NFL Picks Week 4: A Sunday quadrupleheader to open October

Though the Seahawks and Giants don’t play until Monday, Sunday will see plenty of gridiron action, including a scintillating Broncos-Bears matchup of 0-3 teams.

The September slate of the NFL season officially saw its last game played on Thursday Night Football when the Detroit Lions bit the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field to take an early lead in the NFC North.

Sunday morning football fans across the country will tune in to an NFL quadrupleheader to watch October football begin with the Atlanta Falcons taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, which is to be followed by nine matchups in the early slot, three in the late slot and a Sunday Night Football showdown between two first round quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Zach Wilson.

Falcons “@” Jaguars — 6:30am — ESPN+ — O/U 43

History will note this as a home game, but it’s hard to consider a game played in London a home game for a team from Florida. With that said, the Jaguars are coming off an embarrassing 37-17 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 3, and they are probably lucky they’re not playing in front of fans who would not be happy with a 1-3 start for a team that came into the season with relatively lofty expectations. On the flip side, the Falcons are looking to keep pace in the NFC South, a division that has started off much stronger than most had imagined, though starting the season against the Carolina Panthers and Packers certainly didn’t hurt their record.

The pick: Over 43 points, Jaguars to win and cover

Broncos @ Bears — 10:00am — CBS — O/U 46.5

In Week 3 the Denver Broncos lost by 50 points to the Miami Dolphins, and yet they are currently favored over the Chicago Bears, who dropped their Week 3 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs by a much more respectable margin of just 31 points.

There are just four teams in the NFL that remain winless at the moment, and the Bears and Broncos are two of them. Twelfth year quarterback Russell Wilson has put up respectable numbers so far this season, while third year quarterback Justin Fields has again struggled. However, Fields’ struggles pale in comparison to the struggles of the defenses for both Chicago and Denver, units that enter this game ranked 31st and 32nd in the league in points allowed.

When Chicago has the ball it will be a matchup of the 31st ranked scoring offense facing off against the 32nd ranked scoring defense, making it worth tuning in just to see what gives first.

The pick: Under 46.5 points, Broncos to win and cover

Cardinals @ 49ers — 1:00pm — FOX — O/U 43.5

The Arizona Cardinals snuck out of their Week 3 game against the Dallas Cowboys with an upset in spite of having been double digit underdogs. They are once against double digit underdogs in Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers have looked the part of defending NFC West champs through the first three games, even if they have not faced the toughest schedule. The Cardinals do not represent a toughening of the schedule, and are expected by many to be in competition for the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. They have played very well in spurts, but have been outscored 47-18 in the second half of their first three games under new head coach Jonathan Gannon. It seems unlikely that they will be able to upend the 49ers, but it is a divisional showdown, which often means a closer outcome than the current two touchdown line would indicate.

The pick: Under 43.5 points, Cardinals to cover but the 49ers to win

Chiefs @ Jets — 5:20pm — NBC — 41.5

This was a schedule maker’s dream in the spring. The defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs led by two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes facing off against the New York Jets and the newly acquired four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers in primetime in the largest media market in the world.

Instead, fans get to watch Zach Wilson.

What will the Jets look to do with Wilson starting at quarterback for the third straight week? Well, here’s Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay to answer that question.

Which makes it completely understandable why the Chiefs are heavy favorites.

The pick: Over 41.5 points, with the Chiefs to win and cover

Seahawks @ Giants — ABC/ESPN — 5:15pm — O/U 47

Not certain if the over/under for this game is representative of the Seattle Seahawks having a top five scoring offense or a bottom five scoring defense, or some combination of the two. That said, this is an easy one, as it’s a team from the Pacific Time Zone playing against a team from the Eastern Time Zone in primetime. For those who don’t know what that means, simply imagine having to stay up hours past your regular bedtime to do your job because the boss decided that instead of working like you normally do during the day, you’ve got to do it after you’ve normally gone home and gone to bed.

In any case, Geno Smith will remain perfect on the Don’t Write Back Revenge Tour, putting another notch on that belt, while Jamal Adams looks to make a statement in his return from a torn quadriceps tendon in the stadium where he played for the first three years of his career.

The pick: Over 47 points, Seahawks to win and cover

And for how the Field Gulls Staff sees the Week 7 games:

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