NFL Predictions Week 4: Picks Guide, Odds Advice and Schedule Info

Sometimes the procrastinator has the right idea. 

When it comes to NFL spreads out of Las Vegas, this theory might prove true ahead of Sunday's Week 4 action.

Sometimes a bettor's ability to wait until the early hours of Sunday produces a favorable line compared to how things started out. There are times when the general public's betting ways and the house's attempts to better protect itself backfire, leaving the door open for the procrastinator.

Some of those lines exist this week a few hours before kickoff. Below, let's look at the full slate and offer advice.

NFL Week 4 Odds

Game	Time (ET)	Spread	O/U	Predicted Winner
N.Y. Jets vs. Miami (London)	9:30 a.m.	NYJ -2	42.5	NYJ 23-20
N.Y. Giants at Buffalo	1 p.m.	BUF -5.5	45.5	BUF 30-24
Oakland at Chicago	1 p.m.	OAK -3	44	OAK 27-20
Jacksonville at Indianapolis	1 p.m.	IND -9.5	48	IND 35-20
Houston at Atlanta	1 p.m.	ATL -5.5	47	ATL 33-23
Carolina at Tampa Bay	1 p.m.	CAR -3	39.5	CAR 23-20
Kansas City at Cincinnati	1 p.m.	CIN -3	45	CIN 24-17
Philadelphia at Washington	1 p.m.	PHI -2.5	44	PHI 20-17
Cleveland at San Diego	4:05 p.m.	SD -7.5	44.5	SD 24-23
Minnesota at Denver	4:25 p.m.	DEN -7	42.5	DEN 34-24
Green Bay at San Francisco	4:25 p.m.	GB -8	48	GB 36-20
St. Louis at Arizona	4:25 p.m.	ARI -7.5	44	ARI 23-10
Dallas at New Orleans	8:30 p.m.	NO -3	47.5	DAL 17-14
Detroit at Seattle (Monday)	8:30 p.m.	SEA -10.5	43	SEA 24-7

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.   

Last-Second Lines to Consider

Oakland (-3) at Chicago

Talk about a tale of two organizations going in different directions.

The Chicago Bears might be the home team in this affair, but it's about all the team has going for it. Jay Cutler and Co. sit at 0-3, the team has already traded away names like Jared Allen and Cutler might not even play, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Oakland Raiders, on the other hand, trend the other direction. Despite leaving the team's first game, quarterback Derek Carr has 726 yards and five touchdowns. Rookie wideout Amari Cooper looks as advertised with 290 yards and a score, and Latavius Murray averages 4.8 yards per carry and has scored twice.

These Raiders have two wins already, and the newfound explosiveness on offense figures to give the Bears fits. Chicago is allowing a stunning 35.0 points per game, with opposing quarterbacks experiencing few issues moving the ball up and down the field against the unit.

Bettors may find some reason to pause with Oakland traveling across the country for this matchup, but it's not a valid concern given the circumstances. The Raiders are healthy and dangerous; Chicago might have its starting quarterback and won't have star wideout Alshon Jeffery, per Schefter above.

On the road, look for the Raiders to outpace the Bears.

Prediction: Raiders 27, Bears 20

Kansas City at Cincinnati (-3)

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

The same scenario about teams going different places fits here, too.

The Kansas City Chiefs aren't a terrible team by any means, but Andy Reid's group has just one win after one of the year's toughest early-season slates. The Chiefs beat the Houston Texans, then went down at the hands of the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers.

The Cincinnati Bengals haven't had similar issues. They sit undefeated, most recently going to Baltimore and stealing a convincing win from the Ravens.

Much of the credit goes to a new-look Andy Dalton, who has completed 66.3 percent of his passes with 866 yards and eight touchdowns to one interception. His play has someone such as wideout Marvin Jones thinking big things, per ESPN.com:

"

The way we're clicking right now, it would be naive not to think that this is really a great opportunity for us to escalate in our division and within the AFC. It's important to note that, keeping a mindset we're in this play-by-play, game-by-game. But you obviously see the big picture and right now, it's in our favor.

"

Las Vegas seems a little off on this one.

Not only is this game in Cincinnati, the Chiefs are on a short week after an appearance on Monday Night Football against the Packers. It just so happens that there, Kansas City's offensive line surrendered seven sacks of Alex Smith—a doomsday scenario going into a matchup with one of the league's deepest defensive lines, led by Geno Atkins.

To swing this even further in Cincinnati's favor, it's important to know just how much the Chiefs have struggled against the pass so far. Even with the return of Sean Smith, Cincinnati has too many weapons for the Chiefs to cover at once.

Prediction: Bengals 24, Chiefs 17

Green Bay (-8) at San Francisco

The aforementioned Packers should inspire some confidence, too.

Short week or not, Aaron Rodgers and Co. are on absolute fire. The team isn't just 3-0, it not only took down Kansas City, but it took care of business against the Seattle Seahawks. Just last week, Rodgers threw for five scores with no picks, while the offense rolled to 38 points.

Last week wasn't as pretty for the San Francisco 49ers. Well, neither was Week 2, a 43-18 whipping at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But last week was even worse, a 47-7 decimation against the Arizona Cardinals. 

There, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw four picks on 19 attempts. His defense couldn't handle the load, permitting two scores through the air and on the ground.

For the defense, all it can do is hope past experience helps in stopping Rodgers.

"We're familiar with the team," safety Eric Reid said, per Chris Biderman of the Associated Press. "Hopefully, we can use that experience to our advantage. But they've been playing great this year, so we definitely have to be on our Ps and Qs."

The problem would be those seven sacks the Packers just managed to get. Home contest or not, Kaepernick will have some problems moving the ball, and more opportunities for Rodgers means this one gets out of hand in a hurry. 

The Packers will get out to a lead here and force the 49ers out of their comfort zone, which will only lead to more mistakes and a widening of the gap.

Prediction: Packers 36, 49ers 20

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of Oct. 3. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.