Week 4 NFL Picks: Predicted Winners and Spread for Every Game

Thursday Night Football kicks off Week 4 of the 2014 NFL regular season, but there is a full schedule of games this week that should have bettors ready to place a wager.

Many gamblers are forced to go back to the drawing board with Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, St. Louis, Arizona and Seattle all on their respective bye weeks, but there are still several favorable bets that can be made.

Here are the spreads for every game, the predicted winners against the spread in each matchup and the betting advice you need for Week 4.

Thursday, Sept. 25	Spread	Predicted Winners
Sunday, Sept. 28	Spread	Picks Against Spread
Monday, Sept. 29	Spread	Picks Against Spread
NY Giants at Washington	WAS (-3.5)	Giants
Miami at Oakland	MIA (-3.5)	Dolphins
Carolina at Baltimore	BAL (-3)	Panthers
Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh	PIT (-9)	Steelers
Green Bay at Chicago	EVEN	Packers
Buffalo at Houston	HOU (-3)	Bills
Tennessee at Indianapolis	IND (-9)	Colts
Detroit at NY Jets	EVEN	Lions
Jacksonville at San Diego	SD (-14)	San Diego
Atlanta at Minnesota	ATL (-3)	Falcons
Philadelphia at San Francisco	SF (-4.5)	Eagles
New Orleans at Dallas	NO (-3)	Saints
New England at Kansas City	NE (-3)	Patriots

Bet You Can’t Miss: Detroit Lions at New York Jets (EVEN) 

The wager all gamblers should be making this week is the Detroit Lions over the New York Jets with no spread. As good as New York has been on the ground (second in the NFL with 157.7 yards per game), Detroit’s front seven has been lights out against the run, allowing only 63.7 yards rushing per game.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan spoke to Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com about the dominant inside presence of Detroit’s Ndamukong Suh and compared Suh to NFL Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp:

"

[Sapp’s] a Hall of Famer. Again, it doesn't get much higher than that. This kid [Suh] is fun to watch. He's got an excellent motor, and he's got skills. He has unusual balance. He's not off his feet, he's able to play with power, he's able to play with finesse, and it's just a rare combination. He's a guy that's obviously a difference-maker.

"

Add in the fact that the Jets are only allowing 55 yards rushing per game, and this will become a passing battle. With the focus on quarterbacks, Matthew Stafford is a far better player right now than Geno Smith and should have no problem beating a New York secondary that was dominated by both Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler.

With Detroit only allowing 180.7 passing yards per game, Smith is in serious trouble. Bet the Lions with confidence.

Predicted Final Score: Detroit 27, New York 19

Bet You Must Avoid: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers (-9)

USA TODAY Sports

The bigger the spread, the more dangerous a bet gets. Tampa Bay was destroyed, 56-14, in Week 3, but the game took place on the road and on a Thursday night. With Sunday’s game giving the Buccaneers 10 days of rest, it’s more likely that fans see the team that lost by a combined eight points in the first two weeks.

There is no questioning the offensive production of Pittsburgh this season (first in rushing yards and 11th in passing yards per game), but there have been serious issues on defense, including major injuries to top players. ESPN’s Adam Schefter talked about the Steelers' bad luck:

The depleted defense should be a major concern for Pittsburgh, especially after Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune reported that Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin said he is ready to return to an elite form:

With the perfect combination of the Buccaneers not looking to get embarrassed again and the Steelers coming off a big win over Carolina, Tampa Bay should be able to keep the game close enough to beat the spread.

Predicted Final Score: Pittsburgh 30, Tampa Bay 24

*Stats via NFL.com.

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