We're almost a quarter of the way through the NFL season already!
Week 4 featured another frentic set of games with storylines and action galore, and now only three undefeated teams remain.
While there are still two games remaining before we close the book on Week 4, we've already learned plenty from the games that have been played so far.
Here are a few of the things from the weekend's games that may (or may not) have slid under the radar.
Mahomes still setting new standards
Patrick Mahomes is the biggest star in the NFL, and for good reason. With three Super Bowl rings (and three Super Bowl MVP awards to match), the two-time NFL MVP isn't exactly an unknown commodity at this point.
But that doesn't mean he doesn't still have a surprise or two in his arsenal.
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback led his team to a come-from-behind 17-10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, and a big part of that win was Mahomes' lone touchdown pass of the game — a 54-yard bomb to Xavier Worthy in the second quarter.
According to NextGenStats, the pass travelled 62.2 yards in the air before landing in Worthy's hands just in front of the end zone, making it the longest completion by air distance in Mahomes' illustrious career.
The face of the NFL is still pulling out new tricks, and the Chiefs are the beneficiaries.
However, Purdy may be better
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Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers eased to a 30-13 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday, with Purdy once again winning the QB battle against his counterpart on the opposing team.
The 24-year-old has picked up this season where he left off in 2023 as he continues to be a league leader in efficiency. Purdy topped the NFL last season in yards per passing attempt with 9.8, and through four games he's sitting at 9.3 Y/A in 2024.
Perhaps more interesting is Purdy's passer rating since entering the league as a rookie in 2022 — the Niners star now boasts the highest rating (112.6) of any quarterback over his first 25 starts, edging past Mahomes (112.5).
Purdy's personal numbers are slightly better than Mahomes' at this point in each player's career, but the Chiefs star had also won a league MVP award in his second full season as a starter and led KC to a Super Bowl title in his third year. So Purdy's got some work to do in that regard.
Darnold is legit
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Speaking of quarterbacks trying to catch up to Mahomes, Sam Darnold also put himself into the same stratosphere as the Chiefs star this week — at least in one particular statistic.
The new Minnesota Vikings pivot is off to a flying start in the North Star State, leading the team to a 4-0 start. Darnold threw 20 successful passes in Minnesota's 31-29 Week 4 victory over the Green Bay Packers, giving him 10 or more pass completions in each of those four victories.
That puts the 27-year-old alongside Mahomes as the only two QBs in the last 24 years to win their first four games with a new team while connecting on double-digit passes.
Not bad company to keep.
The Ravens are who we thought they were
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After suffering back-to-back defeats to start the season, the Baltimore Ravens are now winners of two straight after Sunday's 35-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
The Ravens once again turned to their running game as they racked up 271 rushing yards in this one, compared to 81 for the Bills.
That puts them up to 881 rushing yards on the season, good for first place in the league by nearly 200 yards. Given that the Ravens led the NFL in team rushing yards last season, it's not exactly a surprise that they'd continue that trend through the first part of this campaign and beyond.
Time will tell how far this Baltimore team can go, but it seems that the team will once again live and die by the run.
Is Kelce back?
Much of the early season chatter has centered on Travis Kelce's slow start. The Chiefs tight end was far from his usual self in the first three games of 2024, only making eight catches for 69 total yards and often being overlooked by Mahomes in favour of other options.
Week 4 was a different story though, as Kelce was prominent throughout Kansas City's victory with seven receptions for 89 yards. The 34-year-old's performance was enough for commentator Tony Romo to declare that "Kelce is back!"
If this story sounds familiar, it's because Kelce also went through the same thing last season. In 2023, Kelce took a while to get going and suffered a rollercoaster campaign before truly returning to form in the playoffs.
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