The Absolute Worst of NFL Week 4

The beauty of football can be seen every week. Sometimes, though, the NFL game rears its ugly head.

That was the case when the Minnesota Vikings faced the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium.

In a "something's got to give" contest, the Chiefs notched their first victory of the 2011 season by trumping the winless (and hapless) Vikings, 22-17.

We spared Leslie Frazier's crew by not placing them on the list of low-lights from Sunday's Week 4 action.

Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Line

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger left Reliant Stadium with a walking boot on his left foot.

This was the residual effect of Big Ben's rough day under center, a continuation of the damage that occurred last Sunday night in Indianapolis.

With the Steelers unable to hold off the rush, Mario Williams and company yielded five sacks and eight quarterback hits. The Houston Texans also managed to deflect five passes in their 17-10 victory.

When Roethlisberger was able to get a pass away cleanly, success wasn't always guaranteed. He completed barely 50 percent of his throws for 206 yards, one interception and no touchdowns.

St. Louis Rams Offense

This was supposed to be a year in which St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford would show improvement.

Unfortunately for him and his franchise, it appears as if we are seeing a regression.

That, however, is not just Bradford's fault—he hasn't gotten much help.

In the opening two quarters of the Rams' home encounter with the Washington Redskins, they totaled just 103 yards on offense and were 1-of-8 on third-down chances.

In that 30-minute segment, their young QB fumbled once and was sacked three times.

The second half saw the Redskins extend their lead to 17-0 but also make mistakes that left the door wide open for their opponent to come back.

The best the Rams could do was a 15-yard scoring connection from Bradford to Steven Jackson.

For the most part, the Rams stumbled through their 17-10 loss with several dropped passes, numerous QB hurries, a multitude of penalties and a whole lot of despair, as they stand at 0-4.

Philadelphia Eagles' Second Half

While the 3-1 start for rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh's San Francisco 49ers deserves praise, the Eagles' 1-3 mark is the most alarming note from this matchup.

Philadelphia appeared to be evening its record and avoiding the wrath of local outrage when it took a 23-3 lead in the third quarter.

San Francisco, though, surged back with 21 unanswered points. A 12-yard run by Frank Gore with three minutes to go capped the comeback.

The Eagles were a huge part of the reason the 49ers didn't give in. Two missed field goals by rookie kicker Alex Henery were a pair of missed chances to put away their opponent.

A critical fumble by wideout Jeremy Maclin with just over two minutes left was the final faux pas in the Philly free fall.

Ronnie Brown

The Eagles have had numerous issues in the poor beginning to the 2011 campaign.

One of those problems is their goal-line offense.

Last Sunday against the New York Giants, Philly was stonewalled on several attempts inside the 5-yard line.

Against the San Francisco 49ers, it was one of the Eagles' own that prevented any points.

On a 2nd-and-4 from the 4-yard line, backup running back Ronnie Brown took a handoff and was stuffed by Parys Haralson.

While he was being wrapped up, Brown attempted to throw the ball back to a teammate. The attempt at a new Wildcat maneuver failed miserably, as the loose pigskin was recovered by a member of the San Francisco defense.

Instead of holding on and letting his team attempt a chip-shot field goal, this brain lock proved incredibly costly in the one-point loss to the Niners.

Dallas Cowboys' Second Half

Another NFC East team coughed up a significant advantage.

For the second straight week, the Detroit Lions took advantage of an opponent's meltdown and completed a fantastic comeback.

The Dallas Cowboys jumped out to a 27-3 lead in the early portion of the second half and were all but set to hand the surprising Lions their first loss of the season.

Detroit, further proving itself as a legitimate contender, clawed back with solid defense—combined with mistakes by Tony Romo.

In the span of less than five minutes in the third quarter, the Dallas quarterback threw two interceptions—both of which were returned for touchdowns, bringing the Lions right back in it. 

Then, the passing combination of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson hooked up for a pair of scores. The latter came with less than two minutes to go and sealed the 34-30 victory for Detroit.

The Cowboys' self-destruction on Sunday was the largest lead blown in franchise history.

Danieal Manning

This mistake could have been just as costly as Ronnie Brown's error in judgement.

The final snap of the first half was a field-goal attempt by the Pittsburgh Steelers, trying to cut the Houston Texans' lead to seven.

That kick was blocked by Danieal Manning on a fine special teams effort.

He should have stopped there.

As Johnathan Joseph picked up the ball and was in the clear for a 61-yard return to pay dirt, Manning inexplicably committed a block-in-the-back penalty.

Instead of a 17-0 halftime advantage, Houston had to sweat out a 17-10 victory over the defending AFC champs.

Jerome Boger's Officiating Crew

We had not had a controversial call in the 2011 season—until Sunday's late-afternoon affair in the desert.

With under three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were on top, 27-24.

The New York Giants were on offense and just inside Arizona territory.

Eli Manning completed a 19-yard pass to receiver Victor Cruz, who appeared to stumble to the turf untouched.

As he tried to get up, Cruz lost control of the football. The Cards recovered what they thought was a fumble.

However, the referees ruled that the Giants maintained possession. When Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt tried to challenge the play, head ref Jerome Boger stated that the ruling on the field was that Cruz voluntarily went to the ground and that it was not subject to review.

On the very next snap, Manning threw a touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks from 29 yards out.

The Giants prevailed, 31-27, thanks in part to a call that will be critiqued and ridiculed over the course of this week.

New York Jets Offense

Mark Sanchez's line says it all—11-of-35 passing for 119 yards and an interception that was returned for six points by the Ravens' Lardarius Webb.

Shonn Greene didn't provide much assistance, as he rushed for 23 yards on 10 carries—and he turned out to be the Jets' leading rusher on the evening.

Most of the blame has to lie with an offensive line that was without All-Pro center Nick Mangold.

The Baltimore Ravens took full advantage of this depleted group and smothered Sanchez to the tune of two sacks and 10 quarterback hits.

Two of those hits resulted in first-half fumbles that were taken back for touchdowns in a 34-17 thrashing.