Welcome back to Chick’s Picks! Last week I went 11-5 and my combined record for all 3 weeks so far is 33-14-1. On average, I’m getting about 11 picks right, so far I’ve been reliable in my picks, let’s see if I can keep this momentum going in week 4!
Eagles @ Packers
In the Thursday Night Football matchup for week 4, the Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) travel to Green Bay to take on the Packers (3-0). The Eagles are not as bad as their record looks. The most common problem for the Eagles looks to be the secondary and the WRs inconsistency. So far, the Eagles have played the Redskins, the Falcons, and the Lions. At the start of the season, I would have predicted 3-0 for the Eagles, maybe 2-1 if the Falcons won as they did. The Eagles can keep up with any team scoring-wise, but down the stretch, they’ll need to find a solution in the secondary. Also, if the Eagles stop dropping passes that would help Carson Wentz a lot too. They shouldn’t have lost to the Lions, but this will be a bad week to try to bounce back, which would put them at 1-3 if they lose. As for the Packers, they’re looking like a Super Bowl Contender, no joke. Skip Bayless had the audacity to say that Aaron Rodgers is on the decline because of his stats. Aaron Rodgers just faced the 3 of the top ten defenses in the NFL. Plus, they still won. I expect Aaron Rodgers to make Skip Bayless eat his words with a breakout game and go 4-0.
Final Prediction: Green Bay Packers 31, Philadelphia Eagles 21
Redskins @ Giants
ZzZzZzZ….This is Chick’s snoozefest of the week. The Washington Redskins (0-3) are being hosted by the New York Giants (1-2) in this week 4 division game. I had a little too much faith in the Redskins last week to beat the Bears. In hindsight, that wasn’t my best decision, but make no mistake, this offense has been playing well despite their 0-3 record. There are rumblings about a QB change, that’ll definitely affect the Redskins whether it’s better or for worse. For the Giants, Daniel Jones was the talk of the town, he led the Giants to victory against the Buccaneers without Saquon Barkley. However, every dog has its day and I’m not sold on the Daniel Jones hype. Daniel Jones has a lot to prove, and well if the Redskins don’t win this game with a Saquon-less Giants, I doubt they win anything without some type of change.
Final Prediction: Washington Redskins 27, New York Giants 21
Chargers @ Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins (0-3) are hosting the Los Angeles Chargers (1-2) this week in another blowout. I will say I am surprised at the first-half effort by the Dolphins against the Cowboys. That didn’t last long though, however. I won’t lie, I don’t even know who is starting this week at QB, but does it even matter? The Chargers need a win badly. They’ve lost two close games against the Lions and the Texans. Luckily, they can get some confidence after thrashing the Dolphins. START EVERYONE ON THE CHARGERS FOR FANTASY!
Final Prediction: Los Angeles Chargers 24, Miami Dolphins 10
Raiders @ Colts
The Oakland Raiders (1-2) are traveling to Indianapolis to take on the Colts (2-1) in this matchup. The Oakland Raiders look bad (shocker I know). The offense was supposed to perform better this year with all the new upgrades. With Derek Carr in his make it or break it year, he’s not doing enough for the Raiders to not move on from him. Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller have been bright spots in the offense, especially Waller. If you don’t know who Darren Waller is, it’s time to get familiar because he will be a star. Jacoby Brissett is legit. His stats aren’t the most prolific, but he manages his offense well and takes care of the ball, that’s all you can really ask for from him. They’ve beaten the Falcons and the Titans, the Raiders shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re not sold on Brissett because of lack of stats, don’t worry, he’s gonna have a field day with the Raiders porous secondary.
Final Prediction: Indianapolis Colts 31, Oakland Raiders 17
Panthers @ Texans
The Carolina Panthers (1-2) are being hosted by the Houston Texans (2-1) in this week 4 game. Kyle Allen made a strong impression putting up a whopping 38 points on the Cardinals. However, he’ll have a much tougher time winning against the Texans. Despite the claim that the Panthers wanted to lighten Christian McCaffrey’s workload, the Panthers seem to rely on him more than ever. The Texans will try to focus on him and force Kyle Allen to win the game rather than CMC. The Texans have been great so far, despite the lack of a good offensive line, Deshaun Watson keeps them in games. Other than the WR core that includes an amazing DeAndre Hopkins, there’s not a lot of help for Watson, but man is he elite. I don’t have a lot of faith in Allen, but I do have a lot of faith in Watson. Expect the Texans to take this one.
