Sooners in the NFL: Week 4
Another Sunday has come and gone with NFL Week 4 in the books just short of Monday night’s collision between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers.
While the attention of the football world was largely on Tom Brady’s return to Foxboro in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers road collision with the New England Patriots, the premier matchup of the day was arguably between a couple of NFC West foes.
Former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals put their undefeated record on the line when they hit the road to battle the also-undefeated Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Despite being underdogs as the road team matching up with who many considered perhaps the best team in the entire league, Murray’s Cardinals came in and asserted themselves with authority from the start and put on a statement performance.
After the Rams opened things with a field goal to snag a quick lead, Murray would connect with wide receiver A.J. Green on a 41-yard touchdown pass to push Arizona out in front.
Los Angeles would respond with a touchdown of their own to jump back in the lead, but Murray would quickly rectify that with another scoring toss - this one to tight end Maxx Williams from 14 yards out.
Kyler Murray
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Cardinals would not relinquish the lead again.
Arizona would continue to add to their lead before halftime before ballooning it even further throughout the third and fourth quarters making the game a true blowout by NFL standards.
The Rams would add a late touchdown to make it look a little bit better on paper, but make no mistake, the Cardinals simply cruised to a statement 37-20 win to improve to 4-0.
Murray was once again sensational completing 24 of 32 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He also added 39 yards on the ground on six rushing attempts.
The season is not even a quarter of the way complete, but the argument that Murray is currently the league MVP holds a lot of water. He continues to perform at a high level and his Arizona bunch are currently the league’s only 4-0 team.
The Cardinals will have to guard from a second half let down, like what plagued them last season, but the 2021 campaign is off to a fantastic start with Murray playing an enormous role in that.
Next up for Arizona will be a home date with the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT.
As for the rest of the former Sooners in the NFL, here is a recap of how they did in Week 4:
Arizona Cardinals
(37-20 W at LA Rams)
- QB Kyler Murray: Completed 24 of 32 passes for 268 yards, 2 touchdowns, 6 rushes for 39 yards
- DL Jordan Phillips: DNP, IR
Baltimore Ravens
(23-7 W at Denver)
- TE Mark Andrews: 5 receptions on 8 targets for 67 yards, longest reception 24 yards, played 46 of 73 offensive snaps
- WR Marquise Brown: 4 receptions on 5 targets for 91 yards, 1 touchdown, longest reception 49 yards, played 45 of 73 offensive snaps
- OT Adrian Ealy: DNP (Practice Squad)
- OG Ben Powers: Received start at left guard, played 39 of 73 offensive snaps
Buffalo Bills
(40-0 W vs Houston)
- OT Cody Ford: Saw playing time at guard, played 10 of 72 offensive snaps
- OT Daryl Williams: Received start at right guard, played 63 of 72 offensive snaps
Chicago Bears
(24-14 W vs Detroit)
- RB Damien Williams: 8 rushes for 55 yards, longest rush 23 yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 2 receptions on 2 targets for 15 yards, played 19 of 58 offensive snaps, 5 special teams snaps
Cincinnati Bengals
(24-21 W vs Jacksonville on Thursday)
- LB Jordan Evans: No defensive snaps, 18 special teams snaps
- RB Joe Mixon: 16 rushes for 67 yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 1 reception on 2 targets for 0 yards, played 40 of 58 offensive snaps
- RB Samaje Perine: 3 rushes for 7 yards, 1 reception on 1 target for 15 yards, , played 16 of 58 offensive snaps
Cleveland Browns
(14-7 W at Minnesota)
- QB Baker Mayfield: Completed 15 of 33 passes for 155 yards, 2 rushes for 11 yards
Dallas Cowboys
(36-28 W vs Carolina)
- WR CeeDee Lamb: 2 receptions on 5 targets for 13 yards, played 49 of 61 offensive snaps, 3 special teams snaps
- DT Neville Gallimore: DNP, IR
Detroit Lions
(24-14 L at Chicago)
- CB Parnell Motley: DNP (Practice Squad)
- K Austin Seibert: DNP (COVID-19 list)
Kansas City Chiefs
(42-30 W at Philadelphia)
- TE Blake Bell: No receptions, played 18 of 67 offensive snaps
- OT Orlando Brown: Received start at left tackle, played all 67 offensive snaps
- C Creed Humphrey: Received start at center, played all 67 offensive snaps
- LS James Winchester: Received start at long snapper, 6 special teams snaps
Las Vegas Raiders
(at LA Chargers on Monday night)
- DT Gerald McCoy: DNP, Out for Season with Injury
Los Angeles Chargers
(vs Las Vegas on Monday night)
- LB Kenneth Murray: DNP, IR
Los Angeles Rams
(37-20 L vs Arizona)
- OT Bobby Evans: DNP
- LB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo: 1 tackle for loss, played 34 of 78 defensive snaps, 7 special teams snaps
Minnesota Vikings
(14-7 L vs Cleveland)
- WR Dede Westbook: 1 reception on 1 target for 17 yards, 2 punt returns for 11 yards, 4 fair catches, played 8 of 67 offensive snaps, 7 special teams snaps
New England Patriots
(19-17 L vs Tampa Bay)
- DE Ronnie Perkins: DNP, Inactive
- RB Rhamondre Stevenson: DNP, Inactive
New Orleans Saints
(27-21 L vs NY Giants)
- WR Kenny Stills: DNP (Practice Squad)
New York Giants
(27-21 W at New Orleans)
- WR Sterling Shepard: DNP, Inactive
Philadelphia Eagles
(42-30 L vs Kansas City)
- QB Jalen Hurts: Completed 32 of 48 passes for 387 yards, 2 touchdowns, 8 rushes for 47 yards
- OT Lane Johnson: DNP, Inactive
Pittsburgh Steelers
(27-17 L at Green Bay)
- DB Tre Norwood: 0 defensive snaps, 10 special teams snaps
San Francisco 49ers
(28-21 L vs Seattle)
- LB Curtis Bolton: DNP (Practice Squad)
- RB Trey Sermon: 19 rushes for 89 yards, longest reception 15 yards, played 39 of 76 offensive snaps
- OT Trent Williams: Received start at left tackle, played 54 of 76 offensive snaps
Seattle Seahawks
(28-21 W at San Francisco)
- CB Tre Brown: DNP, IR
Tennessee Titans
(27-24 L at NY Jets)
- DE Amani Bledsoe: DNP (Practice Squad)
Washington Football Team
(34-30 W at Atlanta)
- P Tress Way: 2 punts for 84 yards, 1 punt inside the 20
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the AllSooners message board community today!
Sign up for your premium membership to AllSooners.com today, and get access to the entire Fan Nation premium network!
Follow AllSooners on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest OU news.
