Sean McVay's visceral reaction to the Rams' 24-20 comeback win over the Eagles is one small part of what makes the NFL so great. Think these early-season games don't mean anything? Think winning a game you "should" win shouldn't elicit celebration? Think again.
The margins in the NFL are tiny. Entering the late-afternoon window, seven of the 10 games played in Week 4 were decided by one possession. Another game — Cardinals at Giants — came down to the final snap, when Deonte Banks' pick six made it a multi-score game. Teeny, tiny differences matter so much.
And that's why the Rams' win matters. The Super Bowl favorites were staring down a 1-3 start and a long, long list of questions. They still have questions, sure, but they'll feel a lot better addressing those questions after a win.
And that's why you see McVay high-fiving his players and celebrating as if he had just won a Super Bowl — a celebration he has, in fact, done before. His reaction is an earned one, not an overreaction.
Speaking of overreactions — or not ...
The Rams shouldn't be Super Bowl favorites
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
There are two ways to view the Rams' 24-20 win over the injury-ravaged Eagles:
- Wow, that was super unimpressive.
- Wow, that was an impressive comeback.
It can be both. Los Angeles struggling to beat a Philadelphia team without DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley, Quinyon Mitchell, Zack Baun, Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson and others was a bad look ... for 52-plus minutes.
But the last 7:26? Super impressive:
- 10-play, 98-yard touchdown drive
- Forced a three-and-out
- 10-play, 79-yard touchdown drive
- Forced a turnover on downs
Matthew Stafford, against Eagles' defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and in the rain, struggled. Those are two factors he has always struggled with. In fact, this was his first win over a Fangio-coached defense. But when the Rams had to have it, they got Stafford at his best: 12-for-15 for 140 yards over the two late, lengthy scoring drives. Kyren Williams pounded in two touchdowns.
The score will lie about who dominated this game. The Rams had 415 yards of offense and averaged 5.4 yards per play, compared to 172 and 3.0, respectively, for Philadelphia. The Rams committed some horrible turnovers and penalties, but on a play-by-play basis, they were far superior. Puka Nacua had nine catches for 125 yards and ran for a score. They won without Myles Garrett, Aaron Donald and Jaylen Watson on defense. This was a crucial, crucial win, and one that should only prove Los Angeles can win when so much goes wrong.
The Cowboys will win the NFC East
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Speaking of important wins, the Cowboys just got their most important since the 2023 season: Dallas 34, Houston 30.
This game had a little bit of everything and a lot of one thing in particular: CeeDee Lamb. He had 17 catches for 189 yards and a touchdown against the Texans' normally terrific defense. He was unstoppable everywhere, a true superstar at his peak. Dak Prescott was absolutely outstanding with 335 passing yards, a touchdown (to Lamb, naturally) and no interceptions or fumbles.
The issues in the secondary remain, but the Cowboys held the Texans to a 31.6% rushing success rate. That is Dallas' second-lowest rate allowed this season. Yes, I know it's the Texans, but it's a start.
This is a game the Cowboys needed to win, and they found a way to do so. Looking around the division, the Eagles' offense remains a mess, the Giants are 3-1 but not likely to threaten with Jameis Winston under center, and the Commanders are in a world of trouble.
Simply put, Dallas, with a defense that should only improve and an offense that can go toe-to-toe with any, should win this division. If it can't, there should be major questions from the top down ... again.
The Jaguars should be the AFC favorite
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Ho hum. Another week, another win for the Jaguars, who have won 11 of their last 12 regular-season games going back to last year. This time, it was a 22-17 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati. Yes, the Bengals lost Ja'Marr Chase to a concussion early in the game, but this is a really impressive win over another AFC team with playoff aspirations.
Trevor Lawrence had another strong game — 18-for-23 for 227 yards (9.9 yards per attempt) with a touchdown and no interceptions — and the Jaguars ran for 111 yards while allowing just 23. Foyesade Oluokun and Jourdan Lewis both picked off Joe Burrow.
DraftKings has the Jaguars with the fourth-shortest odds to win the AFC (+590), behind the Ravens (+390), Bills (+395) and Chiefs (+405). The Jaguars probably belong among those teams, but not as the definitive favorite. It's a crowded group, and that doesn't even include the Broncos or Patriots.
Two things can be true: The Jaguars look like the best team in the AFC right now, and I'm not sure I would take them as my pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl at the moment.
Still, it's absurd how much they're being overlooked. Only the 49ers have a better line-of-scrimmage expected points added, and they've played a much easier schedule. This is a really, really good team.
The Packers are back on track for playoff contention
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
The Packers eked out a 17-14 win over the Buccaneers to get to 2-2 on the season, but major problems persist.
- Jordan Love threw an awful interception late in the game that gave the Buccaneers life.
- Kaleb Johnson had a red zone fumble.
- The rushing game was better — a season-high 40% rushing success rate — but still not good. Factor in the Johnson fumble, and the Packers still had a -0.25 EPA per rush.
- The Buccaneers, playing with an undrafted rookie backup quarterback, posted a 54% rushing success rate and racked up 141 rushing yards.
And in new negative developments, CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz reports that the Packers fear standout linebacker Edgerrin Cooper has torn his Achilles.
The biggest positive for Green Bay (after winning the game, of course) was that Love took no sacks. The offensive line was much better. But this team is still miles away from looking like a playoff contender, and that goes for both sides of the ball.
Ben Johnson will win Coach of the Year
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Ben Johnson should be the frontrunner for Coach of the Year. He's now won games with Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum ... and it's only Week 4! According to CBS Sports research, only one other team has had three different quarterbacks throw for 200+ yards in a win through four weeks: the 1997 Jaguars.
Unfortunately for Johnson's Coach of the Year candidacy, the award tends to go to a coach whose team way overachieves: Mike Vrabel's Patriots last year, Kevin O'Connell's Vikings (with Sam Darnold) in 2024, Kevin Stefanski's Browns in 2023, Brian Daboll's Giants in 2022.
Basically, the external preseason expectations were likely too high for Johnson and the Bears for him to win the award this year, even if you could argue he's been the best coach in the sport so far.
Dan Quinn belongs on the hot seat
Overreaction or reality: Reality
There are a lot of things Dan Quinn cannot control. He can't control that Jayden Daniels is hurt, nor that Marcus Mariota got hurt Sunday, forcing the Commanders to turn to seventh-round rookie Athan Kaliakmanis under center. He cannot control that the team has injuries pretty much everywhere up and down the roster. He can't control a litany of other problems, including that there simply isn't enough talent, period.
But the things he can control aren't going his way, either. The biggest mistake in Sunday's 30-13 loss to the Colts in London was going for a fourth-and-1 in his own territory late in the first half. At the time, the Commanders were leading 6-0. The defense was dominant, forcing two Daniel Jones turnovers. A punt would have been the easy answer, especially with a third-string rookie at quarterback.
Instead, the Commanders failed on a mess of a play, giving the Colts the spark they needed. Indianapolis scored a touchdown and never trailed again.
Washington is also one of the most penalized teams in the NFL. Now 1-3 with a ton of tough matchups upcoming, the Commanders face a must-win against the Giants in Week 5.
