NFL Expert Picks for Week Four

8-8 in week 3. What a crazy week of football! I lost several games in overtime and of course lost that atrocious Packers vs. Seahawks game. Thank the football gods that is over with. Welcome back, professional zebras! Oh how we’ve missed you.

Now that the NFL ship has been righted, I’m even more determined to show these so called experts a thing or two about being an expert. Which in fact, I AM doing. I’m 27-21 for the season which puts me ahead of 10 of the experts in the graphic above and tied with Mike Golic for fourth place, which is a great honor. Golic’s morning radio show is the best sports show on the air. Please note that none of the “experts” ahead of me are NFL veterans. Let’s get into week four.

Browns @ Ravens Ravens will take this one down. Ravens are 2-1 and ranked 2nd in offensive points scored with 98 points. Browns are 0-3 and ranked 26th in offensive points scored with 57. Neither defense is doing very well but the Ravens’ stronger offense and veteran players will make the difference in this game. Oh yes, and the Ravens are on a 12-game home winning streak…so they’ve got that going for them too.

Panthers @ Falcons Falcons are 3-0, tied with the Giants for third most offensive points scored with 94, and have weapons out the wazoo. Let’s not forget that the Falcons D has given up just 48 points, fourth in the league. Carolina is tied for 29th in offensive points scored with 52 and don’t have the chemistry they had last year. The good news for Carolina is they’ve had three extra days to rest and prepare. Regardless, I’ll take the Falcons all day long, and twice on a NFL Sunday.

Patriots @ Buffalo Tom Brady loves to beat up on the Bills. Brady has scored 2.3 tds per game over 20 games against the Bills. The Bills D is a little below average and Brady passed for 335 yards last week. It looks like the Patriots are finally putting an offense together, just in time to route the Bills. I predict the Patriots will dominate the Bills.

Vikings @ Lions This is a tough one to pick. I like the Vikes, they showed us some real guts last week. The Vikes D has given up just 59 points versus the Detroit D’s 94. I realize this is a division game in Detroit but I still have to go with the Vikes.

Chargers @ Chiefs Chargers win. The Chiefs’ only win was against the Saints who have no defense at all. I could put a better defense together with eleven guys from my local bar and two bottles of Jack Daniels. San Diego’s defense is pretty stingy.

Seahawks @ Rams The refs won’t be playing for Seattle anymore but I think they’ll win anyway. The Seattle defense is the stingiest in the league giving up just 39 points. The Rams offensive line is troublesome.

Niners @ Jets Both teams are 2-1. Look for the Niners to rebound. I can’t tell if the Jets are good or not but they certainly won’t be as good without Revis.

Titans @ Texans Texans are super tough on both sides of the ball. Titans are…well…in need of defensive help. They’ve given up 133 points, the most in the league.

Raiders @ Broncos I like Peyton Manning leading his team to 2-2 at home. Manning’s back is against the wall and you don’t want to do that to a Manning.

Dolphins @ Cardinals Cardinals are far too strong to lose at home to the Dolphins. In addition, Miami RB Reggie Bush will not be at 100% and may not play.

Bengals @ Jaguars The Bengals are starting to click and the Jaguars are inconsistent. Bengals win.

Saints @ Packers The Packers will be determined to never again let the outcome of a game come down to the final play. I see them taking out a lot of frustration on the Saints. Packers will crush the Saints.

Redskins @ Buccaneers Both teams have upsides and downsides. The Redskins have scored a league high 99 points, so I’m taking the Redskins.

Giants @ Eagles NFC East games are always great games and this will be one to remember. The Giants, 94 offensive points, have scored exactly twice as many points as the Eagles, 47 offensive points. The Giants have 1278 total offensive yards and the Eagles have 1249 offensive yards, nearly the same. What these numbers tell me is that the Giants have many more weapons to turn to when they need a touchdown and that will be the difference in this game. I love me some Giants.

Bears @ Cowboys The Cowboys are statistically a little bit better on both sides of the ball. This is not much of an edge but when you calculate in the 12th man at Texas Stadium this equals trouble for the Bears.