Week four, and what the fuck happened this week? The Jets beat the Dolphins, the Jags beat the Ravens, the Bills beat the Broncos, and that’s just a few of the wacky results, That’ll surely make it harder to predict this week’s games as we still try to figure out which team is capable of what.
GAME OF THE WEEK - Oakland Raiders (2-1) at Denver Broncos (2-1), DEN by 2.5 – Two powerhouses in the AFC West looking to rebound after surprising losses from last week. All of these division games between the two of them and Kansas City are going to be high stakes. Call me crazy, but I’m going to go with the Raiders to pull off an upset. UPSET! – Raiders 23, Broncos 21
THURSDAY NIGHT – Chicago Bears (1-2) at Green Bay Packers (2-1), GB by 7 – The other two NFC North teams meet on Thursday night in Lambeau Field. The Packers are already the league’s most injured team and are playing on a short week after an overtime game in record heat for Green Bay. That, combined with the fact that they’re going to be without THEIR TOP FIVE OFFENSIVE TACKLES from their opening day roster, as well as some crucial playmakers on both sides of the ball, doesn’t bear well for this Packers team. But this is still the Bears we’re talking about, who are starting Mike Glennon and do not have a whole lot of playmaking options. The Packers will limp out with a win, and will gladly take the extra time to recover before week five. Packers 20, Bears 17
Detroit Lions (2-1) at Minnesota Vikings (2-1), BETS OFF – Bets are off once again for the Vikings as we wait and find out if Sam Bradford will play. Either way, this figures to be a really entertaining game. The Lions are playing outstanding football, and had a really good shot at beating the conference’s best team. The Vikings are playing better ball than expected even without Bradford, thanks in large part to the defense and Stefon Diggs. NFC North matchups are almost always a slugfest, and with the style of ball these two teams play, expect things to be hard hitting. Lions 23, Vikings 20
New Orleans Saints (1-2) at Miami Dolphins (1-1) in London, NO by 3 – Really difficult to know what to expect out of these teams based on the last couple weeks, but I feel like the Dolphins are much better suited to go out to London and win a game than the Saints. Dolphins 27, Saints 20
Los Angeles Rams (2-1) at Dallas Cowboys (2-1), DAL by 8 – Interesting game here, and I’d take the under if I were a betting man. The Rams are showing a lot of balls, and Jared Goff has come a long way since last year. The Cowboys are still the more talented team and are playing at home, but nobody should take the Rams lightly this year. Cowboys 20, Rams 16
Carolina Panthers (2-1) at New England Patriots (2-1), NE by 8.5 – When you get blown out at home by the Saints, there’s no chance you’re gonna go on the road and beat the Pats. Patriots 34, Panthers 20
Houston Texans (2-1) at Tennessee Titans (2-1), TEN by 1.5 – Another really good divisional matchup this week. The Titans look to have made the next step people thought they would, especially after taking out the Seahawks. Meanwhile, the Texans fared much better than expected against the Patriots last week. I trust the Titans more at home, but expect this one to go down to the tire. Titans 27, Texans 23
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) at New York Jets (1-2), JAX by 3.5 – What got into the Jags last week? MY goodness. They should be able to handle the Jets, and go 3-1 for the first time since… Christ only knows when. Jaguars 30, Jets 17
Cincinnati Bengals (0-3) at Cleveland Browns (0-3), CIN by 3 – Boy, the Bengals really bungled the game against the Packers last week. Marvin Lewis’s second-half coaching was about as bad as you’ll see outside of Mike McCarthy in the 2014 NFC Championship. How the fuck does he still have a job? Regardless, the Browns can’t even beat the Colts without Andrew Luck, so I have a hard time believing they’ll take down a team with the talent Cincy has, even if Cincy is completely hell-bent on completely wasting it. Bengals 23, Browns 13
Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) at Baltimore Ravens (2-1), PIT by 3 – Boy, Baltimore apparently is nowhere near as good as I thought they were. What an absolute embarrassment last week. And Joe Flacco is looking like a bottom-five QB right now. Meanwhile, the Steelers went on the road to Chicago and got embarrassed in their own right. Both of these teams have a lot of problems, but a divisional win will cure them for now. Hard to know what to expect… if we throw out last week’s performance for each, I still like the way the Ravens have been playing outside of Flacco, and in divisional matchups you gotta give a slight edge to the home team. UPSET! – Ravens 27, Steelers 23
Buffalo Bills (2-1) at Atlanta Falcons (3-0), ATL by 8 – Surprisingly good performance by the Bills last week against a really tough Denver team, but this Falcons team is too good and too powerful on offense to take down in their own stadium. Falcons 33, Bills 21
New York Giants (0-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1), TB by 3 – What the fuck is going on with the Giants? What a disaster they are, in all regards. Bucs 20, Giants 13
Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) at Los Angeles Chargers (0-3), PUSH – Every game in LA is an away game for the Chargers. Feel bad for them, but not for Dean Spanos. Eagles 27, Chargers 20
San Francisco 49ers (0-3) at Arizona Cardinals (1-2), ARZ by 7 – The Cardinals are going to need to play well within the division if they hope to get to the playoffs this year, because a wild card spot just isn’t in the cards for them at all. Fortunately, they should be able to handle the Niners. Cardinals 20, Niners 6
Indianapolis Colts (1-2) at Seattle Seahawks (1-2), SEA by 13 – Lol. Seahawks 24, Colts 9
Washington (2-1) at Kansas City Chiefs (3-0), KC by 6.5 – Washington looked pretty damn good against the Raiders, but the Chiefs may very well be the best team in football right now. I’m picking them against anyone they play until I’m given reason to do otherwise. Chiefs 30, Washington 17
