NFL Week 4 Predictions

I'm a little later than usual with my predictions this week, because I just couldn't help but revel in the moment after my Rays pulled off the greatest comeback in baseball history on Wednesday night.  I turned the game off in the sixth when they were down 7-0, thinking the season was as good as gone, and went on CBS's website to get caught up on Hawaii Five-O.  I went back on the Rays' site afterward to see the final score, and to my surprise, it's tied 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, and Dan Johnson - of all people! - has just hit a game-tying home run.  So I'm flipping back and forth on Gameday between the Rays-Yankees and Red Sox-Orioles games, and I see Baltimore come back from a 3-2 deficit in the bottom of the ninth with two outs to win it 4-3, thanks to a bobbled catch by none other than former Rays outfielder Carl Crawford (karma's a bitch, ain't it?)  And then, a few minutes later, Evan Longoria hits his second home run of the night to win the game for Tampa in the 12th, capping off the Rays' unprecedented comeback from nine games back at the start of September to knock off Boston for the AL Wild Card.  I couldn't really celebrate the moment exactly when it happened, because I was on the phone with my girlfriend, who had called me just a minute earlier, but when she asked me how my day was going, I was able to tell her, "It just got a lot better!"  Needless to say, I was too numb with euphoria to write anything, so I had to put off Part 2 of my Twitter rant for another day, so that's why I'm running behind with my picks this week.

Whew!  Didn't intend to ramble for that long.  Onto my predictions.  Last week I went 9-7, which puts me at 27-21 (56.3 %) on the season. 

Bills over Bengals

• After seeing them come back from a 21-point deficit to beat the Patriots, I'm officially impressed with the job Buffalo has done so far.  It's easy to see the change in this team's attitude - they never quit, even when the game gets tough.  

Titans over Browns

• Playing against Cleveland's defense just might be the shot in the arm that Chris Johnson needs.  Then again, the Titans haven't done too badly without him so far.  

Texans over Steelers

• Pittsburgh's running game looked pretty lackluster last week, and its defense struggled to contain Joseph Addai.  Can they really expect to fare any better against Arian Foster? 

Lions over Cowboys

• We all expected the Lions to have a breakout season, but few of us expected them to be undefeated so far.  The Cowboys, though, look like they're just barely hanging on. 

Eagles over 49ers

• I think it's time to stop calling Philly's defense the "Dream Team."  Luckily for them, their opponent this week doesn't have much on offense to challenge them.  

Panthers over Bears

• Cam Newton's stats were a lot more down to earth against the Jags last week, but more importantly, his team finally got the win.  Chicago's defense hasn't looked too good these last few weeks, and their offensive line took a big hit with rookie Gabe Carimi's injury, leaving them pretty vulnerable to a Panthers team that's starting to look pretty hungry. 

Rams over Redskins

• All the stats tell me to pick Washington, in spite of their struggles against Dallas on Monday night.  Call me crazy, but I think St. Louis just might be hungry enough to finally get a win this Sunday. 

Saints over Jaguars
Vikings over Chiefs
Giants over Cardinals

• Big Blue surprised me last week with a win over Philadelphia.  Guess they're not as banged up as I thought they were... 

Seahawks over Falcons

• Atlanta just hasn't been playing like it's capable of playing, and struggles on the road.  Not a good sign when you're going into one of the toughest stadiums in the league to play in.  

Packers over Broncos
Patriots over Raiders
Chargers over Dolphins
Ravens over Jets
Buccaneers over Colts