Who will win? NFL 2018 season week four game picks
Week four in the NFL kicked off with a barn burning game between the L.A. Rams and the Minnesota Vikings. Will the rest of the weekend provide the same entertainment?
Here is a look at this weekends games and my picks as to who wins!
Bengals (2-1) at Falcons (1-2)
Sunday 1:00 pm EST
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
(ATL -5.5)
The Bengals are coming off a bit of a wake-up call type loss at Carolina. The previously undefeated Bengals suffered their first loss on the road against NFC South opponent, they now take on another NFC South opponent on the road. The Bengals are a good team and will certainly put up a fight against a Falcons team that has had a disappointing start to the season.
Atlanta lost in overtime to the Saints at home last week and just could not get a stop against Drew Brees and company. The Falcons will likely have to put up plenty of points again this week as the Bengals can score as well.
Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley are just too much for the Bengals to handle despite a great game from Andy Dalton and A.J. Green.
Falcons 31 Bengals 27
Buccaneers at Bears
Sunday 1:00 pm EST
Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
(CHI -3.0)
This will be the first real test offensively for Ryan Fitzpatrick and the high powered Bucs offense, heading to Chicago to take on a really good Bears defense led by Khalil Mack. It took some time for Fitzpatrick and the Bucs offense to get going against a Steelers defense that has been less than stellar this year but they still managed to put up 27 points in a valiant comeback effort despite 3 ints from Fitzpatrick.
Khalil Mack incredibly has a strip sack in all three games so far this year and will likely be in the backfield early and often again this week. The Bears defense will need to limit the Bucs offense because Chicago’s offense has not been good this year. Second-year QB, Mitch Trubisky has been a disappointment this year.
If Chicago can keep the Bucs offense under 20, which seems like a tall task, they should get a win, if not it might be a long day in Chicago. Still, we have yet to see Tampa play a defense at or near the level of Chicago, which leaves us to believe the Bears will get the win at home.
Bears 20 Bucs 17
Lions (1-2) at Cowboys (1-2)
Sunday 1:00 pm EST
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
(DAL 3.0)
The Lions are coming off a huge upset win at home against the Pats. Detroit has the same record as New England which is very surprising after what we saw in week 1. The Lions looked awful in Week 1, losing by 31 to the Jets, then looked terrible in the first half against the Niners. From that point on, when the score was 30 to 13 in favor of San Francisco the Lions have outscored opponents 40 to 10. In the first 7 quarters of the season, the Lions were outscored 75 to 30, a massive turnaround.
The Cowboys, however, looked awful in week one, especially offensively, look much better in week two, and looked awful again in week three. Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and the Cowboys offense have not been good. It’s no coincidence that the Cowboys best performance was at home. The Lions have been the better team as of late but this game will be played at “Jerry World” which gives the Cowboys the advantage.
Cowboys 24 Lions 17
Bills (1-2) at Packers (1-1-1)
Sunday 1:00 pm EST
Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
(GB -9.5)
Can the Bills pull off another major upset? Will Clay Matthews get called for roughing the passer for the third straight week? There is no shortage of intrigue in this game.
Buffalo is coming off maybe the biggest upset this decade and has a chance to do it again. Clay Matthews was flagged twice in as many weeks for roughing the passer and both calls have been heavily disputed by the media.
If the Bills defense, who shut down a high powered Vikings offense, can limit Aaron Rodgers’ production the Bills can keep it close and let Josh Allen control the game. Despite last week’s incredible performance, that shouldn’t be expected again as the Packers will be better prepared for a fight than from the Bills than the Vikings were. The game is also at Lambeau which is a huge advantage for the Packers. The Bills should keep it close but Aaron Rodgers gets the win at home against the upset-hungry Bills.
Packers 27 Bills 17
Eagles (2-1) at Titans (2-1)
Sunday 1:00 pm EST
Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
(PHI -4.0)
The Eagles finally got Wentz back and got the win in his first game back, but the win was anything but pretty. The Eagles escaped 20 to 16, needing a last-second 4th down stop to secure the victory.
The Titans win last week was even uglier. Backup QB Blaine Gabbert was knocked out of the game with a concussion and it forced injured starting QB, Marcus Mariota to come in. Mariota and the Titans did just enough to get a win in a touchdown-less 9 to 6 victory.
Wentz now has a game under his belt after what was a 10-month break, that should be very beneficial against a Titans defense that has played well this year and is getting healthier. Wentz and a potentially full strength offense (Jay Ajayi and Alshon Jeffery might coming back) the Eagles get a big road win in Nashville.
Eagles 21 Titans 13
Texans (0-3) at Colts (1-2)
Sunday 1:00 pm EST
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
(IND -1.0)
The Texans are without a doubt one of the more disappointing teams this season. Deshaun Watson has been unable to return to last season’s form or even close to it. The Texans offense has been unable to get going and their defense has struggled because of it. J.J. Watt finally showed up this week and will have to so again if Houston wants a chance at beating Indianapolis on the road.
Despite the 1-2 record, the Colts have been better than what the stat sheet says. They held tight on the road against the defending Super Bowl Champs with Wentz back on the field. Andrew Luck hasn’t been great but he’s been good enough to keep them in games and has been better than Watson thus far.
The Texans are coming off a bad home loss to a Giants team that looked hapless prior to last week. It won’t get any easier this week. Colts by a touchdown and a field goal.
Colts 24 Texans 14
Jets (1-2) at Jaguars (2-1)
Sunday 1:00 pm EST
TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, Florida
(JAX -7.5)
This likely will the best defensive rookie Sam Darnold will have to face all year because the Jags defense is at the very least top 3 in the league. It will be a tough test for the rookie who had a great outing in week one but hasn’t been as good since. Neither has the team.
The Jaguars will be the best opponent the Jets have faced thus far and it’s certainly no easy task. The Jaguars have an explosive yet inconsistent offense that is either really good or really bad. If that offense is clicking Jacksonville looks unbeatable. When the offense isn’t quite in sync, a win against the Jags is still no easy task but they become much more beatable.
Sam Darnold tends to the turn the ball over quite a bit and there should be no shortage of turnovers committed by him in this one. The key for Jacksonville is capitalizing on those opportunities arise. Something they did quite well in the first two weeks against the Giants and Patriots but failed to do so last week against the Titans. The Jags defense is just far too good for the Jets and the rookie Darnold to steal a win on the road here.
Jaguars 24 Jets 13