Week 4 of the NFL saw almost an even balance between blowouts and nail-biters. The Broncos, Chiefs, Patriots, Saints and Seahawks improved to 4-0 on the season, while usual contenders like the Giants and Steelers are still winless a quarter of the way into the season. It's Tuesday afternoon, so there's no better a time to learn what you might have missed last weekend.

-Thursday Night-

49ers 35, Rams 11

With Patrick Willis out, NaVorro Bowman stepped up in a major way. The box score shows he had two sacks on the night, but his repeated blitzes pressured Sam Bradford into discomfort a lot more than two times.

-Sunday-

Bills 23, Ravens 20

Joe Flacco isn’t being paid $120 million-plus to play well some of the time, or even most of the time. With that kind of paycheck inhibiting the Ravens from signing other good players, Flacco has has the responsibility to perform well all of the time.

Also, nice job by Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell in moving Torrey Smith around. He absolutely killed the Bills from the slot. One more thing on this game: Bills' middle linebacker Kiko Alonso is my early candidate for defensive rookie of the year.

Browns 17, Bengals 6

Good to see Geno Atkins finally return to last year’s dominant form. But while Atkins had a stellar game, supposed franchise cornerstones Carlos Dunlap, Michael Johnson, AJ Green, and, perhaps most importantly, Andy Dalton, left a lot to be desired.

Lions 40, Bears 32

There’s the good Jay Cutler, who propelled the Bears to a 3-0 start. Then there’s the bad Jay Cutler, the alter-ego we have seen more of under the previous regime that showed up on Sunday and threw three interceptions. Bears coach Marc Trestman will have to find a way to keep Good Jay around if the Bears are going to make some noise this year.

Seahawks 23, Texans 20

The Seahawks looked ugly in this game and still managed to pull out the victory through adversity and a fourth-quarter comeback. No team in the NFL has greater upside than Seattle.

Colts 37, Jaguars 3

I’m starting the hashtag #TankForTeddy. Seriously, there's not much else to say. Blaine Gabbert is not an NFL quarterback, and Bridgewater will surely be the pick over Jadeveon Clowney should (when) the Jaguars end up with the first overall selection.

Chiefs 31, Giants 7

The Giants are the worst team in the NFL that doesn’t reside in Jacksonville.

Vikings 34, Steelers 27

The Steelers lost the battle in the trenches. They are a franchise not used to back-to-back losing seasons, meaning coach Mike Tomlin may soon join Tom Coughlin on the hot seat.

Cardinals 13, Bucs 10

Rookie third-round quarterback Mike Glennon’s debut for the Bucs was made extremely difficult by Patrick Peterson. Peterson shadowed the rookie’s most talented receiving option, Vincent Jackson, for most of the game while registering two interceptions.

Titans 38, Jets 13

Unfortunately for Tennessee, Jake Locker is out for at least a month. But he’s starting to look surprisingly consistent, and the Titans keep winning games.

Broncos 52, Eagles 20

The way Peyton Manning exploits the nuances of the game to his advantage is made to look so easy. He baited the Eagles’ defense into jumping offsides at least three times with a hard snap count: Not only giving the Broncos free yardage, but its also keeping opponents' defensive pass rushers from getting a good jump off the snap count.

Redskins 24, Raiders 14

It’s obviously early in his career, but 2013 first-round pick DJ Hayden has struggled mightily thus far.

Chargers 30, Cowboys 21

Do you know who Jason Hatcher is? Probably not. He’s arguably the third-best player on a defense that includes DeMarcus Ware, Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, and Brandon Carr. When Jay Ratliff gets healthy, watch out for that interior pass rush. Too bad the rest of the Cowboys aren’t as consistent, but Dallas still looks primed to win the terrible NFC East almost by default at this point in the season.

-Sunday Night-

Patriots 30, Falcons 23

Matt Ryan looked surprisingly inaccurate on a number of throws. It’s disturbing to think of what the Falcons offense would look like without Tony Gonzalez’s amazing contested catches.

-Monday Night-

Saints 38, Dolphins 17

The Saints’ offensive formations from a play-to-play basis are so diverse. Watch them and you’ll see tight end Jimmy Graham split out wide, running back Darren Sproles playing at the end of the line near where the traditional tight end normally is, and wideout Marques Colston playing in the slot. This diversity is what enables these players to exploit such favorable matchups against athletically inferior players. It's genius.

Reach Staff Writer Andrew McKagan here or follow him here.