And then there were three. New England and Baltimore fell from the undefeated ranks on Sunday. Therefore leaving Denver, Minnesota, and Philadelphia as the lone unbeaten teams in the NFL. While the Saints, Bears, and Jaguars finally got into the win column, Cleveland has yet to win a game through four weeks.
With bye weeks going through Week 13 this year, be sure to have contingency plans in place if you’re in a fantasy football league. This week, Jacksonville, Kansas City, New Orleans, and Seattle get the week off. Make sure to take any players from those squads out of your starting lineup before lineups lock.
Prime time games this week:
Thursday Night Football – Arizona Cardinals @ San Francisco 49ers
Sunday Night Football – New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers
Monday Night Football – Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers
Here’s what we’re expecting from Week 5:
Lock of the Week – Raiders and Chargers cover the over (50.5)
Games including Oakland or San Diego this year have averaged over 55 combined points and only two of those games have seen a combined score under 50. Both teams rank in the top six in the league in scoring offense. And, both defenses struggle mightily against the pass — the Chargers rank 28th in passing yards allowed, the Raiders 32nd. Expect a classic AFL-style shootout in the first of two games this season between these long-time rivals.
Matchup of the Week – Atlanta at Denver
Atlanta goes into Week 5 with the top-rated scoring and passing offense in the league. They will be facing a Broncos defense that has allowed 16 points per game and the fourth-fewest passing yards on the season. Coming off of just the fourth 300-yard receiving game in the Super Bowl era, Julio Jones will have to succeed against Denver’s dominant secondary, namely cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, Jr., while Atlanta’s offensive line will try to keep standout pass rusher Von Miller at bay. Although the focus of this game will be Atlanta’s ‘O’ versus Denver’s ‘D’, the result could come down to whether or not rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch will have to make his first career start in place of an injured Trevor Siemian.
Player of the Week – Tom Brady vs Cleveland
With his four-game suspension over, Tom Brady will make his 2016 debut against arguably the worst team in the league. Only two teams have allowed more passing touchdowns than the Browns and Vegas expects New England to score over 28 points. If the “Angry Tom” narrative is true, expect Brady to come out with something to prove and most of the Patriots’ scoring to come through the air.
TJ Hernandez is an editor at 4for4.com and the founder of RosterCoach.com. You can follow him on twitter @TJHernandez.
*The blog is for entertainment purposes only and in no way should be used in making wagers of any kind.