NFL Preseason Week 4 is often times meaningless. Knowing that there are roughly two weeks before the start of the NFL Regular Season, coaches rest their starters. It doesn’t mean that some interesting thoughts can not come from the final game of the preseason.
NFL Preseason Week 4 Betting Recap
Washington Redskins 20 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13
Tamp Bay didn’t play any starters. Neither did the Redskins. Washington rushed for an amazing 245 yards on 37 carries. That could be Gruden’s system. More than likely, it has everything to do with the lack of QB talent after Kirk Cousins. If you’re a Washington fan, you had better hope that Cousins stays healthy.
Tampa Bay threw for 167 yards. The offense has looked good and bad at times during the preseason. It’s hard to jump on the bandwagon in a sneaky tough NFC South.
New England Patriots 9 at New York Giants 17
Tom Brady completed 16 of 26 passes for New England. It was nothing more than a tune-up for his month long vacation. The Giants didn’t play a single starter, I think. The Patriots should be good no matter what just because Bill Belichick always finds a way. For the Giants, the jury is out for sure. The Giants could win the NFC East. But it’s had to see them getting past energetic Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys or even Washington if Cousins stays healthy.
New York Jets 6 at Philadelphia Eagles 14
Philly traded Sam Bradford to Minnesota after this game. Look who Doug Pederson has taking over? Vet Chase Daniel whom the Eagles are paying $10 million or so a year to. Will Daniel start or will Carson Wentz start? The thing is, Philly is going to be a run-based team with Pederson in charge. That’s a good thing, meaning that Wentz, should he get the start, will have time to develop as a passer.
Jacksonville Jaguars 15 at Atlanta Falcons 17
These are two teams that I’m definitely keeping an eye on during the regular season. The Jaguars are loaded on both offense and defense. Offensively, QB Blake Bortles is ready to break out and into the Top 5 in the NFL. WR Allen Robinson should be a stud this season. On defense, Jags rookie Myles Jack, he with the supposedly bad knee, is so good that Jacksonville coaches are teaching him the weak side linebacker position. Jack had 4 tackles and an assisted tackle in this game from the weak side LB position.
Atlanta can’t help but be better this season after imploding last season. Coach Dan Quinn figures to demand that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan rush the football more in 2016. During this game, the Falcons rushed the ball 31 times while resting QB Matt Ryan.
Tennessee Titans 21 at Miami Dolphins 10
Man, I’m excited to see Tennessee’s rushing attack this season! The Titans rested RB DeMarco Murray. They gave 7 carries to Derrick Henry who rushed for 62 yards and a TD. The Titans rushed for a terrific 138 yards overall in this game. They actually looked good on NFL Preseason Week 4.
Miami took it easy in this one. They didn’t play any of their starters. If RB Arian Foster and QB Ryan Tannehill listen to coach Adam Gase, the Dolphins should have a decent offense in 2016.
Buffalo Bills 0 at Detroit Lions 31
It was all Detroit in this battle. The offense looked great even though a single starter didn’t hit the gridiron. If you’re a Lions’ fan, it had to be nice to see your team rush for 144 yards from 31 carries. Rushing the football should be exactly what Detroit does in order to control the flow of games this season.
Buffalo cut LB Manny Lawson after this game. This after star in the making LB Reggie Ragland was lost for the season. Lawson was expected to start for Rex Ryan and the Bills. Why cut Lawson? Who knows? I’ve since given up on predicting why Ryan does what he does.
Indianapolis Colts 13 at Cincinnati Bengals 10
This amounted to a nice game between two veteran squads to finish out the NFL Preseason. It’s hard to gauge exactly what the Colts or the Bengals got out of this game. Perhaps, the point was to just rest the starters and think about the regular season. The Bengals and Colts both have playoff hopes Cincinnati is much closer to fulfilling those hopes due to their balance on offense. Indianapolis’s rushing attack looked terrible during the preseason.
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 at Carolina Panthers 18
Here’s another game where two veteran teams were just trying to work out the kinks before the regular season starts. The Panthers played much better than the Steelers in this one. Carolina rushed for 174 yards from 42 carries. I don’t think Pittsburgh wanted to suit up for this final NFL Preseason game.
