NFL Week 4 features a Sunday morning game in Dublin, Ireland, and a Monday Night Football double-header. Let’s go!
If Week 3 reminded us of anything, it’s what Weeks 1 and 2 also tried to drive home: Nobody knows what’s going to happen. The Browns beat the Packers? The Rams are crushing the Eagles going to be haunted by that blocked field goal forever? In fact, blocked field goals might be the headline of an NFL week? The Bears are … good?
Several furious finishes and unpredictable endings made Week 3 a drama worth watching. Now it’s time to look ahead to Week 4 and predict where the drama will find us next.
This round’s biggest-point-spread award goes again to the Buffalo Bills, this time against the hapless New Orleans Saints. Spencer Rattler is still winless as a starter, and the Saints are 0-3. Josh Allen is the MVP favorite, and the Bills are undefeated and not looking like that’s about to change. Buffalo is favored by 16.5. We talk about spoiler games all the time — seemingly easy wins on a hot streak that turn into flew-too-close-to-the-sun defeats. But don’t look for one of those here.
The second-biggest point spread is half that: Browns +8.5 at Lions. Could Cleveland surprise again, as 8.5-point underdogs in Detroit? That’s quite a spread for a team that just beat Green Bay, a team that has a win against the Lions. Not that matchups necessarily work that way, but still.
How about the close matchups? The ones where sportsbooks, or the public, can’t quite settle on a strong favorite? Look no further than Thursday Night Football, where the Seahawks head to Arizona as 1.5-point underdogs and both teams with minus odds on the moneyline. The NFC West matchup will determine placement as both teams are 2-1, tied with the Los Angeles Rams and one win behind the banged-up 49ers.
The Chicago Bears head to Las Vegas for a true pick ’em game. Both teams are -110 on the moneyline as of publish time. The Bears took a couple of weeks to get their balance, but looked like real contenders in a 31-14 smashing of the Dallas Cowboys. Meanwhile, the Raiders went the opposite direction in Week 3, losing 41-24 to the Commanders.
Other must-see matchups include the Eagles -3 at the Buccaneers. One team will get its first notch in the loss column in that matchup of Super Bowl contenders.
The Colts +3.5 at the Rams is a game nobody would’ve picked as a must-see before the season started, but Daniel Jones’ Indianapolis team has asserted itself as a contender and enters undefeated against a 2-1 Rams squad.
Conversely, a game that has lost some of its preseason luster is the Ravens -2.5 at the Chiefs, since the Chiefs had a stuttering start. Seeing Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson duke it out at Arrowhead is still appointment television.
Other close games include Vikings (-2.5) at Steelers, Commanders (-2.5) at Falcons, and Jets at Dolphins (-2.5).
Here are all the odds and game times for NFL Week 4.
NFL Week 4 odds
All games on Sunday unless indicated, and times are Eastern. Looking for NFL tickets? Find them here. For information on streaming, click here.
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals (Thursday, Prime Video)
Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers (in Dublin, Ireland, on NFL Network)
Washington Commanders at Atlanta Falcons (CBS)
New Orleans Saints at Buffalo Bills (CBS)
Cleveland Browns at Detroit Lions (FOX)
Carolina Panthers at New England Patriots (FOX)
Los Angeles Chargers at New York Giants (CBS)
Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (FOX)
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans (CBS)
Indianapolis Colts at Los Angeles Rams (FOX)
Jacksonville Jaguars at San Francisco 49ers (FOX)
Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs ( CBS)
Chicago Bears at Las Vegas Raiders (CBS)
Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys (NBC)
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins (Monday, ESPN)
Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos (Monday, ABC)
(Photo of James Cook: Elsa / Getty Images)