NFL Week 4 Stock Watch: Dallas is in big trouble, Baker Mayfield is magic

Week 4 is set to begin tonight, and the Dallas Cowboys are one of the teams trending in the wrong direction on the latest edition of the NFL Stock Watch.
Dallas Cowboys v Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys v Chicago Bears | Michael Reaves/GettyImages

The end of September brings with it a close to the first quarter of the 2025 NFL season, and the league is as tight as its ever been. Six teams are undefeated and another six are winless, leaving a very mushy middle where 20 of the league's 32 teams are either 2-1 or 1-2 entering Week 4.

That kind of fluidity could lead to some drastic changes in the league's middle class, where a team that looks like its heading in the right direction one week gets a harsh reality check in the next. Let's dive into Week 4's NFL Stock Watch with a look at five things trending up before the next slate of games begins on Thursday night with Seattle taking on Arizona.

NFL Week 4 Stock Watch: Risers

Baker Mayfield

The Buccaneers are one of the league's six undefeated teams and a lot of the credit goes to Mayfield, who has pulled his team out of the fire in each of the first three weeks of the season. Mayfield's latest Houdini act came with 1:49 left on Sunday after the Jets blocked a field goal and returned it for a go-ahead touchdown, but he calmly moved his team down the field for a game-winning field goal attempt at the gun.

While it is fair to question how real Tampa Bay is after winning their three games by a combined six points, Mayfield's ability to come through in the clutch provides a needed security blanket for a team decimated by injuries. While Tristan Wirfs and Chris Godwin are on the comeback trail, Mayfield will be without Mike Evans for a few weeks after he exited Sunday's 29-27 win late with a hamstring issue.

Special Teams

We signaled out kickers as being on the rise last week but Week 3 showcased that special teams on a whole could be tremendously important this season. There were three games with huge blocked field goals in the second half, with two teams (Philadelphia and Cleveland) securing wins on the strength of those game-changing special teams plays.

The NFL also appears to have finally solved the kickoff issue with its new rule tweaks leading to a significant increase in the number of returned kicks, turning what had been a dead play into a very exciting part of the game. While most fans could usually go to their fridge or run to the restroom during kickoffs, the dramatics we've seen from special teams so far makes it a can't miss aspect of the game.

The NFC West

It's only Week 4, but the strength of the NFC West has been on full display so far this season. All four teams in the division have at least a 2-1 record, with San Francisco leading the way at 3-0. Two of the NFC West's three losses have come against each other, with the 49ers beating the Seahawks and Cardinals, while the Rams easily could have held on if they finished off drives in the second half against the Eagles in Philadelphia.

There were similar theatrics declared about the NFC North last year after the first half and they larged paid off with Minnesota and Detroit combining for 29 wins while Green Bay also made the postseason. Time will tell if the NFC West can match the NFC North's historic performance, although they will want to finish better in the postseason than the 2025 North, which went 0-3 in playoff games.

Daniel Jones

After surviving a camp competition with Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones has been the story of the league after revitalizing his career with the 3-0 Colts. While most had no expectations of anything good from Indianapolis, Jones' early performance (a 111.7 passer rating with three touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 71.6 percent of his passes) could make him an MVP candidate if the Colts can keep this up.

It is fair to question the quality of opponent that Jones has seen since Denver is the only one of Indianapolis' first three opponents that should be in the postseason hunt. Jones can only play the teams placed in front of him, however, and he has a great chance to show his renaissance is for real against the Rams on Sunday in one of the most underrated games of the week.

Morning Football

Week 4 brings the return of the NFL's International Series as Minnesota heads to Ireland to take on Pittsburgh in the league's first game in Dublin. While the NFL did play an International Game on Friday night of Week 1 in Brazil, most fans recognize the Sunday morning slot as a tremendous opportunity to get some bonus football at 9:30 a.m. ET.

The next four weeks will bring Sunday morning football as the Ireland game will be followed by three straight matchups in London featuring the likes of Minnesota, Cleveland, Denver, Jacksonville, the Rams and New York Jets. Having the ability to watch from football from breakfast until midnight is a lot of fun, although it does offer a challenge to fantasy managers who have to remember to set their lineups earlier for players kicking off in Europe.

NFL Stock Watch: Fallers

Derrick Henry

While Henry has been off to a strong start on the ground for the Ravens, he has made headlines for some ill-timed fumbles. After a late fumble in Week 1 gave Buffalo a chance for an improbable comeback, Henry cost the Ravens again by coughing up the football late in the second half against Detroit, which was a huge issue since the Lions were able to dominate time of possession throughout the night.

A late career case of fumblitis could be a big issue for Henry, who remains a key part of Baltimore's offense after signing a contract extension over the summer. There is still time for Henry to get rid of his recent fumbling woes, but the fact it has happened twice in a three week span could lead to some second guessing in his mind if Baltimore needs Henry to close out a game on the ground.

Dallas Cowboys

Things are getting desperate in Dallas, which has looked very sloppy over its first three weeks of the season. Despite Jerry Jones' attempts to sell the public on everything being fine after sending Micah Parsons to Green Bay, the Cowboys got pushed around by the Chicago Bears on Sunday to drop to 1-2, and it is important to remember that they could easily be 0-3 if Brandon Aubrey didn't hit a 64-yard field goal at the gun against the Giants in Week 2 to force overtime.

The Cowboys' defense has been shredded of late, giving up a combined 68 points over the past two weeks, and they get to reap the rewards of Jones' decision making when Parsons makes his return to AT&T Stadium with the Packers on Sunday night. A loss there would put Dallas in a 1-3 hole and raise the uncomfortable possibility of wasting another year of Dak Prescott's prime.

Russell Wilson

Just one week after turning back the clock to his Seattle peak, Wilson reverted back to the poor form of his second half run in Pittsburgh. Giants fans were loudly booing Wilson during Sunday night's loss to the Chiefs and it was hard to blame them after he threw two interceptions and passed for only 160 yards in a game New York could have won.

The fans got their wish this week when the Giants announced they will bench Wilson in favor of rookie Jaxson Dart, who played very well in the preseason and will presumably have the rest of the way to launch his NFL career while trying to save Brian Daboll's job. There was limited interest in Wilson this offseason before he landed in New York, and while he could still be a trade candidate for a team with an injured starter (such as Cincinnati) his starting days are likely over.

Denver Broncos

There have been a lot of big stories in the NFL this year, but one that has flown under the radar nationally has been a sudden regression for the Broncos. Sean Payton was hoping to build on last year's surprise postseason run with a second-year surge from Bo Nix but that hasn't happened as the Broncos have dropped their last two games to fall two back of the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC West.

Denver hasn't seen Nix take a big leap forward despite an improved supporting cast, which is proof that quarterback development isn't always linear. The bigger concern area might be Denver's defense, which has underwhelmed so far and needs a get-right game against the Joe Burrow-less Bengals on Monday night.

ESPN

After getting a potential Game of the Year candidate in Week 3 with a classic Lions-Ravens showdown, Week 4's Monday night slate is an El Stinkowski for ESPN. Despite having a doubleheader, ESPN has a pair of lousy games, beginning with a showdown of 0-3 AFC East teams at 7:15 p.m. ET as the Jets head to Miami to take on the Dolphins, who may need to win this game to save Mike McDaniels' job.

The primary game on ABC is Bengals-Broncos, where Cincinnati has the only winning record of the night and just got crushed in their first game without Burrow in Minnesota on Sunday, while we just mentioned Denver's issues in the previous item. Football fans can't even take solace in a Manningcast to get them through the evening since Peyton and Eli are off in Week 4 thanks to the twin bill.

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