Thursday
Game: San Francisco at St. Louis
Pick: San Francisco - So the Niners defense hasn't exactly shined so far this season and Colin Kaepernick is playing like a rookie these past couple of games. For whatever reason, I'm going to believe head coach Jim Harbaugh gets his team back on track this Thursday night on the road against a Rams team that lost 31-7 last weekend to the Cowboys.
Result: San Francisco 35 St. Louis 11
Record: 1-0
Sunday
Game: Baltimore at Buffalo
Pick: Baltimore - Baltimore's defense, as well as Joe Flacco, appeared to get on track against Houston this past weekend. While Buffalo's offense is young, quick, and difficult to predict, I have a hunch rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel will have just as difficult a time against the Ravens defense as he did against the Jets.
Result: Buffalo 23 Baltimore 20
Record: 1-1
Game: Cincinnati at Cleveland
Pick: Cincinnati - I'm not yet a believer in Brian Hoyer. The guy did, after all, throw three interceptions in the Browns win against the Vikings this past Sunday. Cincy's defense is much quicker and tougher than the before-mentioned Vikings D. With that in mind, I like for the Bengals to build off their wild come-from-behind win against the Packers to improve to 3-1 with a road victory in Cleveland.
Result: Cleveland 17 Cincinnati 6
Record: 1-2
Game: Chicago at Detroit
Pick: Chicago - While Jay Cutler is prone to a turnover here and there, he is showing a certain leadership and toughness so far this season I haven't seen from him before. Perhaps it has to do with his offensive line giving him more protection than he's ever felt. While the Lions definitely aren't a "gimme," I like for the division-leading Bears to win by a couple of scores in this one.
Result: Detroit 40 Chicago 32
Record: 1-3
Game: NY Giants at Kansas City
Pick: Kansas City - Until the New York Giants show me they know how to play football again, I'll have a hard time picking them. If Eli Manning thought things were bad playing at Carolina, he hasn't seen anything yet. Arrowhead will be a-rocking and if the Chiefs play turnover-free football again, they should be on their way to a 4-0 start.
Result: Kansas City 31 NY Giants 7
Record: 2-3
Game: Arizona at Tampa Bay
Pick: Arizona - Tampa's defense appears to be improved this year, but outside of tailback Doug Martin, the offense has appeared to be awful right alongside the likes of Jacksonville, New York (Jets), etc. Arizona has looked pretty solid defensively so far this season and with Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald teaming up this year, I give them the edge against the Bucs.
Result: Arizona 13 Tampa Bay 10
Record: 3-3
Game: Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Pick: Indianapolis - Indy's coming off a big road win against the 49ers, and the Jaguars are just plain bad. Until they win a game, count on me picking against them the rest of the season.
Result: Indianapolis 37 Jacksonville 3
Record: 4-3
Game: Seattle at Houston
Pick: Seattle - This game makes me slightly nervous. While Seattle has improved on both sides of the ball in the past couple of weeks and Houston has been struggling all season, I keep wondering if and when the Texans will get things figured out again. Matt Schaub hasn't been quite as efficient so far this season. Andre Johnson may be losing a step. Speaking of losing a step, that defense seems to have done just that as well. But, while the almost 0-3 Houston Texans could very well snap out of their funk in this game, I'm going to pick based on how the two teams are currently playing, and I give that definite edge to the Seahawks.
Result: Seattle 23 Houston 20 OT
Record: 5-3
Game: Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota
Pick: Pittsburgh - London may have been excited about this game heading into the season. Pittsburgh has a fairly veteran team, solid defense, and won a Super Bowl not too terribly long ago. Minnesota brings with them arguably the best player in the league in running back Adrian Peterson. However, the two teams have combined to go 0-6 thus far. Fortunately for one of them, they'll finally win a game in England's capital this coming weekend. Based on what I've seen from both clubs, I trust Pitt's defense getting a decent handle on Peterson more than I trust Minnesota's defense stopping Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and company. If Minnesota can allow over 300 yards, 3 touchdown passes and 31 points to Brian Hoyer and the Cleveland Browns, I can't say I like their chances in this one.
Result: Minnesota 34 Pittsburgh 27
Record: 5-4
Game: NY Jets at Tennessee
Pick: Tennessee - If you like good defense, this will be the game to watch this coming weekend. With the game at home, though, and the Titans offensive line playing as well as it has been, I give Tennessee a slight edge in this one. Expect the Titans to give rookie quarterback Geno Smith fits.
