After three weeks of NFL football I am 30-18 with my predictions. So far I have predicted 63% of the games correctly. Not too shabby if I may say so myself. Week 4 is also the start of bye weeks for the NFL and this week the Panthers and Packers will not be playing.
Thursday Sept. 26th
49ers at Rams 7pm/CT – So far the Thursday night games this season have been a bit sloppy due to the short amount of time teams have had to prepare for one another. This week I expect another slow starting game from the 49ers and Rams. However the Rams will have a slight advantage because they will not have to travel. Week 3 both of these teams had poor performances and are looking to play catch up with the Seahawks in the NFC West. Initially I thought the 49ers would win this game but after watching the San Francisco offense only put up 7 points at home to the Colts last Sunday I have my doubts. That is why I am picking the Rams to win at home on a short week.
Rams 21-17
Sunday Sept. 29th
Ravens at Bills 12pm/CT – The Ravens are coming off an important home win against the Texans and the Bills looked lackluster at best against the Jets last week. With Ray Rice likely to return to the lineup this weekend I think the Ravens will improve on offense and the defense will only get better with time. The Bills on the other hand have had flashes of good football but have yet to sustain it for 60 minutes. The Ravens looked good in all areas of the game last week and that is why I have them winning on the road in Buffalo.
Ravens 28-21
Bengals at Browns 12pm/CT – Who would have thought that the Browns would look better after the Trent Richardson trade? While the Browns got a surprising win against the Vikings on the road last week the Bengals present a much harder test. At first I would have dismissed this game as a layup for the Bengals but after getting their first win of the season the Browns and the fans in Cleveland will be rowdy Sunday. However it will all be for not as the other Ohio team will come out on top.
Bengals 31-24
Bears at Lions 12pm/CT – This matchup of two bitter NFC North rivals could be the game of the week. With the Packers on a bye week this game is very important to both teams to help establish their position in the division. The Bears are in first with a 3-0 record while the Lions are second at 2-1. This game comes down to defense. The Bears continue to force turnovers with a veteran lead defense while the Lions defensive line is one of the best in the league. Rookie defensive end Ezekiel Ansah leads the Lions with 2.5 sacks in 3 games while the defense as a whole has 6 sacks. Jay Cutler has only been sacked three times this season and if Detroit is going to win they will need to frustrate Cutler by getting in the backfield. The Bears haven’t had a lot of competition the last two weeks playing the Vikings and Steelers. I think the Lions will end up handing the Bears their first loss of the season in Detroit.
Lions 28-27
Seahawks at Texans 12pm/CT – The Seahawks are scary good but going on the road after two home games can create some problems. The Texans were embarrassed in Baltimore last week and they will be looking to rebound in a big way against one of the NFL’s 7 undefeated teams. If the Texans can control the clock with the running game and put pressure on Russell Wilson early and often they can win this game. However the Seahawks defense has only given up 32 points total in three games. As the saying goes defense wins championships and I think the Seattle defense will lead them to victory in Houston.
Seahawks 21-13
Colts at Jaguars 12pm/CT – The Colts looked like a true playoff team last week in San Francisco and the Jaguars are the worst team in the league. Trent Richardson will get more playing time this week as he gets acclimated to the Colts playbook. I see the Colts winning without a problem.
Colts 28-10
Giants at Chiefs 12pm/CT – The Chiefs are one of the most surprising 3-0 teams in the league after winning only 2 games all of last season. Andy Reid and Alex Smith have made a huge difference for the Chiefs and Reid’s knowledge of the NFC East has helped the Chiefs beat the Cowboys and Eagles the last two weeks. Eli Manning has the most interceptions in the league thus far and the Chiefs defense is licking their collective chops after watching the Panthers get 7 sacks against the Giants. The Giants have yet to have a 100 yard rushing game which will make them one dimensional on Sunday helping the Chiefs win and improve to 4-0. The last time the Chiefs started 4-0 was 2003. They finished 13-3 but lost to the Colts in Kansas City in the first round of the playoffs.
Chiefs 28-10
Steelers at Vikings 12pm/CT – The winless Steelers and Vikings face off in Minnesota this week in quite possibly the most boring game of the week. I think the Vikings could be a lot better with someone besides Christian Ponder under center but that is a discussion for another day. The Steelers looked awful the last two weeks in primetime and I don’t expect much to change this week. The Vikings got shocked at home against the Browns last week but then again who would have thought Brian Hoyer would do anything. I got the Vikings in this snooze fest.
Vikings 24-14
Cardinals vs Buccaneers 12pm/CT – The Bucs made a QB change this week giving rookie Mike Glennon the start over Josh Freeman. Glennon gets his first start at home but against a good Arizona secondary. I think the Bucs might be in for a long year if Glennon doesn’t play well the next couple of weeks. I’ll take the road team in this one.
Cardinals 21-7
Jets at Titans 3pm/CT – The Titans win last week over the Chargers was one of the most exciting finishes so far this season. The Jets offense has been making improvements from week to week but still has had some issues with turnovers. Neither team has a really good defense so this one comes down to who can execute on offense. Jake Locker has been solid in his first three games this year and Chris Johnson has been getting a lot of touches. I expect this trend to continue and for Johnson to get his first 100 yard rushing game of the year.
Titans 24-21
Eagles at Broncos 3pm/CT – The Eagles got 10 days to plan for Peyton Manning and the high powered Denver offense. It still won’t be enough. While I do think that the Eagles will be able to put up points on the Broncos defense I don’t think they will be able to stop Manning and company enough times to win the game. I got the home team in a high scoring game.
Broncos 42-35
Redskins at Raiders 3pm/CT – The Redskins can finally breathe a sigh of releif after three straight loses they will face off against one of the league’s bottom feeders, the Raiders. However Terrelle Pryor is a dual threat QB and the Redskins defense had a lot of trouble with Michael Vick in week 1. This is the game that RGIII needs to prove he can be as productive as he was his rookie year. In the end I think the Redskins get their first win in Oakland.
Redskins 21-13
Cowboys at Chargers 3pm/CT – The Cowboys looked dominant last week in their win over the Rams. The Chargers let another 4th quarter lead slip away as they lost on the final play of the game in Tennessee last week. I think the Cowboys win if they can get another good performance from Demarco Murray and keep the San Diego defense honest.
Cowboys 35-24
Patriots at Falcons 7:30pm/CT – The Patriots face thier first real test when they travel to Atlanta for Sunday Night Football this week. The Falcons will want to win this one badly after losing to the Dolphins in Miami in week 3. The Patriots defense will have their hands full covering Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White, and especially Julio Jones. If Steven Jackson returns healthy this week I think the Falcons offense will be too much for the Patriots to handle.
Falcons 38-28
Monday Sept. 30th
Dolphins at Saints 7:30pm/CT – This matchup of undefeated teams will be a great game in my opinion. The Saints look to be back as Sean Payton’s presence on the sideline has been a huge key to the improvement of this team. The Dolphins are perhaps the most surprising 3-0 team this year and proved a lot of people wrong, including myself, last week when they beat the mighty Falcons in Miami. This game will be very interesting because the Saints defense was horrendous last year but they held off Atlanta in week one and have had solid performances the last two weeks. At the end of the day though I think that the Saints at home will be too much for the Dolphins.
Saints 35-28
Thank You for reading if you have any thoughts the comments section is below.