We're still catching our breaths after the bulk of Sunday's Week 4 games unfolded with a dizzying amount of drama and subtext. We're here to sift through the craziness and pluck out five of the essential storylines from the day that was. Here's our NFL Final recap for Week 4.
Uh Oh, Colin Kaepernick
Something has gone wrong with Colin Kaepernick. Horribly wrong. How else can you explain yet another bottom-of-the-barrel game on Sunday in the San Francisco 49ers' duck far of a loss to the Green Bay Packers? Kaepernick with 13-of-25 for 160 yards and one interception on Sunday, looking stiff and listless at times while Green Bay snuffed out any and all San Francisco threats. Remember this -- Kaepernick's recent contract extension is extremely team-friendly. If the 49ers decide to replace him in the near future, it won't cost them much except some egg on the front office's faces.
Andy Dalton Is An MVP Candidate
Our top three quarterbacks so far in 2015? Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Andy Dalton. Yes, Andy FREAKING Dalton. Dalton has thrown just one interception in the team's first four games, consistently establishing and reestablishing himself as the best player on the field on any given day. That was the case on Sunday when Dalton threw for 321 yards and a TD in the team's 36-21 win over the Kansas City Chiefs -- a game in which he averaged just under 19 yards per completion. While he still has to shake off the playoff blues if/when the Bengals get there this winter, he's a bona fide MVP candidate at the quarter pole regardless.
Devonta Freeman Has Arrived
Freeman rumbled for 68 yards and three touchdowns in the 4-0 Atlanta Falcons' 48-21 annihilation of the Houston Texans - his SECOND straight game with three TDs. He's the first player since the NFL merger to rush for three touchdowns in his first two NFL starts. The sophomore back is the single most important piece of Atlanta's offense. Why? Because they now have a ground game to amplify the potency of their offense, instantly transforming them from also-rans to legit Super Bowl contenders.
Panthers/Falcons Is Going To Be Fun
The NFC South has been the laughing stock of the NFL for the past year-plus, but what can the critics really say anymore with the aforementioned Falcons and Carolina Panthers making the division the only of the eight to sport two undefeated teams. Cam Newton wasn't electric through the air in the Panthers' 37-23 win over the Tampa Bay Bucs, but he was a fantastic game manager on what a somewhat sloppy day weather-wise in Tampa. The defense (especially Josh Norman) made plays when they needed to, the running game did its job and the Panthers are for real, folks. It's a shame we won't get our first Panthers/Falcons showdown until Week 14.
Joe Philbin May Get Fired...And Soon
The Miami Dolphins didn't show up in their home opener last week, getting run out of their own house by the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills in a 41-13 embarassment. They were also nowhere to be seen in the team's London showcase against the New York Jets on Sunday, falling 27-14 in a game where they looked like sleepy teenagers forced to go to English class at eight in the morning. Two awful showings in a row could cost head coach Joe Philbin his job and soon. How soon? Well, the Dolphins are headed into a bye and there's rumblings abound that he could be out by Monday.
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