Baltimore Ravens 23 at New Orleans Saints 14
This game was all about New Orleans trying to improve on both sides of the ball. The Saints haven’t looked great during the preseason. Slight pressure is on coach Sean Payton who re-signed to a huge contract during the off-season. Payton seemed to know it during this game, which is why the Saints defense held the Ravens to 82 yards on the ground while New Orleans rushed for 116 on their end. New Orleans is supposedly rebuilding. I don’t buy it. I think Payton and the Saints are better than they’re letting on.
The Ravens, like they have during the entire NFL Preseason, looked great. Coach John Harbaugh is intent on making the playoffs. The rest of the AFC North had better watch out.
Chicago Bears 21 at Cleveland Browns 7
The Bears rushed for 157 yards from 37 carries in this game. John Fox remains one of the best coaches in the NFL. The man that led both Carolina and Denver to the Super Bowl is looking to rebuild Chicago into a playoff contender. He appears to be on his way to doing that.
For Cleveland, this game was all about getting back-up QB Josh McCown some work. McCown didn’t look great. He completed 8 out of 15 for 73 yards. He threw a pick. There aren’t any lingering doubts about RGIII after McCown’s performance in this game.
Green Bay Packers 7 at Kansas City Chiefs 17
I’m a big fan of both of these franchises. The Packers and Chiefs are classy outfits. They showed their class in this battle. No big news from the Packers at the end of the preseason. For the Chiefs, the news that Jamal Charles may not be ready for the start of the season isn’t a shock. It’s news but it’s not shocking news. Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware are more than capable of handling RB duties while Charles recovers from the knee injury.
Los Angeles Rams 25 at Minnesota Vikings 27
He Rams will be a run first team. There’s no doubt that Jeff Fisher starts Case Keenum at QB. He didn’t take a snap in this game while Jared Goff threw the ball 16 times and Sean Mannion threw it 23 times.
After Teddy Bridgewater’s devastating injury, the Vikings traded for Sam Bradford. I think that trading for Bradford was the perfect thing to do. Minnesota should be better than okay with Bradford under center.
Houston Texans 28 at Dallas Cowboys 17
The Texans finally got their rushing attack going. It’s hard to tell how effective it will be during the regular season because Dallas’ defense doesn’t project to be very good. I like the Cowboys on offense. They sat Dak Prescott in this game. Prescott has the looks of being a Russell Wilson impact quarterback in the NFL. He’s that good.
Denver Broncos 17 at Arizona Cardinals 38
The Cardinals’ rushing attack was en fuego in the final preseason game. The Cards rushed for 170 yards. Almost as important was how Matt Barkley passed for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns without throwing a pick.
For Denver, playing rookie Paxton Lynch exclusively in this game showed their hand. A few days later, the Broncos dumped QB Mark Sanchez. They are going with Trevor Siemian as the starter. That has to be the biggest surprise to come out of the NFL Preseason.
Seattle Seahawks 23 at Oakland Raiders 21
My second biggest surprise this NFL Preseason Week 4 is watching how good Seattle’s rushing attack has played. The Seahawks have a revamped offensive line. It’s not supposed to be this good. Seattle again rushed for over 100 yards. The Seahawks are a hot pick to win the Super Bowl mainly because of the rushing attack. QB Russell Wilson should be awesome this season.
The Oakland Raiders’ backups played well in this game. The Raiders have a shot at the playoffs in 2016. The key will be their defense, which hasn’t looked as stout as some have expected.
San Francisco 49’ers 31 at San Diego Chargers 21
The longer Colin Kaepernick sits during the National Anthem, the less effective it’s going to be. Although he has a right to protest anyway that he wants to, most football fans don’t see the point. There are real protests that go on all over the United States every day. Just sitting during the National Anthem will lose its effectiveness in a hurry. This is especially true because no matter what the score implies in this game, San Francisco will not be a good team. Very few fans are going to pay attention to the 49’ers once the season starts.
San Diego has the chance of being a good team. The Chargers’ offensive line has to open up holes for the rushing attack. It also needs to play tough defense. Neither happened in this game.