Four was the NFL number of the day Sunday, and not just because the Vikings’ No. 4 was back in Green Bay to play his old Packers.
The Redskins’ DeAngelo Hall tied an NFL record with four interceptions in a victory over the Bears.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees was picked off four times in a stunning home loss to the Browns.
The Raiders’ Darren McFadden scored four touchdowns in a rub-your-eyes 59-14 trampling of the Broncos in Denver.
And four touchdown passes by Ryan Fitzpatrick were almost enough — almost — to lift the winless Bills to a shocking victory at Baltimore. They lost on a field goal in overtime, however, and are the only team without a notch in the win column.
“It’s frustrating,” Fitzpatrick said. “Especially to lose like that.”
Tell that to the Chargers, who had four turnovers in a span of 13 minutes on their way to a 23-20 home loss to the Patriots.
In years past, the Chargers would have begun turning around their season by now. But 2010 is a strange year, one devoid of any clear patterns, rhyme or reason.
The losses are piling up for teams a lot of people expected to be good — the Dolphins and Cowboys, for instance, have yet to win at home — and the “bad” teams are raising eyebrows all over the league.
In New Orleans, Browns rookie Colt McCoy got his first victory as an NFL starter, even though he only threw for 74 yards and his team’s offense only had one touchdown.
Turnovers killed the Saints, who were booed by the Superdome crowd as the first half ended. Browns linebacker David Bowens ran back two interceptions for touchdowns.
In a perfect twist for this bizarre season, that came just days after Brees and his wife named their newborn son Bowen.
And who could possibly have imagined the Raiders’ blowout in Denver? They scored the most points in their 50-year history and built a 38-0 lead in the first 22 minutes.
It’s just about impossible to explain how a team like Oakland can muster just nine points in a loss to the 49ers (1-6), then humiliate the Broncos so soundly a week later.
The next AFC West opponent for the Raiders? The Chiefs in two weeks. By knocking off the Jaguars on Sunday, the first-place Chiefs have now won as many games as they won in the entire 2009 season.
More Top Picks Best Weighted Lap Pads For Autism
Four, naturally.
Zebra in spotlight: NFL officials are seldom in the spotlight, and the league likes it that way. As it happens, though, referee Gene Steratore has had to make the ruling on two of the most controversial plays of the season.
The first was the call that went against Detroit in the Lions-Bears opener, when receiver Calvin Johnson appeared to make a late, go-ahead touchdown catch but the pass was ruled incomplete because the receiver let go of the ball to celebrate. In large part inspired by that play, the league’s competition committee plans to revisit what constitutes a catch.
And Sunday it was Steratore who made the pivotal call in the Steelers-Dolphins game, when Ben Roethlisberger fumbled at the goal line on a 2-yard draw.
While Miami players argued they recovered the loose ball, Steratore awarded it to the Steelers because, as he explained later, “I have to have clear video evidence of the team recovering the fumble. It’s a pile of bodies in there, and you don’t have a clear recovery.”
Pittsburgh got the ball at the half-yard line, kicked the field goal with 2:26 left, and held on to win.
Receiving accolades: It was a spectacular day for Atlanta’s Roddy White (11 catches, 201 yards, two TDs) and an even better one for Tennessee’s Kenny Britt (seven catches, 225 yards, three TDs).
Britt, in fact, had the league’s top receiving game this season — and he was benched for the first four series for his role last week in a bar fight.
“His performance has absolutely nothing to do with what happened (Friday), OK? Absolutely nothing,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said of Britt. “It was a great performance. I mean, an outstanding performance. It is two separate issues right now.”
Bold statement: Lots of people talk about taking one game at a time. Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris clearly takes a one-game-at-a-time approach when judging his team.
Two weeks after losing by 25 at home to the Saints, the Bucs came from behind Sunday to beat the Rams 18-17.
That inspired Morris to make a bold and unusual proclamation: “We’re the best team in the NFC. Yeah, I said it. We’re the best team in the NFC.”
