NFL Picks Week 4: Teams That Will Bounce Back from Upset Losses in Week 3

Week 3 in the NFL will be forever remembered as one of the craziest weekends in modern football history, and several teams that unexpectedly lost games will have to try and bounce back in Week 4.

Some teams lost due to poor luck, while others simply came out flat. Another supremely disappointing week from the replacement officials was also a wild card in every game.

But all that matters is the final score at the end of the game, and the teams that lost must move forward and try put their name next to the bigger number on the Jumbotron this coming weekend.

Here are the teams that were upset in Week 3 but will be victorious the next time they take the field.

Green Bay Packers over New Orleans Saints

The Green Bay Packers would not fit the criteria for this article if not for one of the biggest officiating blunders in NFL history.

The replacement referees gave the game to the Seattle Seahawks by ruling that Golden Tate caught a game-winning touchdown pass as time expired when M.D. Jennings clearly intercepted the ball.

Despite the anger and frustration towards the NFL and the indisputably ill-equipped replacement officials, the Packers have to move on and face the struggling New Orleans Saints.

If this were a contest of who has been treated more unfairly by the NFL, the Saints may have the edge. But this is still a football game, and a stiff Packers’ defense will give Green Bay an advantage at home against New Orleans.

Detroit Lions over Minnesota Vikings

It is truly remarkable that the Detroit Lions loss to the Tennessee Titans is not the top story coming out of this weekend. With six touchdowns in the final seven minutes of the game, including a Hail Mary by Detroit to send the game into overtime, this game featured one of the craziest finishes fans have ever seen.

The Lions ended up losing on a broken attempt to convert on 4th-and-goal in overtime, and now the team must try to rebound and defeat the Minnesota Vikings.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes that starting quarterback Matthew Stafford’s injury—sustained during the loss to Tennessee—is not expected to cause him to miss time.

With Stafford firing to Calvin Johnson, and Mikel Leshoure finally in the backfield, the Lions will cruise past the Vikings.

San Francisco 49ers over New York Jets

The 49ers and the Jets are both 2-1 after three weeks, but that is where the similarities between these two teams end.

San Francisco is coming off a shocking loss on the road to Minnesota in which they couldn’t get in rhythm offensively, and Christian Ponder made enough plays to win the game for his team. The Jets squeaked by the Miami Dolphins in an ugly win, and the team’s struggling offense will be dominated by the Niners’ smothering defense.

Before losing to the Vikings, San Francisco topped the ESPN NFL power rankings and was considered by many to be the best team in football. Now, the team will start to reestablish itself as the class of the league.

San Francisco is a significantly better team than the Jets, and this will be reflected by the score at the end of this game.