Result: Tennessee 38 NY Jets 13
Record: 6-4
Game: Washington at Oakland
Pick: Washington - I know I said last weekend I'd have trouble picking Washington until they proved to me they could play defense. However, this is the Raiders, who may possibly be without starting dual-threat quarterback Terrell Pryor, who suffered a concussion in Monday night's game against the Broncos. Especially if Pryor can't go, I like Washington's chances to win their first game of the season.
Result: Washington 24 Oakland 14
Record: 7-4
Game: Philadelphia at Denver
Pick: Denver - The good news for Philly is they'll have an extra three days to prepare for the Broncos since they played last Thursday night. Denver will also have one less day to prepare for the Eagles since they played on Monday night. The bad news is their awful defense will have to face the league's best offense, especially in the passing game. If Philip Rivers could light up the Eagles secondary, just imagine what Peyton Manning will do. I like for Philly to put up some points, but not nearly enough for the victory.
Result: Denver 52 Philadelphia 20
Record: 8-4
Game: Dallas at San Diego
Pick: San Diego - This is a toss-up for me, but with the game at home, I give the almost 3-0 San Diego Chargers the slightest of edges. Romo and the Cowboys have had trouble being more than a .500 team in recent years, and Philip Rivers and the Chargers will be playing angry after their heartbreaking loss to the Titans on Sunday.
Result: San Diego 30 Dallas 21
Record: 9-4
Game: New England at Atlanta
Pick: Atlanta - The way these two teams have played to this point, if someone were to tell me one of these teams was 3-0 while the other was 1-2, I'd say Atlanta was the 3-0 club and New England was 1-2. Actually, it's the direct opposite. With the game at home, though, and the better team in my mind, I give the Falcons the advantage here, as the Patriots lose their first game of the season.
Result: New England 30 Atlanta 23
Record: 9-5
Monday
Game: Miami at New Orleans
Pick: New Orleans - This game could go either way as well. However, with the game being in New Orleans on a Monday night, the Saints defense seeming new and improved, and the offense seeming to come together against the Arizona Cardinals over the weekend, I predict the Saints come out of this one with a 7- to 10-point victory.
Result: New Orleans 38 Miami 17
Record: 10-5
Week 4: 10-5 (.667)
Overall: 38-25 (.603)
Game: San Francisco at St. Louis
Pick: San Francisco - So the Niners defense hasn't exactly shined so far this season and Colin Kaepernick is playing like a rookie these past couple of games. For whatever reason, I'm going to believe head coach Jim Harbaugh gets his team back on track this Thursday night on the road against a Rams team that lost 31-7 last weekend to the Cowboys.
Result: San Francisco 35 St. Louis 11
Record: 1-0
Sunday
Game: Baltimore at Buffalo
Pick: Baltimore - Baltimore's defense, as well as Joe Flacco, appeared to get on track against Houston this past weekend. While Buffalo's offense is young, quick, and difficult to predict, I have a hunch rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel will have just as difficult a time against the Ravens defense as he did against the Jets.
Result: Buffalo 23 Baltimore 20
Record: 1-1
Game: Cincinnati at Cleveland
Pick: Cincinnati - I'm not yet a believer in Brian Hoyer. The guy did, after all, throw three interceptions in the Browns win against the Vikings this past Sunday. Cincy's defense is much quicker and tougher than the before-mentioned Vikings D. With that in mind, I like for the Bengals to build off their wild come-from-behind win against the Packers to improve to 3-1 with a road victory in Cleveland.
Result: Cleveland 17 Cincinnati 6
Record: 1-2
Game: Chicago at Detroit
Pick: Chicago - While Jay Cutler is prone to a turnover here and there, he is showing a certain leadership and toughness so far this season I haven't seen from him before. Perhaps it has to do with his offensive line giving him more protection than he's ever felt. While the Lions definitely aren't a "gimme," I like for the division-leading Bears to win by a couple of scores in this one.
Result: Detroit 40 Chicago 32
Record: 1-3
Game: NY Giants at Kansas City
Pick: Kansas City - Until the New York Giants show me they know how to play football again, I'll have a hard time picking them. If Eli Manning thought things were bad playing at Carolina, he hasn't seen anything yet. Arrowhead will be a-rocking and if the Chiefs play turnover-free football again, they should be on their way to a 4-0 start.
