2026-2027 NFL Season: Week 4 Review, Week 5 Picks - The Cost of Turnovers

The easiest way to lose a game in the NFL is to turn the ball over to the opposing team. I heard a stat on the ESPN this morning that is alarming and should be of concern to Cincinnati Bengals fans everywhere. Over the last several seasons, their quarterback Joe Burrow has thrown more interceptions in the fourth quarter than any other QB in the league.

Burrow did it again this past Sunday in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars but did not get picked just once rather twice. One of those picks came as Cincinnati was driving for a score. But Burrow should not feel too badly. That’s because he was not the only one having a difficult day on the job in week four. In the 36-24 loss to the New York Giants, Arizona’s Jacoby Brisett threw three interceptions. One of those was a pick six by New York’s Deonte Banks.

In Tampa, the Bucs who have yet to win a game lost by just three points to Green Bay and with Baker Mayfield sidelined with an injury backup Jalon Daniels had two of his passes picked off. While Chicago’s Tyson Bagent was thrown into a starting role with Caleb Williams hurt and Carson Wentz being delegated to the bench, Bagent gave the New York Jets a gift. Their first interception in 21 games. It had no impact on the game as the Bears won easily.

The Las Vegas Raiders might be the surprise team in the NFL thus far with a record of 3-1 and they held their own against the Kansas City Chiefs losing by just a field goal. Kirk Cousins seems reborn but, in this game, he did throw one interception. What about those winless Los Angeles Chargers? Now 0-4 and this is not something head coach Jim Harbaugh is accustomed to. He will be forced to make a decision on starting quarterback Justin Herbert soon. Herbert threw two picks and was sacked four times in the 30-23 loss to the world champion Seahawks.

Now the rundown of week four results.

Colts 30 Commanders 13. Without Jayden Daniels once again Marcus Mariota called the signals. But only for four pass attempts. Mariotta exits early with an injury and in comes Athan Kaliakamis. WHO? A rookie playing his first year in the NFL after a college career at Rutgers. The kid threw 33 passes completing just 15 for 186 yards and he tossed an interception. No one should be surprised that his QBR was low at 60.9. Talk about being thrown to the wolves. However, Daniel Jones was not much better on the other side. He failed to throw a single touchdown pass.

Rams 24 Eagles 20. The Rams were on the verge of going to a record of 1-3, but Kyren Williams saved the day with his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon, scoring with just 1:10 left in the game securing the victory for Los Angeles. Jalen Hurts was awful on the day with just 93 yards passing. Saquon Barkley failed to make it through the game exiting with an injured right hamstring.

Bears 23 Jets 12. No Caleb Williams? No problem. Tyson Bagent gets the start and while not great and throwing one pick, he did make plays. But Kyle Monangai ran wild on the Jets’ defense that is typically stout. Monangia finished with 146 yards rushing with two scores averaging 4.9 yards per run.

Packers 17 Bucs 14. How many more games until Todd Bowles loses his head coaching job? Now 0-4 the Bucs kept it close with Green Bay and without Baker Mayfield so perhaps the 17-14 final score will save his job.... for now. Ahead for Tampa is a visit to Dallas (loss), hosting the Steelers (loss), on the road to Carolina (loss), and then back home for Atlanta. If they can win that one their record would be 1-7 if what was just said rings true. For the Packers? 2-2 but not looking very impressive.

Ravens 24 Titans 18. One thing Lamar Jackson is known for is his injuries. Now it has happened again. Bum ankle and still the Ravens were playing one of the worst teams in the league if not the absolute bottom feeders. Cam Ward is showing he was not worthy of being a number one pick.

Cowboys 34 Texans 30. Last season the Houston Texans swarmed the Steelers in the playoffs with a nasty defense. This season they are not so nasty and while C.J. Stroud is not playing as poorly as he did in the playoff run of 2025, his team is now 0-4. They should get their next win in week five playing in Tennessee keeping the Titans winless.

Jaguars 22 Bengals 17. Jacksonville is on fire. 4-0 and looking great. Playing outstanding on both sides of the ball and Trevor Lawrence may have finally reached that elite level many thought he could be at. A 122.3 QBR for the day, no interceptions, one touchdown pass, an efficient 18 of 23 for 227 yards, and zero fumbles. He was sacked four times, but he led his team to their fourth consecutive victory to start the season. You could not ask for more than that. As for Cincinnati, 2026 is not what was expected. This was supposed to be a turnaround season with a better defense. Thus far they aren’t showing that on the field.

