NFL Sunday Is Loaded: Your Complete Guide to Week 4's Full Slate

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2026 — Wake up early, coffee in hand, because this is one of those Sundays. Fourteen games across five time windows, bookended by a breakfast kickoff in London and a Monday night grudge match on the bayou — and right in the sweet spot of the afternoon, the single most important game of the young NFL season: the 3-0 Chiefs at the 3-0 Raiders, with first place in the AFC West on the line.

Thursday night already gave us a taste of how little margin for error there is in October. The Browns held off the Steelers 27-24 in Cleveland, moving to 3-1 and planting a flag in the AFC North while Pittsburgh fell to 2-2. Now the full slate arrives, and there is not a single window without something at stake. Here is your complete guide to how it all unfolds.

9:30 a.m. ET — London calling

The day starts across the pond. The Indianapolis Colts (1-2) and Washington Commanders (1-2) meet at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first of three London games over the next three weeks, and both teams walked in off their first wins of the season — wins that looked very different from each other.

Washington's was the stunner of Week 3: a 33-31 road upset of the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, pulled off with backup Marcus Mariota starting in place of the injured Jayden Daniels. Mariota goes again Sunday, and the Commanders will be without several starters — Daniels remains out, and star receiver Terry McLaurin is likely to miss the game as well. Dave Pasch and Kurt Warner have the call on NFL Network.

Indianapolis' was quieter but just as badly needed: a 19-17 grind over the Houston Texans. Both teams are chasing their second straight win, and in a league where 1-2 is the difference between "rough start" and "buried," somebody gets to 2-2 and somebody goes home with real problems.

If you're planning the international football calendar, this is just the opener: the Eagles and Jaguars follow at Tottenham in Week 5, the Jaguars take on the Texans at Wembley in Week 6, and the league's world tour continues to Paris, Madrid, Munich and Mexico City.

1 p.m. ET — the crowded early window

Nine games at once is controlled chaos, but three of them carry real October weight. In Orchard Park, the New England Patriots (1-2) visit the Buffalo Bills (3-0) — a division game where Buffalo can keep its share of the unbeaten club intact and New England can announce that the AFC East is not a coronation. In Cincinnati, the Jaguars (2-1) visit the Bengals (2-1), two teams that spent September proving they're ahead of schedule; the winner walks out with a claim to being the AFC's most dangerous surprise.

And in Philadelphia, the Rams (1-2) visit the Eagles (2-1) in a rematch with recent playoff bad blood — the kind of early-October NFC collision that tells you who's real. The rest of the window: the Jets (1-2) at the Bears (2-1) in Chicago, the Cardinals (1-2) at the Giants (2-1), the Packers (1-2) at the winless Buccaneers (0-3), the Titans (0-3) at the Ravens (2-1), and the Cowboys (1-2) at the winless Texans (0-3) in Houston, where both teams are already playing for their seasons.

4:05 p.m. ET — Miami's long road trip

The Dolphins (0-3) fly into Minnesota to face the unbeaten Vikings (3-0), and the math is brutal: no team wants to wake up Monday at 0-4. Miami is doing it shorthanded, too — rookie star Caleb Douglas is out for the second straight week, as our injury desk reported. Sam Darnold's Vikings have been one of September's best stories, and a fourth straight win would make them the first team to 4-0 in the NFC.

4:25 p.m. ET — the desert duel

This is the one. The Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) visit the Las Vegas Raiders (3-0) at Allegiant Stadium, and the winner takes sole possession of first place in the AFC West. It's the first Week 4-or-later matchup of undefeated teams averaging at least 29 points per game in six seasons, and the last time Las Vegas started 4-0 was 2002 — the year the Raiders went to the Super Bowl. The Chiefs, for their part, started 4-0 in 2024 on their way to a 15-2 season, and they have their bye next week, which means this game sets the tone for the entire first half of their schedule.

The storylines practically write themselves. Patrick Mahomes is 13-2 against the Raiders with 36 touchdown passes and a 107.7 rating in those games — but he hasn't seen this version of Las Vegas. Kirk Cousins is tied for the NFL lead with nine touchdown passes, rookie sensation Ashton Jeanty is already a red-zone weapon, and Brock Bowers is back and rolling after 10 catches for 116 yards last week. The Raiders' defense has forced nine takeaways and sits at plus-five in turnover margin, with rookie corner Hezekiah Masses already picking off three passes.

Kansas City answers with the league's leading rusher — Kenneth Walker III has 360 yards on the ground — and a healthy Mahomes who finally has a running game to lean on. Travis Kelce needs six catches to reach 1,100 for his career. And there's a human story on the Raiders' sideline: backup quarterback Aidan O'Connell returned to the team this week after two weeks away mourning the death of his father, and coach Klint Kubiak said he'd "absolutely" be comfortable with O'Connell suiting up as the emergency quarterback. Our full Vegas deep dive has everything else — the atmosphere, the stakes, the X-factors.

The same window has two more heavyweights: the Broncos (2-1) visit the unbeaten 49ers (3-0) in Santa Clara, and the Chargers (3-0) visit the Seahawks (2-1) in Seattle — where the defending champs are looking to shake off that stunning home loss to Washington.

8:20 p.m. ET — Sunday night in Carolina

The nightcap sends the Lions (2-1) to Carolina to face the Panthers (1-2) on NBC. Detroit's offense has been one of the league's most entertaining watches, and the Panthers get a national-TV measuring stick. Then the week closes Monday at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN, when the Falcons visit the Saints in New Orleans — on the 20th anniversary of the Saints' return to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, which makes it one of the most emotionally charged regular-season settings of the year.

Fourteen games, five windows, and a Sunday that could redraw the map in both conferences. Check our sports desk for live updates all day — and if you missed how we got here, Saturday's wrap has the college football and MLB scores that set the table.