Week 4 of the NFL season is here, with a couple of teams off to surprising starts looking to show they’re for real this season while some other slow starters look to kick it into gear.
TSN will carry seven games on the network this week, while NFL RedZone returns to cover all of the action across both slates on Sunday.
Here is a game-by-game look at each matchup and where to find them on the network.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns - Thursday Night Football
Week 4 kicks off with a clash of AFC North rivals, with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) battling the surprising Cleveland Browns (2-1).
The Browns looked like they were destined for another season in the cellar after getting blown out 34-10 in the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But come-from-behind wins in back-to-back weeks since have Cleveland in a four-way tie for the division lead.
First-year head coach Todd Monken praised the team’s effort on defence after they held the Carolina Panthers to just 18 points in last week’s win.
“They’re playing really hard and they’re playing connected. I think you’ve seen that started to come two weeks ago. I just like the energy that they played with, and they played off each other,” Monken said.
The Steelers have historically dominated this series, with an 83-65-1 record all-time, but the Browns have won this matchup in Cleveland in four straight games, and have won six of the past 12 overall - including a victory in the wild-card round of the postseason in 2021.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Washington Commanders - NFL International from London on Sunday morning
The first of three NFL games to be played in Europe this season features the Indianapolis Colts battling the Washington Commanders at Tottenham Stadium in London.
The Colts’ (1-2) defence got manhandled in losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs to open the season, but looked a lot stronger against the Houston Texans in a victory that snapped the NFL’s longest losing streak - nine games, dating back to last season.
Now they need to turn that much-needed momentum into sustained success, starting with an overseas battle with the Commanders.
“It’s awesome, obviously, to get that victory,” coach Shane Steichen said after Sunday’s game. “To get that win against a division opponent is huge for our football team and now we’ve got to go to London and try to get that done over there, too.”
The Commanders’ season got off to a rough start after star quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a dislocated elbow in Week 2 in a game the team lost to drop to 0-2.
A shocking upset victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in which veteran backup Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes has Washington on the rebound, just like Indianapolis.
“The more that adversity hits, the more that the circumstances kind of pin us against the wall, these guys find a way,” Mariota said Sunday. “I’m grateful to be a part of it.”
NFL RedZone on TSN Premium
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New York Jets vs. Chicago Bears - Sunday afternoon on TSN
The New York Jets take on the high-powered Chicago Bears offence in a showdown in the early slot on Sunday.
The Jets have looked promising through three weeks, despite the 1-2 record. The oft-maligned offence has averaged 21.3 points per game through three weeks with veteran quarterback Geno Smith at the helm, and the Jets have played all three games close.
In a 31-24 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 3, first-round rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq burst onto the scene with seven catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Despite the loss, the team is starting to look beyond the “Same old Jets” identity.
That identity has been moulded over the longest playoff drought across the four major North American sports franchises, which reached 15 seasons last year.
“A lot of people have said it: There’s no moral victories in football,” edge rusher Joseph Ossai said on Sunday. “But as a whole, we’re moving toward a place we want to be, as a whole, as a defence, and I think we’ve been doing that the past two games.
“This third game is just a curveball and we need to deal with that. And we’re going to deal with that.”
The Bears soundly beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-7 on Monday Night Football in Week 3, with 38-year-old veteran Case Keenum making an impressive spot start in place of Caleb Williams, who continues to nurse a hamstring injury.
The Bears are not expected to have Williams in the lineup against New York, as the team seeks to build some consistency. Chicago put up 59 points in a dominant Week 1 victory, but scored just three points against the Minnesota Vikings in a Week 2 loss.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Cincinnati Bengals - Sunday afternoon on TSN Premium
Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars take on Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in a battle of top draft picks on TSN Premium.
The Jaguars are coming off a dominant 35-6 thumping of the New England Patriots that put Jacksonville alone atop the AFC South.
The defence is allowing just 12 points per game, and their +46 point differential is second to the San Francisco 49ers for the best in the NFL through three weeks.
“We were just ready to play,” Lawrence said after the win over New England. “Guys were flying around. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about. It’s the players executing the plan. You got to have a good plan, and we did. But it’s about us going out there and owning it, playing fast and executing. We did all those things today.”
