Week 4 Recap
The full record
Final scores, standings, and the top individual performances at every position -- weekly and season-to-date
Final Scores
| Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dudes | 206.06 | You Like That! | 137.68 | 68.38 |
| Just Purdy | 192.74 | Poultry Science | 117.58 | 75.16 |
| Jsquared | 167.00 | The Drake and Dart Show | 124.28 | 42.72 |
| Three Nix Nine | 161.70 | Of Mice and Mendozas | 106.44 | 55.26 |
| The Weekend Lovers | 147.48 | The Wolf on Rubin Street | 105.80 | 41.68 |
| Off to Grandma | 140.62 | handyjallday | 84.56 | 56.06 |
| Shough n Sons Electric Co. | 117.12 | Tyreek Child Support | 116.42 | 0.70 |
Season Standings
Top 3 by Position -- This Week
Bench Buffoonery
The 12 highest-scoring players in the league this week who never left the bench -- and exactly whose lineup they were sitting in.
Top 3 by Position -- Season
Accumulates automatically as more weeks are played -- now reflects four full weeks of scoring.
Power Rankings
The Week 4 read
A quarter of the season is in. The top three are clear, the bottom two are clear, and everyone else is a conversation.
Week 4 recap
Jsquared
- Week 4
- W, 167.00 vs. The Drake and Dart Show
- Since Issue No. 005
- held at No. 1
- Biggest roster need
- A proven fallback behind Jonathan Taylor, with Derrick Henry still the only real answer if Taylor ever sits
Four wins, no scares. This week's 42.72-point margin was routine by this roster's standards, and it was achieved without needing a monster performance from any one slot. That is what depth at the skill positions looks like when Lamb and Smith-Njigba share the load.
The one thing left to prove is what happens when something goes wrong. So far, nothing has.
The question: when does an opponent finally force this lineup to play from behind?
Week 4 recap
Off to Grandma
- Week 4
- W, 140.62 vs. handyjallday
- Since Issue No. 005
- held at No. 2
- Biggest roster need
- Running back depth behind Jahmyr Gibbs, since a thin backfield is the only real soft spot on a roster with Trey McBride at tight end
140.62 is the lowest winning score among the three unbeaten teams, and it still won by 56 points because the opponent could not field a lineup. That is a schedule gift, and the Institute prefers to note it rather than celebrate it.
The roster is built to keep winning. Kyle Pitts remains a bench question rather than a lineup answer, and the real work is finding a second back who can carry a week when Gibbs does not.
The question: does this front office use its surplus elsewhere on the roster to fix the backfield before a tougher stretch arrives?
Week 4 recap
The Dudes
- Week 4
- W, 206.06 vs. You Like That! -- highest score of the season
- Since Issue No. 005
- up from No. 4
- Biggest roster need
- IDP consistency, because the offense just proved it can win without help from the defensive side
A 206.06 is not a good week, it is a new league record for the season, and it came in a 68.38-point demolition of a 2-2 playoff hopeful. The only loss on this record is a 16.78-point defeat to Jsquared.
Will Anderson remains the headline defender, but the real upside is a second reliable IDP scorer. The ceiling is already the league's best, so the floor is the last thing left to raise.
The question: can a defense that is merely good keep pace with an offense that just broke the scoreboard?
Week 4 recap
Shough n Sons Electric Co.
- Week 4
- W, 117.12 vs. Tyreek Child Support -- by 0.70, the closest game of the year
- Since Issue No. 005
- down from No. 3
- Biggest roster need
- A second reliable back to pair with Quinshon Judkins, now that the front office has spent three future picks on the position
4-0 is 4-0, but this one required the league's tightest margin of the season to get there. 117.12 is the lowest winning score on any roster this week by a wide margin, and the front office responded the way a contender does: it went shopping.
Judkins and Andrew Van Ginkel arrive in exchange for a 2027 first, a 2027 third and a 2028 second. Issue No. 005 flagged running back depth as this roster's biggest need, and the answer took exactly one week.
The question: does the new backfield lift a lineup that is currently winning on schedule luck and good timing?
Week 4 recap
Just Purdy
- Week 4
- W, 192.74 vs. Poultry Science
- Since Issue No. 005
- held at No. 5
- Biggest roster need
- Wide receiver depth, since quarterback play is currently masking a thin pass-catching room
The second-highest score in the league this week and a 75.16-point margin, the largest of the week. This is what the ceiling of this roster looks like: a team that scores like a top-three team when everything lines up.
The 3-1 record is built on quarterback play that keeps producing. What it lacks is a wide receiver who can win a week on his own.
The question: is 192.74 the new normal, or a week where every starter hit at once?
Week 4 recap
You Like That!
