Monfreda's Picks: Week 4 Predictions and Analysis Throughout NFL Sunday

Joe Flacco and the 0-2 Cleveland Browns taking down the undefeated Green Bay Packers? C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans dropping to 0-3 after a loss to the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars? Week 3 around the NFL was as unpredictable as ever.

Well, aside from those very outcomes being predicted last week in Monfreda's Week 3 picks.

This past Sunday welcomed seven correct predictions with only two wrongly called contests. Hopefully, today welcomes even more success–though things are starting on the wrong side in Dublin.

Monfreda's Picks: Week 4 predictions around the NFL

Minnesota Vikings vs Pittsburgh Steelers Silly me; I forgot to schedule this post early. As I go back and edit this, the Vikings find themselves down big against the Steelers, but I'm owning my selection nonetheless

Are you ready for early morning football? Thanks to the NFL's latest international game, this time taking place in Dublin, football Sunday starts bright and early at 9:30am. And that's for those on the east coast–for west coasters, that's 6:30 in the morning.

Carson Wentz suits up for his second start this season, squaring off against legendary signal caller Aaron Rodgers. A seven-two touchdown-interception ratio from Rodgers through three games proves that the soon-to-be 42-year-old has plenty of fight left in him.

But Rodgers hasn't faced a defense near the same level as Minnesota's yet, which has allowed the sixth-least yardage and seventh-least point total. Combine that with Wentz' strong outing last week, and I have no choice but to roll with the Vikings here.

Winner: Minnesota Vikings

Washington Commanders vs Atlanta Falcons

Much like Minnesota, the Commanders are once again turning to their QB2. And, much like Minnesota, Washington's backup signal caller is fresh off of a dominant performance; one against the Las Vegas Raiders, just as predicted in Week 3's picks.

It comes down to how Michael Penix Jr. sees the field on Sunday. Last week, the second-year quarterback completed 50% of his passes while tossing two interceptions, leading to a downright embarrassing 0-30 loss against the Carolina Panthers–an opponent Penix Jr. has lost to twice in two starts.

Such a poor performance simply cannot happen again. I don't expect it to, either. In any event, it's hard to go against a Commanders team firing on all cylinders such as the one we saw in Week 3. That's the team I have to side with. Winner: Washington Commanders

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Los Angeles Chargers vs New York Giants It's Jaxson Dart's first start as an NFL quarterback. His opponent? A 3-0 Los Angeles Chargers squad that, to this point, has been as scary as any club league-wide.

Currently, the Giants remain winless on the season. And while Malik Nabers and Dexter Lawrence give this team a legitimate elite player on each side of the ball, I can't see it being enough to overcome such a tough opponent in Week 4.

Especially not during Dart's first regular season action as a pro.

Winner: Los Angeles Chargers

Tennessee Titans vs Houston Texans

A battle of two winless division rivals; at least one must walk away not losing this contest.

C.J. Stroud has been far from what many expected this season. And while I don't view Stroud as a top-10 signal caller in this league, at least to this point, he's still a promising young quarterback who has much better football to be played.

For my money, that'll show against Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans this week as Houston tallies their first win of the year.

Winner: Houston Texans

Philadelphia Eagles vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This Buccaneers squad is a seriously good football team. It isn't new, either; head coach Todd Bowlers has had Tampa Bay competing with the best teams the NFL has to offer for multiple years now. That includes against the Philadelphia Eagles, who have lost to the Buccaneers in six of their last seven meetings.

Add in the fact that Baker Mayfield may be the biggest riser league-wide at the moment, and everything points to Tampa Bay in this one. And yet, Philadelphia is still the team I expect to walk away with a win on Sunday. It should make for a phenomenal contest no matter how the chips fall! Winner: Philadelphia Eagles

Monfreda's Picks: Last but not least..

Carolina Panthers vs New England Patriots There were only two contests I didn't correctly predict this past week, with one being the Panthers facing off against Atlanta. Be that as it may, I wrote, "I'm still a believer in Bryce Young, but this team, and Young specifically, will have to show me a lot more before I start siding with them." Does a 30-0 win over a strong division rival constitute as showing a lot more? You betcha.

But I'm simply still not there yet. I'll go with the Patriots at home here, but if Carolina pulls this one off - or at least makes it a ballgame - I'll comfortably roll with them over Miami in Week 4–and potentially beyond. Bryce Young is certainly talented enough to make that happen, and while Patriots are my pick, a Panthers win would not surprise me.

Winner: New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints vs Buffalo Bills

A Panthers win against the Patriots would not surprise me. A Saints win against the Bills would not surprise me either.

That's because I'd probably faint if I saw New Orleans pulling off a victory over Buffalo here, and one can't be surprised if they're unconscious. Look; 'Any given Sunday' is real. But, probably not this Sunday as it pertains to this matchup.

Winner: Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns vs Detroit Lions

Calling last week's Green Bay Packers vs Cleveland Browns contest correctly will surely be a high-point of my picks throughout the season. By all accounts, Green Bay, which headed into the week with a 2-0 record, is superior to the Browns team that went into Week 3 winless and struggled to score any amount of points throughout an entire football game. But it doesn't matter–not when Cleveland has a Myles Garrett. Now, the Browns have momentum, and Detroit is up next on the schedule. And that ends their streak of momentum through the first four weeks of their '25 campaign. This is one I expect the Lions to handle rather easily, even with the Browns having the aforementioned Myles Garrett on their roster. Garrett who, in my eyes, is the best player in the entirety of the National Football League. Not defender–player. Winner: Detroit Lions

CC: NFL

CC: NFL