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NFL Week 4 Winners And Losers: The Biggest Takeaways

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If there’s one thing that Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season taught everyone, it’s that no one truly knows a thing about what’s going to happen in the league week to week.

It might seem obvious that an unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers team will go into New Jersey and beat a rookie quarterback making his first start for a winless New York Giants squad. Others might think there’s no way the Ravens versus Chiefs isn’t one of the best games of the year.

But that’s why the games are played on the field. In a week full of surprises, upsets, and breakout performances, there was no shortage of storylines. It’s time to take a look at the biggest winners and losers from a wild Week 4 in the NFL.

NFL Week 4 Winners:

Puka Nacua

There’s a new front-runner for Offensive Player of the Year in the NFL, and his name is Puka Nacua. Already off to a hot start through three games, Nacua’s Week 4 performance against the Indianapolis Colts was something to behold.

He hauled in 13 catches for 170 yards, leading all receivers on the day in both receptions and yards gained. On the season, Nacua now leads the league in receptions (42) and yards (503). He even became just the second player in the Super Bowl era to record 40+ catches and 500+ yards in the first four games of a season.

Nacua is also tied with Cooper Kupp (2022) and Michael Thomas (2018) for the most receptions by a player through his team’s first four games. At his current pace, he’s on track for 178 catches—shattering Thomas’ single-season record of 149 by nearly 30. He’d also be the first receiver ever to break 2,000 yards in a season if he keeps it up.

Will he? History says no. But if anyone can do it, it’ll be the same player who holds the record for most receptions by a rookie.

Jacksonville Jaguars Defense

They were almost included in last week’s winners column, but they were cut for time. Not this week, though. The Jacksonville Jaguars went into San Francisco and continued their hot start with a 26-21 win over a 49ers team with a returning Brock Purdy.

While the defense did give up 389 yards, 22 first downs, and allowed San Francisco to go eight-of-13 on third down, they continued to make the big plays when needed. For the fourth time this season, the Jaguars forced at least three turnovers in a game—two fumbles and two interceptions. Jacksonville now has 13 takeaways through four games this year after having just nine in all of 2024.

Thanks to those timely takeaways, the Jaguars are 3-1 and tied for first place in the AFC South with the Colts.

Philadelphia Eagles Special Teams

The Eagles ended Week 3 with a blocked field goal for a touchdown to beat the Rams. One week later, they started their matchup against Tampa Bay the same way—scoring off a blocked punt on the Bucs’ opening drive.

Philadelphia’s special team has proven this year that success on the field comes in three phases. Without those two blocked kicks in back-to-back weeks, the Eagles could realistically be 2-2 and tied with Washington atop the NFC East. Instead, they sit pretty at 4-0 with a two-game lead.

Chase McLaughlin

Sticking with the Eagles and Bucs, there was a bit of history made on the side of Tampa Bay on Sunday. Kicker Chase McLaughlin made the longest outdoor kick in NFL history—because pre-season kicks don’t count—when he drilled a 65-yard kick to close the first half. McLaughlin also made kicks of 42 and 58 yards in the loss.

Three-Touchdown Days

Have a day, Romeo Doubs and Ashton Jeanty. Both players share the spotlight here because each of them scored three touchdowns on Sunday. Doubs finished with six catches for 58 yards and three scores. For Jeanty, he ended the day with 138 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. He added to that with two catches for 17 yards and two touchdowns.

The weird thing with both performances, though, is that neither of their teams—Green Bay and Las Vegas—managed to win their games. At least the owners of fantasy teams with either player were happy.

NFL Week 4 Losers:

Adonai Mitchell

The Colts could be 4-0 heading into their game this weekend against the Raiders. Unfortunately, a 27-20 loss to the Rams prevented that from happening. And yes, football is a team game, but a large part of the blame can be placed directly on Adonai Mitchell.

The 2024 second-round pick cost his team not one, but two touchdowns on Sunday afternoon. The first came in the third quarter with the Colts trailing 13-10, when Mitchell hauled in a 75-yard pass from Daniel Jones. Rather than protect the ball on his way to the end zone, Mitchell tried to switch hands—despite having no one near him at the goal line. The result: he fumbled the ball out of the back of the end zone, giving possession to the Rams.

The Rams ended up punting on that drive, but things only got worse for Mitchell.

With the game tied at 20 and 2:25 left to play, Jonathan Taylor broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run to put the Colts ahead. Unfortunately, Mitchell was flagged for holding, negating the score. A few plays later, the Colts punted, and the Rams capitalized with a touchdown of their own to take the lead for good.

Again, football is a team sport, and 11 penalties plus three turnovers aren’t going to win you many games. But when one player directly causes two blown opportunities to take the lead, they deserve to shoulder the blame.

The Baltimore Ravens

Injuries and inconsistency. This season couldn’t have started worse for the Baltimore Ravens. A team that should have been a Super Bowl contender from the jump now sits at 1-3, with an injury list nearly as long as its roster.

While the team’s 37-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was bad enough, watching Lamar Jackson leave with a hamstring injury only made matters worse. And truthfully, the game wasn’t close even when Jackson was on the field.

The Ravens failed to establish any kind of run game with Derrick Henry, and Jackson was reckless with the football in ways that left fans frustrated. With Baltimore up 7-3 late in the first quarter, Jackson panicked under pressure and forced a throw he never should have made—right into the arms of Leo Chenal. Credit to Chenal for making an outstanding one-handed grab to secure the interception, but Jackson can’t make that throw in that situation.

The fumble, however, might have been worse. Down 20-7 near halftime, Jackson showed a lack of awareness, running straight into his own lineman and losing the ball. Drue Tranquill scooped it up for the Chiefs, setting them up deep in Ravens territory. Luckily for Baltimore, Kansas City missed the field goal, giving them another lifeline. Still, without that turnover, the Ravens were in position to close the half with momentum, and without ever giving the Chiefs a chance to extend their lead.

Now, Baltimore sits two games behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North. But forget about the division, it’s time to start wondering if the Ravens are good enough to make the playoffs, even in a weak AFC.

Brian Callahan

A week after giving up offensive play-calling duties, the Tennessee Titans’ head coach watched his team fail to score a single point against Houston. To make matters worse, Tennessee’s offense managed just 10 first downs, 175 total yards, and went two-for-11 on third down.

At what point does this become too much for Titans management? Tennessee went 3-14 last season, which led them to draft quarterback Cam Ward—who didn’t hold back after the loss, calling the team “ass.” And through four games this year, the Titans may actually be worse than they were in 2024.

Questions are already swirling about Callahan’s future in Nashville, and it may not be long before an answer is forced.

New York Jets Discipline

The New York Jets are 0-4. That’s bad enough on its own, but Monday night’s loss to the Miami Dolphins shone a bright light on one of New York’s biggest problems.

The Jets had 13 penalties accepted for 101 yards, and it could have been worse, as they were flagged 16 times in total.

New York may not have the talent to compete with the top teams in the league, but penalties are something it can control. The lack of discipline from Aaron Glenn’s squad isn’t something he’s happy with, but there’s only so much you can say before action needs to be taken, even if that means a short- or long-term benching.

In both 2023 and 2024, the Jets finished last in penalties per game. At 8 accepted penalties per game so far this season, they’re on pace to finish at the bottom again if it doesn’t get fixed soon.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikestraw/2025/09/30/nfl-week-4-winners-and-losers-the-biggest-takeaways/