CNN
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Week 4 of the NFL season concluded with another doubleheader on Monday night, one between teams on the rise and another between teams looking to get their season off to a serious start.
Sunday’s match was filled with dramatic finishes, outstanding individual performances and shocking results, while Monday’s match lacked the late drama but went on to endure with an interesting record and history made.
Here are the key storylines from Monday’s two games.
If Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff could picture Monday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks playing out the way he wanted it to go, how it would actually play out is probably too good to be true. It must have been something.
The 29-year-old went 18-of-18 for 292 yards and two touches, including a 70-yard TD toss to Jameson Williams, without throwing a single incompletion in the 42-29 win. Recorded a down.
According to the NFL, Goff became the first QB in NFL history to attempt at least 10 passes in a game without throwing an incomplete ball.
When asked about his perfect accuracy by ESPN’s Lisa Salters that night, Goff didn’t even realize he hadn’t missed a pass. And after some thought, his response was modest.
“Amazing. Yeah, really cool,” Goff said of making history. “I think it’s great, but I’m glad we won.”
On top of that, the night got even better for Goff when he caught his first touchdown pass on a trick play midway through the third quarter when Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown threw him the ball. It became.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said he felt “terrible” after already handing Williams the game ball before he was informed about Goff’s historic night.
“I knew he had a great game. I didn’t know he was perfect. I didn’t know he was literally 18-for-18,” Campbell told reporters. “But I knew he played really well. You can feel it.
“He found his rhythm really early. I thought he had to see the field, play in rhythm and move a little bit in the pocket. …Just a bunch of big throws. I was able to play calmly.”
The Lions needed a complete team performance to defeat a previously undefeated Seahawks team that arrived at Ford Field with plenty of confidence.
Seattle quarterback Geno Smith made a valiant effort to keep the pace for the home team, scoring a touchdown on the first drive of the second half to cut the lead to seven points.
However, as both teams traded scores, Detroit held on to its early advantage and improved to 3-1, while the Seahawks fell to the same record.
Smith was 38-of-56, throwing for 395 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III had three rushing TDs.
Aidan Hutchinson continued his outstanding season for Detroit’s defense with a career-high 10 pressures, the most by a player in a game this season, according to the NFL.
After the loss, Seattle’s first-year head coach Mike McDonald said the team has a lot of room to grow.
“I’m not saying that (playing Detroit on the road) is a litmus test. It just shows us that we’re not the team we need to be at this point,” McDonald told reporters. “So that’s the thing, it just wasn’t good enough.
“They did what they had to do to win the game. They did a great job, they had a great plan, but we fell short. So how do we move forward now as a football team? It’s about taking the next step, because the week is short and there’s an urgency — I mean, there’s always an urgency, but we have to work here over the next few days. , please make this right.”
It wasn’t a classic, but Tennessee finally broke down this season.
The Titans defeated the Miami Dolphins 31-12 for their first win of the season. In this game, Tennessee lost starting QB Will Revis to injury in the first quarter.
Levis injured his shoulder after contesting a first down and was immediately ruled out of the remainder of Monday’s game. Head coach Bill Callahan said Levi will undergo an MRI for what appears to be an issue with his acromioclavicular (AC) joint.
The second-year passer also had an interception during his short time on the field, continuing his streak of turning the ball over in every game so far this season.
However, even though backup quarterback Mason Rudolph led the team to victory, Callahan later said that Levi would be the team’s starting quarterback when healthy.
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“It wasn’t a decision based on anything other than his health and protecting him, especially during his bye week,” Callahan said. “His shoulder wasn’t feeling very well. I didn’t want to put him back there and I knew he was going to run the ball quite a bit, so that was something that was really considered. But if he’s healthy and , when we’re ready to roll with him, he’s our starter.”
Levi replaced Rudolph and was only 9-of-17 and threw for 85 yards, but the veteran reserve was able to lead seven scoring drives during his time on the field.
Titans kicker Nick Folk had a perfect performance on the night, making all five of his field goals and making two extra points.
Tennessee running backs Tony Pollard and Tyjay Spears scored two touchdowns and both gained 127 yards on the ground.
It was another underwhelming performance for the Dolphins, with starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa out with a concussion.
Miami started Tyler Huntley in place of Tagovailoa, but he struggled with consistency, completing 14 of 22 throws for 96 yards. He scored the team’s only points of the night midway through the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins made history of their own on Monday, becoming the first team since the Cleveland Browns in 2017 to not hold a lead through the first four games of the season. Miami’s only win, a 20-17 victory over the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, came when Jason Sanders kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired. .
Away @ Home (winners in bold)
Tennessee Titans 31 – 12 Miami Dolphins
Seattle Seahawks 29-42 Detroit Lions