- Week 4
- L, 137.68 vs. The Dudes
- Since Issue No. 005
- held at No. 6
- Biggest roster need
- Depth behind the stars, since a lineup this top-heavy cannot absorb a bad week from either headliner
A 2-2 record that has now included a very good loss and a very bad one. This week was the bad one: 137.68 would have beaten seven other teams this week, and it still lost by 68 because the opponent posted a season-high.
That is a loss to be filed under bad luck rather than bad roster. The structure still holds, but the bench will be tested eventually.
The question: does a 2-2 team with this much top-end talent settle into the top six, or drift into the pack?
Week 4 recap
Three Nix Nine
- Week 4
- W, 161.70 vs. Of Mice and Mendozas
- Since Issue No. 005
- up from No. 10
- Biggest roster need
- Health, since the best version of this roster has still not shown up in a single week
The best win of the season so far for this roster and the highest score this roster has posted all year. 161.70 against a bottom-tier opponent is not a statement, but it is a step, and 2-2 is a respectable place to have landed after a rough three-week injury stretch.
A clean bill of health would turn this from a middle-of-the-pack team into one that matters.
The question: is this a roster finally getting its bodies back, or a good week against the wrong opponent?
Week 4 recap
The Weekend Lovers
- Week 4
- W, 147.48 vs. The Wolf on Rubin Street
- Since Issue No. 005
- held at No. 8
- Biggest roster need
- A second starting-caliber running back, as long as Josh Jacobs remains out
A tidy 41.68-point win and a 2-2 record, which is a perfectly good outcome for a roster that has spent a month looking for its identity. 147.48 without a full-strength backfield is more encouraging than the final margin suggests.
The Jacobs injury still defines the ceiling, and a second back who can handle a full workload would turn a decent team into a serious one.
The question: does the running back hole get filled before the schedule tightens?
Week 4 recap
Poultry Science
- Week 4
- L, 117.58 vs. Just Purdy -- by 75.16, the largest margin of the week
- Since Issue No. 005
- down from No. 7
- Biggest roster need
- A floor-raising veteran at quarterback, because 117.58 is a number a good roster should not be able to produce
The preseason hype has now met a 1-3 record and the week's most lopsided loss. This roster still has the talent that earned that reputation, but talent that scores 117 is not helping anyone win.
The question has quietly shifted from whether this team turns it around to how many weeks it can afford to wait.
The question: is there a veteran at quarterback available who stabilizes the weekly floor?
Week 4 recap
The Wolf on Rubin Street
- Week 4
- L, 105.80 vs. The Weekend Lovers
- Since Issue No. 005
- down from No. 9
- Biggest roster need
- A true No. 1 wide receiver to build the passing game around
105.80 is the second-lowest score in the league this week, and it dropped this rebuild to 1-3. Jeremiyah Love is still the long-term cornerstone, but the lineup around him is not producing enough to keep up.
The pick stockpile gives this front office real flexibility. Whether it spends any of it on the present is the open question.
The question: does patience on the draft-pick stockpile cost this season anything it cannot get back?
Week 4 recap
The Drake and Dart Show
- Week 4
- L, 124.28 vs. Jsquared
- Since Issue No. 005
- held at No. 11
- Biggest roster need
- Health across the board, with Daniel Jones keeping the quarterback room afloat
0-4 is a record that is hard to climb out of, and Jaxson Dart being out for the season removes the main source of margin for error. Daniel Jones is a credible fallback, and 124.28 against the league's best team is not the performance of a roster that has given up.
The path back to relevance is narrow but it exists, and it begins with putting a full lineup on the field.
The question: how many wins does a team need from here to matter, and is the schedule soft enough to find them?
Week 4 recap
handyjallday
- Week 4
- L, 84.56 vs. Off to Grandma -- lowest score of the season
- Since Issue No. 005
- held at No. 12
- Biggest roster need
- A starting-caliber running back, since De'Von Achane is done for the year and Quinshon Judkins is now on another roster
This was the week the season officially turned. 84.56 is the lowest score in the league this year, De'Von Achane is lost for the year with a torn ACL, and the front office responded by sending Judkins and Andrew Van Ginkel to Shough n Sons Electric Co. for a 2027 first, a 2027 third and a 2028 second.
At 0-4 the logic is sound: convert short-term pieces into long-term capital while the record cannot be saved. It also leaves the backfield nearly empty.
The question: is this a full rebuild, or a reset that still tries to compete?
Week 4 recap
Tyreek Child Support
- Week 4
- L, 116.42 vs. Shough n Sons Electric Co. -- by 0.70
- Since Issue No. 005
- held at No. 13
- Biggest roster need
- Wide receivers and a real second quarterback, with both gaps now costing games
Losing by 0.70 is the cruelest margin in the sport, and it left this roster at 1-3. 116.42 was close enough to win, which is exactly why the missing depth hurts.
