Carolina at Atlanta looks like a good match up on paper, but if Carolina comes out and plays the way they did against the Giants last week, this will be over very quickly. The Falcons are coming off a dominant win over San Diego in which the offense and defense played great. Matt Ryan is the highest rated quarterback in the NFL after three weeks and I look for him to continue that trend this week against the Panthers secondary. Cam Newton needs to bounce back and prove to his doubters he can win in this league. I look for a high scoring game with the final being 38-30 Falcons.
The Jets have a dubious task ahead of them this week of facing the 49ers after a loss. Everyone knows Coach Jim Harbaugh was just killing his team in practice all week to have them more than ready to come out and play hard. Meanwhile, the Jets are coming off an overtime victory over the Dolphins, in which they lost their best defensive player Darrelle Revis for the season with a torn ACL. Rex Ryan will surely have his team ready this week with an “us against the world” mentality, but I think the 49ers will be too much this week. I am predicting a 27-13 score in favor of San Francisco.
In the pre-season, many would have predicted that both the Saints and Packers would be undefeated heading into their week four match up. Boy, we couldn’t be more wrong. The Saints at 0-3 coming off an overtime loss where they gave up a 18-point second half lead and are in shambles right now. Everyone is blaming the poor start on the loss of Head Coach Sean Payton, but he doesn’t coach the defense and that is the sole reason they are 0-3. Meanwhile, the Packers are coming off the most controversial loss of the last five years where the replacement refs incorrectly called a TD for Seattle on the last play of the game, which gave Green Bay its second loss. They did not lose two games all season last year, going 15-1, so I am interested to see how Aaron Rogers responds. Luckily, they are going against the worst defense in the league and should be able to get back on track offensively. I am predicting a big win for the Packers 31-17.
The Giants against the Eagles looks to be a great game, both teams are 2-1. The Giants are coming off of 10 days rest and a big victory against the Panthers. The Eagles however, are coming off of an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals in which they were completely dominated in every facet of the game. Michael Vick needs a big win this week to get the Philly press off of his back as he has been a turnover machine in the first three weeks. Some are already calling for the backup rookie Nick Foles to start. If the Eagles use LeSean McCoy effectively, which in my mind is at least 25 rushes, that will put less pressure on Vick and control time of possession and keep the ball out of Eli Manning’s hands. The Giants’ defense is one of the best in the NFL. Jason Pierre Paul has become a monster at defensive end, along with Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora. This should be a close game, but I am taking the Giants 24-21.
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