The Dallas Cowboys are already back at home, resting up on a Week 4 minibye before getting back to work on Tuesday. In the meantime, there are 15 games on the NFL schedule for this weekend, including another Monday Night Football double-header to keep fans entertained. The slow start to the season, a 2-2 record courtesy of wins over two teams widely considered in the bottom third of the league, now dives into an extremely difficult stretch of games. Facing Pittsburgh, Detroit, San Francisco and Philadelphia with just a bye week and Kirk Cousin’s Falcons sprinkled in, is daunting.
It means that Dallas is likely going to need some help to get into prime playoff positioning. From here until the end of the season, we’ll go through the contests and weigh in on which victor would benefit Dallas the most, and who we actually think is going to win. Later on in the year, the rooting guide will be centered around more specific impacts to playoff chances but for now several allegiances will be based on super-scientific vibes.
Game: New Orleans (2-1) @ Atlanta Falcons (1-2)
Kickoff: Sun 1pm
Rooting Interest: Falcons – lost to Saints, need better record for tiebreaker
Prediction: Saints
Winner: Falcoms
Game: Cincinnati Bengals (0-3) @ Carolina Panthers (1-2)
Kickoff: Sun 1pm
Rooting Interest: Panthers – Bengals have intriguing Fire Sale parts
Prediction: Panthers
Winner: Bengals
Game: Los Angeles Rams (1-2) @ Chicago Bears (1-2)
Kickoff: Sun 1pm
Rooting Interest: Bears – may be more likely to fade down the stretch
Prediction: Rams
Winner: Bears
Game: Minnesota Vikings (3-0) @ Green Bay Packers (2-1)
Kickoff: Sun 1pm
Rooting Interest: Packers.
Prediction: Vikings
Winner: Vikings
Game: Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3) @ Houston Texans (2-1)
Kickoff: Sun 1pm
Eooting Interest: None
Prediction: Texans
Winner: Texans
Game: Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0) @ Indianapolis Colts (1-2)
Kickoff: Sun 1pm
Rooting Interest: Steelers. Rather them hot than mad they were upset in W5.
Prediction: Steelers
Winner: Colts
Game: Denver Broncos (1-2) @ New York Jets (2-1)
Kickoff: Sun 1pm
Rooting Interest: None
Prediction: Jets
Winner: Broncos
Game: Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)
Kickoff: Sun 1pm
Rooting Interest: Bucs
Prediction: Bucs
Winner: Bucs
Game: Washington Commanders (2-1) @ Arizona Cardinals (1-2)
Kickoff: Sun 405p
Rooting Interest: Cardinals
Prediction: Cardinals
Winner: Commanders
Game: New England Patriots (1-2) @ San Francisco 49ers (1-2)
Kickoff: Sun 405pm
Rooting Interest: Patriots
Prediction: 49ers
Winner: 49ers
Game: Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) @ Los Angeles Chargers (2-1)
Kickoff: Sun 425p
Rooting Interest: None
Prediction: Chargers
Winner: Chiefs
Game: Cleveland Browns (1-2) @ Las Vegas Raiders (1-2)
Kickoff: Sun 425p
Rooting Interest: None; both have spare parts Dallas can use.
Prediction: Raiders
Winner: Raiders
Game: Buffalo Bills (3-0) @ Baltimore Ravens (1-2)
Kickoff: Sun 820p
Rooting Interest: Ravens. Strength of Schedule tiebreaker bump.
Prediction: Ravens
Winner: Ravens
Game: Tennessee Titans (0-3) @ Miami Dolphins (1-2)
Kickoff: Mon 730p
Rooting Interest: None
Prediction: Titans
Winner: Titans
Game: Seattle Seahawks (3-0) @ Detroit Lions (1-2)
Kickoff: Mon 815p
Rooting Interest: Seahawks, want Lions to be filled with doubt.
Prediction: Lions
Winner: Lions