If you have a gut feeling your favorite NFL team is losing in Week 4, it might be time to look away.
Absolutely nothing in the NFL is guaranteed on a weekly basis, which is why we all watch in the first place. But that's not going to stop us from making bold declarations and predictions for the coming week of action.
There are a handful of games on what has turned out to be an absolutely fantastic slate in Week 4 of the NFL season, and after dissecting each matchup, there are a handful of teams that my gut is telling me: Oh yeah. They're losing.
At the risk of having egg on my face after the week is over (it wouldn't be the first time), here are three teams my mind is absolutely certain are going to lose this week.
NFL Week 4 predictions: 3 teams 'guaranteed' to lose their matchups
1. Carolina Panthers (vs. Lions)
When I was putting together my full NFL picks and predictions for this week, news had not yet broken about the Carolina Panthers placing both starting cornerbacks -- Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson -- on injured reserve.
Playing against the Detroit Lions, one of the best passing attacks in the entire league, it's going to be tough for the Panthers to overcome the loss of two fantastic cornerbacks.
Keep in mind, this is a Panthers team that also gave up 59 points in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears. Even with both Horn and Jackson, they've been shredded on that side of the ball. It's going to take a ridiculous and unexpected effort from that Carolina defense to hold off the Lions this week.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Packers)
It's extremely rare to see multiple home teams in these "guaranteed to lose" posts on a weekly basis. Usually, we're picking massive underdogs on the road to be sort of low-hanging fruit in this category.
The Buccaneers have one of two directions they could go this week.
The first direction, and the preferred direction for their fan base, would be to rally around backup QB and undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels, who will officially be the first rookie QB to start a game this season. That, in itself, is kind of hilarious considering this year's rookie class includes a #1 overall pick, Heisman winner, National Championship winner at the QB position.
Daniels could shock the world, but are we banking on that happening against a desperate Green Bay Packers team? The Packers have been so unimpressive this season that they're only 3.5-point favorites against a rookie UDFA at quarterback. That's staggering.
Still, I'm taking the Packers to win this one easily. We'll see how interesting Daniels can make it, if at all.
3. Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Rams)
You know what? We might as well go three-for-three.
For the first time in my history of doing these weekly posts about teams guaranteed to lose, I'm picking three home teams. That's an unofficial tally, but I'm 99.9 percent sure this is the first time.
The Philadelphia Eagles are another team that I look at, and I'm just not seeing it this year. Of course, their loss against the Chicago Bears was an eye-opener. They were dominated on both sides of the ball. But even before that disaster on a national stage, there were signs.
The Eagles only had 10 first downs in their win over Washington in Week 1. They needed a late comeback to beat the Titans. Now, they're facing off against a Rams team that is 1-2 with their backs against the wall.
I typically don't like predicting West Coast teams to travel East, play in the 1:00 PM ET window, and get wins. That's historically made for some pretty straightforward matchups looking...not so straightforward. But in this case, I'm feeling very confident about the Eagles losing to the Rams, even more so than I am confident about the Rams beating the Eagles.
Add us as a preferred source on Google