The Gridiron Gentlemen’s Super Fun Prediction League: Week 4
Week 3 was something of a down week for our predictions of which Dave predicted the most wins with 10. I had a particularly poor week with only 6 wins, thanks in part to some risky predictions (which will never happen again, looking in your direction San Francisco). Despite a great week from Dave, James still tops the table:
James: 32 – 16
Dave: 31 – 17
Simon: 28 – 20
Duncan: 30 – 18
Dan: 27 – 21
Week 4 brings with it a number of games that could tell us something about what a number of teams are, as well as a game in London and the AFC South happily playing itself guaranteeing 2 wins in the worst division in the sport. Let’s take a look.
Miami Dolphins @ Cincinnati Bengals
Miami go into this game having narrowly beaten the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals went 1-2 with one of the toughest season openings of any team. They will be looking at this as a statement game. It could get rough for Miami here.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | |
| 35-17 | 20-17 | 32-13 | 31-7 | 24-21 |
Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars
It’s the 1st International Series game and set to be an exciting one if you like high scoring football. The 1st game in the big smoke looks set to have next to no defensive skill on either team and could be ridiculously high scoring.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts | |
| 41-35 | 35-28 | 23-17 | 43-21 | 30-27 |
Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots
Buffalo come into this game with a little confidence having destroyed the Arizona Cardinals last week. The Patriots are a deserved 3-0 despite fielding both a 2nd and 3rd string QB. On paper this could be a close game, oh except that Rex rather foolishly ran his mouth in a couple of press conferences… again. It never works out Rex.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | |
| 45-6 | 20-13 | 38-16 | 38-7 | 27-14 |
Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans
The AFC South was set to be the most exciting Division in the league if the off-season hype was to be believed (including hype coming from the Gents). In true AFC South style it seems to have crashed and burned, top to bottom, of which the Titans are challenging for the most disappointing. In truth though this game should be one where the Texans get good again.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Texans | Titans | Texans | Texans | Texans | |
| 28-10 | 24-21 | 28-17 | 31-10 | 24-14 |
Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears
Urgh. The resident Bears fan here to tell you that they are clearly the worst team in the league right now. The Lions nearly snuck in the door that the Packers left open, but couldn’t finish it in the final minutes. This though should be a different affair for a surprisingly good Lions team.DanDan
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | |
| 42-10 | 30-17 | 35-10 | 45-17 | 21-20 |
Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons
Carolina met their match last week against a high-powered Vikings defence. The Falcons went up against a Saints team with a high powered offence and outscored them, but showed little on defence. This could be a very good team for the Panthers to get good against.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Panthers | Falcons | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | |
| 35-14 | 35-33 | 45-30 | 37-24 | 31-20 |
Seattle Seahawks @ New York Jets
2 teams that had very different results last week compared to their previous performances. This week looks set for something of a meeting in the middle of 2 teams that are still trying to solidify who they are. This could be a fun game.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Jets | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | |
| 32-28 | 23-21 | 27-20 | 14-7 | 28-17 |
Oakland Raiders @Baltimore Ravens
The Raiders go into this with a healthy dollop of confidence after a decent performance against a bad Titans team. The Ravens got a little lucky against the Jags, but still are exceeding expectations. So can the Raiders put together another decent performance in the secondary? Can Joe Flacco get his mojo back? More proof that this week’s lineup is set to be super fun.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Ravens | Raiders | Ravens | Raiders | Raiders | |
| 23-21 | 28-25 | 24-19 | 38-35 | 21-17 |
Cleveland Browns @ Washington
Urgh Part 2. Browns fans, you can be at least slightly proud of your team for putting up a decent fight last week, but missing 3 out of 6 field goals saw them narrowly miss getting the victory. Washington had the opposite fortunes to Cleveland, picking up a victory that could be considered not entirely deserved. This one could be closer than people think…
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Wash | Wash | Wash | Browns | Wash | |
| 17-14 | 33-23 | 27-24 | 24-19 | 24-17 |
Denver Broncos @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs got off to a flying start and looked like one of few teams that nearly lived up to the off season hype. The Broncos look every bit as good as they did last year, despite a loss of some personnel. Also Trevor Siemian looks even better than expected.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | |
| 35-17 | 27-13 | 30-10 | 34-17 | 21-14 |
LA Rams @ Arizona Cardinals
What happened? How do we live in a world where this is could be considered a fair fight. Carson Palmer had a mare of a game against the Bills last week, seemingly struggling to move the ball against a Bills team making a statement. The Rams put up 37 points last week in an uncharacteristic high scoring win against the Bucs. Arizona really need a win here to get back on track.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Cards | Cards | Cards | Cards | Cards | |
| 27-13 | 22-16 | 28-21 | 27-10 | 28-7 |
Dallas Cowboys @ San Francisco 49ers
The Classic rivalry. Well this one might not be one to remember truth be told. The Niners came into the season drastically underpowered and despite a controlling win against the Rams have struggled to gain traction. The Cowboys have exceeded expectation with both their 4th round rookie QB and a defence that has been perfectly coached by Rod Marinelli, this one could be one-sided.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | |
| 21-9 | 30-24 | 24-10 | 27-10 | 24-14 |
New Orleans Saints @ San Diego Chargers
The Chargers ran into a tough team in the Colts despite a lack of meaningful defence. The Saints defence however might actually be worse than the Colts. Drew Brees has been up against it all season, being forced to win shoot outs. This one against Philip Rivers might lead towards more disappointment to a talent poor Saints team.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | |
| 35-28 | 42-38 | 28-21 | 27-10 | 27-21 |
Kansas City Chiefs @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Possibly matchup of the week. A Pittsburgh Steelers team that I had as the best team in the league up until last week’s poor performance against the Eagles, goes up against a Kansas City Chiefs team that had been under-performing until an excellent defensive performance against a high powered Jets team got them the win last week. Now an opportunistic Chiefs defence goes up against a Steelers offence which has Le’Veon Bell back in the lineup.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Steelers | Steelers | Chiefs | Steelers | Steelers | |
| 27-21 | 17-13 | 24-12 | 35-24 | 31-24 |
New York Giants @ Minnesota Vikings
After a poor performance against Washington, Eli Manning now has to go up against one of few secondaries that can cover the their wide receivers. This combined with the Giants inability to run the ball could hand the Vikings the game.
| Dan | Duncan | Simon | James | Dave | |
| Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | |
| 21-10 | 28-17 | 28-17 | 17-7 | 17-14 |
Week 4 looks great, enjoy people!