Every year, it seems like the NFL really takes “any given Sunday” to a higher level. The 2-1 Cleveland Browns, the 3-0 Las Vegas Raiders. On the other side, the 0-3 Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans. It’s been an exciting year thus far. Now, we’re into Week 4 action, which features a ton of tough matchups. Let’s walk through all 16 games and assign our confidence ranking to each one as we make our NFL confidence pool picks for Week 4.
Thursday night is a classic AFC North showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers as they visit the Cleveland Browns, pitting Aaron Rodgers against Deshaun Watson as one team looks to go 3-1. Sunday morning football is back as the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders square off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England for a 9:30 AM ET kick. The Lions and Panthers on Sunday Night Football are the highest over/under of the week. Monday Night Football wraps up with another division battle as the Atlanta Falcons visit the New Orleans Saints. This Week 4 slate is brutal. A lot of toss-up games that could go either way, so pick wisely!
Can’t Miss – High Confidence Picks
1. Ravens Over Titans
2. Vikings Over Dolphins
3. Chiefs Over Raiders
4. Packers Over Buccaneers
The first section is easy (I say, laughing after looking at last week’s upsets). Baltimore over Tennessee is a no-brainer. The Ravens traveling back from Rio could cause some early jet lag, but these are two teams on very different wavelengths.
Minnesota has proven to be a very good team through three weeks. The cancerous JJ McCarthy has been removed from the locker room, and Kyler Murray delivers early in the year. Home field is a nice advantage to have over a bad Miami team that just lost Devon Achane for the year.
Las Vegas has impressed starting the year 3-0, and they look like a good team. But Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo will force Kirk Cousins into mistakes that’ll be the difference in this game.
The Green Bay Packers? Yeah, that just proves how hard this slate is in Week 4. Coming off an embarrassing Thursday Night Football loss with extra time to prepare for the Buccaneers, who will be without Baker Mayfield and starting undrafted free agent rookie Jalon Daniels. That should be enough for the Packers to figure it out and win with the massive coaching advantage they have.
Feelin’ Good – Confident Picks
5. Bills Over Patriots
6. Seahawks Over Chargers
7. Bears Over Jets
8.49ers Over Broncos
9. Texans Over Cowboys
10. Jaguars Over Bengals
I know we call this section feelin’ good, but it’s making me a little queasy this week. Buffalo is an obvious choice, but I do believe this game will be a little tougher than most think. I talked about it being a “Close Your Eyes Special” game in this week’s article about line movement. New England will keep it close, but Buffalo is the better team.
Surely the Chargers will win at some point, right? Well, I’ve thought that over three weeks, and they’ve lost all of them. The team is broken, and Seattle is a great team. They had a bad week last week; I look for them to bounce back.
Chicago would be higher on this list with Caleb Williams playing. Whether it’s Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum, this Bears team proved Monday night they can hang with and beat anyone. They are the better team in this game.
San Francisco is beat up badly. However, they don’t seem to miss a beat. Week in and week out, they are one of, if not the best team in the league. Going into Denver isn’t easy, but I can’t pick against the 49ers right now.
This is the week I see the Houston Texans finally getting in the win column. Dallas has been a solid team this year, but so has Houston. Their defense will step up and be the difference in this one.
Jacksonville and Cincinnati are an offensive juggernaut of a game. Trevor Lawrence just continues to prove what a baller he is. Between him and the Jaguars’ defense, that’ll be the difference in this one.
Hold Your Breath – True Toss Ups
11. Saints Over Falcons
12. Lions Over Panthers
13. Eagles Over Rams
14. Giants Over Cardinals
15. Colts Over Commanders
16. Steelers Over Browns
Monday Night in New Orleans: Tyler Shough will introduce himself to the world. Atlanta’s Thursday night win was impressive, but the home team gets it done in this game.
Lions and Panthers is one of the best games for them to end our Sunday with. Get out the popcorn and watch the fireworks! Taking the road favorite is slightly scary, as I believe Carolina is a good team. But give me Dan Campbell and the boy.
Philadelphia is another Close Your Eyes Special, and I’m calling my upset shot on this one. The Eagles are too good of a team, and any given week they can beat anyone. They’ll pull this upset in the not-so-friendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field.
Jameis Winston, it’s your time to shine! This game might be the one that truly produced a ton of offense. Coaching and talent advantage go to the G-Men.
This London game is a real toss-up. Marcus Mariota is actually the better quarterback for Washington. Overall, I believe Indianapolis is a better team, but international spots can be tricky.
Steelers and Browns. Thursday night. AFC North. Deshaun Watson. Aaron Rodgers. The definition of a coin toss. Give me the Steelers. But the final score of this one could be 2-0.
