After a week 3 filled with upsets and surprising results, I finished 7-8 in my predictions. Not the worst record, but I am hoping to improve that this week. Let’s get right into the predictions! (Again the Thursday Night game has already occurred, where the L.A. Rams defeated the Minnesota Vikings in a shootout 38-31)
Sunday:
Texans at Colts – Colts win 17-13
No doubt Houston will be going into Indianapolis determined to get their first win of the year. After a heartbreaker of a loss against the New York Giants last weekend, QB Deshaun Watson and the Texans offense will be looking to pile on points against a questionable Indy defense. Despite all of this, I anticipate the Colts getting the favorable result as they are still the stronger team between the two and have the home field advantage.
Bills at Packers – Packers win 28-13
Coming off a loss against an inferior Washington Redskins team, will make QB Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers determined to get a statement victory at home, over the Buffalo Bills. The Bills just pulled off the best upset of the season last weekend, as they stormed into Minnesota and annihilated the Vikings, to most people’s (including myself) surprise. I believe that rookie QB Josh Allen and the studs of last weekend, will fall back down to Earth and lose to a much stronger football team.
Buccaneers at Bears – Bears win 21-17
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had a bit of a fall off against the Pittsburgh Steelers last Monday Night. Despite his 3 interceptions that game, he threw for 3 touchdowns and became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 400 yards each of the first three games of the season. Even with this impressive run as of late, I feel as if Tampa Bay is going against their strongest defensive opponent yet, the Chicago Bears. A solid secondary, linebacking core, and a once in a generation player, in Khalil Mack, will be looking to stop the Bucs offense at all costs, in front of their “Soldier Field” home crowd. Bears win in a close one.
Dolphins at Patriots – Patriots win 30-20
I know, second week in a row that I pick against my favorite team, what kind of a fan am I? A realistic one. I won’t deny that these past three weeks have been joyous to watch this team, as they have started with a great 3-0 record, but they haven’t played a team like this yet. Yes, I know that the Pats currently stand at 1-2, but keep in mind that these back to back loses were away from home and their record against opposing AFC East teams in “Gillette” is incredible. They should be able to outscore the up-and-coming Dolphins offense and win this game.
Lions at Cowboys – Lions win 23-10
Dallas truly is one of those teams capable of playing at a relatively high level one week, but play horrendously the next. I am betting on this being one of those poor games. The Detroit Lions are coming off a major win against the New England Patriots and are looking to continue getting positive results, in an effort to shut doubters up. Many still question their team after their week 1 blowout loss against the New York Jets, and they continue to prove people wrong as of late.
Bengals at Falcons – Falcons win 31-24
After suffering the most heartbreaking loss out of each team in overtime last week against the Saints, the Falcons will be looking to bounce back this week at home. I think that OC Steve Sarkisian has been making extremely impressive play calls, ever since the masses have been calling for his firing after what was one of the worst offensive games I have ever witnessed week 1 against the Eagles. QB Matt Ryan will be continue to build on the offensive momentum his team has had as of late, and should cruise his team to a win over a respectably Cincinnati Bengals team.
Jets at Jaguars – Jaguars win 21-10
After what was an extremely poor outing against a weak Tennessee Titans team, the Jags should bounce back and beat the rookie-lead New York Jets. This is a game in which I anticipate the incredible Jacksonville defense to tear the Jets offense up and make it extremely hard for them to score a point.
Eagles at Titans – Eagles win 24-7
QB Carson Wentz impressed in his return of the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend. I believe he will continue this good play going into Tennessee, against a team that has a plentiful amount of injuries. The Titans also have a notorious record of inconsistency with QB Marcus Mariota at the helm, which leads me to think that after a very unconvincing win against the Jags last weekend, they will lose to the Super Bowl champion, Philadelphia Eagles this week.
Browns at Raiders – Raiders win 20-13
Finally the Browns got their first win in two years last Thursday against the Jets! Rookie QB Baker Mayfield stepped in and got the job done for his Browns team. In the process, he secured himself the starting spot for the foreseeable future. Despite this good momentum coming from Cleveland, I anticipate the Raiders getting their first win of the season after a bitter loss to the Miami Dolphins over the weekend. The Oakland strong will be going hard for their Raiders and I think the Raiders should to their standards.
Seahawks at Cardinals – Seahawks win 13-7
This will be the game to ignore this week, as it’s between two teams with questionable offenses and inconsistent play. The headline for this game has been that rookie QB Josh Rosen will be making his first career start for the Cards, which in itself is interesting, but also a disaster waiting to happen. Don’t get me wrong, Rosen is a good player, but even though they aren’t anywhere near their 2012 or 2013 levels, the Seattle defense is still semi-respectable and should make life difficult for him. QB Russell Wilson should get his team the victory against a division rival, even with virtually no offensive line helping him out.
Saints at Giants – Saints win 31-19
The Giants still have a lot of things that need work. This includes their questionable secondary on defense and horrendous offensive line. This should be a great opportunity for the New Orleans Saints to showcase why they are still true Super Bowl contenders in a blowout victory. Their offense is fully capable of scoring plenty points, so why not do just that?
49ers at Chargers – Chargers win 23-9
QB Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL last weekend, which is a huge blow to the 49ers playoff chances this season. Backup QB CJ Beathard will be taking over, to the demise of most San Francisco fans across the globe. The Chargers will be looking to pounce at this opportunity of playing a morally deflated football team and should win convincingly.
Ravens at Steelers – Steelers win 17-16
The Steelers should be back to their winning ways after a disappointing start to the year. Life without Le’Veon Bell is starting to settle in for Pittsburgh and they should beat a tough Ravens team, in a divisional contest. Baltimore will be looking to get a major win against their division rivals, as they themselves are on a bit of a role, but Pittsburgh’s offense will be too much to contain. Steelers win.
Monday:
Chiefs at Broncos – Broncos win 24-21
This will inevitable be a close contest between two division rivals. It will be the first time QB Patrick Mahomes plays against a truly formidable defense and I think it will be a bit of a rough awakening for him. Playing at home and as the underdogs in this game, the Denver Broncos know what their defense is capable of and trust QB Case Keenum to score points against a poor Chiefs secondary. This has the potential to be a “must watch” game.