NEW YORK –– Sept. 29, 2024 –– A look at seven statistical highlights from games played during the 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET windows on Sunday, September 29, the fourth week of the 2024 season.
- With three games remaining in Week 4, nine games were decided by one score (eight points or less) – including two that featured the game-winning score in the final minute of regulation – and 10 games were within one score (eight points or less) in the fourth quarter.
There have been 39 games decided by eight points or fewer, 38 games decided by seven points or fewer and 32 games decided by six points or fewer, all the most such games through Week 4 of a season in NFL history.
The Minnesota Vikings defeated Green Bay, 31-29, to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2016 while the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 17-10, to advance to 4-0 for the first time since 2020. Two teams – Buffalo (on Sunday night at Baltimore) and Seattle (at Detroit on Monday night, 8:15 p.m. ET, ABC) – can also improve to 4-0 this week.
- Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns with a 123.4 rating and wide receiver Justin Jefferson recorded six receptions for 85 yards and one touchdown in the Vikings’ Week 4 win.
Darnold is the sixth different quarterback to record at least two touchdown passes and a passer rating of 105-or-higher in each of his team’s first four games of a season, joining Tom Brady (2007 and 2015), Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (2013), Aaron Rodgers (2011 and 2020), Matt Ryan (2016) and Russell Wilson (2020)
Jefferson is the fifth player since 2000 with at least 50 receiving yards and a touchdown reception in each of his team’s first four games of a season, joining Antonio Gates (2010) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (2007) as well as Pro Football Hall of Famers Randy Moss (2007) and Terrell Owens (2004).
Jefferson has 6,257 receiving yards since entering the NFL in 2020 and surpassed Julio Jones (6,201 receiving yards) for the fourth-most by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. Only Torry Holt (6,784 receiving yards) and Pro Football Hall of Famers Randy Moss (6,743) and Jerry Rice (6,364) have more. - Three rookie quarterbacks – Washington’s Jayden Daniels, Denver’s Bo Nix and Chicago’s Caleb Williams – led their teams to wins in Week 4.
It marks the third time in NFL history (excluding 1987) that three rookie quarterbacks earned wins in the same week in Week 4 of a season or earlier, joining Week 2 of the 2012 season (Andrew Luck, Ryan Tannehill and Russell Wilson) and Week 3 of the 2016 season (Jacoby Brissett, Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz).
Williams, who won his NFL debut at home in Week 1, is the first rookie quarterback selected No. 1 overall to win each of his first two career home starts in the common draft era.
Daniels completed 26 of 30 pass attempts (86.7 percent) for 233 yards and one touchdown for a 96.3 rating and added 47 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in Week 4.
Daniels, who completed 21 of 23 pass attempts for a single-game rookie record 91.3 completion percentage (minimum 20 attempts) in Week 3, is the first player in NFL history with a completion percentage of 85-or-higher in consecutive games (minimum 15 attempts in each game).
Daniels has an 82.1 completion percentage (87 of 106) this season, surpassing Tom Brady (79.2 percent, 95 of 120, in 2007) for the highest completion percentage (minimum 75 attempts) by a player in his team’s first four games of a season in NFL history.
Daniels, with an 82.1 completion percentage, surpassed Mac Jones (70 percent, 112 of 160) for the highest completion percentage (minimum 80 attempts) by a player in his first four career games in NFL history.
Daniels has a passer rating of 90-or-higher and a completion percentage of 70-or-higher in each of his first four career games and joined Dak Prescott (2016) as the only rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to reach those marks in four consecutive games.
Daniels has 218 rushing yards and joined Robert Griffin III (234 rushing yards) as the only quarterbacks with at least 200 rushing yards in their first four career games in the Super Bowl era.
Daniels has four rushing touchdowns and joined Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton and Anthony Richardson as the only quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era with four rushing touchdowns in their first four career games.
- Cincinnati wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, in his 49th career regular-season game, recorded 85 receiving yards – including a 63-yard touchdown reception – in the Bengals’ 34-24 win at Carolina.
Chase has 4,017 receiving yards and 32 touchdown receptions in his four-year career, becoming the fifth player in the Super Bowl era with at least 4,000 receiving yards and 30 touchdown receptions in his first 50 career games, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Randy Moss and Jerry Rice as well as Odell Beckham Jr. and A.J. Green.
Chase, at 24 years and 212 days old, became the fourth player under the age of 25 with 10 touchdown receptions of 50-or-more yards, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss (14 touchdowns), Harlon Hill (12) and Odell Beckham Jr. (10).
Chase has nine touchdown receptions of 60-or-more yards, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Lance Alworth (nine touchdowns), Odell Beckham Jr. (nine) and Victor Cruz (nine) for the third-most such touchdowns by a player in his first four seasons in NFL history. Only Homer Jones (12 touchdowns) and Harlon Hill (10) have more. - Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud, in his 19th-career game, passed for 345 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Texans’ 24-20 win over Jacksonville.
Stroud has five career games with at least 300 passing yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions and joins Justin Herbert (six games) and Patrick Mahomes (five) as the only players with five such games in their first 20 career games in NFL history. - Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts recorded two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) in Week 4.
Hurts has 43 career regular-season rushing touchdowns, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young (43) for the third-most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL history. Only Cam Newton (75 rushing touchdowns) and Josh Allen (55, entering Sunday Night Football) have more. - Green Bay safety Xavier McKinney recorded his fourth-consecutive game with an interception to open the 2024 season.
McKinney is the first player in 29 seasons and the fourth player since 1970 with an interception in each of his first four games with a team, joining Otis Smith (1995 with the New York Jets), Terry Jackson (1978 with the New York Giants) and Ken Lee (1972 with Buffalo).
McKinney is the fourth player since 2000 with an interception in each of his team’s first four games of a season, joining Trevon Diggs (2021 with Dallas), Devin McCourty (2019 with New England) and Brian Russell (2003 with Minnesota).
