A Gander Across the Gridiron: Week 4

An early look at Week 4's games and my predictions.

Oct 02, 2020

Hello FTN Faithful! Last Sunday was a great day for football. The Rams and Cardinals got their first losses of the year, the Falcons blew yet another crazy lead, and games were so close we even had a tie! Bad news is that it was a difficult week to predict. My worst predictions so far, including a negative record for lines. But I’m still over .500 overall! As every other week, I’ll be going over every game except for the 49ers one (and now postponed Titans-Steelers), and give my thoughts and predictions.

Last Week’s Scores: 8-6-1

Last Week’s Lines: 7-8

Overall Scores: 31-13-1

Overall Lines: 23-22

Broncos @ Jets

5:20 pm (TNF) PT NYJ -1

Who will win? The easily stoppable force or the movable object? And this game will be hosted on a short week on a terrible turf. The Broncos are starting Brett Rypien, nephew of former Washington QB Mark Rypien. Against Tampa, he went 8/9 with an interception after replacing Jeff Driskel. He looked much better than Driskel, but in a very small sample size of one drive. The banged up Broncos are playing a very weak Jets team, and rumors are floating around about Adam Gase being fired soon. This game will be an ugly watch, and I’ll be picking the Broncos to win. At least Denver looked competitive in brief flashes.

Shana’s prediction: DEN wins 19-13

Colts @ Bears

10:00 am PT IND -2.5

Da Bears keep defying my expectations. I thought they would finally lose to the Falcons, but their own BDN led a huge comeback. The Colts are their first good opponent and will be a real test for Chicago. Nick Foles historically has been mediocre when he’s not an Eagle, and the Colts have a very strong defense on all levels. I need to see more from Foles before I think he can take on the best defenses in the NFL.

Shana’s prediction: IND wins 26-23

Jaguars @ Bengals

10:00 am PT CIN -3

We get to see two talented young quarterbacks surrounded by terrible teams. These are actually some of my favorite games to watch, especially when someone like Burrow has a good chance of getting his first NFL win. But I’m still furious about how his last game ended (a tie). The Jags will be better rested coming off a Thursday game and their run game should match up well against Cincinnati, so I think they will pull off a win.

Shana’s prediction: JAX wins 24-21

Browns @ Cowboys

10:00 am PT DAL -4.5

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Browns are overhyped right now. Yes, their offense just scored 34 and 35 points their past two games. Their defense also gave up 50 points combined to Washington and Cincinnati, and I’m not ready to forget the 6 points they scored against Baltimore. The Cowboys just played in two shootouts, and I’m expecting this game will end up the same. The Browns will have a harder time using Nick Chubb how they like to, and I don’t think they will be able to keep up with the Cowboys.

Shana’s prediction: DAL wins 38-31

Saints @ Lions

10:00 am PT NO -4

Shout-out to the Lions for getting a huge win against Arizona last week. Unfortunately, I’m not expecting them to pull it off against the Saints. Despite all the flack Drew Brees is getting for his arm strength this season, the Saints are still a very good team. The run game is amazing, and their defense is much better than the numbers show. Michael Thomas has a good shot of returning this week and has had two limited practices this week.

Shana’s prediction: NO wins 34-23

Seahawks @ Dolphins

10:00 am PT SEA -6.5

It’s early in the season, but Wilson is looking like the MVP so far. The Seahawks are banged up and the defense looks horrible, but it doesn’t matter when your quarterback is that good. Even as a West Coast team playing an early game on the East Coast. Meanwhile Miami is off a long week and Fitzpatrick is hot. But they are not a strong team and Fitzpatrick’s play is always erratic. He can have another 3 pick game pop up at any point. Another one-score game for the Seahawks wouldn’t surprise me at all, but they’ll walk away with a win as they usually do.

