Saints @ Falcons:
I had said on the radio that I thought the best player for the Saints was going to be Taysom Hill, and that turned out to be true. Hill had two rushing touchdowns but sadly had to leave the game at halftime with an abdominal issue. Chris Olave ended up playing even though he was highly questionable and had eight receptions for 87 yards. The problem for the Saints is that they just don’t open up their offense enough. They make very conservative choices when they need to make more aggressive ones. Trade Derek Carr now before his value implodes any further.
Is it just me, or does Tyler Allgeier look better than Bijan Robinson? Allgeier ran for 7.5 yards per carry and was almost impossible for the Saints to tackle. Robinson had four receptions, but it seems like they like to use him out of the backfield as a receiver more than they do as a runner. Kyle Pitts went with the double bagel–0 receptions and 0 yards– which makes him not even a weekly start at this point.
Eagles @ Bucs:
The Eagles just never got rolling, and Jalen Hurts had 158 yards passing and only one touchdown. I guess it’s hard to blame him because his two best receivers weren’t playing. Saquon Barkley had 84 yards rushing and another 32 yards receiving, helping his stat line.
I knew that Tampa would come and play much better after being embarrassed against Denver in Week 3. Baker Mayfield had 347 passing yards and two touchdowns, and Mike Evans had 94 yards and a touchdown. Once again, Bucky Irving looked better than Rachaad White, which actually surprised me because, at one point last week, Irving was highly questionable with a hamstring issue. I think it’s only a matter of time before Irving becomes the starting running back.
Bengals @ Panthers:
The Bengals won a game that had to be considered a must-win. I was really impressed with Chase Brown, who looks so much more explosive than Zack Moss. Brown had 80 yards rushing and two touchdowns. It was good to see Tee Higgins fill the stat sheet, catching 6 passes for 60 yards. The Bengals work best when Higgins complements Chase, and teams can’t double Chase.
The Panthers played well enough as Andy Dalton threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns. Chuba Hubbard had 104 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Diontae Johnson had 7 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown. I was very impressed with Xavier Legette, who had 6 receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. I think he’s going to emerge as a real threat in this offense and someone who Andy Dalton will enjoy throwing to. He will be the WR2 until Thielen returns and perhaps carve out a role even when Thielen is back.