Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is coming upon us yet again! Through three weeks, parity is the name of the game as only two teams have undefeated records and one team is winless (Houston’s tie counts as a half-win). For week 4 will those teams finally get either their first loss or their first win in 2022. I’m stoked to get started with this week’s picks post. Let’s get to work!
Week 4 Preview
The fourth week of the National Football League's regular season will start in Cincinnati, Ohio and finish in Santa Clara, California. The week will have a 16-game schedule that will have all 32 teams play. No teams are on a bye this week. The week features: a Thursday night game, a Sunday morning game, eight early games, three late games, a Sunday night game and a Monday night game. Carrying the doubleheader this week will be CBS and FOX will have the single, regional game. Enough talk, let's get to the picks!
Week 4 Picks
Note: Game times are in US Eastern. TW is me and CV is Cardinal Viking, my former roommate who I go head-to-head in pick 'ems.
Miami (3-0) @ Cincinnati (1-2) (Amazon; 8:15 pm): TW: Dolphins; CV: Dolphins
Both teams won last week as the Dolphins beat the Bills and the Bengals beat the Jets. Cincinnati finally got their first win of the season against a meager Jet team. Miami has been quite the surprise team this season. Tua Tagovailoa was limited in practice this week but he has a capable backup in Teddy Bridgewater who is a hardy veteran. Turnovers were a factor in the early season for the Bengals in their two losses but they have been playing better. I think the game will be good but I feel the undefeated Dolphins will keep on chuggin' along.
Minnesota (2-1) @ New Orleans (1-2) (NFL Network; 9:30 am): TW: Vikings; CV: Vikings
The Vikings beat the Lions and the Saints lost to the Panthers last week. New Orleans has been a disappointment so far and the main culprit for their 1-2 start is their quarterback play. Jameis Winston is banged up. The Saints offense hasn't really been that stellar, in particular their running attack. Minnesota however, has had great success in first year head coach Kevin O'Connell. In spite of the near loss to the Lions this week, there's too much at stake when it comes to these two teams history. I think the Vikings will take care of business in Twickenham Stadium.
Chicago (2-1) @ NY Giants (2-1) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Giants; CV: Bears
The Bears beat the Texans and the Giants lost to the Cowboys last week. Chicago has been kind of a surprise with a 2-1 mark so far in the year. In spite of the quality of talent their two wins have been against San Francisco in a tempest and against a poor Texans team. New York has had some quality wins beating the Titans and not so much against the Panthers. It'll be a good test to see how well both teams can do. I think the Giants will be hungry after a near win against Dallas. I'll take the Giants.
Buffalo (2-1) @ Baltimore (2-1) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Bills; CV: Bills
The Bills lost to the Dolphins and the Ravens beat the Patriots last week. Quite honestly, this game should be the game of the week. Shame on you CBS. Josh Allen has been stellar this season with a 9 touchdown and 2 interception mark so far. Lamar Jackson has had better numbers as he has 12 total touchdowns. This game should be a quite a good one for sure, this game will be a quarterback battle. I think whoever falters the most in this game will lose this game. I'll take the Bills. Seriously CBS, Patriots-Packers for your game of the week?
Cleveland (2-1) @ Atlanta (1-2) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Browns; CV: Browns
Both teams won last week as the Browns beat the Steelers and the Falcons beat the Seahawks. Cleveland may have found their quarterback for the near future in Jacoby Brissett. Honestly the guy has the numbers to back it up. With a running game that is one of the best in the NFL, I like the Browns in this matchup. Atlanta shouldn't be underestimated. Cordarrelle Patterson has had a fun season in Atlanta. They have an okay passing game and defense. I just think if the Browns play to their discipline and make no errors I think they'll have a good shot to win the game.
Jacksonville (2-1) @ Philadelphia (3-0) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Eagles; CV: Eagles
Both teams won last week as the Jaguars beat the Chargers and the Eagles beat the Commanders. Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson goes back to the city where he won a Super Bowl for. Jacksonville has played well so far this year, making their 2021 record look like a thing of the past. The maturity of Trevor Lawrence as a passer has been one of the factors. Their defense too has been something special. Philly has had one of the better starts in the league. Their average total yards per game is 447 which is insane. I think it will be a good game to see how well the Jaguars can be. I think the Eagles will get it done.
