It's time to go out on a few limbs this week. I'm taking a few chances, picking two of the league's three remaining winless teams to pull upsets, and picking the lone unbeaten playing in week four to lose. Confidence must be growing steadily after a 10-win showing in week three. I would've had even more success last week if Drew Stanton wouldn't have played like you'd expect Aaron Rodgers to play, and if Aaron Rodgers wouldn't have played like you'd expect Drew Stanton to play.
Redskins 34, Giants 26 (Thursday Night Football)
Kirk Cousins came to play in Philadelphia, throwing for 427 yards in his first start of the season; that's almost 100 yards more than Robert Griffin III's career high (just putting that out there). While the Giants got their first win in week three against Houston, one of these teams has to start 1-3, so don't expect two in a row from the G-Men.
Bears 27, Packers 24
It's hard to imagine Green Bay starting the season 1-3, but that's a very real possibility considering they have to go to Soldier Field this week. The Packers are 0-2 on the road thus far, and when they played a division opponent on the road last week, they laid an egg in Detroit. Don't let their potential 1-3 record fool you, though; they will still end up being a contender in the NFC. Chicago is just the more consistent team at this point in the season.
Bills 20, Texans 16
Both teams suffered their first loss of the season last week, but find themselves at the top of their respective divisions (albeit very early in the season). No quarterback has been as quietly surprising as E.J. Manuel to this point, as the maturity he's playing with to start the season indicates major growth. That could mean big things for Buffalo, both this year and in the future.
Colts 34, Titans 20
Andrew Luck and Indianapolis got back on track last week with their 44-17 beatdown in Jacksonville. Meanwhile, Tennessee has lost their way, suffering two back-to-back double-digit losses after winning their season opener. Expect a similar performance from Luck, for the Colts to get back to .500, and for all to be right with the world in the AFC South.
Ravens 27, Panthers 23
Carolina just has too many question marks going into this game: Cam Newton may not be fully healthy, their three top running backs are dealing with their own injuries, and the defense is still adjusting to playing without Greg Hardy. Baltimore has its own problems to solve as well, as they'll try to replace the injured Dennis Pitta and hope rookie left tackle James Hurst can hold his own in place of Eugene Monroe. Nevertheless, the Ravens are too tough to beat at home: Baltimore is 20-2 at home versus NFC teams since 2002.
Lions 24, Jets 19
The Jets have played three solid games to start the season, and are once again a competitive football team. However, after seeing what Detroit was able to do Aaron Rodgers and the Packers last week, it's hard to imagine they'll have too tough of a time with Geno Smith and company.
Buccaneers 23, Steelers 17
Tampa Bay is not nearly as bad as they appeared in the Thursday night game in Atlanta, and Pittsburgh lost three defensive starters to injury last week. Doug Martin should be back on the field for the Bucs Sunday, and a less-than-stellar Steelers defense just got worse. I smell an upset.
Raiders 27, Dolphins 20
Miami has underperformed since their week one win against New England, and it's about time for Derek Carr's solid play to get rewarded with his first career win. The Black Hole fans in Oakland should relish this moment, though, because who knows when the next one will come; four of their next five games are against San Diego, Arizona, Seattle and Denver.
Chargers 31, Jaguars 20
I've given two of the three remaining winless teams their first W of the season this week, and I really wanted to do it for Jacksonville, too; especially with Blake Bortles making his first career start. Still, San Diego has looked too impressive lately, and the Jaguars just aren't all there as a team yet. There's light at the end of the tunnel, though, Jacksonville.
Falcons 27, Vikings 24
Good luck to Teddy Bridgewater... but let me know when Adrian Peterson comes back.
After the first half: 49ers 20, Eagles 9
After the second half: 49ers 27, Eagles 26
Talk about two one-half teams. San Francisco has scored 59 points in the first half of games this season, but only 3 points total in the second half. Philadelphia, meanwhile, has scored 47 more second-half points than first-half points in their three games. At the end of the day, though, the 49ers need to get their first win in their new stadium under their belt.
Cowboys 31, Saints 27 (Sunday Night Football)
I think it's safe to say that a lot of points are going to be scored in the Sunday night game this week. While Drew Brees and the Saints aren't going to go 1-3 sitting down, the Cowboys offense looks dangerous ever since they figured out that they need to give Demarco Murray, the league's leading rusher, the ball more. I've said it every year as of late, and I'm probably going to end up regretting it once again, but this could be the year Dallas finally finds itself at the top of the NFC East.
Chiefs 27, Patriots 24 (Monday Night Football)
The biggest factor in this game will probably be Jamaal Charles' health and whether the Kansas City running back takes the field. If he does, and with the home-field advantage the Chiefs possess at Arrowhead, it's hard to go against the home team; especially with the Patriots' sluggish offense as of late. If Charles is not in the backfield Monday, though, it's hard to imagine that Tom Brady will lose in primetime to a team with zero weapons.
Record last week: 10-6
Record to date: 27-21 (.563)
Back to the NFL Newsfeed