NFL Week 4 winners and losers: Jets crash and burn, Travis Kelce pops, Steelers hit wall

The fourth week of the NFL season provided more than its share of shock and entertainment value. This has been a decidedly funky season, with several projected contenders jogging out of the gate while a few supposedly mediocre teams rule the league.

It is "only Week 4," as the saying goes, so we can't take too much away from noisy results. That said, we are starting to get a solid reading on most teams. It is probably safe to start separating the league into four categories — Elite, NOT Elite, Solid, and Fools Gold. Which bucket does your team belong in? I'll leave that to you.

As we canvass a wild Week 4, which included game-winning field goals, almost-dazzling comebacks, and a few truly stunning outcomes, here are the individual winners and losers.

NFL Week 4 winner: Dionte Johnson, Carolina Panthers

I'm old enough to remember when the Carolina Panthers were persona non grata in fantasy circles. Well, yours truly started Andy Dalton in multiple leagues and is sitting pretty. Those who drafted Diontae Johnson early and felt stupid watching Bryce Young take hit after hit through two weeks and now looking puuuurty smart.

Lo and behold, a competent quarterback has completely revived the Panthers offense. It wasn't enough to edge out a desperate Bengals team on Sunday, but Dalton continues to look day-and-night better than his predecessor, with Johnson quickly emerging as the No. 1 target we all expected going into the season. Johnson reeled in seven receptions on a healthy 12 targets for 83 yards and a score.

Folks, we have a proper fantasy star on our hands — not to mention a happy camper, finally being deployed effectively after years of ups and downs in the Matt Canada regime in Pittsburgh.

NFL Week 4 loser: Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys

We are back to calling Jerry Jones cheap. After he spent the offseason sitting on his hands waiting until the last possible second to extend CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott, Jones is once again letting finances get in the way of progress. The Dallas Cowboys are supposed to be a contender — that's why Prescott and Lamb got all this money — but it's hard to win if Jones won't invest in the margins.

Now, the Cowboys owner/GM's cheapness is starting to catch up to him. Dallas squeaked out a 20-15 win over the Giants on TNF, but that is hardly a confidence-inducing victory. The RB room continues to flatline on a weekly basis and now, Micah Parsons is hurt with no suitable replacements on the roster and no reason to believe Jones will adequately pursue depth via trade.

NFL Week 4 winner: Kliff Kingsbury, Washington Commanders

It's not often that coordinators receive the game ball, but that is precisely what occurred on Sunday after the Washington Commanders' emphatic 42-14 victory over Arizona. Kingsbury inked a three-year deal to lead the Comms offense this summer. Formerly head coach in Arizona, Kingsbury's play-calling chops were on full display in Sunday's offensive masterclass. Through four weeks, Jayden Daniels leads the NFL in completion percentage and the Commanders are 3-1, which is good enough for sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

Nobody saw that coming.

NFL Week 4 loser: Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles

On the other hand, Nick Siranni and the Philadelphia Eagles (who turned down Kingsbury in the OC role this summer) haven't quite removed the stink of last season's collapse. A blowout loss to the Bucs on Sunday, in what should have been a revenge game, drops Philadelphia to 2-2 on the season. It's easy to point to the absences of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, which is valid, but the Eagles' issues clearly run deeper than personnel shortages.

Jalen Hurts was once again extremely uneven, continuing his trend of high highs and low lows in the early portion of the 2024 campaign. Brian Johnson, the Eagles' OC in 2023, happens to be passing game coordinator for the aforementioned Commanders right now. In his place, Kellen Moore and Nick Sirianni, in whatever happy marriage of ideas they've struck up, don't seem to have the answers.

After the game, Hurts was asked about sharing leadership responsibilities with Sirianni and how they might approach motivating the team going into the buy week. His response was... less than ideal.

There are already plenty of Eagles fans who thought Sirianni should've been fired at the end of last season. Now he's losing the fanbase again, and quite possibly his quarterback, too. If that relationship dissolves any further, after a summer of trying to rebuild trust between head coach and signal-caller, the Eagles could be in for a long and unceremonious season.

NFL Week 4 winner: Younghoe Koo, Atlanta Falcons

How can we not shout out the game-winner?

Younghoe Koo drilled a 58-yard missile in the final seconds of Sunday's win over the Saints, advancing the Atlanta Falcons to 2-2 on the season.

A loss would've launched New Orleans to the top of the division and put Atlanta in a 1-3 hole. Instead, the Falcons are 2-2 through the most brutal portion of their schedule with a chance to take the division lead this upcoming Thursday against Tampa Bay.

Kirk Cousins is slowly but surely figuring it out and Atlanta's defense appears fairly solid. This team is still the favorite to emerge from a winnable NFC South.

NFL Week 4 loser: Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers

Is Justin Fields the loser or is Russell Wilson the winner? Week 4 was a humbling experience for the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers, who ended up falling short of Joe Flacco and the injury-plagued, not-very-good Colts. The offense was better than it has been in recent weeks, at least on paper, but that is more of an indictment of Justin Fields than an absolution. When the Steelers' defense isn't razor-sharp, suddenly Fields' warts become far more apparent.

Not all of Pittsburgh's offensive faults can be pinned on Fields, who completed 22-of-34 passes for a season-high 312 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for 55 yards and two more touchdowns. But, Fields took four sacks and committed a ghastly fumble, falling victim to the Steelers' makeshift offensive line and a definitely-not-mad Broderick Jones.

The real shame of it all is that Fields was excellent by Pittsburgh QB standards in the second half, almost leading a comeback, but he couldn't get the win. The defense finally failed him, the offensive line woes cropped up, and suddenly the door is ajar for Russell WIlson if he ever returns, no matter how obvious it is that Fields should be the starter moving forward.

NFL Week 4 winner: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Travis Kelce totaled eight receptions for 69 yards through the first three weeks of the season, which led to a lot of whispering about his age and his future at the NFL level. Kelce is, deservedly, the highest-paid tight end in the league and his connection with Patrick Mahomes is the stuff of legend. It was a bit odd to see him so sparsely involved in the offense out of the gate.

On Sunday, Kelce put all the noise to rest. For now, at least. He roped in seven of nine targets for 89 yards in a Kansas City Chiefs victory. With Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown both expected to miss the remainder of the season, the Chiefs will need more dominant performances from Kelce moving forward.

NFL Week 4 loser: Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets

After getting better with each successive game through the first three weeks of the season, Aaron Rodgers took his first noticeable step back in Week 4. The New York Jets lost 10-9 to the lowly Broncos, led by Bo Nix and his whopping 60 yards of passing offense. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better defensive performance than the one New York put together on Sunday, but Rodgers wasn't able to lead a single touchdown drive to nudge the Jets over the top.

Better days and perhaps even NFL history lie ahead for Rodgers, but it's clear the Jets are not the juggernauts some expected going into the season. The Jets don't completely stink either — there's a middle ground somewhere that Rodgers needs to dislodge them from, elevating New York from its perpetual mediocrity to some semblance of contention.