LA Chargers (1-2) @ Houston (0-2-1) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Chargers; CV: Chargers
Both teams lost last week as the Chargers lost to the Jaguars and the Texans lost to the Bears. Houston has been as to be expected, not a contender but still in a rebuilding mode. Davis Mills is probably the lone piece that is keeping this team from venturing into winless territory. The Chargers have had a rough start to the year. The injury to Justin Herbert has been the major factor. He wasn't 100% against Jacksonville but given more time I feel he will be more than capable to play his game this week. I feel the Texans could play a hard game but I feel the Chargers will get back into .500 with a win.
NY Jets (1-2) @ Pittsburgh (1-2) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Steelers; CV: Steelers
Both teams lost last week as the Jets lost to the Bengals and the Steelers lost to the Browns. The two teams have similar records but the expectations of them both are very different. Joe Flacco has provided some stability and poise to the quarterback spot where he was on point on some plays and off on some others. Mitchell Trubisky has been somewhat of the same quarterback who's been hindered by an offensive coordinator that refuses to think outside of the box. It doesn't help that the Steelers don't have TJ Watt on defense but that's short of an excuse to not be more aggressive on offense. I think the Steelers will win but at some point they need to let the dogs loose.
Seattle (1-2) @ Detroit (1-2) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Lions; CV: Lions
Both teams lost last week as the Seahawks lost to the Falcons and the Lions lost to the Vikings. Seattle has had a bit of a transitional period in the Post-Wilson era. Geno Smith has provided stability to the quarterback position but he hasn't shown that he is "the man" yet. Detroit on the other hands, is favored to win in this game in what would be considered to be a renaissance in Lions football. Dan Campbell has gotten his guys believing in each other and fighting despite the odds. The issue is that the talent isn't quite there yet and inexperience has proven otherwise. I'll take the Lions because the Seahawks are a mess. You seriously lose to Atlanta?! C'mon.
Tennessee (1-2) @ Indianapolis (1-1-1) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Titans; CV: Titans
Both teams won last week as the Titans beat the Raiders and the Colts beat the Chiefs. The Titans-Colts games the last few years have been slugfests where not one team sweeps the other. The divisional rivalry features two of the best running backs in the league in the Titans Derrick Henry and the Colts Jonathan Taylor. The close win to the Raiders might be the momentum that the Titans need to get back to 2021 form. Indianapolis has been a disappointment with the play of Matt Ryan. I want to take the Colts so badly in this game but gut feeling has me taking the underdog Titans.
Washington (1-2) @ Dallas (2-1) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Cowboys; CV: Commanders
The Commanders lost to the Eagles and the Cowboys beat the Giants last week. Washington's nickname might change but the rivalry with the Cowboys will remain the same. Despite the fact that said rivalry hasn't had the same luster since the early 90's, the games have been somewhat competitive. Cooper Rush will get the start and should get a good dose of running from his tandem of Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard. It seems like it should be more than a close game, I think it'll be a blowout.
Arizona (1-2) @ Carolina (1-2) (FOX; 4:05 pm): TW: Cardinals; CV: Panthers
The Cardinals lost to the Rams and the Panthers beat the Saints last week. Arizona's 2022 campaign has been lackluster. With limited weapons, Kyler Murray has had to rely more on his legs sometimes more than his arm. The resurgence of Marquise Brown has been much to Murray's liking as he had a huge game last week. Carolina has similar problems. Baker Mayfield's season so far has been mixed. The team's x-factor has been Christian McCaffrey who had a 100-yard day last week. The game feels like a toss-up but in terms of quarterback play, I trust Kyler Murray more than Baker Mayfield.
