Andrew Wilsher
NFL Week 4 has arrived, and on Sunday we’re making our first trip across the pond for the first-ever NFL game in Dublin, Ireland, as the Minnesota Vikings take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. That means that we have 14 straight hours of football to get excited for, as that matchup kicks off at 9:30 am ET and the day’s schedule will run right to the end of Sunday Night Football at around 11:30 pm ET. And here at Pickswise, we have you covered on EVERY GAME in Week 4! You can find out our NFL picks on the side and total, with our expert handicappers boasting a 56-41-1 record so far this season! But for now, let’s break down our NFL best bets from our top experts, featuring Vikings vs Steelers and Packers vs Cowboys. Let’s dive in.
NFL best bet: Steelers +2.5 over Vikings (-110)
Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing.
The Carson Wentz era in Minnesota started off with a bang, and he’ll look to keep his potential career resurgence going here as the Vikings travel to Ireland to take on the Pittsburgh Steeler’s in one of the NFL’s European games. While Wentz picking up a win in his first start with the Vikings was a nice story, I’m skeptical that he’ll be able to find as much success here. The Bengals were in a tough spot as they were on the road reeling from the potential loss of Joe Burrow for the season, and Cincy just completely gave the game away. Just in the first half, the Vikings scored off a pick-six and a fumble return touchdown.
They hung 48 points, but it wasn’t the offensive explosion you might assume given that total, as Wentz threw for just 173 yards. Let’s not get carried away with Wentz hype, this is still a Minnesota team that the week before lost 22-6 to a Falcons team that is struggling themselves at the moment. And in Week 1, the Vikings needed a miraculous 4th quarter comeback to beat a mostly hapless Bears team. Minnesota has one of the best home field advantages in the league, and they aren’t the same team without it. On the flip side we have the Steelers, who enter at 2-1.
The start of Aaron Rodgers’ tenure in Pittsburgh hasn’t been perfect, but the only loss was to a Seahawks team that looks pretty dang good, and if it weren’t for a special teams blunder in that one they could easily be 3-0. Rodgers looks much improved from last year, and I never felt it was fair to judge him too harshly last season as he was coming back from an Achilles tear. Give me the Steelers in this one.
Read our full Vikings vs Steelers prediction
NFL best bet: Chargers -6 over Giants (-110)
Odds available at Fanatics Sportsbook at time of publishing.
The Jaxson Dart era will be getting underway for the New York Giants when they entertain the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4 of the NFL season on Sunday afternoon. Dart showed signs of promise during the preseason, but the real things is an entirely different scenario — especially against an undefeated Los Angeles outfit that boasts one of the best defenses in the league. As such, my Chargers vs Giants pick is for the visitors to win and cover. Although Dart has potential, head coach Brian Daboll’s decision has more to do with Russell Wilson than it does with the rookie. Wilson had one good game against a porous Dallas defense, but the veteran was otherwise a shadow of his former self. In the short time, I don’t have any more faith in Dart than I did in Wilson.
As for the Chargers, they find themselves as the opposite end of the spectrum from the 0-3 Giants. Los Angeles is quite simply looking like a well-oiled machine under second-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. The Bolts are #9 in passing defense and #2 in yards per pass attempt allowed. They are also #9 against the run and #4 in scoring defense. Their offense shouldn’t have to do too much in order to prevail by at least a touchdown. The norm from Justin Herbert and company is between 20 and 27 points, which would likely be enough to handle the G-Men.
Read our full Chargers vs Giants predictions
NFL best bet: Ravens vs Chiefs Under 48.5 (-110)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Baltimore has been involved in 3 high-scoring games so far this season, easily hitting the Over each time. Two of those games saw a closing total of more than 50, capped off by an Over of 54 in Monday’s 38-30 loss to Detroit. The Chiefs barely eclipsed the Over in their season-opening loss to the Chargers in Brazil. Kansas City lost to Los Angeles 27-21 on a 46.5 total, but the next 2 games finished Under. In the Week 2 defeat to the Eagles, the Over was never threatened as Kansas City fell to Philadelphia, 20-17. Kansas City finally broke through the win column in last Sunday’s 22-9 road victory over the Giants. The Under of 45 was drilled as the Chiefs put together their best defensive effort of the season.
In last season’s meeting at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs outlasted the Ravens, 27-20, as the Over of 46 cashed. In the 2023 AFC Championship, Kansas City and Baltimore combined for 3 touchdowns, but totaled 5 touchdowns in the 2024 opener. The Chiefs remain in the middle of the NFL in yards per game at 315.7 after averaging 327.6 last season. In spite of Baltimore’s 3 high-scoring outputs, the Ravens have dropped from 1st in the NFL last season in yardage to 14th through 3 games. Baltimore has faced 2 of 3 teams with the highest yardage outputs in the league, Buffalo and Detroit. Sunday’s matchup sits at 48.5 points, the highest total for the Chiefs this season. Kansas City’s defense ranks 10th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game at 183. The Chiefs have slowed down the Ravens’ offense in the past 2 meetings and I expect another lower-scoring game between these 2 AFC powers.
Read our full Ravens vs Chiefs predictions
NFL best bet: Packers -7 over Cowboys (-110)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Sunday Night Football presents an early Super Bowl contender versus a Cowboys team whose stock is tumbling. For the 2nd straight week, Dallas’ defense left much to be desired, cultivating a Bears’ offense that looked incapable until Sunday. Chicago produced 31 points and 385 yards, including 10.6 yards per pass in Week 3, controlling the pace of the contest and handing the Cowboys their 2nd loss of the season. The Dallas offense moved the ball (396 yards), but couldn’t convert in the red zone, going just 1-4. Following an impressive effort Week 1 at Philadelphia, we’ve been less than compelled by what the new-look Cowboys have shown us the last 2 weeks. And now Dallas is slated to contend with the Packers, and Green Bay is coming off a bad loss. Oh, and Micah Parsons, the player who feuded with Jerry Jones for months before going to Green Bay, will be out for vengeance back at AT&T Stadium. From an intangible perspective, that’s a stacked deck against Dallas.
The Packers would prefer to forget about Week 3. Sure, they held the Browns to 221 total yards, but they didn’t get to the quarterback enough (Joe Flacco was only sacked twice) and they were clumsy in the 4th quarter (75 yards, outscored 0-13). More importantly, they failed to extend a 10-0 lead and couldn’t answer against the Cleveland defense. But this isn’t the Cleveland defense they’re facing on SNF, it’s the Cowboys. We have zero faith in Matt Eberflus and the Cowboys’ defense, while the Packers’ defense will have a plus matchup all game.
Read our full Packers vs Cowboys predictions for SNF
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