1:00 PM EST
New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills
The only matchup between two undefeated teams pits the New England Patriots against the Buffalo Bills in a battle for AFC East supremacy. This is Buffalo’s second straight home game but when you add in that their road games against the New York Giants and New York Jets were just a couple hours away this team has mostly stayed within familiar confines to begin the year. Josh Allen is looking better and more comfortable in his second season, while John Brown and Cole Beasley provide consistency at wide receiver. In the backfield it’s the ageless Frank Gore still making waves—rookie Devin Singletary is unlikely to play. The real strength of this team is its defense. They’re physical and aggressive with athletes all over the field. Tre’Davious White is a shutdown corner and he’ll likely key in on one Patriot receiver all game. This very likely will come down to which defense plays better. The Patriots’ unit is yet to surrender a touchdown through three games. The Bills will be New England’s toughest test, however, in his 20-year career Tom Brady has been dominant when playing in Buffalo—he hasn’t lost in Buffalo since 2011. The team is still looking for Sony Michel to have a breakout game this year but Josh Gordon, Julian Edelman, and Phillip Dorsett III have been huge to start the year.
PREDICTION: Patriots 23 , Bills 9
Tennesee Titans @ Atlanta Falcons
We’re only at Week 4 and both of these teams’ seasons have taken more twists and turns than Super Mario Kart. Big things were expected out of the Atlanta Falcons this year as they would be getting two huge pieces back from injury on defense (Keanu Neal and Deion Jones). Unfortunately, Neal has been lost for the year once again after rupturing his Achilles. Offensively, a team with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Devonta Freeman, and Mohammed Sanu should be averaging more than 20 points per game. They need a win here to keep pace with the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans “shocked the world” when they opened the season with a dominant win over the Cleveland Browns. Since then they dropped back-to-back games against the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars. Marcus Mariota still hasn’t made the leap that is expected of a number two overall pick and his inconsistency is putting a damper on what could be a good offense. The defense has been lead by the play of the secondary and they’re going to need to step up big if they are going to have any chance against Julio. Both Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan were with New England in 2016 when Jones nearly won Atlanta the Super Bowl singlehanded.
PREDICTION: Falcons 28 , Titans 24
Kansas City Chiefs @ Detroit Lions
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, has one of the top two—and it’s not two—liveliest arms in the NFL and this matchup offers us the rare chance to watch him show it off in a dome. The last time he played in one he uncorked a beautiful 69-yard bomb to Tyreek Hill. Now Hill won’t play today but with Sammy Watkins, Aldrick Robinson, and Mecole Hardman Andy Reid made sure he kept some speedsters around for Mahomes. In his second season as a starter, he is on pace to smash his totals from last year. The Detroit Lions have been one of the early surprises of the 2019 NFL season. After crumbling late in Week 1 and allowing the Arizona Cardinals to tie in overtime, they’ve looked like a team on a mission. Matthew Stafford’s arm is quite impressive as well but he’s dealing with a hip injury and might not be able to play. Their top cornerback, Darius Slay also popped up on the injury report (hamstring) late this week is a game-time decision as well. Kansas City has been a buzzsaw to begin the year and don’t expect that to slow down this week.
PREDICTION: Chiefs 42 , Lions 17
Oakland Raiders @ Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement felt like the end of the Indianapolis Colts’ chances to do something special this year but a balanced roster and steady play from Jacoby Brissett has helped them to keep their head above water to start the year. Marlon Mack has been sound, the double-headed tight end monster of Jack Doyle and Eric Ebron have been security blankets for Brissett, and TY Hilton is still doing TY Hilton things. The defense has stepped up its game to thanks to Malik Hooker and last years Defensive Rookie of the Year, Darius Leonard. There’s nothing spectacular about this team they’re just very solid in all three areas of the game. The Oakland Raiders jumped out with a very impressive Monday Night Football win to start the season but have returned to Earth since then. Darren Waller has been great and Josh Jacobs should be in the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation but this team is struggling to sustain four good quarters of play week-in and week-out. A win here could get things back on track and keep the team from blaming Antonio Brown’s departure on their poor play.
