2012 NFL Predictions: Regular Season Week 4

NFL UPDATE: The NFL and NFLRA have come to an agreement and, according to Roger Goodell (per ESPN), the locked-out officials will return to the field, beginning with tonight’s Thursday Night Football game.

Last week I said, “I thought Week 1 was rough; Week 2 showed no mercy.” Week 3 was just unfair. It’s a new week, but I’m not holding myself to any crazy expectations. I have a feeling I’m still about even with most people’s picks this season.

Week 4 Byes: Indianapolis Colts & Pittsburgh Steelers

	Game	Puff’s Pick
Thurs., 8:20 pm	Cleveland @ Baltimore	Baltimore Ravens
Sun., 1:00pm	New England @ Buffalo	New England Patriots
	San Francisco @ NY Jets	San Francisco 49ers
	Seattle @ St. Louis	Seattle Seahawks
	Carolina @ Atlanta	Atlanta Falcons
	Minnesota @ Detroit	Minnesota Vikings
	San Diego @ Kansas City	San Diego Chargers
	Tennessee @ Houston	Houston Texans
Sun., 4:05 pm	Cincinnati @ Jacksonville	Cincinnati Bengals
	Oakland @ Denver	Denver Broncos
	Miami @ Arizona	Arizona Cardinals
Sun., 4:25 pm	Washington @ Tampa Bay	Washington Redskins
	New Orleans @ Green Bay	Green Bay Packers
Sun., 8:20 pm	NY Giants @ Philadelphia	New York Giants
Mon., 8:30 pm	Chicago @ Dallas	Dallas Cowboys

	Puff on the NFL
Week 4 Record	12-3
Current Season Record	32-31

Games to Watch (Predicted winners in Bold)

Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, 1:00pm – San Francisco 49ers @ New York Jets

The 49ers will be looking to get back in the win column while the Jets will try to slow down Alex Smith like the Vikings did, but without shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis in the secondary.

Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, 1:00pm – Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions

The Cardinals beat the Patriots in Week 2 before backing up that win with resounding victory over the Eagles. The Vikings will look to legitimize their win over the 49ers in Week 3 by beating a Lions team that is reeling after losses to the 49ers and Titans.

Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, 1:00pm – Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans

In an AFC South showdown, Jake Locker is coming off a huge game against the Detroit Lions and Matt Schaub just had his best game of the season in playing the Broncos. With the crazy outcomes we’ve seen so far this season, don’t be surprised if this isn’t nearly a ‘gimme game.’

Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, 4:25pm – Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Redskins are the league’s leading scorer this season, but they’ve lost to the Rams and Bengals after opening with a win in New Orleans. This will be their third road game in the first four weeks of the season. Meanwhile, this will be the third consecutive game for the Bucs against an NFC East opponent. They lost both of their lost two, blitzing their opponents’ victory formation at the end of both.

Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, 4:25pm – New Orleans @ Green Bay Packers

The Saints are 0-3, the Packers 1-2. Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers are two of the best quarterback in the NFL and both want to get their team into a better situation. There’s no telling whether the game will be close at all, but these two quarterbacks squaring off is reason enough to watch this game.

Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, 8:20pm – New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles

NFC East matchups are always a must-watch, no matter which two teams are slated against each other. The Eagles are 2-1, but could easily be 0-3. The Giants dropped their season opener against the Cowboys but game back with a comeback victory over the Buccaneers and a convincing thrashing of the Panthers.

Stay tuned for recaps of this week’s games. Thanks for reading and enjoy the fourth week of the season!