Five quick takes on Week 4 in the NFL:
1. At the quarter pole, there are just two unbeaten 4-0 teams left — the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC. The teams are scheduled to meet Nov. 19 on ESPN in Mexico City. It could be the game of the year, but the Chiefs can’t look ahead with the next three games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams, meanwhile, have to play three road games against the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos to get to 8-0 at the halfway pole.
2. Patrick Mahomes got just one touchdown pass against the Broncos after getting 13 in the first three games, but had his most spectacular game. He not only led the Chiefs to a game-winning drive at the end, but kept it alive with a lefthanded pass that will be remembered as one of the best passes of the year. He could become one of the game’s next great quarterbacks.
3. Mitch Trubisky had his coming-out party with six touchdown passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bears were getting lot of flak for not drafting Mahomes instead of Trubisky. Although Trubisky isn’t another Mahomes, the Bears are 3-1 and may be able to win with him with their solid defense after trading for Khalil Mack.
4. The empire struck back when the Patriots overcame one of their typical slow starts to crush the Miami Dolphins. Even though they are only 2-2, the Patriots are a virtual lock to win the AFC East again and make the playoffs. Neither the Buffalo Bills nor the New York Jets are likely to challenge them And the Dolphins showed they aren’t as good as their 3-0 record indicated coming in.
5. Two teams decided to gamble on fourth down in overtime Sunday. The Tennessee Titans made it and went on to beat the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, who are only 2-2. But the Indianapolis Colts didn’t make it against the Texans and gave up a tie and lost. But new Colts coach Frank Reich said he wants to be aggressive and would do it again 10 times out of 10. Coaches seem to be getting more aggressive these days, probably because Eagles coach Doug Pederson has had so much success.