Patriots 29 Bills 26. Drake Maye was on a hot seat going into this game, so he fixed that problem by taking his Patriots on the road to a difficult location to get a win and get the job done. Maye had been a turnover machine this season but in this one, he did throw one pick but countered that with a game winning drive resulting in a touchdown pass of 23 yards with just under two minutes to go in the game. As for Josh Allen, he was cooled off a bit by throwing for just one score and putting up a QBR of 89.6.

Giants 36 Cardinals 24. I believe the Cardinals made a mistake allowing Kyler Murray to leave the team. The Cards are now 1-3 and while Jacoby Brissett is serviceable, he is absolutely not the long-term answer.

Vikings 15 Dolphins 10. I wonder what those players from the 1972 undefeated Dolphins that are still alive make of this current version of the fish? With their fourth straight loss keeping them winless, Malik Willis fooled everyone by playing well last season and he was a hot prospect in free agency. The Dolphins took the bait, and Willis has been anything but particularly good. Only 17 passes attempted on Minnesota and he completed just nine for a measly 85 yards, just five yards per attempt. OUCH. Kyler Murray may have finally found his permanent home.

49ers 24 Broncos 14. This San Francisco team is downright scary. They have the talent to beat any team in the NFL when they are on their game. The 49ers were on their game for this one. Denver tried to keep it close, but when a quarterback has to throw the ball 42 times in a game as Bo Nix did, that normally does not translate into a victory. It can now be set in stone that Brock Purdy is the all-time greatest “Mr. Irrelevant.” How did so many teams pass him by for so many rounds? Things that make you go hmm.

Seahawks 30 Chargers 23. If I had to pick a team before the season began that I would say was winless after the first quarter of the season, it certainly would not have been the Chargers. But here we are, four weeks down and L.A. is 0-4. Justin Herbert’s days are numbered unless he plays better and the Chargers start winning. Everyone knew that Seattle’s victory over New England in the Super Bowl last season was not a fluke.

Chiefs 30 Raiders 27. The warning was there…if Patrick Mahomes was healthy, the Chiefs would be a team to beat. That has rung true. Kansas City is now 4-0 and given their performances thus far, they will be in the playoffs. You have to hand it to the Raiders, they’ve made great strides to contend and they are contending. Obviously Klint Kubiak was the right choice for head coach.

Panthers 32 Lions 26. I believe the window for a deep playoff run in Detroit has closed. They just are not the same team from a few years back. But what a day for Bryce Young. Perhaps his best game as a pro watching throw for 329 yards and two touchdowns while completing 29 of 41 passes. Carolina is in decent shape in their division because they sit with Atlanta, New Orleans, and a fading Buccaneers team. Detroit must contend with a hot Vikings team and a Bears team that is sneaky dangerous.

Saints vs. Falcons. On Monday Night Football, October 5, Atlanta and New Orleans faced off on the 20th anniversary of the reopening of the Super Dome in Louisiana after hurricane Katrina forced it to close. When the game began a tornado named Bijan Robinson took over the game. Robinson finished with 145 yards rushing and a crazy 7.6 yards per carry as the Falcons destroyed the Saints 45-24. If not for a junk time touchdown by New Orleans the Falcons would have taken the game by a score of 45-17. I picked the Saints to win, and boy was I way off. The most amazing fact from this game? It would be the tribute to the reopening of the stadium 20 years ago celebrated by players on the field from the first game in the reopening ironically enough it was the Saints and Falcons as well. The players that showed were Drew Brees, Scott Fujita, Scott Shanle, Deuce McAllister, Devery Henderson, Curtis Deloatch, and the most inspiring man to join them, Steve Gleason. Gleason has “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” better known as ALS and unbelievably he has survived the illness for the last 15 years. Typically, ALS is a fatal disease and can take life quickly. As a youth, one of my best friends’ father suffered from ALS and passed away in about six months. So, before this game, there was Gleason’s son to help him raise his arm as the fans and players chanted “Who dat.”

Now I’ll make the picks. In week four I was able to get back to winning with a record of 10-6.