It’s Week 4 in the NFL and the NFL’s new cycle is in midseason form already. There’s no shortage of storyline in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and their pending quarterback battle if Carson Wentz manages to play well in his second start. He was lucky enough to not have to do too much, but he did throw for 173 yards with two passing touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Realistically, he could continue to play well and still make an argument to take the job from J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy hasn’t looked great outside of a Week 1 comeback win over the Chicago Bears. The last thing the Vikings need is a quarterback battle because that will amplify the microscope on him.
Here’s what else is going on in the NFL and what we can look forward to in Week 4 of the season.
Minnesota Vikings have pending quarterback battle they never wanted
This is the situation the Vikings didn’t want to be in with McCarthy. They chose McCarthy as the face of their franchise and two games in it’s not working out. While he did win Week 1, he looked miserable in Week 2 and could be out a month. If Wentz plays well this week again, they’ll certainly have a choice to make when McCarthy comes back.
Minnesota didn’t want to have this situation but now it’s unavoidable. Kevin O’Connell said he won’t bring McCarthy back into the starting lineup until he’s 100 percent active and healthy. The downside to that is the longer he’s out, the more pressure Wentz can put on the Vikings to keep him as the starter.
Jaxson Dart will make his first NFL start amid urgency from New York Giants
The New York Giants can’t escape the spotlight for all the wrong reasons this year. After a 0-3 start to the season, Brian Daboll turned to first-round selection Jaxson Dart for this week. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the biggest problem is throwing a rookie into the fire just isn’t an ideal situation. Dart could have a big debut, but I just don’t see that happening.
The Giants’ offensive line didn’t look good Week 1 and while their offense caught fire against the Dallas Cowboys, that’s less about the Giants and more about how bad the Cowboys defense is. This team is in a bad situation and Dart isn’t going to fix that. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
Micah Parsons gets his first crack at the Dallas Cowboys
This might be the highlight of the week. Micah Parsons is set to play against the team that seemingly abandoned him this week and the Cowboys should be afraid. For one, this Cowboys offense is set up for Parsons to absolutely terrorize his former team. The Cowboys are on the verge of imploding and the last thing they need is Parsons having his way with them.
The Green Bay Packers also have a lot of motivation after a terrible loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 3. Parsons has had a lowkey start to his Packers tenure with three tackles and 1.5 sacks. This is the perfect game for him to regain his confidence. Parsons has a lot to prove to the Cowboys since they decided they didn’t want to keep him around. It could be a destructive game for him.
Atlanta Falcons having deja vu with Michael Penix Jr. after miserable Week 3
Michael Penix Jr. looked terrible against the Carolina Panthers and it’s bringing back nightmares from the Kirk Cousins situation last year. Cousins played himself out of the starting job last season and now it looks like Penix is trying to play himself out of the starting job this year. It’s the last thing the Falcons wish they had to deal with. They fired their receiver coach, thinking that was the problem, but that’s only scratching the surface.
Penix will have no choice but to bounce back against the Washington Commanders this week. It won’t be an easy task, but he also doesn’t have a choice. Another miserable performance and it could be the beginning of the end for him.