NFL - Week Four Review

Aaron Rodgers

The Green Bay Packers served notice to the rest of the NFL that they are the king of the hill as they simply dismantled the visiting Denver Broncos, 49-23 behind four touchdown passes and two more rushing scores from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers, the Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week,  threw for 408 yards and accounted for six of the team's seven scores in the rout that improved Green Bay to 4-0 and a first-place tie with the amazing Detroit Lions in the NFC North.
The Lions did it again as for the second game in a row, they came from 20 or more points down to win.
Dallas had a 27-3 lead early in the third quarter before QB Tony Romo got pass happy and was intercepted three times, including two that were taken back to the house for scores to get Detroit back in the game.
It was all Lions in the final quarter as they mauled the Cowboys, 17-0 to win, 34-30 and improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1980.
The New England Patriots bounced back from their setback at Buffalo last week, pounding the host Oakland Raiders, 31-19 as they RUSHED the football for 183 yards to go with QB Tom Brady's 226 passing yards and two touchdown strikes.
The Raiders out gained New England for the game in yardage, but the Patriots out rushed Oakland and did not turn the football over to make the difference in the outcome.
Speaking of a solid rushing effort, how about the Chicago Bears' Matt Forte' going off for 205 yards on the ground in his team's 34-29 win over the visiting Carolina Panthers.

Devin Hester

Forte' and Marion Barber each ran for a score and premier return man Devin Hester ran a punt back 69 yards to set the all-time NFL record for career kick returns for touchdowns.
Panthers' QB Cam Newton threw for 374 yards and ran for two touchdowns in the losing effort.
The Buffalo Bills fell for the first time this season, losing at Cincinnati, 23-20 on a last second 43-yard field goal by Mike Nugent. The Bengals gave Buffalo a taste of their own medicine as they rallied from 14 points down to win the game.
Speaking of blowing big leads, the Philadelphia Eagles lost at home, 24-23 to the San Francisco 49ers as Frank Gore (127 yards rushing) ran in from 12 yards with three minutes remaining in the game.
Eagles' QB Michael Vick passed for a career high 416 yards in the loss while 49ers' QB Alex Smith passed for two scores to help lead his team back from the 20-point deficit.
The Houston Texans knocked off the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-10 as running back Arian Foster played and made an impact by running for 155 yards and scored on a 42-yard run to help seal the game.
The Tennessee Titans continued their early season success by blasting the host Cleveland Browns, 31-13 as quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw for three touchdowns and Titans' defensive back Jordan Babineaux ran back an interception 97 yards for another score.
The New York Giants rode a big fourth quarter comeback on the road in a 31-27 win against the Arizona Cardinals, which included two touchdown passes from Eli Manning, who threw for 321 yards.
Beanie Wells gained 138 yards on the ground and scored three touchdowns in the loss.
New Orleans sleep walked through a 23-10 road win against Jacksonville, behind a TD pass from Drew Brees (351 passing yards) and a solid defensive effort that limited the Jaguars to 274 total yards in offense.
The Washington Redskins won in another yawner over the St. Louis Rams, 17-10 to send the Rams to 0-4 in the 2011 season. The Redskins' defense dominated, holding St. Louis to 172 yards in offense.
The San Diego Chargers continued a solid start at 3-1 with a home win over winless Miami, 26-16 behind solid defense and balanced offense.
Kansas City earned their first win of the season, beating  the visiting Minnesota Vikings, 22-17 as QB Matt Cassel connected with Dwayne Bowe for a 52-yard touchdown pass. Vikings' QB Donovan McNabb threw a pair of touchdowns in the loss, which dropped Minnesota to an 0-4 start.
Out in Seattle, the visiting Atlanta Falcons nearly became another team to blow a huge lead before hanging on for a 30-28 win over the Seahawks.
Atlanta running back Michael Turner scored twice on the ground and kicker Matt Bryant kicked three field goals to provide the difference. Seattle stormed back behind QB Tarvaris Jackson (319 passing yards and three TD passes) in the second half after falling behind by 20 points early in the third quarter.

In the Sunday Night Football game, the Baltimore Ravens defense throttled the visiting New York Jets in a 34-17 blowout win.

Jets' QB Mark Sanchez is sacked during a 34-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.

 The game featured five touchdowns via returns as the Baltimore defense had three scores and the Jets' had a defensive score and kickoff return for a touchdown as well. The Jets were limited to 150 yards total offense while the Ravens managed just 267 yards in offense for the game.
LaGarrette Blount broke off for a 35-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter to help lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 24-17 win over the visiting Indianapolis Colts on the Monday Night Football game.
The win left the Bucs with a 3-1 record and tied for first place with New Orleans in the NFC South. The Colts are still one of four winless teams in the NFL.