PREDICTION: Colts 24 , Raiders 16
Los Angeles Chargers @ Miami Dolphins
After a valiant effort to get to a 12-win season, the Los Angeles Chargers have stumbled out of the gate in their attempt to meet the expectations placed on them. Los Angeles is dealing with a significant amount of injuries early in the year. Here’s a list of offensive starters that Chargers will be missing for this game: Travis Benjamin, Virgil Green, Hunter Henry, Justin Jackson, Russell Okung, and Mike Williams. That doesn’t even mention the fact that even though Melvin Gordon will be active for this game the team only plans to use him in an emergency. However, if there were any game for that crop to miss it would be this one. The Miami Dolphins are not just bad, they are bad on purpose and that’s a different level of bad. The only bright spot for them this year is the amount of draft-eligible quarterbacks in the NCAA that are playing at a high-level (Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa). Hopefully, Brian Flores gets another chance next season to show whether or not he’s capable of being an NFL head coach.
PREDICTION: Chargers 33 , Dolphins 17
Washington Redskins @ New York Giants
The New York Giants finally did it, they benched Eli Manning and let rookie quarterback, Daniel Jones show what he can do. And what he can do is a lot more than Manning ever showed. Jones has the arm to hit deep passes, isn’t fazed by pressure, and is athletic enough to make plays with his feet (including last week’s game-winning touchdown scamper). Yet, as is often the case with New York sports, it was just one game and we can’t crown him the next big thing because he beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not having Saquon Barkley this week means that their opponent will be free to fully lock in on stopping Jones. That opponent is the Washington Redskins who just so happen to have former Giants safety Landon Collins on their roster. This will be the quintessential NFC East rivalry game. Both team trading blows in a war of attrition as the rugged, physical game is decided by who can remain standing longest. Don’t be surprised if Redskins head coach sends Dwayne Haskins in here. Case Keenum has been playing poorly to date and Haskins is also the player many Giants fans wanted to draft. If he can defeat the crown prince Jones, that’ll be extra salt in the wound for the Giants. In Terry McLaurin, Adrian Peterson, and Vernon Davis there are just enough weapons there for Washington to take advantage of a porous New York defense.
PREDICTION: Redskins 20 , Giants 14
Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens
What was supposed to be the year of the Cleveland Browns has turned into just another year of the Cleveland Browns. They certainly weren’t done any favors by the schedule makers and the shocking home loss to the Titans means that they are likely on their way to beginning the season 1-3. In Odell Beckham Jr., Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, and Nick Chubb the offense has immense talent but the offensive line’s poor play has made it hard for them to string together any stretch of effectiveness. They’ll be without both starting cornerbacks (Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams) for the second straight week and we’ve seen the Baltimore Ravens pass attack exploit bad defenses already this year. Lamar Jackson is much improved and thanks to new offensive coordinator Greg Roman, this team has some tricks up their sleeve that could help slow down the Browns excellent defensive line. Look for Hollywood Brown to be running free all over the Cleveland backup corners and the Ravens defense to be able to get pressure on Mayfield and keep an explosive Browns offense in check for most of the day.
PREDICTION: Ravens 31 , Browns 21
Carolina Panthers @ Houston Texans
The Kyle Allen Revenge Tour continues as the Carolina Panthers make the trip to Houston to face the Houston Texans. Last week, the Arizona-native went home and put on an admirable display against the Arizona Cardinals in a much-needed win for the Panthers. This week, he goes back to his old college stomping grounds–transferred to Houston from Texas A&M in 2016–and tries to remain hot. Helping him out will be Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, Greg Olsen, and Curtis Samuel as Carolina hopes its offense can put on another solid showing. McCaffrey has assumed the role of the best player while Cam Newton rehabs from his Lisfranc injury (which the team hasn’t announced how long he’ll be out for, just that he won’t return until he’s 100%).On the other side, Deshaun Watson will look to continue his stellar play and the offseason moves of head coach-turned-general manager, Bill O’Brien looks to be paying off so far. However, the Texans need to start putting some distance between themselves and the rest of the AFC South. Besides the Colts, none of the other teams have looked the part of a playoff contender. If Allen plays as he did in Week 3 Houston will have their work cut out for them.
PREDICTION: Texans 30 , Panthers 21
4:05 PM EST
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Los Angeles Rams
We haven’t seen the same display of dominance from the Los Angeles Rams this season as we did to begin the year in 2018. Sure they’re undefeated and still have the head coach the rest f the league is trying to replicate in Sean McVay, but last season this team came out and showed everyone that they were not to be taken lightly. They haven’t used Todd Gurley as much as they did last year and that might be a strategic choice as they want him as close to 100 percent at the end of the season after watching him wear down to close out the regular season and during their run through the postseason. Jared Goff looks comfortable in McVay’s system and the trio of Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, and Robert Woods is still dynamic. On defense things being and end with Aaron Donald. The back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year (2017-2018) is once again a one-man wrecking crew for defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Bruce Arians will have their hands full here. Jameis Winston has been better with the new head coach but still leaves a lot left to be desired from his play. Chris Godwin will be hobbled and the run game has been virtually nonexistent all season. This feels like a game where Los Angeles makes it a point to remind everyone that they are the reigning NFC champions.
