NFL Week 4 Predictions
October 4, 2015
New York Giants at Buffalo Bills
Ethan Katz: Football fans all across New York State will be highly anticipating this Sunday matchup. The Buffalo is coming off an excellent showing against division rivals Miami last week. Tyrod Taylor showed fans how accurate and powerful his arm can be, and the defense put in a performance of near-perfection last Sunday. Buffalo will ride this momentum, and with the help of the deafening crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium, they will surely defeat a Giants squad that has struggles on both sides of the ball in the incipient stages of the season.
Buffalo-24 New York-14
Brevin Fleischer: This is a do-or-die game for one of these New York teams, and it isn’t for the other. It’s as simple as that, and often times in the NFL, the win will go to the team that wants it and needs it more. That team is the New York Giants. The Giants, led by superstar receiver Odell Beckham Jr., have everything to gain with a win over Buffalo, and the fact that they’ve been in every game they’ve played so far suggests that this is a team that can right the ship. Buffalo appears to be the better team overall, but without Sammy Watkins and LeSean McCoy, get ready for a G-Men victory.
New York-20 Buffalo-17
Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals
Ethan Katz: Sure, facing the Broncos and Packers in two consecutive weeks is not the most ideal way to start the season for the Kansas City Chiefs. They fought hard and stayed in it for both of those games, but two loses in a row for this team has to be extremely deflating. Meanwhile in Ohio, the Bengals have all of the momentum in the world right now. They’ve exceeded expectations, starting out undefeated through the first three weeks of the season. These teams are evenly matched and have similar styles of play, but I have to go with the more confident team at home in this one. Expect it to be tightly contested throughout.
Cincinnati-27 Kansas City-20
Brevin Fleischer: The Bengals are living proof that even if you have an average-at-best quarterback, you can win games by surrounding him with exceptional talent at the skill positions. A.J. Green, Tyler Eifert, Marvin Jones, and Giovanni Bernard form one of the best receiving units in the league, and as long as Andy Dalton can stay away from turnovers, this group should light it up against a Chiefs team that got exposed against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers last week. Kansas City has the talent to pull off the upset with stars like Jamaal Charles and Travis Kelce, but at this point in the season, the Bengals are the more complete team.
Cincinnati-35 Kansas City-17
Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
Ethan Katz: There’s nothing like a good NFC East matchup on a Sunday afternoon. The Redskins followed up a week-two win against the Rams with a loss to the Giants last week. They simply do not have the skill to be efficient on offense right now, and although their defense is performing well, they’re going up against an Eagles team that is bound for an offensive outpouring at some point in the near future. This should be the week when the Philadelphia Eagles start to prove that they have what it takes to be a success this season, and they will defeat this less talented Redskins team.
Philadelphia-30 Washington-17
Brevin Fleischer: Boy is the NFC East a mess this year! With Romo and Dez out for the Cowboys, the door is wide open for the other three teams to take control. Everybody thought coming into the season that it would be between the aforementioned Cowboys and the Eagles, but Philadelphia has been underwhelming at best. Luckily for them, they are playing one of the worst teams in the NFL, led by one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL, Kirk Cousins. With the turnover-prone Cousins at the helm of Washington’s offense, Philadelphia’s offense can probably revert to their Week One and Two tendencies and still win this game.
Philadelphia-27 Washington-10
Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers
Ethan Katz: Two years ago, this quite possibly could have been the most talked about and exciting matchup of the week. One of these teams has maintained their excellent form of recent years, and one team has been on a major decline recently. Any football fan can tell you which team is which. San Francisco has been horrendous in the last two weeks, and don’t expect it to be any different this week. This team has lost their talent, and has lost their winning ways. No Jordy Nelson, no problem for this outstanding Green Bay Packers team.
Green Bay-38 San Francisco-10
Brevin Fleischer: Aaron Rodgers is the greatest quarterback I’ve ever seen play, and I refuse to pick against him, especially when up against a below-average 49ers team. Despite the fact that both Jordy Nelson and DaVante Adams are out for Green Bay, this game shouldn’t be very close at all.
Green Bay-27 San Francisco-10
Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints
Ethan Katz: This is definitely one of the more intriguing matchups of the week. The dynamic duo of Romo and Bryant is gone for now, leaving names like Brandon Weeden and Joseph Randle leading this offense. No one could have predicted that the Cowboys would lose their two best offensive players, but this team has to fight through adversity and win some games. This will be a close matchup throughout, but the Saints have been close to victory in their first three games, and with the return of Drew Brees, it looks like that first victory will no longer elude them.
New Orleans-27 Dallas-24
Brevin Fleischer: In New Orleans, one can just sense that the end of an era has arrived, and the Saints are no longer a relevant team in the playoff landscape. The Cowboys, meanwhile, despite their incessant injuries, are alive and well in the playoff hunt. The Cowboys will remain in that hunt when they win this game. Julius Randle will run behind his fantastic offensive line and tear the porous Saints defense apart, Weeden will manage the game well and avoid turnovers, and the Boys’ defense will assert its superiority over its opposition.
Dallas-24 New Orleans-14
Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks
Ethan Katz: Sure the Seattle Seahawks may lose in St. Louis, but the Seattle Seahawks do not lose at home. Two losses at home in the last three seasons is an outstanding statistic. No 0-3 team is going to come into Seattle on Monday Night Football and win.
Seattle-30 Detroit-20
Brevin Fleischer: What happened to Matthew Stafford?! How can a former 5,000 yard passer struggle so mightily to get the ball downfield? He has an all-world receiver in Calvin Johnson, a rising stud in Golden Tate, and an ultra-athletic tight end in Eric Ebron, yet he appears robotic and hesitant in the pocket. On most plays, it looks as if he’s decided where to throw the ball pre-snap, and if it’s not there, he simply chucks the ball away instead of making a second and third read. Simply put, this will not work against Kam Chancellor and the Legion of Boom.
Seattle-24 Detroit-13
New York Jets vs Miami Dolphins
Ethan Katz: Miami-24 New York-21
Brevin Fleischer: New York-20 Miami-17
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts
Ethan Katz: Indianapolis-31 Jacksonville-17
Brevin Fleischer: Indianapolis-35 Jacksonville- 24
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ethan Katz: Tampa Bay-27 Carolina-20
Brevin Fleischer: Carolina-24 Tampa Bay-20
Oakland Raiders at Chicago Bears
Ethan Katz: Chicago-30 Oakland-17
Brevin Fleischer: Oakland-28 Chicago-17
Houston Texans at Atlanta Falcons
Ethan Katz: Atlanta-28 Houston-24
Brevin Fleischer: Atlanta-24 Houston-14
Cleveland Browns at San Diego Chargers
Ethan Katz: San Diego-27 Cleveland-17
Brevin Fleischer: San Diego-20 Cleveland-13
St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals
Ethan Katz: Arizona-24 St. Louis-21
Brevin Fleischer: Arizona-30 St. Louis-17
Minnesota Vikings at Denver Broncos
Ethan Katz: Denver-34 Minnesota-20
Brevin Fleischer: Denver-20 Minnesota-13