NFL Week 4: Falcons, Rams and Eagles Are Three Teams That Must Win

It is a little early to call any games "must" games, but three teams might be faced with that situation in Week 4 of the NFL. 

The Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles were certainly targeted to be playoff teams, and the St. Louis Rams were hopeful to be included in that group. So far none of the three are yet off to a strong start.

The Rams have dropped their first three games. Even in the NFC West, you need to win a few games to win the division.

They will have several factors in their favor in addition to playing at home this week. Steven Jackson is expected to recover enough from his injury to play a more significant role than he was able to do last week.

The Washington Redskins played on the road on Monday night, so following that with another road game is not an easy task.

I'm thinking that Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo will have his team fired up to get their first win of the season and keep the Rams' modest playoff hopes alive for at least another week.

The Falcons have already dropped two conference games, so they really can not afford to lose a third when they travel to Seattle to play the Seahawks.

Playing at Seattle is not easy for opponents. The New Orleans Saints will certainly agree with that.

However, the offensive difficulties that the Seahawks are having while Tarvaris Jackson settles in at quarterback should give the Falcons a good chance to win. The Falcons just have too many weapons on offense.

I am also looking for rookie Julio Jackson to have another strong week, which will help the Falcons as well.

The Eagles have also already lost two conference games, so a win against the San Francisco 49ers at home is really a must game for them.

Whether it is Michael Vick or someone else at quarterback, the Eagles should be able to outscore the 49ers, although it won't be easy.

The two-headed running attack of Frank Gore and rookie Kendall Hunter plus the big tight-end Vernon Davis should give the Eagles linebackers trouble all day.

Add a hot David Akers into that mix in his return to Philly, and this game will be a struggle. It would be ironic if Akers' replacement, rookie Alex Henery, kicks the winning field goal late in the game, but that is certainly a real possibility here.

In summary, all three potential playoff teams facing a must-win game should win this week.