Denver (2-1) @ Las Vegas (0-3) (CBS; 4:25 pm): TW: Raiders; CV: Broncos
The Broncos beat the 49ers and the Raiders lost to the Titans last week. Las Vegas remains to be the only winless team in the NFL. The thing is: they shouldn't be winless. If anything they should've at least won against the Titans. Derek Carr hasn't been the quarterback that he had been and certainly a new coach and a new system has to be one of the reasons to it. For the Broncos, it hasn't been smooth sailing with Russell Wilson. The passer has just two touchdowns in three games. He will need to get going and put up numbers. At some point, the Raiders will get going. Otherwise, Josh McDaniels tenure will be over as fast as his tenure with the Broncos.
New England (1-2) @ Green Bay (2-1) (CBS; 4:25 pm): TW: Packers; CV: Packers
The Patriots lost to the Ravens and the Packers beat the Buccaneers last week. Mac Jones won't likely play in this game and the veteran Brian Hoyer will get the start. The season for Mac hasn't been pretty as he was introduced to a new system. New England's road to success will have to go through their running game. That'll be a tough task as they take on a Packers team that survived a win against the Bucs. Aaron Rodgers has been playing well to his usual self in 2022. He hasn't had the success in his wide receiving corp in past years but with a Russell Doubs possibly breaking out of the group, the Packers look to be a top contender in the NFC. I think it'll be a mismatch with the Packers winning it. Seriously, you could have Bills-Ravens playing in this slot, CBS!
Kansas City (2-1) @ Tampa Bay (2-1) (NBC; 8:20 pm): TW: Buccaneers; CV: Buccaneers
Both teams lost last week as the Chiefs lost to the Colts and the Buccaneers lost to the Packers. A rematch of Super Bowl LV. This game might not be played in Tampa due to Hurricane Ian ravaging the city and surrounding areas. My thoughts go out to those who are impacted. For this game, both teams have seen a change of personnel since that February day in 2021. I would say that the Chiefs look to be the better team on paper and in talent. Tampa Bay seems like one of those teams that "everything's normal but yet there's something off about them." Whether it is quarterback Tom Brady or with the system itself. Despite the tough loss last week I think the Bucs will rebound and prove that they're still good enough. Plus, Mike Evans is back after a game suspension.
LA Rams (2-1) @ San Francisco (1-2) (ABC/ESPN; 8:15 pm): TW: 49ers; CV: Rams
The Rams beat the Cardinals and the 49ers lost to the Broncos last week. A rematch of last year's NFC championship game. The Rams have had a slow start to the defense of their title but they have been coming out swinging and being more innovative than ever. Cooper Kupp has been staying in his form. The defense has been playing lights out. San Francisco has had a rough start to 2022 with the loss of Trey Lance. Fortunately for the 49ers, they have a capable quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo was in the midst of trade rumors during the offseason. Sometimes the best deal that you can make is not making a deal for a player. I feel the rivalry aspect will play in a factor in this game and I think the 49ers will pull off a minor upset of the world champs.
Early & Late TV Broadcast Pairings:
Note: Courtesy of 506sports.com, games in bold are being shown in my area, check local listings.
CBS Early
Buffalo @ Baltimore
Ian Eagle, Charles Davis
NY Jets @ Pittsburgh
Greg Gumbel, Adam Archuleta
LA Chargers @ Houston
Andrew Catalon, James Lofton
Jacksonville @ Philadelphia
Spero Dedes, Jay Feely
Cleveland @ Atlanta
Beth Mowins, Tiki Barber
CBS Late
New England @ Green Bay
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
Denver @ Las Vegas
Kevin Harlan, Trent Green
FOX Single
Washington @ Dallas
Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olson
Chicago @ NY Giants
Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston
Seattle @ Detroit
Chris Myers, Robert Smith
Tennessee @ Indianapolis
Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth
Arizona @ Carolina (LATE)
Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma
2022 Pick ‘Em Records
My record:
Week 1: 8-7-1
Week 2: 8-8
Week 3: 5-11
Total: 21-26-1
Cardinal Viking's record:
Week 1: 6-9-1
Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 5-11
Total: 22-25-1
Previous Picking Records:
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
2021: 167-104-1
2019: 161-94-1
2020: 167-88-1
2021: 173-98-1
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