Welcome to Hagan’s Haus, where football is the only thing that matters. You won’t find me in a church on Sunday because football is my religion and the number one priority in my life. I am so excited that the NFL season is finally back in action! I pride myself in studying the game of football. We can’t get all our picks or predictions right, but I am going to leave it here in the open every week for everyone to see. In Hagan’s Haus, it’s all about bragging rights.
Who is the best? Because winning is the only thing that matters. We don’t get points for second place. I challenge you to post comments on your weekly picks and compare them to mine. This isn’t about point spreads. I will give a score prediction, but winning is winning. Doesn’t matter if it’s by an inch or a mile. So try and beat me in picking NFL games. I promise you it won’t be easy, but it will be fun. Here are Hagan’s Haus 2017 week 4 NFL picks.
Last week: 8-8
Overall: 24-23
Thursday Night
Chicago Bears (1-2) 17 @ Green Bay Packers (2-1) 20: Green Bay seems to be struggling this season. They are 2-1 but have not looked all that great. The performance against the Bengals shows just that as they allowed 24 points to a team that hadn’t scored an offensive touchdown. Aaron Rodgers can still get the job done but the defense leaves question marks. The Bears, on the other hand, have played well in two of their three games. Chicago’s defense is an under the radar powerhouse. This game will be very close and if it took place in Chicago it would be easy to take the Bears. Since it is at Lambeau Field the Packers will win in the final minutes.
Sunday Morning
New Orleans Saints (1-2) 33 @ Miami Dolphins (1-1) 24: New Orleans played their best game of the year against their division rival Panthers. The defense finally stepped up and created some turnovers while Drew Brees did what he does best, spread the ball to every receiver imaginable. Jay Cutler and the Dolphins stunk it up against one of the two worst teams in the NFL. The Dolphins are overrated and will struggle this season. The Saints will march into Miami and even their record.
Buffalo Bills (2-1) 24 @ Atlanta Falcons (3-0) 26: Buffalo is a bit of a surprise team thus far. Their head coach, Sean McDermott is somewhat of a defensive guru and he has the Bills fanbase believing they could make the playoffs. A big road win in Atlanta could cause complete mayhem. The Falcons have been more lucky than good this season. The defense is allowing 22 points per game and is still underachieving. Atlanta is heading into a trap game. Buffalo is going to fall one play short of upsetting Atlanta.
Cincinnati Bengals (0-3) 24 @ Cleveland Browns (0-3) 23: Either Cincinnati or Cleveland will get their first win of the season unless they find a way to tie. Which would be the perfect ending of a game between these two teams. Cincinnati finally found the end zone but Aaron Rodgers snatched the rug right under them. The Browns are still learning how to win. The road is going to be bumpy and there won’t be many wins but this game is one of the games they could win. I really want to predict a tie but that is just crazy to do so I’ll give the Bengals a win because the Browns are the Browns.
Detroit Lions (2-1) 21 @ Minnesota Vikings (2-1) 23: Even though it is just week four this is a big game in the battle for the NFC North. The Lions are heading to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. Minnesota is 2-0 at home with an average margin of victory 13.5 points. It may not seem like it but the Vikings have an explosive offense. Dalvin Cook is second in the NFL in rushing yards and Adam Thielen is second in receiving yards. Emerging star Stephon Diggs is third in receiving yards. The Lions will have their hands full but have won two straight against Minnesota. This is a tough game to pick. Minnesota is going to find a way to win at home.
Los Angeles Rams (2-1) 31 @ Dallas Cowboys (2-1) 34: Dallas finally got rolling in the desert on Monday Night Football. Dak Prescott had three total touchdowns while Ezekiel Elliot ran for 80 yards. The defense sometimes bent but did not break and only gave up 17 points to Arizona. They are gonna need the defense to step up again as the number one offense in the league comes to town. Jared Goff and Todd Gurley are going to put up a lot of points but the Cowboys will win this shootout.
Carolina Panthers (2-1) 17 @ New England Patriots (2-1) 24: Cam Newton is struggling this season and it looks like his shoulder isn’t one hundred percent. The defense and running game must make up for it while Cam gets back to being himself. Unfortunately, they are going to Foxborough to take on the best franchise in the NFL. Tom Brady showed his greatness with a long drive to win the game against the Texans. He may need to do that once again this week against a really good defense. New England will defend their field this week and pick up another win.