PREDICTION: Rams 35 , Buccaneers 12
Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals
So far the Kliff Kingsbury experience in the NFL has had mixed reviews. In Week 1 the Arizona Cardinals offense through three quarters looked about as bad as anything ever experienced in the NFL, then came the comeback in the fourth quarter to secure a tie. Last week, Kyler Murray completed 30 passes, which amounted to a total of 173 yards. Dink-and-dunk is not what was expected out of the Air Raid’s introduction to the NFL but that’s what we’ve seen from Murray and the offense to date. However, Murray has revived the career of Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson looks better than he did during any of his previous seasons with the franchise. There’s hope on the horizon and ultimately that is what Kingsbury was brought in for, to provide hope. They’ll travel to the Pacific Northwest and face off against the Seattle Seahawks and the 12th Man. Russell Wilson’s success in the league created a path for Murray to become the number one overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Seahawks remain a team committed to the run but Chris Carson’s fumble issues and Rashad Penny’s accumulation of injuries is making the team rely more and more on the arm of Wilson. Arizona’s secondary is one of the league’s worse and if Seattle lets Wilson air it out they could be in for a big day on offense. Yet, I believe this game will be decided in the trenches and it seems like Johnson is primed for a breakout performance.
PREDICTION: Cardinals 22 , Seahawks 21
4:25 PM EST
Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are looking to ride their elite defense back to the playoffs (and hopefully past the opening weekend) once again. The Monsters of the Midway are back and Khalil Mack is the scariest of them all. Run plays, pass plays, it doesn’t matter, Mack can find a way to impact them all. Second-year linebacker Roquan Smith is just as effective at the second level of play and his athleticism and football intelligence make it seem like there are two of him on the field at times. Safeties Ha-Ha Clinton Dix and Eddie Jackson are controlling things on the back end and our as likely to make a big hit as they are to pick off an errant throw. Chicago has needed all of that and more as Matt Nagy’s offense hasn’t found its footing just yet. Mitchell Trubisky is looking more like his rookie version than what we saw last year. If he can start showing real improvement than the Bears can round into shape as a very tough team to handle on both sides of the ball. The Minnesota Vikings had a makeover this offseason and thanks to the presence of a fully healthy Dalvin Cook, they have changed for the better. The current leading rusher in the NFL heading into Week 4 is capable of breaking off a huge run in the blink of an eye. He also can contribute in the passing game as well and his back up, Alexander Mattison is someone the Vikings have a lot of faith in. Cook’s emergence has helped to overshadow the fact that Kirk Cousins isn’t playing like the quarterback he’s being paid to be. With Adam Thelin and Stefon Diggs on the outside and a dynamic running game, Minnesota’s offense should be much less one-dimensional than it has been to begin this year.
PREDICTION: Bears 18 , Vikings 10
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Denver Broncos
The will he or will he not play question attached to Jalen Ramsey–who has not missed a game dating back to his days at Florida State–will linger into the afternoon for the Jacksonville Jaguars. After missing practices with the flu and then stepping away from the team for paternity leave, Ramsey flew with the team to Denver and is expected to test out his back pregame to determine if he can play or not. And oh yeah, he still wants to be traded from the team. On a brighter note, rookie Gardner Minshew has been a revelation for the team and DJ Chark has been highly productive to start the 2019 season. If Leonard Fournette can get going then there’s an outside chance that the Jaguars could be the type of winning football team that makes players as talented as Ramsey WANT to stick around. The Denver Broncos have been on the rough end of some tough losses as they embark on the Vic Fangio era. Joe Flacco has been “meh” to say the least but Phillip Lindsay is back in a big way for his encore season. Fangio made a name for himself as a defensive coordinator and with the front seven bookended by Bradley Chubb and Von Miller he must be living a dream come true. For them to notch their first win of the season, they’ll need their defense to answer the call. For as good as Minshew has looked in two and a half games, he’s still a rookie. If Chubb and Miller can get into the backfield they can easily cause havoc and turn the game for Denver.
PREDICTION: Broncos 24 , Jaguars 20
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