Result: Kansas City 31 NY Giants 7
Record: 2-3
Game: Arizona at Tampa Bay
Pick: Arizona - Tampa's defense appears to be improved this year, but outside of tailback Doug Martin, the offense has appeared to be awful right alongside the likes of Jacksonville, New York (Jets), etc. Arizona has looked pretty solid defensively so far this season and with Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald teaming up this year, I give them the edge against the Bucs.
Result: Arizona 13 Tampa Bay 10
Record: 3-3
Game: Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Pick: Indianapolis - Indy's coming off a big road win against the 49ers, and the Jaguars are just plain bad. Until they win a game, count on me picking against them the rest of the season.
Result: Indianapolis 37 Jacksonville 3
Record: 4-3
Game: Seattle at Houston
Pick: Seattle - This game makes me slightly nervous. While Seattle has improved on both sides of the ball in the past couple of weeks and Houston has been struggling all season, I keep wondering if and when the Texans will get things figured out again. Matt Schaub hasn't been quite as efficient so far this season. Andre Johnson may be losing a step. Speaking of losing a step, that defense seems to have done just that as well. But, while the almost 0-3 Houston Texans could very well snap out of their funk in this game, I'm going to pick based on how the two teams are currently playing, and I give that definite edge to the Seahawks.
Result: Seattle 23 Houston 20 OT
Record: 5-3
Game: Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota
Pick: Pittsburgh - London may have been excited about this game heading into the season. Pittsburgh has a fairly veteran team, solid defense, and won a Super Bowl not too terribly long ago. Minnesota brings with them arguably the best player in the league in running back Adrian Peterson. However, the two teams have combined to go 0-6 thus far. Fortunately for one of them, they'll finally win a game in England's capital this coming weekend. Based on what I've seen from both clubs, I trust Pitt's defense getting a decent handle on Peterson more than I trust Minnesota's defense stopping Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and company. If Minnesota can allow over 300 yards, 3 touchdown passes and 31 points to Brian Hoyer and the Cleveland Browns, I can't say I like their chances in this one.
Result: Minnesota 34 Pittsburgh 27
Record: 5-4
Game: NY Jets at Tennessee
Pick: Tennessee - If you like good defense, this will be the game to watch this coming weekend. With the game at home, though, and the Titans offensive line playing as well as it has been, I give Tennessee a slight edge in this one. Expect the Titans to give rookie quarterback Geno Smith fits.
Result: Tennessee 38 NY Jets 13
Record: 6-4
Game: Washington at Oakland
Pick: Washington - I know I said last weekend I'd have trouble picking Washington until they proved to me they could play defense. However, this is the Raiders, who may possibly be without starting dual-threat quarterback Terrell Pryor, who suffered a concussion in Monday night's game against the Broncos. Especially if Pryor can't go, I like Washington's chances to win their first game of the season.
Result: Washington 24 Oakland 14
Record: 7-4
Game: Philadelphia at Denver
Pick: Denver - The good news for Philly is they'll have an extra three days to prepare for the Broncos since they played last Thursday night. Denver will also have one less day to prepare for the Eagles since they played on Monday night. The bad news is their awful defense will have to face the league's best offense, especially in the passing game. If Philip Rivers could light up the Eagles secondary, just imagine what Peyton Manning will do. I like for Philly to put up some points, but not nearly enough for the victory.
Result: Denver 52 Philadelphia 20
Record: 8-4
Game: Dallas at San Diego
Pick: San Diego - This is a toss-up for me, but with the game at home, I give the almost 3-0 San Diego Chargers the slightest of edges. Romo and the Cowboys have had trouble being more than a .500 team in recent years, and Philip Rivers and the Chargers will be playing angry after their heartbreaking loss to the Titans on Sunday.
Result: San Diego 30 Dallas 21
Record: 9-4
Game: New England at Atlanta
Pick: Atlanta - The way these two teams have played to this point, if someone were to tell me one of these teams was 3-0 while the other was 1-2, I'd say Atlanta was the 3-0 club and New England was 1-2. Actually, it's the direct opposite. With the game at home, though, and the better team in my mind, I give the Falcons the advantage here, as the Patriots lose their first game of the season.
Result: New England 30 Atlanta 23
Record: 9-5
Monday
Game: Miami at New Orleans
Pick: New Orleans - This game could go either way as well. However, with the game being in New Orleans on a Monday night, the Saints defense seeming new and improved, and the offense seeming to come together against the Arizona Cardinals over the weekend, I predict the Saints come out of this one with a 7- to 10-point victory.
Result: New Orleans 38 Miami 17
Record: 10-5
Week 4: 10-5 (.667)
Overall: 38-25 (.603)
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