The first day of October is upon us and we are almost a quarter of the way done with the NFL regular season.  It goes by so fast.  Kind of sad.  September ended with some great action including the Ryder Cup which we will talk about Tuesday.  Picks were pretty good too.  10-4 so far on the week with tonight's game between the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys the final game of week 4.  We'll pick that game in a little bit, but first it's time for a little reaction from all of Sunday's games in "the stack" for today, Monday, October 1:

Atlanta 30 Carolina 28

Wow!  What a game, what a finish.  Cam Newton played very good, but it is his fumble that allowed the Falcons to have a chance and Matt Ryan took full advantage of it.  He had a stellar game as did wide receiver Roddy White whose 60-yard reception with under a minute to go helped get the Falcons in field goal range. This is a devestating loss for the Panthers who were hoping to get back on the right track after they were run over by the Giants.  The Falcons coming back and winning the game should silence anyone who doesn't believe this is a team capable of winning the Super Bowl.

New England 52 Buffalo 28

How nice of New England to give the Bills a fourteen point lead before crushing them.  Don't make Tom Brady mad.  The Patriots set records by having two one-hundred yard running backs and two one-hundred yard receivers in the same game.  A performance like this should really relieve Patriots fans about their team.  The Bills performance only shows that they still have a ways to go to compete in the AFC East.

Minnesota 20 Detroit 13

When you return the opening kickoff for a touchdown like Percy Harvin did for the Vikings, you know it's going to be a good day.  The Lions special teams were attrocioius, giving up both a kickoff and a punt return for a touchdown.  The surprising Vikings are 3-1 while the Lions are a disappointing 1-3.  So much for the Lions being the more desperate team.

Houston 38 Tennessee 14

The Texans defense is really good! Two defensive touchdowns.  Amazing.  They are the Super Bowl favorites in my humble opinion.  There is one positive for Titans fans apart from Jake Locker's injury and the Titans being destroyed.  At least Chris Johnson showed up and rushed for 141 yards.

San Diego 37 Kansas City 20

The Chargers did to the Chiefs what the Falcons did to them last week and that is pop them in the mouth.  The Chiefs were no match and were slow out of the gate.  This was a big game by the Chargers showing that it is they and they alone who will compete with the Broncos for the AFC West.

San Francisco 34 New York Jets 0

I am embarrassed that I even thought the Jets could muster 13 points.  Rex Ryan is pretty embarrassed about his team.  I would be too.  They stink.  The 49ers made fans and the league forget about last week's loss to the Vikings with the demolition they gave the Jets.  They made the Jets look like a human pinata.

St. Louis 19 Seattle 13

Knew it was going to be tough for Seattle after the week they've had for them to win an early kickoff against the Rams.  But who knew it would be thanks to the leg of Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein.  The rookie kicker made history by making two field goals of 58 yards or longer in the same game.  He made a 58-yarder and and 60-yarder!  This guy has a cannon for a leg.  Huge asset to the Rams.

Arizona 24 Miami 21

So about that Cardinals defense?  They gave up a lot of yards to rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill.  431 yards to be exact.  But Kevin Kolb came up with some huge throws for the Cardinals late and they found a way to win in overtime to stay a perfect 4-0.  And they'll need every win they can get with the 49ers looking as good as they do.  The NFC West is looking awfully good.

Denver 37 Oakland 6

It was kind of a must win for Denver and boy did they take the Raiders back behind the woodshed.  Peyton Manning was brilliant and the Broncos remain one game back of the Chargers.  For the Raiders, they don't look like they'll be competing for the west this year.

Cincinnati 27 Jacksonville 10

Once again, the Bengals beat a bad team that they should beat.  A.J. Green is something else at the wide receiver position.  117 yards and a touchdown.  He is blossoming into one of the top five wide receivers in the game if he isn't there already.

Green Bay 28 New Orleans 27

The real officials almost gave away the game for the Packers with some bad calls, but the Packers were able to escape with a win thanks to the Saints missing a field goal late.  The Packers just don't look like they've figured out how to regain their mojo from last year, but at least they got a win.  And congrats to Drew Brees who has tied Johnny Unitas for most consecutive games with a touchdown at 47.  He is something else.

Washington 24 Tampa Bay 22

Redskins kicker Billy Cundiff has a knack for missing pressure kicks, but he made the one that mattered late in the game after missing three field goals earlier.  If you're a Bucs defender, how do you let RGIII run wild on that final driver?  Just shows Tampa Bay has a ways to go.

Philadelphia 19 New York Giants 17

A defensive struggle early turned into a really entertaining game.  LeSean McCoy appeared to win the battle between him and Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora thanks to a great second half by McCoy.  He picked up 104 of his 123 rushing yards in the second half.  And how about the ending?  Lawrence Tynes misses a 54-yards field goal wide left, but Andy Reid called a timeout to ice him?  With another chance, Tynes field goal was straight enough but came up just short.  When are coaches going to learn that icing does not always lead to good results?  The Eagles were fotunate in this one.

Chicago Bears @ Dallas Cowboys 8:30 PM ET ESPN

This should be a defensive struggle.  Neither offense has been all that impressive so far this year.  But with the game at home, I think DeMarco Murray will have a good game and the Cowboys will keep pace with the Eagles for first in the NFC East.

Prediction: Cowboys 23 Bears 16

Coming up Tuesday: MNF reaction, Ryder Cup reaction and NFL power rankings