Micah Parsons’ much-anticipated return to Dallas ended with the NFL’s highest-scoring tie in 60 years.
Parsons played his part Sunday night, as the Green Bay Packers defensive end sacked his old quarterback, Dak Prescott, on the Dallas Cowboys’ best shot at the end zone in overtime. On second-and-goal, Prescott’s scramble came up four yards short thanks to Parsons catching him from behind. The teams traded field goals from there, and that’s how one of the NFL’s wildest games of 2025 ended: a 40-40 tie.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs — once 0-2 — are back at .500 after routing the Baltimore Ravens at home. The concern following this one isn’t merely Baltimore’s wretched defense but also the hamstring injury that forced Lamar Jackson to exit the game in the second half. It’s been that kind of start for John Harbaugh’s club, which is 1-3 for the first time in a decade.
The upset of the day came at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Jaxson Dart won his NFL debut and the New York Giants earned their first win of the season by stunning the previously unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers. Dart became the first quarterback in 23 seasons to win his first career start against a team that was 3-0 or better, and the Giants became the first 0-3 team to beat a 3-0 team in 17 years. “This is just the start,” the rookie said.
In Los Angeles, the Indianapolis Colts let a 4-0 start to the season slip away via a mind-numbing mistake from receiver Adonai Mitchell, who turned a would-be 76-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter into a touchback by losing control of the football just before he hit the goal line. Later in the game, Mitchell was flagged for holding on a 53-yard Jonathan Taylor touchdown run, erasing that score.
That opened the door for Matthew Stafford and the Rams, who handed the Colts their first loss of the season, 27-20. Puka Nacua was electric, with 13 catches for a career-best 170 yards and a touchdown, and is now tied with Cooper Kupp (2022) and Michael Thomas (2018) for the most catches (42) through the first four games of a season in NFL history.
Six teams started 3-0, but only the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles remain unbeaten a month into the season. Philly held off a second-half rally in Tampa to beat the Buccaneers 31-25. Tampa Bay was down 24-3 but climbed within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Then Philly’s defensive line stiffened, forcing Baker Mayfield into a costly interception near the goal line. Nick Sirianni’s team is now 4-0 for the third time in four years, and the Eagles have won 20 of their last 21 outings.
The Bills found themselves in a surprisingly tight game against the winless Saints. Then Josh Allen flexed in the fourth quarter — escaping the pocket for a 27-yard scramble before rifling a 28-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid one play later — to pull away for the 31-19 victory.
In the NFL’s first-ever game in Ireland, the Pittsburgh Steelers held off a Minnesota Vikings comeback to win 24-21 and improve to 3-1. Once a 24-6 Pittsburgh lead, two fourth-quarter touchdown throws from Minnesota’s Carson Wentz made it a game in the fourth, but T.J. Watt and the Steelers defense proved too much down the stretch. The result: six sacks, two takeaways and the Steelers’ first overseas win.
“We were just playing fast football today,” Watt said of his rejuvenated defensive unit. “We knew what we were doing, and we were flying around.”
In San Francisco, the Jacksonville Jaguars won a second straight by beating the 49ers, 26-21. Then came the real fireworks: Jacksonville coach Liam Coen had some words for 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh after the game and had to be restrained by Jags center Robert Hainsey. (Saleh had noted during the week that Coen and the Jags have been legally stealing signs this season.)
“Not a big deal,” Coen said after the game, repeatedly declining to go further. “I don’t think you should be that sensitive about it, but it is what it is,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.
Saleh’s unit sorely missed star pass rusher Nick Bosa, who’s now out for the year with a torn ACL. Meanwhile, the Jaguars’ defense continues to prove it’s for real, forcing four turnovers and keeping its opponent under 22 points for the third time in four weeks. The Jaguars (3-1) are tied with the Colts atop the AFC South.
In Las Vegas, the Chicago Bears spoiled Ashton Jeanty’s three-touchdown day by blocking Daniel Carlson’s 54-yard field goal attempt with 38 seconds left to escape with a 25-24 win. Jeanty, who entered the game with 144 rushing yards and one touchdown on the season, erupted for 138 and three scores Sunday, becoming the first Raiders rookie to run for a touchdown and catch one in the same game since Bo Jackson in 1987.
