WHAT WE LEARNED: NFL WEEK 4

BY ADAM GREENE

Well, that was crazy. I’m not just talking about the Los Angeles Rams getting manhandled on national television or Patrick Mahomes putting on a freakshow against in Prime Time the night before. I’m talking about another week full of shocking upsets and a nearly an entire league sitting at the same record a month into the season.

We may have “learned” things, but what do we know?

WE STILL DON’T KNOW ANYTHING

OK, we know some things, like Mahomes remains not on the Gold Standard of NFL quarterbacking, but a God Standard that might just be too high for anyone else to reach. We also know that the Detroit Lions are never to be trusted. Outside of that, who saw Zach Wilson rallying the New York Jets to a 24-20 come from behind victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers that sent Mitchell Trubisky to the bench?

I didn’t think we’d see Kenny Pickett start a game all season. Now, he’s clocking in four weeks before Halloween.

As for Wilson, a guy I thought looked like a coach killing bust the very second the Jets took him No. 2 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, that was a pretty decent game against a legit opponent. Wilson threw for 252 yards and a touchdown with two picks. Plus, he caught a touchdown on one of the best trick plays run since Super Bowl LII. What impresses me from the stats is how he spread the ball around when he passed it. Seven different receivers hauled in balls, eight if you count Wilson.

Speaking of Pickett, he was 10 of 13 for 120 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. Which does mean none of his passes hit the ground. So he had that going for him.

Hey, guess who’s leading the NFC South? The Atlanta Falcons. Or, at least, co-leading with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they both sit at 2-2.

That also happens to be the record of the AFC South co-leading Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titan and every franchise in the AFC North but the suddenly hapless Steelers is 2-2.

And, after Monday night’s Belittling by the Bay where the San Francisco 49ers regained paternity over the Rams, 24-9, every single team in the NFC West is 2-2. That’s thanks to the Seattle Seahawks embarrassing the aforementioned Lions and the Arizona Cardinals “upsetting” the Carolina Panthers.

And speaking of the Rams and 49ers…

JIMMY G CONTINUES TO BE RAMS’ KRYPTONITE

The numbers might not leap off the page, but for whatever reason (and I’ve yet to figure it out), San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo can not be defeated by the Los Angeles Rams in the regular season. As of Monday night, Jimmy G. is 7-0 all time against LA from the months of September through December. It’s the January game we’re he’s 0-1, losing to the Rams in last year’s NFC Championship.

While I’m sure that still stings, not only for Garoppolo, but his teammates, a solid humiliation of the defending champs in front of your home crowd had to ease the pain some.

Jimmy G. finished 16 of 27 for 239 yards and a touchdown and that’s it. Deebo Samuel and Jeff Wilson Jr. made a couple of big touchdown plays, but the game was almost mundane. Los Angeles isn’t that far away. The Rams should have really tried to show up and play.

LA head coach Sean McVay better hope he can solve this Niner regular season problem soon, literally, as the NFL schedule saw fit to match them up again on Oct. 30.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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