Another fall weekend means another opportunity for former Iowa football stars in the NFL, and that's exactly what happened last week. 

Here are some of the top storylines from your favorite former Hawkeyes in Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season: 

Las Vegas emerged as one of the NFL's best surprise teams after winning its first three games of the year, but the Raiders' unbeaten reign came to an end at the hands of their hated rival Kansas City Chiefs in a thrilling 30-27 game on Sunday afternoon. 

Patrick Mahomes wasn't perfect, but Kansas City made plays when it needed to make plays. With Las Vegas trying to get in field goal range to tie the game late, Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins was hit as he released the football, and the flailing ball dropped right into the arms of rookie safety Xavier Nwankpa. Nwankpa battled hard throughout training camp and the preseason to earn a roster spot, and tallying his first-career NFL interception in a divisional game has to be a nice reward for him. 

Kansas City improved to 4-0 with the victory. 

Cooper DeJean had a slow start to the season after earning first-team All-Pro honors last year, but maybe Sunday's game will help ignite the sensational Eagles defensive back. DeJean tallied five tackles and two pass break-ups in a 24-20 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but the highlight of his afternoon was intercepting Matthew Stafford near the end of the second quarter to set up Philadelphia's second and final touchdown of the day. 

The Eagles drop to 2-2 with the loss. 

The Minnesota Vikings may be the most confusing team in the NFL, but they're somehow finding a way to win football games each week. The Vikings haven't scored a touchdown in two of their first four games of the season, which includes Sunday's 15-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins. 

Kyler Murray is back at quarterback after missing most of the first two games with a concussion, but this offense can't seem to find a rhythm under offensive guru Kevin O'Connell. Though Minnesota was 0-for-3 in the red zone, it still found a way to score points because tight end T.J. Hockenson was usually open down the field. Hockenson got whatever he wanted against a bad Miami defense, collecting 119 receiving yards on 13 receptions. 

The eight-year veteran had a chance to score a touchdown late in the game, but opted to fall down short of the end zone to preserve a Vikings win, frustrating many sports bettors in the process (Minnesota was favored by 10.5 points).

Minnesota remains perfect at 4-0 with the triumph. 

You would never know that George Kittle tore his Achilles in January because he's played great football so far this year. When the San Francisco 49ers are healthy, they're one of the best teams in the NFL, and that's been the case in 2026. 

Leading AFC heavyweight Denver 17-14 just before the two-minute warning, the 49ers needed one more big play to put the game away. And as he has done so much during his career, Kittle gave it to them. The Broncos never saw the tight end screen to Kittle coming, and he scampered for a 56-yard touchdown (his fourth of the season) to put the game on ice. 

Cornerback Riley Moss collected two tackles in Denver's loss. The Broncos fell to 2-2 with the defeat, while San Francisco stays perfect at 4-0.

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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]