fields fumble was returned by the Broncos for a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Bears were still in position to break the 28-28 tie on the next drive. Again, too good to be true. Chicago head coach Matt Eberflus, after using a timeout, opted to go for it on a fourth-and-one on the opponent's 18-yard line because of how efficiently the Bears were running the ball.

The Broncos stuffed the Bears and drove down to kick the go-ahead field goal. Fields threw a pick on the last Bears possession of the game.

Perhaps the best takeaway from this week for the Bears is that next year's NFL Draft is going to be an eventful one in Chicago. The Bears are on pace to own the No. 1 pick again. And Chicago also owns the Carolina Panthers' first-rounder. The Bears and Panthers are the only winless teams remaining in the NFL. If the season ended today, Chicago would have the first two picks of the next draft. Could that actually happen?

The Bears just have to keep losing. Surely they can accomplish that.

Winners: Khalil Mack Against the Raiders O-Line

Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack entered Week 4 with zero sacks this season, but had been telling reporters the first one was on its way.

That may have been an understatement.

Mack tallied six sacks, one shy of the NFL record for a game, in the Chargers' 24-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. The former Defensive Player of the Year now has nine sacks against the Raiders, his former team, across his two years in Los Angeles. Mack joins Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas as the only players with multiple games of at least fives sacks since the league started tracking the stat in 1982.

"I tried to tell y'all," Mack said after the game. "It comes in bunches, but I had six. I'll take it."

Losers: Steelers Hit Rock Bottom

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was pretty direct after a 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans.

"Hell yeah, we got to make some changes," Tomlin said to close his postgame news conference. "That was an ugly product we put out there today. We're not going to do the same things and hope for a different outcome. What those changes are, we'll put together a plan in preparation this week."

If the Steelers want to rebound from their second loss of the season, there better be changes. A Pittsburgh offense led by coordinator Matt Canada looked lifeless again on Sunday, while a usually stout defense allowed 451 yards and couldn't muster a sack. To make a bad day worse, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury. Tomlin didn't have details for the significance of the injury after the game.

Winners: Texans, Stroud Looking Good

The Texans only won three games last season. But through four weeks of Stroud under center and first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans on the sideline, Houston is making it clear the dog days may be over.

Stroud threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers. The No. 2 overall pick has the second-most passing yards by any rookie through their first four games in NFL history. The former Ohio State standout also set an NFL rookie record with 151 pass attempts without an interception, according to ESPN. Sunday marked Houston's first win at home since December 2021 and the franchise's largest margin of victory in a game since 2017.

"For me, this is just the beginning," Stroud said postgame.

And it appears to be the beginning of something good.

Losers: Burrow, Bengals in Trouble

The Cincinnati Bengals may officially be in trouble.

The Bengals finally got their first win of the season in Week 3, but followed that up with a 27-3 embarrassment against the Tennessee Titans. Cincinnati has been to the AFC Championship Game in each of the past two seasons, but now stands at 1-3 with a franchise quarterback who has failed to live up to the big pay-day he received prior to the season.

Joe Burrow threw for just 165 yards on Sunday as the Bengals were limited to just a field goal on the scoreboard. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor avoided questions postgame about Burrow's health.

"We've just got to be better," Taylor said. "Play calls have got to be better. We've got to put ourselves in better positions, that starts with me."

Burrow is the first QB in NFL history to have attempted at least 150 passes in his team's first four games of a season and average fewer than five yards per attempt, according to ESPN. The Pro Bowler has the third-lowest passer rating in the league so far this season, with only two rookies behind him. The chances of making the playoffs after a 1-3 start are slim. If Cincinnati still has Super Bowl aspirations this season, it needs to start playing like it.

Winners: McCaffrey, Brown Dominate for Undefeated Teams

San Francisco 49ers running back McCaffrey and Eagles wide receiver Brown did their part in Week 4 to make sure their respective teams stayed undefeated.

McCaffrey accounted for 177 yards and four touchdowns from scrimmage in the 49ers' 35-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The two-time Pro Bowler, and rare non-QB MVP candidate, broke Jerry Rice's franchise record by scoring a touchdown in his 13th straight game, including playoffs. Brown, meanwhile, caught nine passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-31 overtime win over the Washington Commanders.

The 49ers and Eagles, both 4-0, are the only undefeated teams remaining this season.

Losers: Mac Jones as New England's QB

Bill Belichick suffered the worst loss of his 29-year head-coaching career on Sunday.

The Dallas Cowboys thrashed the New England Patriots, 38-3, to hand Belichick's team its third loss of the season. Patriots quarterback Mac Jones turned the ball over three times, two of which the Cowboys defense returned for touchdowns, and was pulled from the game with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter. Jones was 12-of-21 for 150 yards and a 39.9 passer rating before heading to the bench.

"I didn't think there was any point of leaving him in the game," Belichick said.

The Patriots rank 31st in the league in scoring through four weeks. The 2021 first-round pick out of Alabama is still the Patriots starting QB, Belichick said. But if Jones continues to perform like he did on Sunday—and has this season—that may not be a viable answer for long.