Every week we reset the NFL\u2019s clock to see what\u2019s changed, what we were wrong about and the stories and teams which we need to pay the most attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s what we learned in Week 4 of the NFL season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not looked right for the Los Angeles Rams since Week 1, but they\u2019ve won. And winning paints over a lot of problems. After an embarrassing 54-40 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, there\u2019s not enough paint in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the possible disaster storylines remain. Can Jared Goff prove he\u2019s worth his massive contract? (Not so far). Is Todd Gurley healthy? (Maybe) What no one expected last Sunday was the defense to play like they\u2019d just woke up from an all-night bachelor party with Zach Galifianakis with Mike Tyson\u2019s tiger trapped in the bathroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wade Phillips and the Los Angeles defense had no answer to anything Bruce Arians and the Bucs were doing. And this wasn\u2019t Tom Brady picking them apart. It was Jameis Winston. Not every team the Rams will face will have the receiver talent Tampa Bay possesses, but there was nothing good about what the L.A. showed on D Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The good news is, in the second half Goff looked OK. My guess is he was in his own head this first month, trying too hard to prove he\u2019s worth the money. The same can be said for Gurley, who fielded questions about his knee all offseason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Games like Sunday\u2019s can be an aberration. It seems every Super Bowl team drops at least one stinker a season and, while it might take an extra flush or two to put this one in the rearview, the Rams don\u2019t have time to mope around. They travel to Seattle for a Thursday nighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was great to get all excited about the Baltimore Ravens and their quick start out the gate, but reality has set in and it\u2019s not been kind. While you can forgive a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, as plenty of teams will fall to that juggernaut this season, they were favorites over the Cleveland Browns and they were at home. Baltimore was never really in the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those first two \u201cimpressive\u201d wins? They were against the tanking Miami Dolphins and the Arizona Cardinals, teams that, combined, might win four games this year. The cupcakes are off the schedule now and the Ravens have a murderer\u2019s row coming up with the Seahawks, New England Patriots, Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams lying in wait, not to mention two division games against a Pittsburgh Steelers team that might be decent and the Browns again. And don\u2019t sleep on the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This could be a brutal stretch for a team that got everyone thinking Lamar Jackson was the MVP material back in Week 2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And believe it or not, that\u2019s a good thing. If Kyle Allen keeps rolling and the Carolina Panthers keep winning, it won\u2019t matter that Cam Newton has taken \u201ctime away\u201d from football to heal up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Newton admitted to hiding the extent of his injury in a Youtube video<\/a> last week, and I honestly get a little \u201cAndrew Luck-y\u201d feeling about the whole thing. His heart might not be in it, anymore. I mean, the fact that he\u2019s wearing a regular human hat and not a leopard skin feathered sombrero is a bad sign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Allen is 2-0 with a 71.7 completion percentage, 493 passing yards, four touchdowns and no picks. We have a league with 32 NFL franchises, but not 32 NFL franchise quarterbacks. If Allen turns out to be one, and Newton unquestionably is, then that\u2019s one more that could land on a QB-needy team and improve the league overall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hopefully, Newton comes back fully healthy, either way. Honestly, I\u2019d feel better if, in his next Youtube vid, he showed up in a bedazzled purple velour Smurf cap. Just so I know he\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get the latest NFL football odds and information–follow BetOnline.ag on Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n