I will offer a peek behind the curtain this week at Overreactions HQ. During Sunday\u2019s games, a few of my editors and I bat ideas back and forth regarding what we\u2019re going to write about in each week\u2019s overreactions column. Let\u2019s just say the list we were working on at 3 p.m. ET this Sunday looked a lot different from the list below<\/p>\n
Another wild Sunday in the NFL saw the Patriots snag a huge win in Buffalo for the second year in a row, the Giants end the day in sole possession of first place in the NFC East, the Bears win their second game in a row with two different backup quarterbacks and the Cowboys win the battle of Texas to drop one of the preseason Super Bowl favorites to 0-4 thanks to 17 catches by CeeDee Lamb<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just the way you drew it up, right?<\/p>\n It\u2019s our Week 4 overreactions column, where we look at five potential takeaways and judge them as legitimate stances or irrational exaggerations. Plus, we hit a few fantasy football overreactions at the bottom. So here are the overreactions, fresh out of the oven:<\/p>\n The Patriots will repeat as AFC East champions<\/p>\n After a week of sky-is-falling, \u201cWhat\u2019s Wrong With Drake Maye<\/a>?\u201d takes, the Patriots rolled into Buffalo\u2019s new stadium to face the unbeaten Bills and Josh Allen<\/a>. New England came in with the confidence of a team that started 1-2 last season before reeling off 10 straight wins (including Week 5 in Buffalo) en route to the Super Bowl. The trip to Buffalo occurred a week earlier this season, and it was a nail-biter that turned on a go-ahead touchdown catch from Efton Chism III<\/a> and an Allen interception on a deep ball he probably shouldn\u2019t have thrown.<\/p>\n As a result, the Bills are 3-1 and the Patriots 2-2, with the surprising Raiders coming to Foxborough next weekend. Maye was 22-for-37 for 269 passing yards, three touchdowns, an interception and three fumbles, one of which the Bills recovered. He also had 54 rushing yards on eight carries. It was an eventful day for New England\u2019s slumping third-year quarterback, but ultimately a winning one. And that, more than anything, was what he and the Patriots needed.<\/p>\n Verdict: OVERREACTION<\/p>\n Despite the win, New England\u2019s problems aren\u2019t going away any time soon. They\u2019re extremely well-coached and tough, which they showed Sunday, and it\u2019s clear after this game that Buffalo is in for a race and not an AFC East runaway. But the Bills were a wagon through the first three weeks of the season, and so far, they have avoided the same kind of lousy injury luck affecting the Patriots.<\/p>\n Wide receiver A.J. Brown<\/a> remains out a couple more weeks. Guard Mike Onwenu<\/a>\u2019s absence is straining the offensive line. The Patriots had to play Sunday without star cornerback Christian Gonzalez<\/a> and defensive tackle Christian Barmore<\/a>. They lost receiver Mack Hollins<\/a>, who\u2019s a very important player on their offense, to a calf injury Sunday. And the schedule looks a lot tougher than last year\u2019s.<\/p>\n I respect who the Patriots are and believe they\u2019ll hang in this race for most, if not all, of this season. But Sunday\u2019s result aside, I believe even more that this season sets up better for the Bills than the Pats, who had a lot go right in 2025 and have had a lot go wrong so far in 2026.<\/p>\n The Eagles will miss the playoffs<\/p>\n For most of the early Sunday window, it looked as if the Rams would be the subject of this particular write-up. The Eagles led the Super Bowl favorites 20-10 with four minutes left in the game, and the Rams were in danger of dropping to 1-3 after all that preseason hype. But L.A. scored 14 points in those final four minutes against a Vic Fangio defense that ranks among the most disappointing units (relative to expectations) in the NFL this season.<\/p>\n As a result, the Eagles are 2-2 and tied for second in the NFC East with the Cowboys, who won a last-minute thriller in Houston thanks to Lamb\u2019s performance. They\u2019re one game behind the 3-1 Giants, who held off Arizona thanks to three Jameis Winston<\/a> touchdown passes. We love it when the NFC East gets loopy.<\/p>\n Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION<\/p>\n Philadelphia doesn\u2019t look very good. Running back Saquon Barkley<\/a> left this game because of a hamstring injury. Receiver DeVonta Smith<\/a> was ruled out Friday because of his own hamstring injury. The offense looks as stuck in the mud as it did last season, and the defense, which was supposed to carry the Eagles through the offense\u2019s inevitable early-season growing pains, has not gotten the stops it needs. Meanwhile, Dallas\u2019 offense looks kind of unstoppable, and the Giants … laugh all you want, but John Harbaugh is the coach there now. They will win the games they\u2019re supposed to win — and some they aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n If the Eagles keep struggling with these injury issues, and their offensive line continues to look like a shadow of its dominant 2024 self, they could be the third-best team in their own division. And it would be tough to make the playoffs from that spot.