10 Things To Keep An Eye Out For During NFL Week 4's Sunday Slate

We're almost to the quarter pole of the 2015 NFL season, which means it's time for us to start assessing all 32 NFL teams and categorizing them as potential contenders and troubled pretenders. With that in mind, here's 10 Things To Keep An Eye Out For During NFL Week 4's Sunday Slate.

1) Could Sunday's London showcase Joe Philbin's last hurrah? His Miami Dolphins team looked listless and without passion in the team's blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday. If that happens again against the New York Jets in England on Sunday, his already-hot office seat may go molten.

2) Are the Atlanta Falcons for real? Their 38-26 win over the defending NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys was huge and all, but they still gave up 26 points to Brandon Weeden. Brandon Weeden, folks. It'll be interesting to see just how the Falcons' explosive offense fares against a Houston Texans defense long on talent but short on results so far.

3) Another NFC South conundrum -- is the Carolina Panthers' 3-0 record a mirage? Well, they've beat Blake Bortles, Ryan Mallett and Luke McCown by just 23 combined points so far. After facing Jameis Winston this week and a bye, it's all aces (Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers) over a three-week "prove yourself" span for Carolina. 

4) Your odd fact of the week: New York Giants QB Eli Manning is one of three QBs (Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady being the others) who have not thrown a pick through three weeks. That'll likely come to end on Sunday against an opportunistic Buffalo Bills defense.

5) Another odd fact: The Oakland Raiders are 3-point favorites on the road against the Chicago Bears. This is just the second time in 10 seasons they've been favored on the road. Can Derek Carr lead the Raiders to a 3-1 record? Is the world tilting off its axis?

6) The Washington Redskins are three-point underdogs to the Philadelphia Eagles at home this week. Take our betting advice. Put some money on the Eagles.

7) San Diego must be really happy that they get the Cleveland Browns this week, especially with the Chargers playing at home. The Bolts were down five offensive linemen and their top two cornerbacks in their 31-14 loss at the Minnesota Vikings last week. The injuries are still piling up, but they should get back to .500 against a listless Cleveland squad.

8) It's a tale of two very different QBs when Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers take on Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers by The Bay. Rodgers has thrown 10 touchdowns without an interception this year. Kaepernick threw two pick-sixes in TWO PLAYS to open off the 49ers' blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week. 

9) Is anybody else worried that the Jacksonville Jaguars are just good enough to take down an Indianapolis Colts team that is just screaming "turmoil" right now? The Jags are 9-point underdogs on the road. Bet at your leisure.

10) The defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks rounded back into form with a shutout of the Bears last week. They could easily make it two blank-jobs in two weeks with an out-of-sync Detroit Lions team visiting the Pacific Northwest.