Week Four NFL Sunday Football Day Previews

Can Tom Brady and the Patriots get a win in Buffalo? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Its NFL Sunday Gals and Pal and here is the slate of games to be on the lookout for. This is a bit of a quieter week, not a lot of anticipated matchup between equally matched opponents but this is a league that often comes with surprises. I mean who would have thought that New England and Green Bay would be 1-3 and Arizona undefeated?

Here are the games I’m tuning into:

New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills

Last year when the Patriots headed to Buffalo they came back with a big L and QB wunderkind Tom Brady threw four interceptions. Of course later that season Brady led the Pats to a Super Bowl appearance but this is not the same New England team with Josh McDaniels offense that so far isn’t really working.

Now I know many of you are thinking but it was officiating that cost New England the win last week on the road in Baltimore- that is a bit true but looking at the numbers the Patriots have only converted 42% third down plays and only have four sacks on average. Brady has a completion rate of 67% which is pretty good.

But comparing the numbers the Patriots only have 109 rushing yards per game compared to the Bills’ 178 yards- they are leading the league is rushing. For total rushing yards for the season the Bill have almost 230 more than their opponents. The addition of Mario Williams has added depth and with the return of Fred Jackson the Bills might have a shot at making the Patriots 1-4.

I am picking the Patriots to win- but I think it is going to be closer than Patriots fans want.

San Francisco 49ers at New York Jets

The 49ers got the wind knocked out of their sails after their loss to the Minnesota Vikings last week after opening the season with impressive wins against Green Bay and Detroit. West Coast teams that play 1:00 east coast games typically do not do well. Of course the 49ers were really smart and headed out early to get used to the time change. And they get the added bonus of playing a Jets team that is a lot of talk but no action.

The Jets are 1-1 for the season losing 10-27 at Pittsburgh and then winning by a field goal at Miami last week- and Miami is terrible this year. Plus defensive leader Darrelle Revis is out with ACL issues- probably for the entire season. That is a big blow because this Jets team is in desperate need of leadership on any side of the ball.

Looking at the numbers 49ers only have 5 more total yards per game than the Jets, but the real difference is in the rush yards per game- 49ers have 141, 7^th in the league compared to the Jets’ 100. Also the Jets have only stopped 44% of opponents third down plays and allow an average of 25 points per game. Now with the Revis injury look for that number to go up.

If the Jets are going to win then they need to work on the run. If they can’t figure that out it won’t be close

San Fran gets the win in this contest.

New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers

Talk about two teams needing a W right now. New Orleans is still winless and unless they figure out a way to beat a Green Bay team that is still upset about the Monday Night Massacre that finally pushed the NFL to get rid of the replacement refs on the road.

Yeah that’s a tall order for Drew Brees and crew. The Saints offensively have more yards per game- almost 75 more in fact- than the Packers. The Saints are also 6^th in the league for passing yards.

Green Bay is 26^th in the league for yards, 21^st in the league for passing yards and 27th in the league for rushing yards. The offense is only 5 yards per carry.

I think Green Bay still has the edge- it’s a home game after an emotional loss on the road. But if the Saints can figure out how to defend they could finally get a win.

Did I mention that may predicted these two teams would be in the playoffs this year?

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

This is the game I’m most excited about.

Great divisional matchup between two clubs that are really going though some growing pains. The Giants really need a win since they have already loss one game in the NFC East to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Eagles are rushing 130 yards per game- and it should be higher considering that hello the Eagles have the best running back LeSean McCoy. McCoy has already rushed for 261 yards this season.

Giants are second in the league in passing yards and third for total yards- you can’t discount the combination of Eli Manning and Victor Cruz- and this is just the type of game that can bring out the Salsa in the end zone.

Key for the Eagles to fly high over the Giants- using the beat up secondary of the Giants and get the ball in the hands of DeSean Jackson and the return of Jeremy Maclin could be enough to get the win.

I am not picking a winner because I’m an Eagles fan and my dad is a Giants fan- yeah I don’t know how our relationship survives this either- my little sister is a Cowboys fan for God’s sake and our step-dad is a Redskins fan so we have the entire NFC East covered in the Hernandez/Rice/Graves family.

Happy Football Sunday Gals and Pals. Which match ups are you on the lookout for?