NFL Week 4 Predictions: Early Projections for Vegas' Odds, Lines and Spreads

The word around the league during the first few years of Thursday Night Football was that the matchups presented to the national audience were not attractive.

That has not been the case this year, as the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, and the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals faced off in Week 2. Even last week's game between the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns had some legitimate thrills.

The Week 4 matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams could be the best of the bunch.

The Rams have played near-perfect football in running out to a 3-0 record, while the Vikings are just 1-1-1 after laying the biggest egg of the season at home in Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills. The Vikings were 17-point favorites and dropped a 27-6 decision.

The inclination is to panic and get upset, but it appears the Vikings were merely looking past an opponent that many think is one of the worst teams in the league. If that's the case, it's a tremendous lesson for the Vikings and every other NFL team.

The Vikings were many fans' preseason pick to win the Super Bowl, so one loss—awful as it was—is not going to scare them off.

Look for head coach Mike Zimmer to have his team ready to play. He will not punish his players for their performance last time out, but he knows that the Vikings need to be at their best against the Rams.

The Vikings have the best defense in the league, and the offense has the capability of putting big numbers on the board. Kirk Cousins can light up any defense, and receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs can make huge plays.

Minnesota hopes to have second-year running back Dalvin Cook (hamstring) back in the lineup, and he could be the difference-maker.

There is no attempt to discount the Rams, who are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. They have to go into this game thinking that their best effort will be good enough to win, and Jared Goff and Todd Gurley are supremely confident players.

The Rams are seven-point home favorites, according to OddsShark, and we see the Vikings staying close if not winning this game.

Week 4 Point Spreads and Projections

Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams (-7); Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) at Tennessee Titans; Titans

Buffalo Bills at Green Bay Packers (-10.5); Packers

Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys (-3.5); Cowboys

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears (-1.5); Bears

N.Y. Jets at Jacksonville Jaguars (-9); Jets

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots (-9.5); Dolphins

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts (E); Colts

Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons (-5.5); Bengals

Seattle Seahawks (-3) at Arizona Cardinals; Seahawks

Cleveland Browns at Oakland Raiders (E); Browns

San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Chargers (-9.5); Chargers

New Orleans Saints (-3) at New York Giants; Giants

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (-3); Steelers

Kansas City Chiefs (-4.5) at Denver Broncos; Chiefs

Pointspread information courtesy of OddsShark

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears

This is an ideal spot for the Bears, as they return home after coming away with the win in Week 3 despite struggling throughout much of their game at Arizona after trailing 14-0.

The Bucs are coming off a Monday night game against the Steelers, and in addition to their short week, they are getting Jameis Winston back from his suspension.

Based on the first two games of the season, there is no way the Bucs should let Winston replace Ryan Fitzpatrick, but it's not quite that simple. While Fitzpatrick threw four TD passes against the Saints in Week 1 and the Eagles in Week 2, he has not been the most consistent quarterback in his career, and Dirk Koetter has to know this.

Additionally, the Week 3 game against the Steelers is on Monday night, so Koetter will have one more game to consider before making his quarterback choice.

It may be a decision that he can't win. The Bears have an excellent defense led by hard-hitting linebacker Khalil Mack, who seems to make at least one game-changing play per game.

In addition to Mack, Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan, Eddie Goldman and Eddie Jackson are all capable of turning a game around with big plays.

The Bears are still trying to build a cohesive offense, and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is not off to a stellar start. However, head coach Matt Nagy is still working with him and improvement could come shortly.

Look for the Bears to win their third straight game and take down the Bucs.

San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Chargers

The Niners were one of the top stories of the offseason, as they appeared to be a team on the rise because they had their quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo.

After splitting their first two games, the Niners took a painful blow as they have apparently lost Garoppolo for a lengthy period after he went down with an apparent ACL injury in Week 3 against the Chiefs.

The Niners will suffer a setback without him for several weeks unless head coach Kyle Shanahan can work a near-miracle and rally his team.

The Chargers are off to a 1-2 start, but this is a talented team that is not going to fade away. The Chargers have a big three in quarterback Philip Rivers, running back Melvin Gordon and wider receiver Keenan Allen, and they are going to light up the scoreboard in quite a few games this season.

After dropping a 35-23 decision to the powerful Rams, the Chargers will not have any sympathy for the Niners. Look for Los Angeles to jump out ahead and keep the pressure on throughout the game. The Chargers win and cover the 9.5-point spread.