By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports
Week Four in the NFL saw some phenomenal performance from players who played collegiately in the west.
This week was the hardest week of the season, so far, to pare the list down to a workable number. Consequently, many deserving players had to be omitted from the Top 12.
Here are my choices for the best of them, plus some additional notable performances and top rookies.
Top NFL Performances
1. Tuli Tuipulotu, LB, Chargers/USC
Tuipulotu made life difficult for Jaxson Dart in the rookie QB’s first start.
While the Chargers may have come up short in New York, the former USC LB had the best game of his three-year career.
Tuipulotu collected a career-high 10 tackles, seven of them solo, and added career-highs in sacks and TFLs with four and five, respectively.
2. Puka Nacua, WR, Rams/BYU
Puka Nacua had 13 receptions for a career high 170 yards and a TD in the Rams’ 27-20 win over Indianapolis on Sunday.
The former BYU star is the second player ever with at least 10 catches and 100 receiving yards in three of his team’s first four games of a season.
He is also now the third player in NFL history with at least eight catches in each of his team’s first four games of a season.
3. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders/Boise State (R)
Jeanty had 155 scrimmage yards; 138 rushing and 17 receiving, and three touchdowns; one on the ground and two receiving.
The former Bronco is the third rookie running back ever with at least 100 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, and two touchdown receptions in a single game.
4. Uchenna Nwosu, LB, Seahawks/USC
The former Trojan played one of the best games of his eight-year career in Thursday Night’s Seattle win over Arizona.
Nwosu collected two sacks while making five total tackles in his most productive outing since week four of 2023 all while playing just 38 snaps in the contest.
5. Jordan Love, QB, Packers/Utah State
Love threw for 337 yards, the second highest total of his career in the tie game with Dallas on Sunday Night.
The former USU star completed over 72% of his passes for the second week in a row and the third time this season.
He also threw three touchdown passes in the game.
6. Woody Marks, RB, Texans/USC (R)
Marks stepped up in a big way for the Texans in Week Four.
The former USC back made the most of his opportunity, rushing for 69 yards on 17 carries and adding another 50 scrimmage yards in the passing game.
Marks found the endzone twice in the Houston win over Tennessee, once on the ground and once on the receiving end of a CJ Stroud pass.
7. Bucky Irving, RB, Buccaneers/Oregon
Irving touched the ball 20 times in the loss to the Eagles and produced 165 yards from scrimmage.
He led Tampa Bay with 102 yards receiving and caught a touchdown pass.
The former Duck had his first 100-yard receiving game as a pro.
8. Devin Lloyd, LB, Jacksonville/Utah
The former Ute LB led Jacksonville with a season-high eight tackles in the Jags’ win over the 49ers.
Lloyd also recorded a tackle for loss and picked off Brock Purdy twice.
He is now tied for the NFL lead with three interceptions on the season.
9. Bo Nix, QB, Broncos/Oregon
Nix led the Broncos to a pivotal second win over the Bengals on Monday Night to stay in the AFC West Division hunt.
The former Duck completed 69% of his passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns.
He also added a touchdown on the ground.
10. Michael Penix Jr., QB, Falcons/Washington
Penix returned to action in the win over Washington and was productive.
The former Husky completed a career-high 76.9% of his passes for a career-high 313 yards.
The second-year pro also added a pair of TD passes.
11. Sam Darnold, QB, Seahawks/USC
Darnold continues to impress in his debut season with Seattle.
The former Trojan led the Seahawks to their third straight win Thursday Night, completing nearly 70% of his passes for 242 yards and a TD.
He also ran the ball once for 24 yards in the three-point win over the Cardinals.
12. Josh Allen, QB, Bills/Wyoming
Allen had a ho-hum 209 yards passing and 45 yards rushing the ball on Sunday against New Orleans.
The former Wyoming star completed 72.7% of his passes in the win with two passing touchdowns and another on the ground.
He now has 45 career games with both a touchdown pass and a rushing touchdown, tied with Cam Newton for the most such games in NFL history.
Notable Rookies and Other Performances
Tetairoa McMillian, WR, Panthers/Arizona (R)—four receptions for 62 yards.
Cam Skattebo, RB, Giants/Arizona State (R)—90 total yards on a career-high 27 touches.
Frankie Luvu, LB, Commanders/Washington State—8 tackles, 5 solo, one sack and added another QB pressure.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Lions/USC—7 receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
Drake London, WR, Falcons/USC—8 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Alex Singleton, LB, Broncos/Montana State—11 tackles, 6 solo and one QB hit.
writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).