Shana’s prediction: SEA wins 33-28

Chargers @ Buccaneers

10:00 am PT TB -7

After a strong start against the Chiefs, Justin Herbert kept it up against the Panthers. Giving up two turnovers is never ideal, but throwing for over 300 yards your second game is nice to see. He will face a monster front 7 in Tampa and I hope to see him limit turnovers this time. The Chargers will also be the toughest pass rush that has faced Brady so far, and I’m not sure how he will handle it. He was able to cruise the past two weeks against Carolina and Denver.

Shana’s prediction: TB wins 28-17

Ravens @ WFT

10:00 am PT BAL -14

Baltimore is coming off a rough Monday, but I wouldn’t overreact over their performance. Almost everyone looks terrible against the Chiefs, and Baltimore is always very good at blowing out bad teams. Chase Young is hurt so I don’t see how they will stop Lamar Jackson.

Shana’s prediction: BAL wins 40-24

Cardinals @ Panthers

10:00 am PT ARI -3.5

Two former big 12 coaches will be facing off in what could feel like a Big 12 game. The over/under is only 51, but bet the over. Arizona will be out its 3 best safeties, and Carolina has strong deep threats in Robby Anderson and DJ Moore. Arizona’s offense is humming along very nicely with Kyler Murray and Deandre Hopkins. Hopkins has not practiced this week, but he would often not practice all week and then play when he was a Texan. I still think he will play, but he might be limited just enough to cost Arizona a win.

Shana’s prediction: CAR wins 30-28

Vikings @ Texans

10:00 am PT HOU -4

If you asked me about this game earlier this week, I would lean towards the Vikings winning. But because they played the Titans last week, they had limit their preparation this week and could only enter the facility Thursday. Even if there are no positive reports for Minnesota, any lost time is a big blow. Houston will gladly take advantage of this after their brutal gauntlet. Their defense is not made to stop guys like Dalvin Cook, but Deshaun Watson is still a much better quarterback than Kirk Cousins.

Shana’s prediction: HOU wins 27-23

Giants @ Rams

1:05 pm PT LAR -12

This will be a bad game. The Rams just lost their first game by almost coming back from a 28-3 deficit. Only for the game to end with a questionable PI call. The Giants lost their last game because their offense couldn’t score a touchdown and the defense couldn’t force a single punt. Something has to go very wrong for the Rams to lose.

Shana’s prediction: LAR wins 33-17

Patriots @ Chiefs

1:25 pm PT KC -7

The Chiefs just blew out their top competition in the AFC. The Patriots are no joke, but KC will probably be favored in every game they play. They have a poor match against the strong Patriot running game and a defense strong against tight ends. But I expect Tyreek Hill and the other receivers to have a strong game. Cam Newton was able to keep pace the Seahawk offense, but he will probably fall short again.

Shana’s prediction: KC wins 33-27

Bills @ Raiders

1:25 pm PT BUF -3

The Bills defense worries me. They are very good most of the game, but let opponents back into the game. It happened against the Dolphins and Rams, and they will blow a game soon. Good news is that Josh Allen is developing wonderfully and is set for another nice game. For the Raiders, Darren Waller is coming off a rough game of 2 catches for 9 yards. He needs a bounce-back game if the Raiders hope to keep up, especially since Henry Ruggs is doubtful.

Shana’s prediction: BUF wins 27-21

Falcons @ Packers

5:15 pm (MNF) PT GB -7.5

Falcons… they just blew a 26-10 lead with just 6 minutes in the 4th quarter. Their second huge blown lead so far, the Falcons are having a rough season. It’s probably time for Dan Quinn to leave given his history with the team. He’s a defensive coach who has one of the worst defenses in the league. Good news for him is that he shouldn’t even get a chance to blow a lead on Monday. Rodgers is hot, and he will consistently burn the Atlanta defense. Matt Ryan is playing very well himself, but with little support from Todd Gurley and the run game. I don’t think he will be able to keep up.

Shana’s prediction: GB wins 36-27

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