NFL Predictions Week 4 (Home Team Listed Last) (Favorite Denoted by Point Spread) (Bye Week Packers, Panthers)

Sunday, September 29 Its always a big risk picking against the home underdog and Buffalo could cause Baltimore some problems this weekend. However, Buffalo gave up 27 points to the New York Jets last weekend, a team that was struggling to score points. On the other hand, Baltimore last week appeared to regain the offensive and defensive formulas that fueled their Super Bowl run last year. Ravens (-3) 27 Bills 24 12:00 PM CT Cleveland upset Minnesota last week on the road behind the arm of quarterback Brian Hoyer, who was making his second career start. Its now obvious that Minnesota is a pretender based on their 0-3 record. Hoyer wont have the same luck against a better Cincinnati team who has more weapons on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Bengals (-3.5) 23 Browns 17 12:00 PM CT The Lions are always difficult to play at home and they have shown much improvement this year compared to last year. Both the Lions and Bears have each beaten two teams with 0-3 records. The Bears are more opportunistic on defense in forcing turnovers and are more disciplined than the Lions in the penalty department. Bears 31 Lions (-3) 27 12:00 PM CT Seattle may very well be the best team in the NFL right now. However, the Hawks are not as good away from the comfort of their home field. Seattle was only 3-5 on the road last year. Houston needs to prove that they are a contender rather than the team that took it on the chin last week against Baltimore. A high scoring game favors the Texans and a low scoring game favors the Seahawks. Either way, you can bet that this game featuring the number one and number two defenses will be close and maybe the best of the weekend. Seahawks (-1.5) 24 Texans 27 12:00 PM CT The Jaguars always play the Colts tough, and gave Indy one of their handful of losses last year. However, the Jags are still the Jags, which is to say quite possibly the worst team in the league. Indianapolis may show signs of a letdown this weekend playing their second game on the road and coming off a clobbering of San Francisco last weekend, but they should still get the win. Colts (-8) 24 Jaguars 17 12:00 PM CT 1

The Giants showed last week that they are going absolutely nowhere this year. New York suffered a drubbing at the hands of the Carolina Panthers by a score of 38-0. Usually teams that get hammered like this come out guns a blazin the following week. However, quarterback Eli Manning continues to make mistakes in the absence of a running game and the Giants defense has let up 115 points in three games. Kansas City, on the other hand, has been the surprise of the NFL racing out to a 3-0 start and allowing just 32 points in the last two games, including grounding the high flying Philly offense last week in a 26-16 win. Giants 24 Chiefs (-4) 30 12:00 PM CT Nobody wanted to see this stinker between two 0-3 teams on American soil, so commish Roger Goodell promptly sent these teams to London to play this weekend. All kidding aside, this contest between Pittsburgh and Minnesota appeared to be a good one on paper when it was first scheduled. Now, two promising teams are struggling to find answers as to why they cant win a game. The Steelers offensive output has been woeful as they struggle to score points. Pittsburgh has only put up 42 points in three games. Minnesota has the opposite problem as their defense is getting blasted, allowing 96 points in three games. This game is a crapshoot due to the overseas travel. Neither team looks like its ready to take care of business. However, the Vikings actually have an offense that exists, whereas the Steelers offense has largely disappeared. Steelers (-3) 23 Vikings 26 12:00 PM CT Both teams were beaten handily last week. Arizona scored a lone touchdown in a 31-7 loss to New Orleans and Tampa Bay kicked a mere field goal in a 23-3 loss to New England. The 1-2 Cards showed promise this year when they obtained quarterback Carson Palmer from the Raiders during the offseason. However, the Cardinals continue to struggle on the road, which is where they will be again for the second straight week against the Bucs. Tampa Bay has played some excellent defense this year, allowing 57 points in three games, including losses by 2 points and 1 point. However, the offense has been lackluster and Coach Greg Schiano has benched quarterback Josh Freeman in favor of rookie Mike Glennon. The change should spark a Buccaneers victory this weekend. Cardinals 17 Buccaneers (-2.5) 20 12:00 PM CT This contest features a battle between two teams who have been a surprise. The 2-1 Jets third ranked defense will surely make it difficult for the Titans to move the ball. The Jets have also only allowed 50 points in three games. New York finally scored a bunch of points last week against the Bills in a 27-20 win. Before that, they could only muster 10 points in a loss to New England and 18 points in a win against Tampa Bay. Tennessee is flying high after pulling out a win last week when quarterback Jake Locker threw to rookie wide receiver Justin Hunter in the end zone for the winning score with just seconds left. The Titans defense is much improved this year, allowing only 17 points to a Chargers team that was scoring points like crazy behind the hot hand of quarterback Philip Rivers. 2