But Geno Smith threw three interceptions — he now leads the league with seven — and Caleb Williams led a touchdown drive late in the fourth that proved just enough for Chicago. The Bears are 2-2 heading into their bye, while the Raiders have dropped three straight since a Week 1 win over the Patriots.
The Detroit Lions moved to 3-1 with a convincing 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns. All those concerns about Dan Campbell’s team after an uninspired Week 1 loss in Green Bay? The Lions have responded with three wins by an average of 21 points.
In Foxboro, the New England Patriots dropped the hammer on the Carolina Panthers, 42-13, in the biggest rout of the afternoon. New England owned this one from the start, sparked by an 87-yard first-quarter punt return from Marcus Jones, who then added a 61-yard return a quarter later. Drake Maye threw for two touchdowns and ran for another — flashing his own Cam Newton Superman celebration — as the Patriots improved to 2-2.
The Atlanta Falcons bounced back from a 30-0 defeat to the Panthers last week that coach Raheem Morris called “historically bad.” Sunday’s 34-27 win over the Washington Commanders — who were without Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin — was quite an answer, and probably the best game of Michael Penix Jr.’s young career. The second-year starter threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns, and Bijan Robinson piled up 181 all-purpose yards and a score in Atlanta’s victory. Both teams are now 2-2.
The Houston Texans finally got in the win column after a 26-0 blanking of the reeling Tennessee Titans. C.J. Stroud was sacked just twice — that’s progress for Houston’s struggling offensive line — and threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns in the Texans’ first shutout win since 2010. Tennessee, now 0-4, has dropped back-to-back games to division rivals by a combined 47 points.
Here’s what stood out from Week 4:
Parsons’ sack helps Packers escape
For a moment Sunday night, on the Cowboys’ first drive of overtime, it looked like Prescott was about to scamper into the end zone and push Dallas in front. Then he was caught from behind by his old teammate, who saved the potential touchdown.
The Packers were lucky to get a field goal out of their final drive of the night and escape with a tie. Despite some shoddy clock management before a third-down incompletion, Green Bay had the one second it needed to allow Brandon McManus the chance to kick a game-tying 34-yard field goal as overtime expired.
The game featured six second-half lead changes, including three in the final 4:50 of regulation, capped by McManus hitting a 53-yard field goal to send it to overtime. Both quarterbacks — Prescott and Green Bay’s Jordan Love — were excellent, combining for 656 passing yards and six touchdowns. For Dallas, George Pickens had the best night of his career, eight catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while Romeo Doubs scored three touchdowns for Green Bay. Parson was largely a non-factor, although his only sack of the night proved to be a decisive play in his return to AT&T Stadium.
The Packers are now 2-1-1, while the Cowboys are 1-2-1.
What’s wrong with the Ravens?
“We’re just not a good football team yet.”
Those were the biting words of John Harbaugh after his team’s 27-20 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. The last time the Ravens started 1-3, Lamar Jackson was a freshman at the University of Louisville.
Safety Kyle Hamilton, one of the team’s defensive leaders, opened his news conference by apologizing to the fans. “We got to get it fixed,” he said.
And veteran running back Derrick Henry, whose fumbles have cost the team in big spots this season, allowed this: “We just have to go back to the drawing board. Give them credit.”
Not a good football team? Gotta get it fixed? Back to the drawing board?
These are not things we’re used to hearing from the Ravens, a team that’s averaged more than 11 wins per season since Jackson became the full-time starter. To be fair, the Ravens have had a brutal opening slate, facing three Super Bowl contenders in the first four weeks. The problem is, excluding a lopsided Week 2 win over the lowly Browns, the defense is getting gashed. The unit gave up 41 to the Bills in the season-opening collapse. Then 38 to the Lions last week. Then 37 on Sunday to a middling Chiefs’ offense that ranked 21st entering the game.