Final Prediction: Houston Texans 28, Carolina Panthers 17
Chiefs @ Detroit
The Detroit Lions (2-0-1) are hosting the Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) in this game. THE UNPREDICTABLE LIONS ARE BACK AT IT AGAIN! They tied to the Cardinals and beat the Chargers and the Eagles. I can’t seem to get a handle on how actually good the Lions are, and every time I try to figure it out my head hurts. Their offense has been prolific, Matthew Stafford is a big reason for that. However, look for the Lions to have their first loss of the season as they face the Chiefs. As good as the Lions offense has been, does any offense (other than the Patriots) come close to the Chiefs offense. There’s simply too much speed and too many options to cover for. Patrick Mahomes is a stud and Andy Reid is a certified offensive genius. I don’t expect them to go 16-0 but they won’t lose for a while. Expect a shootout in this game, good offenses with no defenses makes this a game great for highlights.
Final Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs 34, Detroit Lions 24
Patriots @ Bills
The New England Patriots (3-0) are traveling to Buffalo to take on the Bills (3-0) in this week 4 division game. In my honest opinion, this Patriots team is more complete on both sides of the ball than any other team in the NFL. It’s almost like we should just give them the Lombardi Trophy already. Let’s talk about a freaking surprise though?! If you told me the Buffalo Bills would be (3-0), I’d laugh and ask what drugs you’re taking. It’s not even as if the Bills have faced good teams (Jets, Giants, Bengals), I just didn’t think they’d win all of them. Josh Allen and John Brown are showing that they are legit pairing. However, that undefeated record comes to a stop this week as they will lose to arguably the best team in the NFL in the Patriots.
Final Prediction: New England Patriots 27, Buffalo Bills 13
Browns @ Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are hosting the Cleveland Browns in this division game. The Ravens took a step back last week when playing the high-powered Chiefs. Despite the score, the game wasn’t close. The Chiefs were up 30-13 at one point in the 3rd quarter. However, this week they play the overhyped Browns. Lamar Jackson will try to continue to be the best dual-threat QB he can be. Chances are, at how bad the Browns are playing, he’ll have a field day. The Browns are still the Browns, there’s literally no other way to put it. On paper, this team should be up there with the best teams in the NFL, but in reality, they just play like shit. I love Baker talking the talk, but until he can walk the walk, he just needs to shut up honestly. The Ravens are poised to win the AFC North, they’re going to make a statement win after this one.
Final Prediction: Baltimore Ravens 23, Cleveland Browns 17
Titans @ Falcons
The Tennessee Titans are being hosted by the Atlanta Falcons in this matchup. The Titans looked bad last week against a stellar defense in the Jaguars. Their defense didn’t look much better after they gave up 20 points to the rookie Gardner Minshew. Mariota isn’t doing a good job right now if he wants to keep being the starter, he needs to have a strong game against the Falcons to cool the hot seat down. After a bad first week against the Vikings, the Falcons have played great close games against two good teams. Despite their 1-2 record, they’re not that bad. Julio Jones is consistently showing he deserves every penny of his contract. Matt Ryan can still sling the ball. The Falcons problem is the run game is not good enough to open up the pass, however, I think they can handle the Titans secondary. I think the Titans will bounce back and this game will be close and entertaining to watch.
Final Prediction: Atlanta Falcons 24, Tennessee Titans 20
Buccaneers @ Rams
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2) are traveling to Los Angeles to take on the Rams (3-0) in this game. The Buccaneers annoy me, they beat a better team in the Panthers and then lose to the Saquon-less Giants? Come on man. Right now, the Bucs need to take advantage of the injuries in the division, but they won’t be able to this week against the Rams. Jameis Winston is so physically talented but he’s a bust. He’s not smart and disappears if his hand isn’t held in the offensive gameplan. Mike Evans exploded last week, Jameis Winston will look to him and Chris Godwin to keep them in the game. The Rams are one of the NFL’s best teams, despite how I feel about Jared Goff. He’s getting it done (I give my credit to Sean McVay the genius). The trio of Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and Brandin Cooks will be too much for the Bucs. Throw Todd Gurley on top of that, this one shouldn’t be a contest.
Final Prediction: Los Angeles Rams 34, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21
Seahawks @ Cardinals
The Seattle Seahawks (2-1) are being hosted by the Arizona Cardinals (0-2-1) in this week 4 division game. Despite the Seahawks record, I don’t think they are as good as they the record shows. They barely beat the Bengals and a Big Ben-less Steelers. The Saints smacked them around a little bit, but luckily the Seahawks play the Cardinals. Russell Wilson is guaranteed to play well, but he needs the rest of his team too. The defense hasn’t been all that well and their rushing game has been pretty nonexistent. The Seahawks are gonna just look worse down the stretch if they don’t figure it out soon. The Cardinals don’t look good, and they weren’t supposed to. They’re in a rebuild, however, they can’t let a below-average team like the Panthers beat them by 18 points. Kyler Murray hasn’t been playing bad, in fact has looked poised in this offense. This team just doesn’t have the talent to win games. David Johnson is getting back to his old form, the Cardinals need to fix their defense in the upcoming offseason to win some games. This one shouldn’t be a surprise.
