NFL Picks Week 4: 3 Teams Bound for Heart-Breaking Losses

The NFL is a tough league. No one will argue that point. Each team is way too talented to be taken lightly. Just ask the Patriots and Jets, teams that lost close games to the Bills and Raiders, respectively, last week.

They won't be the last teams this season to lose close, heart-breaking games to teams they feel they should beat. Far from it, in fact. The following are three teams that will drop heart-breaking games this week.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Record-wise, the Steelers are just fine. They are sitting at 2-1, with their one loss being to the rival Baltimore Ravens. When you actually watch their games, though, something seems to be missing.

They got blown off the field in that loss to Baltimore. The Ravens are a good team, but the Steelers have historically handled them well, and at the very least, you'd expect them to be competitive. In Week 3, they just got past the wounded Indianapolis Colts. I understand that the Colts were more motivated in that game, but that's no excuse for the Steelers to let them compete with them like that.

The Steelers are set to take on the Texans on Sunday. The Texans are coming off a close loss to the Saints on the road. This game will be in Houston, and the Texans will be looking to prove that they are a changed team. A win over Pittsburgh, which they will get this week, will go a long way toward proving that to be true.

New York Jets

The Jets are certainly hoping to prove that last week's loss to the Raiders was a fluke, and nothing more than that. I have a feeling it was more than that. The Jets will struggle to manufacture offense, and their defense can be had if you run right at them like Oakland did.

Never will those things be more apparent than in their upcoming game against the Ravens. The Jets offense isn't good enough to coast through against the worst of defenses, much less a defense as good and physical as Baltimore's.

The Ravens will also cause problems for the Jets defense. Ray Rice will give the Ravens production very similar to what the Raiders got out of Darren McFadden last week against the Jets. The dangerous thing about the Ravens is that if you commit too much to stopping Rice, they can beat you in other ways.

Chicago Bears

I've never had more questions about the Chicago Bears during the Lovie Smith-Jay Cutler era. Their offensive line issues are still very much a problem; they throw the ball too much considering they have Matt Forte and Jay Cutler's spoiled-child act is back in a big way. Their defense is good once again, but that's not enough to make up for a surprisingly bad offense.

In Week 4, they take on the Carolina Panthers, who are suddenly a very dangerous team. Cam Newton is much better than most anticipated him being at this point, and their duo of running backs can help him out if need be. Newton and the team took a big step last week when they got their first win of the Newton era.

The Panthers don't boast a great defense, but the code has been cracked for beating the Bears. Bring pressure, and you can have success. Even the worst of defenses can do that against Chicago. After this loss, the Bears will really have to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves who they are as a team.