Week 4 NFL Predictions: How Teams in Desperate Situations Will Fare

The situation is pretty simple for the New York Giants. If they don't beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, their chances of making the playoffs are in serious trouble. The G-Men are 0-3 after being embarrassed by the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Cam Newton and Co. slammed the Giants 38-0. This makes the third straight game a Giants opponent has put up 36 or more points. The team is allowing 38.1 points per game through the first three weeks of the season. Even in this era of high-scoring games, allowing that many points makes it near impossible to win.

Things aren't going to get any easier for the Giants. The undefeated Kansas City Chiefs will welcome the the G-Men to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. It will be gut check time for the head coach Tom Coughlin and his team. Their season is likely on the line. 

How will they respond?

Get ready for bad news in the Show Me State. As terrible as the Giants' offense was on Sunday, their inability to stop the run will be the biggest problem against the Chiefs. The G-Men's run defense has gotten progressively worse each week. Against the Panthers they gave up 194 yards on the ground. For the season, the team is allowing 129.3 yards per game.

Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles hasn't had a 100-yard rushing game yet this season, but he's headed for his first. Expect the Chiefs to remain undefeated behind a strong run game that keeps Eli Manning and the Giants offense off the field.

What other team is feeling a little desperate?

Washington Redskins

This isn't how Redskins fans envisioned this season beginning. After losing 27-20 on Sunday, the Skins are winless. They haven't looked as bad as the Giants, but 0-3 is 0-3.

In Week 4, the Skins will travel to Oakland in search of their first win. The Raiders have been more competitive than most expected, but this is a game the Skins should win. Washington's biggest weakness is its pass defense. It has allowed an average of 356 yards and 2.66 passing touchdowns per game.

That's not going to be good enough to win most weeks. Luckily for the Skins, the Raiders don't have the weapons in the passing game to take full advantage of their issues. The Redskins will get off the schneid and notch their first win of the season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs aren't a playoff team, but if they hope to establish anything they can build on this season, they have to avoid an 0-4 start. The Cardinals are a beatable team, but the addition of Carson Palmer has at least made the offense respectable.

Before they were held to just seven points by the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the Cardinals had managed to score at least 24 points in each of their first two games. That was something the team did only two times the entire 2012 season.

Can the Bucs handle the Cardinals at home? I don't think so.

Josh Freeman is likely getting closer to a backup role. He completed just 19-of-41 passes with no touchdowns and one interception on Sunday against the New England Patriots. Because of his less-than-stellar play, he's in a bit of a desperate situation himself. 

The Bucs lack leadership on the offensive side of the ball and their defense has the occasional brain cramp. Freeman isn't getting the job done, and Lavonte David's inexplicable penalty in Week 1 is a microcosm of where this team is right now.

Palmer will lead the Cardinals to victory in Tampa and Freeman may be starting his last game for the team.

Here are my predictions for every game on the Week 4 schedule.

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