While we weren't sure about the quality of last week's Sunday Night Football matchup after Aaron Rodgers' season-ending injury, football fans sure got a treat in Week 4. The New York Jets' defense gave Patrick Mahomes everything he could handle and the league's top quarterback was outplayed by Zach Wilson in a game the defending champs hung on to win 23-20 despite controversial calls going against the home team at the end.
The contest was the best Sunday night game of the season thus far, helping NBC increase its viewership by 34 percent (partially due to the attendance of a certain pop superstar) week-to-week and delivering 20.2 million viewers. While Taylor Swift won't be in attendance for Sunday night next week, the stellar matchup on tap offers the potential for ratings to go even higher in Week 5.
Who is playing on Sunday night in Week 5?
The unquestioned game of the week is on Sunday night this week as the 3-1 Dallas Cowboys head to Levi's Stadium for a huge NFC showdown against the 4-0 San Francisco 49ers. This contest is a two-time playoff rematch as San Francisco has eliminated Dallas from the postseason each of the past two years.
Dallas got back on track in a big way on Sunday, rebounding from a shocking loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 with a 38-3 blowout of the New England Patriots. The defeat was the worst in the illustrious career of Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick as the Cowboys' stifling defense forced four turnovers and scored two touchdowns.
The 49ers took care of business in Week 4 with a 35-16 victory over the Cardinals to improve to 4-0 on the year. Christian McCaffrey scored four touchdowns for San Francisco, which will look to pick up an important early-season tiebreaker with another win over the Cowboys.