The 133 points allowed so far is the most in Ravens franchise history through four weeks. They currently rank dead last in yards allowed (by a sizable margin), passing yards per game (265.5), and touchdowns allowed (16). The line isn’t putting enough pressure on the quarterback; the Ravens’ sack percentage is just 2.5, lowest in the league. Tackling has been an issue. And the secondary always seems a step slow.
Xavier Worthy’s return certainly helped Kansas City on Sunday, and Patrick Mahomes enjoyed his first four-touchdown day since the middle of the 2023 season. There’s typically no shame in losing to the Chiefs, but a month into the season, Baltimore doesn’t look right. If that defense doesn’t clean things up quickly, there might be some new kings of the AFC North by January.
Daboll on Dart: ‘I’m glad we got him’
Boy, did the New York Giants need this one. More specifically, Brian Daboll needed this one.
Five days after the embattled coach benched embattled veteran starter Russell Wilson, Daboll’s gamble paid off in a big way: the Giants found their first win of the season, and in the process, may have found their quarterback of the future. While Dart’s passing stat line — 13-for-20 for 111 yards and one touchdown — wasn’t overly impressive, he added 54 yards on the ground and another score, sparking a struggling team that needed it in the worst way.
The Chargers entered the game 3-0, playing like one of the best teams in the league. The Giants entered 0-3, playing like one of the worst. New York 21, Los Angeles 18.
“It was fun today,” Giants right tackle Jermaine Eleumunor said. “It hasn’t been that fun in a long time.”
Daboll and Dart shared an emotional embrace after the win — it was clear how much this meant to both and especially the coach, who had to be feeling the heat after another porous start to the season (Daboll’s team had lost 17 of 20 dating to the start of last season). Dart’s performance validated his coach’s choice to bench Wilson, the Giants’ starter the first three games, and roll with the untested rookie.
“The kid’s a competitor,” Daboll said of his young quarterback. “I like his traits. I like his toughness. I’m glad we got him.”
“When you have a coach who you know has your back, I’m gonna go out there and do everything I can for him to win,” Dart said.
The optimism surrounding Dart’s debut was tinged by the second-quarter loss of star receiver Malik Nabers, who left the game after injuring his right knee. It’s feared to be a season-ending ACL tear.
On the other side, the Chargers also lost a key piece of the offense: left tackle Joe Alt left the game in the first quarter with a high ankle sprain. For an offensive line already down Rashawn Slater, that could be another massive setback for Jim Harbaugh’s club.
How much more time will Callahan have in Tennessee?
The Titans look like the worst team in football, and the heat is rising on second-year coach Brian Callahan. After a dismal 3-14 campaign last season, Callahan’s team is 0-4, and though first overall pick Cam Ward has shown flashes, Tennessee’s offense has been a disaster.
Through four games, the unit ranks dead last in points (12.7 per game) and EPA per play (-.25). The Titans have scored just three touchdowns and are averaging the longest third-down distance of any offense in football (8.9 yards).
You have to wonder how much longer owner Amy Adams Strunk — who pushed Mike Vrabel out the door after four winning seasons in six years — will be patient. Because this is a team in regression. Tennessee has lost 10 straight dating to last season, and Sunday felt like a new low: facing the struggling Texans, the Titans were shut out for the first time in six years.
“It’s a reflection of all of us not doing anything well enough at this point,” Callahan said, deflecting questions about his job security. “That’s players, that’s coaches, that’s everybody. We haven’t found a way to win a game in a while. I think that reflects on all of us.”
It starts with the coach: Callahan flubbed a critical decision in a Week 1 loss to the Broncos, not challenging a catch from one of his receivers, Elic Ayomanor, after misunderstanding a league rule. After being routed by the Colts last week, Callahan relinquished play-calling duties to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree, a clear indication that he’s searching for a spark. Then came a 26-0 beatdown to an 0-3 Texans team.
For his part, Ward kept it real after the game.
“If we keep it a buck right now, we’re ass,” he said. “We’ve dropped a quarter of our f—— games. So we have to lock in, especially myself … all three phases, we have to play together.”
The Saints, who gave the Bills a scare in Buffalo, are the league’s only other 0-4 team. The winless Dolphins and Jets face off Monday night.
(Photo of Micah Parsons and Dak Prescott: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
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