🐺 Wolf Sports Weekly

In this week’s newsletter: A look at Week 4, potential trade targets for the Chiefs, and Tom Brady shares another team he nearly joined instead of the Bucs in 2020.

🐦‍⬛ Ravens’ domination headlines Week 4

The Bills-Ravens matchup on Sunday Night Football didn’t live up to the billing, but Baltimore balled out behind stingy defense and over 200 total yards and two touchdowns from Derrick Henry. On the first possession for the Ravens, King Henry broke an 87-yard touchdown run—and the team never looked back in the 35-10 victory. Buffalo hadn’t lost a regular season game by more than six points since Week 11 of the 2021 season; their 43-game streak was an NFL record. On X, Lamar Jackson, who had three total touchdowns but threw for just 156 yards, made it clear that he does not care about your parlays.

The Chiefs improved to 4-0, but they lost WR Rashee Rice potentially for the year due to a knee injury thought to be an ACL tear. On a return during an early interception by Patrick Mahomes versus the Chargers, Mahomes unfortunately shouldered Rice’s knee as both players were trying to make a tackle. Ultimately, Kansas City erased a 10-0 deficit at Los Angeles to escape with a win against a gritty Jim Harbaugh squad that was banged up—but it came at a cost. We’ll dive into potential trade options for the Chiefs to help make up for the loss of Rice below.

The Cowboys’ Week 4 in also came at a cost, with star defenders Micah Parsons (ankle) and Demarcus Lawrence (foot) set to miss time after being injured in their 20-15 TNF win at the Giants. Parsons is dealing with a high-ankle sprain, and there’s speculation that he could miss the next two games before returning on October 27 following Dallas’ Week 7 bye. Lawrence is also out multiple weeks and might be targeting the same return date.

“I just gave the game ball to somebody else, so I feel awful right now.” He didn’t get a game ball from Dan Campbell, but Jared Goff was a record-setting 18/18 for 292 yards and two touchdowns (also catching a touchdown from Amon-Ra St. Brown) in the Lions’ win against the Seahawks. Detroit shook off their slow start to the season offensively to showcase all their weapons in the primetime win over a 3-0 Seattle squad.

The undefeated Vikings stayed hot, jumping to a 28-0 lead over the Packers at Lambeau Field and holding on for a 31-29 win. QB Sam Darnold became the sixth player in NFL history to throw at least two touchdowns with a 105.0+ passer rating in each of the first four games in a season, joining Tom Brady (2007 and 2015), Peyton Manning (2013), Aaron Rodgers (2011 and 2020), Matt Ryan (2016), and Russell Wilson (2020). Defensively, Minnesota picked off Jordan Love three times in Love’s return to the lineup.

Just like everyone expected, the 3-1 Commanders lead the NFC East after four games following their handling of the Cardinals, 42-14. Washington has played three of their first four games on the road, including the past two wins over Cincy and Arizona. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels has been lights out, and OC Kliff Kingsbury has done an outstanding job of putting guys in position to make plays. Daniels has shockingly led more scoring drives (23) than he’s thrown incompletions (19) this season.

Other Week 4 results:

• Texans 24, Jaguars 20: Jacksonville looked much better with strong contributions from rookie WR Brian Thomas Jr. (6/86/1), but they are the NFL’s lone winless team after the Texans came back to win on a C.J. Stroud touchdown to RB Dare Ogunbowale with 18 seconds remaining. 3-1 Houston matches up with Buffalo in Week 5.

• Falcons 26, Saints 24: Younghoe Koo nailed a 58-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to give the Falcons a big early-season divisional win. LB Troy Andersen’s pick-six off a deflection was among the highlights for Atlanta.

• Colts 27, Steelers 24: QB Anthony Richardson (oblique/abdomen) and RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle) both have injuries to monitor, but the Colts got strong play from Joe Flacco (16/26, 168 yards, two touchdowns) and played well versus a previously-unbeaten Steelers team that was shutting offenses down through three games.

• Broncos 10, Jets 9: Aaron Rodgers’ face about sums it up for both offenses in wet conditions at MetLife Stadium, but the Broncos came through with more plays—including rookie QB Bo Nix’s first career touchdown pass. Rodgers did not sound thrilled with HC Robert Saleh suggesting he potentially dial back his cadence on offense: “That’s one way to do it. The other way’s hold them accountable.” The Jets head to London to face the Vikings this Sunday.

• Buccaneers 33, Eagles 16: The struggles for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles against Todd Bowles’ Tampa Bay defense (1-4 record, including two postseason losses) continued, though Philly was without WRs A.J. Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion). Baker Mayfield torched Philly’s secondary, going 30/47 for 347 yards and three total touchdowns (one rushing).

• Bengals 34, Panthers 24: Cincinnati is on the board for their first win of the season, headlined by RBs Chase Brown (92 total yards, two touchdowns) and Zack Moss (78 total yards, one touchdown) leading the offensive attack.