A roster with one great week and three disappointing ones has to decide which of those is the real team.
The question: is the answer on the waiver wire, or does this front office need a trade?
Week 4 recap
Of Mice and Mendozas
- Week 4
- L, 106.44 vs. Three Nix Nine
- Since Issue No. 005
- held at No. 14
- Biggest roster need
- Everything; this roster is built for future drafts and has little to start this season
Last week's win did not change what this roster is, and this week's loss restored the baseline. Nothing about 106.44 is surprising, and the front office has never pretended otherwise.
This remains the weakest roster in the league on paper, and the long-term plan still points at draft capital rather than the standings.
The question: does a single bad week matter at all to a roster with a plan that does not involve winning this year?
Full offseason and Weeks 1-3 team-by-team breakdowns remain available in Issue No. 001, Issue No. 002, Issue No. 003, Issue No. 004, and Issue No. 005.
Trade Recap
handyjallday sells, Shough n Sons buys
The first trade in two weeks, and the first where one side is clearly buying and the other clearly selling.
Quinshon Judkins and Andrew Van Ginkel to Shough n Sons Electric Co.
handyjallday sent Cleveland running back Quinshon Judkins and Minnesota linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel to Shough n Sons Electric Co. in exchange for a 2027 first-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick. It was a counter-offer, which means both sides worked to get here.
For Shough n Sons, the deal answers the need Issue No. 005 identified: running back depth on a 4-0 team that just survived a 0.70-point game. Judkins gives the backfield a workload, and Van Ginkel adds an IDP piece to a lineup that could use one.
For handyjallday, the picture is bleaker and the logic cleaner. At 0-4, with De'Von Achane lost for the year to a torn ACL, the front office converted two players into three picks. It is a pivot toward the future, and it leaves the present roster thin at a premium position.
Winners & Losers
What Week 4 actually did to this league
Scores, margins and one real NFL injury that reshaped a roster
The Dudes' 206.06
The previous season high was 202.94. The Dudes beat it by more than three points, and did it against a team that scored 137.68. That is a 68.38-point margin and the clearest statement of the year about which roster has the highest ceiling.
Just Purdy, quietly
The largest margin of the week belongs to a roster that rarely makes headlines. Two quarterbacks who steadily produce are a better foundation than most noise this league generates.
Shough n Sons' luck
Four games, four wins, and the third nail-biter of the year. Whether that is skill or luck is a question for another week. Meanwhile the trade for Judkins suggests the front office is not relying on it.
De'Von Achane's season, ended
Ollie Gordon II is next up in Miami. In this league, the injury hit handyjallday, a team that was already 0-3, and arguably did more to shape the week than any game result.
handyjallday's 84.56
A new season low, a fourth loss, and a backfield that has now lost its star and traded away its best remaining option. The trade was a sensible response, but nothing about the scoreboard offers comfort.
Poultry Science's floor
A 1-3 record is one thing. Losing by 75 is another. For a roster once considered a favorite, the margin for patience is getting shorter.
The Week 4 Back Page
Matchups, rumors & final word
This week's slate, pulled live from Sleeper -- refreshes automatically, no republishing required
This Week's Matchups
Roster's Look-Ahead: A McRosterface Exclusive
Every projection below comes straight from Sleeper's own player models, run through this newsletter's usual complete lack of humility. Predicted winners, predicted high scorers, and the players this desk expects to feast on a soft matchup -- issued with the Institute's standard confidence and standard zero accountability.
Trade rumor mill
After a trade-free Week 3, the market has a real data point. handyjallday has publicly decided to sell, Shough n Sons has publicly decided to buy, and everyone else is now deciding which side of that line they live on.
The buyers to watch: The Weekend Lovers still need a second starting-caliber back, and they just watched a rival pay a first, a third and a second for one. Poultry Science, at 1-3 with a roster built to contend, is the kind of team that panics well. Tyreek Child Support has lost by 0.70 and needs receivers and a second quarterback, which makes it the likeliest buyer to overpay.
The sellers to watch: handyjallday has proven it will sell, and the question is whether anything else on that roster has value. The Wolf on Rubin Street, at 1-3, is sitting on a pick stockpile and a decision about whether to spend it. Of Mice and Mendozas remains the league's most obvious seller, with little left that anyone wants.
Three teams are 4-0. None of them have played each other yet. At some point that stops being a coincidence of scheduling.
Final word
A quarter of the season is in, and the league has sorted itself into clear groups: three unbeaten teams at the top, two winless teams at the bottom, and nine rosters in between whose records are more about timing than talent. A season-high score and a season-low score in the same week is the clearest sign that the field is stretching.
Thirteen weeks to go. The trade market is open. Act accordingly.
— Roster McRosterface
League data snapshot: Sleeper import dated October 8, 2026. Matchup widget queries Sleeper live on each page load.