Jets Titans (-3.5)

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This game has all the makings of a shootout as both quarterback Tony Romo of Dallas and Philip Rivers of San Diego have the ability to throw for a bunch of touchdowns through the air. The Cowboys are coming off a 31-7 blowout win against the Rams last week, while the Chargers had their hearts broken in the waning seconds by the Titans in a 20-17 loss. The fortunes of NFL teams tend to ebb and flow from week to week, and as I described last week, the Cowboys are notorious for riding the ups and downs of the seesaw throughout the season. This week the Chargers win a close one in a high scoring affair. Cowboys (-1.5) 27 Chargers 31 3:25 PM CT This is a very intriguing matchup between the leagues number one and number two offenses. Philly has been putting up big numbers in recent weeks, but they hit a brick wall last week against Kansas City in a 26-16 loss. The Denver defense hasnt had to be spectacular because the offense behind quarterback Peyton Manning has put up a whopping 127 points in three games. The Broncos D, however, has let up more than 20 points in every game so far. The Eagles offense can certainly exploit the Broncos defense, but will they have enough to keep pace with the near perfect Peyton Manning? Eagles 27 Broncos (-10.5) 38 3:25 PM CT The Redskins defense ranks dead last in the NFL. Last week, the Redskins seemed poised to finally get in the win column playing at home against the Lions. Washington ended up giving up 27 points in a loss to Detroit. The Skins offense is off track as well. Quarterback Robert Griffin cant seem to recapture the running aspect of his game to compliment his passing game. It appears that he is still being hampered by the surgery in the offseason to repair his ACL. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor of Oakland has been a pleasant surprise this year considering the Raiders had no number one quarterback to start the season. Pryor was supposed to be replaced by Matt Flynn this week due to a concussion. However, the latest word is that Pryor has been medically cleared to play this weekend. It wont be easy for the Redskins to fly across the country to play the Raiders on the West Coast. Redskins (-3) 23 Raiders 24 3:25 PM CT New England is having a terrible time trying to score points, and the once expected touchdown passes by Tom Brady are no longer coming at a frenetic pace. Brady will once again be without tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Danny Amendola this week. The Patriots defense has kept them in games. However, the team has faced NFL offensive lightweights in Tampa Bay, Buffalo, and the New York Jets. The Pats this week will have to contend with Falcons Matt Ryan, who is quickly becoming one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. Atlanta dropped a heartbreaker on the road last week to a good Miami team. The Falcons are having trouble scoring touchdowns on the road this year in a 27-23 loss to 3

the Dolphins and a 23-17 loss to the Saints. However, the Falcons put up 31 points on the Rams two weeks ago at home. Atlanta should bounce back this week against a depleted New England squad. Patriots 20 Falcons (-2.5) 24 7:30 PM CT

Monday, September 30 Miami is no pushover this year. Their defense is vastly improved, keeping opposition points to a minimum and scoring big wins against Indy and Atlanta. Last week against Atlanta, Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill showed maturity in leading a 13-play, 75-yard drive for the winning touchdown. New Orleans is undefeated this year largely because of the play of their defense. The Saints D has allowed only 38 points in three games under new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. This Monday night tilt should feature some hardhitting action in a close game. The Saints are favored by 6 at home and are always dangerous behind the arm of quarterback Drew Brees and his stable of offensive weapons. However, this year, the Dolphins will come to play and try to build on their 3-0 record. Dolphins 20 Saints (-6.5) 23 7:40 PM CT