After the first few weeks of the 2020 NFL season, we’re starting to get a clearer view of how the NFC is shaping up. The Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers are the cream of the crop, while the entire NFC East is pathetic. With a number of good games on tap for Week 4, let’s take a closer look at the NFC matchups and the best bets in the sportsbook.
New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions
NFL Odds: Saints -4
The Saints vs Lions matchup pits 1-2 teams. The Saints haven’t looked like themselves, losing their last two games to the Las Vegas Raiders and the Green Bay Packers. Drew Brees hasn’t seemed comfortable throwing the football to any receiver not named Michael Thomas and since Thomas has been out for the last two games, the offense has sputtered. However, Thomas has been rumored to play against the Lions and should be a huge factor if he happens to be ready to go.
The Lions are 1-2 after losses to the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers – 3-0 teams – but they could easily be 2-1 if running back D’Andre Swift was able to catch the wide-open touchdown pass with six seconds remaining on the clock in the opener. We’ll learn a lot more about these teams this week.
Pick: Saints -4
Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers
NFL Odds: 49ers -7
The Eagles have looked terrible as they are currently sitting at 0-2-1. Carson Wentz has thrown two interceptions in every game and has yet to surpass the 300 passing yards in any game (and that’s despite having multiple games of 40+ passing attempts). His offensive line isn’t doing him any favors either as they barely give him any time to go through his progressions and make the right read. Now they are going up against an undefeated 49ers team but this squad is missing many key players on both sides of the ball. Edge rushers Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas are both out for the year. On offense, Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle, and Raheem Mostert both missed last week’s game against the New York Giants and it’s unclear who’ll be ready for this week.
The reality here is if the Eagles can’t beat the Bengals at home, they aren’t going on the road to San Francisco and winning.
Pick: 49ers -7
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers
NFL Odds: Cardinals -3.5
The Cardinals may have fallen asleep at the wheel last week in their loss against the Detroit Lions at home. Murray threw three interceptions and never settled down against a below average Lions defense. They are going to need to right the ship this week against another below-average opponent in the Carolina Panthers, who will be missing superstar running back Christian McCaffrey. The Panthers were able to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers last week and are hoping to ride their own momentum to beat this talented Cardinals team.
Pick: Cardinals -3.5
New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams
NFL Odds: Rams -13
The Giants look downright terrible after their loss to the heavily depleted 49ers. Without superstar running back Saquon Barkley, this team looks completely lost on offense. With a weak offensive line and not many healthy receivers (with Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard both missing time), this offense is in shambles. On top of that, young quarterback Daniel Jones can’t stop turning over the ball. The defense also doesn’t do them any favors, as they have just allowed a 49ers team with a backup quarterback, running back and tight end to score more than 30 points. They are going up against a 2-1 Los Angeles Rams team that has looked incredibly good and was almost able to complete a 28-3 comeback last week against the undefeated Buffalo Bills. They lost on a last-second touchdown. Their offense looks to be regaining form a little bit after locking up both Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp to long-term contracts. Their defense also looks much-improved behind their leader Aaron Donald, who amazingly looks more dominant this year. The Rams should dominate start to finish and won’t look back.
Pick: Rams -13
Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers
NFL Odds: Packers -7.5
The Falcons continued their disappointing season by losing to the Chicago Bears after leading, 26-10 and become the first team in NFL history to blow leads of 15+ in consecutive games. Their offense played great out of the gate yet again but died out entering the fourth quarter. Their defense played through the first three quarters until the Bears made the change to Nick Foles, then they scored on seemingly every possession. Even though the Falcons badly missed Julio Jones, they have more than enough weapons on offense to compete with any team. However, their defense consistently gets torched and should be torn apart again this week when facing a red-hot Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Pick: Packers -7.5