<\/p>\n The Rams won\u2019t lose again until December<\/p>\n The comeback in Philly might have saved the Rams\u2019 season. Playing without injured veteran defensive stars Myles Garrett<\/a> and Aaron Donald<\/a> and playing their first game since Week 1 with star wideout Puka Nacua<\/a>, the Rams stole victory from the talons of defeat Sunday and surely breathed an organization-wide sigh of relief.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll get an angry Bills team at home next week, and the Bills must travel cross-country for it. After that, the Rams\u2019 schedule is the Cardinals at home, at Raiders, Chargers at home, at Commanders, at Cardinals, and Packers at home on Thanksgiving Eve before hosting the Chiefs on Dec. 3. Sunday might not only have saved the Rams\u2019 season, but it has a chance to spark the kind of run so many foresaw when Los Angeles opened the season as shockingly heavy Super Bowl favorites.<\/p>\n Verdict: OVERREACTION<\/p>\n As I\u2019ve said, I think the Rams are good. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if they won the Super Bowl. I just don\u2019t think they\u2019re this unbeatable, historically amazing monster team. Their problems are real. Garrett won\u2019t be back for many weeks. Donald could be back next week, but he\u2019s also 35 and didn\u2019t play the previous two seasons. He was supposed to be a luxury, but now they\u2019re counting on him. Yeah, Nacua is back, which is awesome for the Rams, but his playing style tends to leave him vulnerable to further missed games.<\/p>\n Nothing we\u2019ve seen from the Rams this season — even Sunday\u2019s comeback — should make anyone think that they can\u2019t get tripped up, regardless of their light upcoming schedule. They will have to slug this season out just like everyone else. And if the Rams end up on top at the end, it\u2019ll be because they overcame their inevitable issues as the season went along, not because they won the offseason.<\/p>\n DeMeco Ryans is on the hot seat<\/p>\n The Texans lost to the Cowboys on Sunday to fall to 0-4. Only one team has started 0-4 and made the playoffs: the 1992 San Diego Chargers. Stan Humphries and Marion Butts ain\u2019t walking through that door, you guys.<\/p>\n The Texans have a ton of problems. They still can\u2019t run the ball. Their defense, which was all-universe last season, is giving up more than 27 points per game. The Jaguars, who are three games ahead of Houston in the AFC South, look like one of the best teams in the league. The Texans are staring up from a hole they likely can\u2019t escape, and they\u2019re doing so after only four weeks of a season in which they entered with the highest of hopes.<\/p>\n Verdict: OVERREACTION<\/p>\n Ryans is in his fourth season as Texans head coach and reached the divisional round of the playoffs in each of the first three. He is a beloved franchise icon, adored by fans and team ownership. Yes, the Texans came into this season expecting big things. Yes, C.J. Stroud<\/a>\u2019s future in Houston could be in question if he doesn\u2019t sign an extension in the next six months or so. But I must believe Ryans is allowed one down year.<\/p>\n The Chiefs are back to being the best team in the NFL<\/p>\n Kansas City improved to 4-0 with a tough 30-27 victory over an extremely frisky Raiders team. Free agent signee Kenneth Walker III<\/a> already has 537 rushing yards. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes<\/a> looks healthy enough that you have to remind yourself that he had ACL surgery 10 months ago. Steve Spagnuolo\u2019s defense is making plays with young guys on the back end. The Chiefs have won every game they\u2019ve played despite not having injured left tackle Josh Simmons<\/a> for any of them. They\u2019re off next week to rest up and return to keep winning and frustrating those who thought we were done with them.<\/p>\n Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION<\/p>\n There are no perfect teams. There are other very good ones, even in the AFC. The Jaguars might be the best team in the league when all is said and done. So could the Bills. The 49ers might be, too! The Browns … nah, let\u2019s not go there. But none of the other very good teams in the league has the history of high-level winning that Andy Reid and Mahomes have together. So, if you want to tell me that Kansas City is the best, I\u2019d have a hard time mounting an argument that I truly believe in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I will offer a peek behind the curtain this week at Overreactions HQ. 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