NFL Viewer Guide for Week 4: Ranking the Matchups and Predictions
Each week we'll be counting down the weekend games in terms of viewer appeal and later share our predictions — confidence pool style.
As usual, there are several intriguing matchups on the schedule and we've ranked them (in reverse order) based on the expect quality of the game along with Dolphins-related impact, if applicable.
COUNTDOWN OF THE BEST MATCHUPS
15. Tennessee (2-1) at N.Y. Jets (0-3), 1 p.m. ET: Yawn. Yes, maybe there's something about watching Derrick Henry and seeing the progress or struggles of Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson, but this has mismatch written all over it.
14. Houston (1-2) at Buffalo (2-1), 1 p.m. ET: The Bills look like they're back to 2020 form and Josh Allen and friends should have an easy time in this one.
13. N.Y. Giants (0-3) at New Orleans (2-1), 1 p.m. ET: Like the other New York team, the Giants are not only bad, they're not very entertaining to watch.
12. Detroit (0-3) at Chicago (1-2), 1 p.m. ET: Dan Campbell's team has played hard and been competitive, but it's just not very good and also snakebitten. That said, the Lions are still more interesting than the Bears, whose offense has been a horror show so far this season.
11. Washington (1-2) at Atlanta (1-2), p.m. ET: Washington was supposed to have a great defense this season and Falcons rookie Kyle Pitts was supposed to make a major impact, but so far neither thing has happened.
10. Indianapolis (0-3) at Miami (1-2), 1 p.m. ET: This looked like a really good matchup heading into the 2021, but it's lost a lot of its luster because the Colts have major injury issues throughout their roster and the Dolphins are without their starting quarterback.
9. Kansas City (1-2) at Philadelphia (1-2), p.m. ET: Andy Reid is going back to Philadelphia for the second time as the visiting coach with his Chiefs team on an uncharacteristic two-game losing streak. But the Eagles' Monday night performance doesn't offer much hope for a great game.
8. Pittsburgh (1-2) at Green Bay (2-1), 4:25 p.m. ET: This normally would be a marquee matchup, but the Steelers could be in trouble because of their struggling offense, though having T.J. Watt on defense will make it a much more interesting battle against the Aaron Rodgers-led Packers offense.
7. Cleveland (2-1) at Minnesota (1-2), 1 p.m. ET: The Vikings might be 1-2, but they just as easily could be 3-0 and this has the makings of a very good matchup.
6. Baltimore (2-1) at Denver (3-0), 4:25 p.m. ET: The Broncos and their stout defense finally get a test with Lamar Jackson after facing the Giants, Jaguars and Jets in the first three weeks.
5. Seattle (1-2) at San Francisco (2-1), 4:05 p.m. ET: Any NFC West division matchup should be a treat this season, and in this one Russell Wilson will look to help the Seahawks snap a rare two-game losing streak.
4. Tampa Bay (2-1) at New England (1-2), 8:20 p.m. ET: Hmm, wonder what the big storyline in this game might be. This will be must-see TV, even though Tom Brady's return to Gillette Stadium would be even more compelling if the Patriots weren't looking so ordinary these days. That this is the most significant game of the week doesn't make it the most interesting.
3. Carolina (3-0) at Dallas (2-1), 1 p.m. ET: The Panthers get a chance to show they're for real against a Cowboys team that sure looks like it's back to prominence.
2. Las Vegas (3-0) at L.A. Chargers (2-1), Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET: This is a great AFC West showdown between emerging teams and two quarterbacks (Derek Carr, Justin Herbert) off to great starts in 2021.
1. Arizona (3-0) at L.A. Rams (3-0), 4:05 p.m. ET: Two of the five undefeated teams in the NFL will do battle in this NFC West showdown and Kyler Murray and the Cardinals get the chance to make a major statement here.
GAME PREDICTIONS
In a different way of doing this, here are projected winners, and they are ranked in order of confidence that the projection will be accurate with No. 1 being the most confident. Note that the Dolphins game will not be included in this exercise; the Dolphins prediction will come in a Saturday column.
Week 3 record: 9-5 (Not bad)
1. Buffalo over Houston
2. Tennessee over N.Y. Jets
3. New Orleans over N.Y. Giants
4. Kansas City over Philadelphia
5. Tampa Bay over New England
6. Dallas over Carolina
7. Green Bay over Pittsburgh
8. L.A. Rams over Arizona
9. Atlanta over Washington
10. L.A. Chargers over Las Vegas
11. Minnesota over Cleveland
12. San Francisco over Seattle
13. Detroit over Chicago
14. Denver over Baltimore