The Bengals lost 30-27 to the Steelers on Sunday for their first loss of the year. Cincinnati’s defence had its worst showing of the season in the game, and the team lamented failings in ‘all three phases’ after the loss.
“I think all three phases share that one,” coach Zac Taylor said after the game. “It hurts because you feel like you had every opportunity to win it. We didn’t do it.”
Denver Broncos vs. San Francisco 49ers - Late afternoon on Sunday
The Denver Broncos try to continue to ride the high of their improbable victory on Sunday Night Football as they take on the dangerous 49ers on the road.
Denver put on a dazzling display in a come-from-behind 30-26 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, the second week in a row they overcame a double-digit deficit to win.
A victory helps, but it’s the slow starts that head coach Sean Payton is looking to correct.
“That’s the $6 million question, honestly,” Payton said. ”And I think that we’re trying to sort through this first quarter ... we have to find a way to play better earlier. It’ll be something we’ll be frustrated about later if we can’t clean it up.”
A comeback will be difficult to achieve against Sunday’s opponent, as the 49ers have looked like one of the best teams in the NFL this season and own the highest point differential in the league, though issues on defence allowed the Arizona Cardinals to hang around on Sunday.
“The offence is humming right now,” star linebacker Fred Warner said after the 36-30 victory. “It’s our job as a defence to make sure that we handle our business.”
San Francisco is already missing top pass rusher Nick Bosa, who is expected to miss significant time with a calf injury, and may be without wide receiver Mike Evans, linebacker Dre Greenlaw and top lineman Trent Williams in Sunday’s battle.
Detroit Lions vs. Carolina Panthers - Sunday Night Football
The Lions get a second chance on prime time after they were obliterated by the Buffalo Bills 41-31 on Thursday Night back in Week 2, when they take on the 1-2 Panthers.
Dan Campbell’s squad is tied for second in the NFC North at 2-1, and their offence ranks second in the NFC with 31.0 points per game, bolstered by superstar running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
Gibbs piled up 164 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in Sunday’s win against the New York Jets, and has six touchdowns on the season through three games.
“He’s so explosive and nifty with the ball in his hands,” Jared Goff said after the win.
The Panthers have had an up-and-down start to the season. After making the playoffs a season ago for the first time since 2017, expectations were high entering this year for the team in a weak NFC South division.
Carolina was overwhelmed 59-37 by the Chicago Bears in the opener, then bounced back with a 34-3 beatdown of the Atlanta Falcons before relinquishing a late lead in a loss to the Browns on Sunday.
Now with injuries to star defensive back Jaycee Horn, who will not play on Sunday, and to QB Bryce Young, who will receive imaging but is expected to play against Detroit, the Panthers will need to find some consistency quickly.
“We’re all out there dealing with stuff,” Young said after Sunday’s loss regarding his reported injury. “Tough one, just didn’t get it done, but none of that stuff had anything to do with [the outcome].”
Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints - Monday Night Football
The Falcons (1-2) and New Orleans Saints (1-2) meet up under the lights on Monday Night Football to rekindle a classic rivalry and battle for the top spot in the NFC South division.
The Falcons finally got Michael Penix Jr. in the lineup after their top QB missed the first two games while recovering from knee surgery, and toppled the Green Bay Packers 35-14 on Thursday night in Week 3.
The team looked lost in the two preceding weeks, combining for 16 points in two losses.
Top defensive back Jessie Bates thinks the Falcons will look more like the Week 3 version of themselves moving forward.
“We knew what this team was about,” Bates said. “Those first two weeks was not who we were at all. I think, obviously, with Mike Penix coming back that brought us some juice. As a team, when you can stop the run and run the ball at that level that we did today, you’re going to win a lot of ball games like that.”
Similar to the Panthers, the Saints have shown flashes this season but have stumbled late in two losses to leave them tied for the NFC South lead.
New Orleans fell 31-30 against the Lions in overtime in the opener, after a failed two-point conversion, and imploded with four turnovers in the fourth quarter in a 35-27 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
The Saints have missed the postseason in five consecutive campaigns, but in young head coach Kellen Moore’s second year at the helm, the team is looking at every game as a learning opportunity.
“Every opponent is going to put an emphasis on creating turnovers and we’ve got to do a better job protecting the football,” Moore said. “The big thing for us is take the emotion out of it and just keep going. ... We all get to learn stuff from each and every game.”
