NFL Predictions: 4 Games That Will Be High-Flying Shootouts

High-scoring affairs come in doses through the football season and come Week 4, fans can expect eight NFL teams to find themselves in a good ol' fashioned shootout. 

After a week of NFL action that saw relatively low scoring affairs with the exception of the New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans vs. New Orleans Saints games, expect more games to feature explosive scoring this weekend. 

Allow me a minute to adjust my psychic hat and look into my crystal ball for the duration of this article. My crystal ball is telling me a good bit of matchups heading into the weekend could easily result in an explosive onslaught of offense.

For instance, the best rushing team in the league statistically so far this season, the Oakland Raiders, find themselves matched up against the best passing team statistically in the New England Patriots.

Both teams have defenses that have given up a total of 117 points in the past two weeks, and you better believe quarterback Tom Brady is looking to drop some bombs through the air after losing to the Bills 34-31 last week.

The Patriots and the Raiders game will be one of four games that will make the scoreboard keeper the hardest working man in the building.

New England Patriots vs. Oakland Raiders

Darren McFadden is the real deal, and every SEC football fan knew this a long time ago. Run DMC is averaging 6.4 yards per carry, while rushing for 393 yards, accumulating three touchdowns.

As a result of the way McFadden has been playing, the Oakland Raiders rank first in the league when it comes to rushing yards per game with 185 ypg.

Oakland is a good football team that can put points up on the board, and I look for them to do just that against a rather shaky New England defense.

And don't worry about New England putting points on the board, because Tom Brady has been pouring on passing yards like it's nobody's business.

The Pats rank first in the league in passing yards with 437.7 yards per game, and you better believe Brady is itching to get back onto the field after last week's four-interception performance. 

Predicted Score:

Patriots 40

Raiders 34

Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys

I know there's a slim chance that rookie defensive tackle Nick Fairley might play against the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday, and if he does, that would give the Detroit Lions a huge boost on an already impressive defense.

But rest assured, both offenses are going to have their way in this one. The Lions are giving up roughly 15 points per game, but they still haven't faced the cream of the crop. 

As for the Lions on offense, they rank fourth in the league in passing yards averaging 321.7 yards per game led by Matthew Stafford, so they're more than capable of putting points on the board against an ever-improving Bob Ryan defense.

The Cowboys' quarterback, Tony Romo, has shown both guts and courage so far this season, and he has Dallas ranked third in the league with passing yards per game at 334.3.

No Miles Austin this week for Romo, so wide receiver Dez Bryant and tight end Jason Witten are going to have to step up.

But before the Cowboys start hanging points on anybody, they have to fix their problems up front, and more importantly get the snaps to the quarterback. They do just that against Detroit, and the Cowboys give the Lions their first loss of the season.

Predicted Score:

Lions 31

Cowboys   38

New York Giants vs. Arizona Cardinals

This high-scoring game will be a battle between two balanced attacks when the New York Giants take on the Arizona Cardinals.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning finally had a big-time performance, and it came against one of the best secondaries in the league, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Eli Manning was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week, and if he can continue to take care of the ball, this Giants team will continue to put points on the board.

The Giants rank 20th in passing with 225.3 per game and rank 15th with 98.7 rushing yards per game. Arizona's Kevin Kolb is coming off of his worst performance of the season as he threw two of his three interceptions on the year.

To make matters worse, they lost to an unimpressive Seattle Seahawks team. Arizona features a balanced attack with Beanie Wells carrying the load on the ground.

They rank 16th in the league when it comes to passing (253.3 ypg) and 18th (94 ypg) in rushing. The Cardinals are going to be coming out and looking to prove to the rest of the league that they are better than what they showed last week, and the Giants have enough firepower to hang with them point for point.

Predicted Score:

New York Giants  33

Arizona Cardinals 30

Houston Texans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Is there a more fun offense to watch in the NFL than the Houston Texans? No matter who you match up against wide receiver Andre Johnson, he's always capable of burning the defense with a long pass play.

The Texans, led by quarterback Matt Schaub, rank 12th in the league in passing with 262.7 yards per game.

Most people don't realize that even with the loss of Arian Foster, the Texans still rank fifth in the league in rushing with 138 yards per game. Ben Tate is carrying most of the load in Foster's absence and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry with over 300 yards on the year thus far.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, on the other hand, have mediocre numbers on the ground with an average of 85.7 rushing yards per game.

What the Steelers lack in production rushing the ball, they make up for through the air with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as he ranks eighth in the league in passing yards with 294.7 per game.

This is going to be a great game between two offenses that can really put points on the board when they're clicking. 

Predicted Score:

Houston Texans     37

Pittsburgh Steelers 31