Week 4 Predictions

Last week was a very rough week for my predictions. I managed not to fall under .500 only because of Pittsburgh’s win over Indianapolis on Sunday night. The Redskins almost put me over .500 but it just was not meant to be and I finished 8-8 for week 3 and am now 29-19 for the season.

So here come my predictions for this weekend’s games. As always, my predicted winners are in bold.

Sunday, October 2

1:00pm
Detroit @ Dallas

As much as I want Detroit’s run to continue, Tony Romo gets another week to recover from his broken ribs and punctured lung. As it was, he played a pretty darn good game this past weekend and should have little trouble having an even better game next week. I do not by any means expect a blowout either way, and this has the potential to be one of the closest exciting games of the weekend.

New Orleans @ Jacksonville

There is a reason I (and the fans and experts on NFL.com) rank New Orleans #2 in the NFL after three weeks, and they will not fall to Jacksonville, regardless of where the game is played. The only thing that could make this a fairly close game is if Jacksonville gets to play in another monsoon, which they have experience in as of this past weekend.

Washington @ St. Louis

I keep flip-flopping on this one. St. Louis is 0-3 and needs a win badly. Steven Jackson is expected to be back to his old self this weekend, but the Redskins are coming off a heartbreaker of a loss in Dallas. Even though history does not look nicely on the Redskins when they are in St. Louis, if that could change any year, this might be it.

San Francisco @ Philadelphia

This is a risky pick. There is still no guarantee that Vick will play. In addition, if he does play he runs the risk of getting injured for the third consecutive week, and his hand may be more likely to be re-injured than he was to get another concussion. However, if Kafka is forced to come in again, he will have the experience of his past two games and, hopefully, the Philly fans to back him up, that is until he does something stupid and the fans destroy any confidence he might have.

Minnesota @ Kansas City

Minnesota cannot possibly blow another halftime lead could they? Well, at least for this week I am going to say no, they will not. It certainly has nothing to do with their talent in my opinion. More, it has to do with Kansas City’s lack of talent. I can definitely see Minnesota building another big early lead against the Chiefs, but I do not think Kansas City has the ability to overcome that, even in Arrowhead. In addition, Leslie Frazier acknowledged this week that he has not been using Adrian Peterson enough during the second halves of games this season. If he actually makes good on what those words imply he will do, they should finally get win number one.

Buffalo @ Cincinnati

Easy pick. Cincinnati has proven to be better than I gave them credit for during pre-season, but as long as they have not let that win over New England go their heads and they have gotten in a solid week of practice, the Bills should steamroll the Bengals. Don’t worry Cincinnati, it should be short and painless, or not.

Carolina @ Chicago

Cam Newton finally god his first taste of an NFL victory last week in a monsoon against Jacksonville, but Chicago is coming off a loss to division rival Green Bay. Cutler should have a much better game against the Carolina defense; that is if his offensive line can keep him upright. Though I do not expect it to be particularly exciting, this one has the makings of a shootout, but I give Chicago the edge both with talent and home field advantage.

Pittsburgh @ Houston

Houston had a great game against New Orleans last weekend. One of their scores was pure luck, but they still ran right with the Saints, who’s defense has proven to be at least as good as Pittsburgh’s has been so far this season. Sure, the Steelers blanked Seattle, but they were blown out of Baltimore and then nearly blown out of Indy. Now, they play in Houston and hope to win? I think not.

Tennessee @ Cleveland

Kenny Britt has pretty much been the Tennessee offense so far this season, and now he is gone for the season. Tennessee will win more games, but they will have to find their new identity before they do. They have Nate Washington, and Lavelle Hawkins has a few years under his belt but has yet to really emerge as a consistent option. And with Chris Johnson still yet to pull his weight, Cleveland should be able to pull out a win at home.

4:05pm
Atlanta @ Seattle

This will not be an easy win for Atlanta, but only because of Seattle’s 12th man. However, Atlanta knows that if they lose this game the remainder of their season could very well consist of them just trying to save face.

New York Giants @ Arizona

The Giants are in a three-way tie for first in the NFC East, but they are probably the best of the three right now, and Arizona has not come close to impressing me yet this season.

4:15pm
Denver @ Green Bay

You would be crazy not to pick the Packers this weekend; or would you consider yourself gutsy?

Miami @ San Diego

The Dolphins are fighting for Tony Sparano’s job. But San Diego is at home and Philip Rivers is coming off a bad game, and he has generally bounced back quite well after an off outing.

New England @ Oakland

Coming off an embarrassing loss, if New England loses this game, Patriots fans might have to wait until next year if they want another playoff appearance, but I do not expect things to get that far. McFadden should have a field day, but the Patriots will not let things get so close in Oakland.

8:20pm
New York Jets @ Baltimore

Baltimore has already been upset after a blowout win this season. This time they are coming off a blowout in St. Louis and they will not make the same mistake twice. Look for the Jets to fight to the death, but the Ravens should win this game on Sunday night.

Monday, October 3

8:30pm
Indianapolis @ Tampa Bay

Hopefully Indianapolis will have another good showing on national television, but I do not expect any miracles in this game. Tampa Bay might prove to be an even tougher opponent than the Steelers, especially with Kerry Collins possibly not playing this Monday night.

I will post a recap of week 4 sometime next week when I get a few free minutes. Be sure to like Puff on the NFL on Facebook. Also, I have created the email address cpuffnfl@gmail.com so if you want to give some feedback you can either comment on posts or via email.

Thank you for reading!