• Bears 24, Rams 18: Chicago had a balanced attack in their first game since the players called a meeting with OC Shane Waldron—basically saying, “we’re not a Pop Warner team,” according to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer—and winning the turnover battle (2-0) was key in getting back to .500.

• 49ers 30, Patriots 13: Deebo Samuel (calf) and George Kittle (hamstring) were back for the Niners, and the Patriots were totally outmatched for the second straight week.

• Raiders 20, Browns 16: As rumors swirl around All-Pro WR Davante Adams, who missed this game due to a hamstring injury that popped up during practice, Vegas won without him or DE Maxx Crosby (ankle) in the lineup—limiting a Browns offense that’s consistently struggled with Deshaun Watson under center.

• Titans 31, Dolphins 12: Titans QB Mason Rudolph looked good when he was inserted into the game for Will Levis (shoulder), providing a steady hand as Tennessee took care of Miami. For the Dolphins, frustrations are evident on the sideline with the offense struggling.

🔥 Top fantasy performers in Week 4

• Ravens RB Derrick Henry: 34.4 points

• Steelers QB Justin Fields: 31.98 points

• Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III: 31.6 points

• Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield: 28.88 points

• Packers QB Jordan Love: 28.16 points

(point totals are for half PPR scoring)

👀 CMC, others getting close to hitting the field?

49ers All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey “should be back, at least, by early November,” according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. CMC is back from his trip to Germany and will reportedly run on hard ground this week. However, this comes as HC Kyle Shanahan revealed that McCaffrey has “bilateral Achilles tendinitis,” meaning it’s an issue affecting both legs. Overall, while he, the Niners, and fantasy owners that took him No. 1 overall in 2024 drafts might not totally love a timeline of a few more weeks, it’s good to hear a season debut might be in the offing.

Fellow superstar runner Nick Chubb is also making steps toward a return to the field, as he’s set to return to practice this week in his comeback from last September’s devastating knee injury. More players reportedly expected to practice this week:

• Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness)

• Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne (knee)

• Chargers WR DJ Chark Jr. (hip)

• Saints RB Kendre Miller (hamstring)

• And potentially Dolphins WR Odell Beckham Jr.

As for new injuries, the bug continues to strike around the league.

• Broncos LB Alex Singleton is out for the year due to a torn ACL from Week 3. Amazingly, he suffered the injury in the first quarter and played through it during the entire win over the Bucs.

• Panthers LB Shaq Thompson (Achilles) is done for the season.

• Cardinals DL Justin Jones (triceps) and Bengals OT Trent Brown (knee) were lost for the year in Week 3.

• Also from Week 3, Saints C Erik McCoy is out several weeks due to a groin injury, while Jaguars LB Foye Oluokon (foot) will miss several weeks.

• Packers WR Christian Watson (ankle) will miss “at least a week or so.”

🏈 NFL news and notes

Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre says that he’s recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

“They were very stealth in their recruitment.” Legendary quarterback Tom Brady revealed during his first time calling a Buccaneers game that the Bears pursued him in 2020. Brady said, “I was seriously considering ‘em.” That’s one of the biggest alternate timelines in NFL history, and it’s good to hear not as many teams as we thought were totally clueless in not pursuing Brady.

In other TB12 news, he had a great response to Baker Mayfield claiming to help “bring the joy back” for Tampa Bay following Brady’s more intense environment: “I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings… If I wanted to have fun I’d go to Disneyland with my kids.”

“Kind of a strange question, but OK.” Jaguars HC Doug Pederson was not happy with a question about his job status.

49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk wore the wrong color shorts to practice, which did not go over well. He begrudgingly changed to the correct shorts.

Great moment: Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb gave his cleats to a kid asking for his gloves after Thursday Night Football.

Other Sports Updates

🙏 Rest in Peace: Sports legends Pete Rose and Dikembe Mutombo have passed away.

🏈 Alabama defeated Georgia in one of the games of the year, 41-34. The Tide were up 28-0 at home before the Dawgs roared back to take a 34-33 lead—until Jalen Milroe hit 17-year-old freshman Ryan Williams for a 75-yard touchdown with 2:18 remaining. More CFB highlights:

• Miami survived against Virginia Tech after a Hail Mary by the Hokies was controversially overturned.

• Top-ten upset: Kentucky stunned Ole Miss in Oxford.

• Arizona defeated then-No. 10 Utah, 23-10.

⚾️ The 2024 MLB postseason is set. Full playoff field.

🏟️ The Athletics ended their run in Oakland in front of a sold-out stadium in an emotional win.

😳 The White Sox officially completed the worst season in MLB history, with a 36-120 record.

⛳️ The United States won the Presidents Cup for the 10th straight time.

🧢 MLB is moving back to players wearing their home and away team uniforms during the All-Star Game.

➡️ The Giants announced former star C Buster Posey as their President of Baseball Operations.

🐺 Found on wolfsports.com

• Week 4 fantasy awards

• Fantasy ROS rankings (🔒)

• Week 5 wavier wire rankings (🔒)

• Week 6 college football power rankings