Final Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 35, Arizona Cardinals 20
Jaguars @ Broncos
The Denver Broncos are hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars in this week 4 AFC matchup. I can never say it enough. Gardner Minshew. He’s the blessing that the Jaguars didn’t know they had. He was very impressive facing off against the Titans and leading them to a convincing victory. Even without much help from Fournette. However, he does get a lot of help from the defense as stout as it is. That could change with Jalen Ramsey. Not to mention, Gardner Minshew is just iconic. He literally oozes out swagger and is slowly becoming my favorite QB, not on my team. I can only wait to see him play against the Broncos. The Broncos are in a funk right now. They had a chance against the Raiders and should of beat the Bears, but they did neither and are sitting at 0-3. The team isn’t as bad as the 0-3 record suggests, I just don’t think Joe Flacco is Denver’s answer. There was the hype that he was gonna be the next Peyton Manning, but that seemed idiotic on all cylinders. I think with a better QB, that team is sitting at 2-1. Unfortunately, the Jaguars are not gonna roll over and are feeling themselves, the Broncos will go 0-4.
Final Prediction: Jacksonville Jaguars 16, Denver Broncos 13
Vikings @ Bears
The Minnesota Vikings (2-1) are being hosted by the Chicago Bears (2-1) this week in a division game. This game will be an interesting one, and I’m not sure who I really want to take. On one hand, the Vikings have a better offense with the league’s leading rusher in Dalvin Cook, and a reliable receiver in Adam Thielen. Kirk Cousins is still better than Mitch Trubisky. But the Bears have the best defense in the NFL, and it isn’t close. The Vikings defense is above average, I’d even say top 10, but if the offense sputters, I’m not sure they can win this game. The Bears need Mitch to just take care of the ball and feed Montegomery and Robinson. If he can do that, the defense will do its job and there’s a chance to win. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough faith in Mitch to do even that.
Final Prediction: Minnesota Vikings 17, Chicago Bears 13
Cowboys @ Saints
The Dallas Cowboys (3-0) are traveling to New Orleans to take on the Saints (2-1) in our Sunday Night Football matchup in week 4. The Cowboys have looked great against bad teams like the Giants, Redskins, and Dolphins. This is the best team they’ll play yet, although without Drew Brees. The Cowboys offense has been good and Dak Prescott has impressed even if it isn’t against the best of teams. I was sold on this Cowboys team winning the division and I still stand by that. Whether the Cowboys win by a lot or barely depends on the Saints, more specifically Terry Bridgewater. The Saints were able to pull off a win last week because Alvin Kamara decided to finally break out after a slow first two weeks. The Saints showed that they don’t need to panic yet by winning without Brees. If Terry Bridgewater can do half of what Brees can, the offense should be able to carry him enough to keep the game close and possibly win. The Cowboys have all the momentum right now, I don’t think a Brees-less Saints can stop it.
Final Prediction: Dallas Cowboys 27, New Orleans Saints 17
Bengals @ Steelers
The Cincinnati Bengals (0-3) are being hosted by the Pittsburgh Steelers (0-3) in our Monday Night Football game for week 4. Both of these AFC North teams are desperate for a win. The Steelers have played formidable teams in the Patriots, Seahawks, and 49ers. This has been their easiest game yet, they’ll need to take advantage. Although Mason Rudolph is leading the team, I have faith that the Steelers will win. James Conner and JuJu should show out this game against a shaky Bengals defense. Mike Tomlin’s job is on the line and if they don’t win this game, I’m not sure he’ll be here after this season if he lasts that long. The Bengals have been bad, so them losing is nothing new, in fact, they’ll keep losing until they get a better QB. Andy Dalton is not the answer and until they fix that, just expect a losing record from them. However, this Bengals team hasn’t played bad, AJ Green hasn’t played this season and the passing attack is still decent. John Ross and Tyler Boyd are doing the best they can to hold up Dalton. Imagine if a good QB had those weapons, the Bengals offense would be something to watch. The offense should have a good day against the Steelers defense, it’ll be a shootout.
Final Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers 28, Cincinnati Bengals 23
Teams On Bye
The San Fransisco 49ers (3-0) are on bye in week 4 as they look to prepare for the Cleveland Browns so that they can be 4-0. The New York Jets (0-3) are also on bye in week 4 as they look to recover from injuries and get themselves together to take on the Philidelphia Eagles next week. But I’m not confident that they’ll win that game.
