My Picks for Week 4

From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe

Note Bene:

The Jets and Dolphins kick off at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday because the game’s being played in London.
This is the first Bye Week of the season with the Titans and Patriots idle.
There’s a possibility that one or more games will be moved to another date because of the potential onslaught of Hurricane Joaquin. For instance, the Eagles at Redskins game would be moved to November first.

Thursday – October 1

8:25 – Baltimore Ravens (0-3) at Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1)

Ravens are 3-point favorites with O/U = 43½ points.

Tough game for me to pick. With Ben Roethlisberger out, Michael Vick takes over at QB. Didn’t like Vick in his prime, think much less of him now. But Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell are real weapons, and the Steelers defense is giving up only 17 ppg.

On the other side of the ball, the Ravens are scoring just 23 ppg while their defense is giving up 28 ppg. The winless Ravens are desperate. Another loss ends their season in Week 4.

I go against Michael Vick, with coach John Harbaugh, and take the Ravens to win their first game.

Sunday – October 4

9:30 a.m. – New York Jets (2-1) vs. Miami Dolphins (1-2) in London

EVEN game with O/U = 42 points.

Another tough game for me. The Jets looked good in their first two games but not so good against the Eagles last Sunday. The Dolphins have been under-achieving.

I don’t have much faith in the Dolphins offense and the neutral site muddles my confusion.

I’ll take the Jets defense to carry the team to victory.

1:00 – Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) at Indianapolis Colts (1-2)

Colts are overwhelming 10-point favorites with O/U = 48 points.

I consider Andrew Luck to be over-rated until he shows me better than he has so far. But the Jags are a bad football team.

No-brainer: Colts win easy.

1:00 – New York Giants (1-2) at Buffalo Bills (2-1)

Bills are 5½-point favorites with O/U = 45½ points.

I don’t like either team. Can’t figure out why Giants gave Eli Manning such an excessive contract. Tyrod Taylor has impressed me so far.

So I take the Bills.

1:00 – Carolina Panthers (3-0) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2)

Panthers are 3-point favorites with an O/U = 39½ points.

Don’t like either QB, but Cam Newton is head and shoulders above the rookie. Plus, Panthers are much better than Bucs. In my opinion, the line should be higher.

I take the Panthers in an easy win.

1:00 – Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) at Washington Redskins (1-2)

Eagles are 3-point favorites with an O/U = 44 points.

First off, hope Hurricane Joaquin stays far enough off the East Coast to allow the game to take place.

Still not sold on the Eagles – especially their QB situation. But the Redskins are dreadful. I’ll take the Eagles in a close game.

1:00 – Oakland Raiders (2-1) at Chicago Bears (0-3)

Raiders are 3-point road favorites with an O/U = 45 points.

Jack Del Rio has the Raiders playing like they know what they’re doing. Meanwhile, the Bears are a god-awful football team.

I take the Raiders cruising to a victory well above the spread.

1:00 – Houston Texans (1-2) at Atlanta Falcons (3-0)

Falcons are 7-point favorites with an O/U = 46½ points.

Matt Ryan and the Falcons look like real deals. I thought the Texans were much better than they’ve looked so far, but I guess they’re not.

I’ll take the Falcons.

1:00 – Kansas City Chiefs (1-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-0)

Bengals are 4-point favorites at home with an O/U of 44½ points.

I don’t like the Chiefs for two reasons:

Their coach.
Their QB.

On the other hand, in my opinion, the Bengals are my dark-horse candidate to contend for a berth in the Super Bowl.

I take the Bengals – but they may not cover.

4:05 – Cleveland Browns (1-2) at San Diego Chargers (1-2)

Chargers are 9-point favorites with an O/U = 44½ points.

Will the Cleveland Browns ever be good ever again?

The Chargers have way too much fire power. If the Browns have to go to their backup QB for any reason – with Las Vegas in between Cleveland and San Diego – he might be hung-over and/or strung out.

I take the Chargers easy.

4:25 – Green Bay Packers (3-0) at San Francisco 49ers (1-2)

Packers are 9½-point favorites on the road with an O/U = 48½ points.

Never liked the guy I derisively call Copernicus. Jim Harbaugh knew exactly when it was time to get out of Dodge.

In the meantime, the Packers and Aaron Rodgers are at the top of their games.

Packers in a cake-walk.

4:25 – St. Louis Rams (1-2) at Arizona Cardinals (3-0)

Cards are 7 ½-point favorites with an O/U = 42½ points.

This is my Upset Special for the week.

The Cards are playing well – real well.

Blame it on my high regard for Nick Foles, but he can’t allow his team to fall three games behind the Cards. Not if he’s the QB I think he is. If he does allow the Rams to lose, two things:

The Cards are even better than I thought.
Nicky Football isn’t as good as I thought.

I haven’t liked Jeff Fisher’s play-calling thus far, but I’m taking Nicky Football and the Rams to prevail in a hard-fought game.

4:25 – Minnesota Vikings (2-1) at Denver Broncos (3-0)

Broncos are 7-point favorites with an O/U = 43 points.

I don’t think the undefeated Broncos are as good as their record currently indicates, and I’m surprised by the Vikings play thus far. They’re better than I thought they were.

But in the mile-high atmosphere, I think the Broncos will prevail, but they may not cover.

8:30 – Dallas Cowboys (2-1) at New Orleans Saints (0-3)

NO LINE or O/U at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

This is another tough game for me to figure.

I didn’t think the Cowboys were any good before Dez Bryant and Tony Romo went down. But they’re still in first place in the NFC East and that might propel them to over-achieve.

And the Saints are an aging football team with an aging QB – both definitely on the decline. So who’s going to win?

Heads Cowboys, tails Saints.

Heads it is. As an unmitigated Eagles fan, I want the Cowboys to lose. But I’m honoring the coin-flip and taking the Cowboys to win in a close game.

Monday – October 5

Detroit Lions (0-3) at Seattle Seahawks (1-2)

Seahawks are heavy 10½-point favorites with an O/U = 43 points.

Whereas I don’t think the Seahawks are Super-Bowl contenders this season, the winless Lions are one of the worst teams in the NFL. With Kam Chancellor back for his second week of action, I expect Seattle to start playing its best ball.