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) 27 @ New York Jets (1-2) 6: The Jaguars are a tough team to figure out. They blow out the Texans with a stellar defensive performance and then get destroyed by Tennessee. Jacksonville then goes to London and beats the Ravens as if they were a European team. If the Jaguars stick to the run and Blake Bortles protects the ball then this team could make a deep playoff run. This week they face a Jets team who go a win against the Dolphins. The Jets are a very bad team and won’t win more than three games this season. This is a game they could win because as soon as the world expects the Jags to win they usually lose. That won’t be the case this time. Jacksonville will win this game with ease.
Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) 16 @ Baltimore Ravens (2-1) 10: The Ravens went to London to surrender while the Steelers laid an egg at Soldier Field. Both of them will be looking to bounce back this week against one another in a divisional showdown. The Ravens only have their defense going for them. They will struggle to score on the Steelers. Pittsburgh seems to be going through the motions and have not looked all they great. The offense isn’t doing anything to put fear into opposing defenses. This will be a tight battle as it always is but the Steelers offense is better and it’s going to result in a win.
Tennessee Titans (2-1) 34 @ Houston Texans (1-2) 20: This divisional matchup is one of the biggest and the reason is that the Texans can not fall to 1-3 if they want to win the south. Their defense failed to stop Tom Brady to seal the win against the Patriots. The challenge is the Titans and their terrific run game that averages 156.3 yards. If they can slow them down they will win this game. They won’t be able to slow down Marcus Mariota and the Titan offense. Tennessee is going to Houston to make a statement to the rest of the NFL in this game.
Sunday Afternoon
San Fransisco 49ers (0-3) 20 @ Arizona Cardinals (1-2) 24: Both of these teams are trending toward tumultuous seasons. The 49ers don’t have the offense to win games. The defense is still too young to win games themselves. Arizona is still trying to find themselves after losing David Johnson. Larry Fitzgerald was able to reach into the fountain of youth put on an artistic display against Dallas. He won’t be able to do that every week because Carson Palmer won’t be on fire every week. At this point, the Cardinals do seem like the better team which is why they will find a way to win this game.
Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) 28 @ Los Angeles Chargers (0-3) 21: Los Angeles still has Philip Rivers which means they will lose every turnover battle. The defense will have short fields and as they fall behind in games they won’t be able to run the ball as much. This formula is not a formula for success. Philly is playing excellent defense while Carson Wentz has the offense soaring high. The Eagles will have an uphill battle by traveling across the country but will still win the game.
New York Giants (0-3) 27 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1) 24: Until the Giants run the ball effectively their atrocious rushing attack must be brought up in every discussion involving the Giants. Their terrible offensive line can’t create running lanes. The Giants have managed to only run for 48.7 yards per game. Tampa Bay can focus on the pass without having to worry about a running game. This gives the Bucs a huge advantage. With that advantage, they will still struggle to stop Odell Beckham Jr. who will have over 150 yards in this contest. Jamis Winston will also have a big game but it is impossible to see the Giants falling to 0-4. Eli Manning makes one more play to Odell than the Bucs can handle.
Oakland Raiders (2-1) 31 @ Denver Broncos (2-1) 28: This game should be the Sunday or Monday night game because this is must-see television. These two division rivals are going to put on an epic battle to gain the edge in the playoff race. Both teams are playoff caliber but both won’t make the playoffs. This game could go a long way in determining who gets in and who is left out. Denver is running the ball well this season averaging 143 yards. The Raiders have trouble stopping the run, ranking 20th in rush defense. This could end up being a shootout while the Broncos run all over the Raiders and the Raiders air it out on the “No Fly Zone.” The Raiders are the better team which is why they will upset the Broncos in the Mile High city.
Sunday Night
Indianapolis Colts (1-2) 14 @ Seattle Seahawks (1-2) 33: The Colts barely look like an NFL franchise without Andrew Luck and their win was against the Browns. That is never a glamorous win. Seattle is also 1-2 and has not looked like the Seahawk team we are used to seeing. it is probably getting old hearing about how bad the offensive line in Seattle is but that is the case. The defense doesn’t have the edge they have had in the past and part of the world wonders if Marshawn Lynch’s locker room presence was the heart and soul of this team. Even if the Seahawks are struggling this season they are nowhere near as bad as the Colts. They should win this game but if they do manage to lose then changes will be happening in Seattle sooner, rather than later
Monday Night
Washington Redskins (2-1) 24 @ Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) 38: This could turn into a very entertaining Monday Night game but that is highly doubtful. The Redskins have been running the ball extremely well. They have to do this to keep the Chiefs offense off the field or they will get lit up. Kareem Hunt is going to have another big game but the real star will be Tyreke Hill. He is going to have over 250 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns to torch Washington on national television.
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