NFL Week 4 Picks: Final Overview of Consensus Picks

After three weeks of action, each NFL team is beginning to show its true colors. While we already know what most have to offer, there will still be some surprises in the immediate future.

We saw a great example on Thursday Night Football, as a once-stagnant New York Giants offense came alive, while Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins showed he may continue to struggle against better defenses.

With 12 more games on the slate in Week 4, we could see the next shocker come from almost anywhere—the key word there being "almost." After all, there are a few games that appear to have predetermined outcomes. Those contests are this week's consensus picks.

Before delving into why these impending games are viewed as consensus picks, let's first take a look at the updated Vegas odds and predict the final score for every remaining Week 4 matchup:

Matchup	Odds	Prediction
Detroit Lions at New York Jets	DET -2	DET, 26-20
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts	IND -9	IND, 31-17
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans	HOU -3	BUF, 18-15
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears	GB -2	CHI, 30-27
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT -9	PIT, 27-13
Carolina Panthers at Baltimore Ravens	BAL -3	BAL, 23-20
Miami Dolphins vs. Oakland Raiders	MIA -4	MIA, 26-17
Jacksonville Jaguars at San Diego Chargers	SD -14	SD, 35-20
Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers	SF -4.5	SF, 27-26
Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings	ATL -3	ATL, 28-22
New Orleans Saints at Dallas Cowboys	NO -3	NO, 31-27
New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs	NE -3.5	KC, 20-17

All odds courtesy of OddsShark.com and current as of September 27.

Consensus Picks

Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

This is a battle between teams with 1-2 records looking to make a move in the AFC South. Unfortunately for the Titans, it will be the Colts moving to the .500 mark on the season after a Week 4 victory.

Tennessee and Indianapolis may share the same record, but these teams have been moving in completely opposite directions of late. The Colts lost a couple of heartbreakers to some very good football teams but followed it up with a complete drubbing of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Conversely, the Titans began the season in brilliant fashion by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs but have since taken two brutal losses.

Making matters worse for the Titans, quarterback Jake Locker has been sitting out of practice all week with a wrist injury, and he's officially listed as questionable against Indianapolis on the team's official Twitter account:

While head coach Ken Whisenhunt may be encouraged by Locker's progress, the signal-caller's injury history certainly doesn't provide the same feeling.

On the other hand, Andrew Luck is coming off of a dazzling performance, throwing for 370 yards and four touchdowns in Week 3. The emergence of running back Ahmad Bradshaw has given the Colts much-needed balance on offense; he'll get a shot at the Titans' 24th-ranked run defense on Sunday.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Here's another fine example of two teams heading in completely opposite directions. The Steelers weren't exactly impressive through the first two weeks of the season, but that all changed when they traveled to Carolina and destroyed the Panthers in prime time. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are 0-3 and surrounded by more questions than answers.

Pittsburgh's offense came alive against Carolina, as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger avoided pressure with short, high-percentage passes, while running backs Le'Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount combined for 265 yards on the ground—against what was supposed to be one of the most stout defenses in the league.

Scott Kacsmar of Football Outsiders noted the improvement in Pittsburgh's running game this season:

Tampa Bay travels to Pittsburgh in hopes of eliminating the memory of a shameful 56-14 defeat by the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3. The Steelers do have some key injuries on defense—namely Ryan Shazier, Jarvis Jones and Ike Taylor. However, with Mike Glennon under center and Doug Martin back in the fold, can the Buccaneers generate enough offense to stay competitive?

The resounding answer is no. While the Buccaneers may be able to move the offense with more efficiency than the Josh McCown-led unit, the team's defense is giving up an average of 31.7 points per game. Taking the Steelers' recent offensive success into consideration, they may be able to come close to that number. Tampa Bay just doesn't have the firepower to do the same.

Jacksonville Jaguars at San Diego Chargers

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

Things won't be getting any easier for the Jaguars in Week 4. Ranked dead last in the NFL in points allowed with an average of 39.7 per game, the team faces a Philip Rivers-led Chargers offense that's averaging 23 points per game against some tough defenses.

San Diego will be without running backs Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead after each suffered serious injuries, but that won't matter in this instance, as the resurgent Rivers will be facing Jacksonville's 32nd-ranked pass defense.

So it's pretty easy to predict that San Diego will put up some massive points, but can Jacksonville do the same? After all, rookie Blake Bortles is set to make his first career start on Sunday, according to NFL on ESPN:

Don't expect big things from Bortles right out of the gate. He will be working with inexperienced wide receivers, a running game that's averaging just 64.7 yards per game and an offensive line that is ranked 23rd in the league in pass protection with a minus-4.6 rating, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

The odds are stacked heavily against the Jaguars in this one. Don't expect them to return home with a win.