NFL Week 4 delivered its share of ugly scenes, but few were as brutal as what happened to the Eagles in Philadelphia. A team that looked in control at halftime somehow let a 20-10 lead slip away in a 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and the collapse came with a familiar twist: another lifeless second half.
At one point in the fourth quarter, the Eagles had a 96.8 percent chance of winning, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That number barely softened the blow.
The Rams’ goal-line stand helped flip the game, but the real damage started much earlier, when Philadelphia again went silent after halftime. For the second straight week, the Eagles were held scoreless in the third and fourth quarters.
The numbers from that stretch tell the story. Philadelphia managed just 19 yards across three third-quarter drives, which took 10 plays total.
That sequence included two three-and-outs and a turnover on downs at its own 38-yard line. The offense never found a response, and the defense could only hold things together for so long before the Rams caught up.
That kind of repeat failure is what makes this so alarming for Nick Sirianni’s group. Entering the late-afternoon window, the Eagles were tied with the Miami Dolphins for last in expected points added per play in the second half, per Sumer Sports data.
For a roster this talented, that’s a bad look. It points straight at coaching, especially the inability to make effective in-game adjustments, and it’s happening week after week.
Jalen Hurts wasn’t any kind of escape hatch, either. The Eagles quarterback had one of the roughest starts of his career against the Rams, and his numbers were rough enough to match the eye test.
When sacks and rushing are included, Hurts averaged only 2.4 yards per play. He finished 12-of-27 for 93 yards, with only 10 of those yards coming after halftime, while taking four sacks for minus-25 yards and adding 18 yards on five carries.
Hurts had been merely average through the first three games, but Sunday was his low point. With him playing this way, Philadelphia looks a lot more fragile than a team with contender ambitions should.
The Colts had their own disaster on the back end, and Ahmad Gardner was right in the middle of it. In Indianapolis’ 30-13 international win over the Washington Commanders, Gardner was repeatedly beaten by third-string quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and receivers Dyami Brown and Treylon Burks.
The worst moment came on Burks’ 47-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. Gardner bit on a poor read and drifted toward the sideline while Burks kept running straight downfield, then caught the ball in stride at the goal line. Brown later got behind him for a deep 48-yard completion, even though Brown entered the game with just four catches for 21 yards on the season.
Per NFL Pro’s Next Gen Stats, Gardner allowed 117 receiving yards on five targets, with four catches against him as the nearest defender. That was the most he has surrendered in his five-year career, and it was not the kind of outing Indianapolis had in mind when it made him a centerpiece of the defense last November.
The Colts gave up 2026 and 2027 first-round picks, plus wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, to get him. A performance like that is hard to swallow once.
Twice would be a problem.
Then there was the injury that stopped a breakout game cold. Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton was on pace for a personal-best 612 receiving yards this season before his afternoon ended with a severe ankle injury in Kansas City’s 30-27 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Thornton had just caught his fifth pass of the day for his career-high 111th receiving yard late in the fourth quarter, with the Chiefs trailing 19-17. After popping up to celebrate the gain deep in Raiders territory, he went right back to the turf in obvious pain and was eventually carted off.
“Awful to see what's clearly a devastating ankle injury for the Chiefs WR,” NFL insider Mike Garafolo wrote on social media.
James Palmer added another blunt assessment: “Thornton had slowly become the player Patrick Mahomes really trusted, probably just behind [Travis] Kelce.”
That loss hurts even more because Thornton was only starting to settle into a meaningful role, and Kansas City’s receiver depth is already being tested. The Chiefs also lost Rashee Rice (hamstring) in the first quarter, leaving an already thin group even thinner.
In Other News...
Rams Enter Eagles Test With A Sudden Special Teams Problem
The Rams head into their Week 4 matchup with the Eagles carrying the usual injury baggage, but the special teams picture changed in a hurry this week. Los Angeles put tight end Terrance Ferguson on injured reserve, waived punt returner Xavier Smith and promoted running back Dean Connors to the active roster, a set of moves that puts extra attention on how the Rams handle the kicking game going into a matchup that already has plenty of personnel questions on both sides.
Philadelphia is dealing with its own absences, including DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, but the Rams immediate concern is more basic: who handles returns and how cleanly the operation holds together. Those decisions tend to matter most when the games get tight, and with another short-week style test looming against a banged-up opponent, Los Angeles suddenly has one more area to sort out before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Just Watched A Massive Eagles Threat Suddenly Leave The Game
Saquon Barkleys afternoon against the Rams changed in an instant in Week 4, when the Eagles star suffered a right hamstring injury on a non-contact run and headed to the sideline. Barkley was listed as questionable to return after leaving the field favoring his leg, and Philadelphia had to quickly reshuffle its backfield with Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley stepping in.
For the Rams, the timing mattered as much as the injury itself. Barkley is the kind of player who can force an offense to stay on schedule and stress a defense every snap, so his exit immediately altered how the Eagles had to approach the rest of the game. Any setback involving a threat of that caliber is the sort of development a defense notices right away, even before the full impact becomes clear. [Read more 🡒]
Puka Nacuas Return Still Leaves Rams With One Big Concern
Puka Nacua was back on the field for the Rams in Week 4 against the Eagles after sitting out two games because of a pre-hernia injury that involved hip and groin soreness, a reminder of how careful Los Angeles has been trying to be with one of its most important receivers. Sean McVay has already clarified that Nacua does not have a full hernia, and the teams approach has been to manage the issue rather than push it.
Nacuas return mattered because he had already led the Rams in receptions and receiving yards in Week 1, and he still found a way to contribute against Philadelphia. The bigger concern now is less about whether he can play through it in the short term and more about how the Rams balance his value on the field with the risk of the injury lingering over the rest of the season. [Read more 🡒]