After three weeks, we have seen plenty of upsets in the NFL. Going by Las Vegas’ NFL odds, underdogs have won 43.7 percent (21 of 48) of the time. Last week, Green Bay stunned the San Francisco 49ers as our Upset of the Week. We look to three more contenders this week, all road teams, to find our next underdog.
Week 4: Which Road Team Can Pull the Upset?
Second Runner-Up: Las Vegas (3-0) at LA Chargers (2-1)
When: Monday (8:15 p.m. ET)
Moneyline: Las Vegas Raiders +165
Folks who bet on sports online should be ready to ride a roller coaster of emotions when siding with the Las Vegas Raiders. The team is 3-0 but could easily be 1-2 as it narrowly beat Baltimore and Miami in overtime. Quarterback Derek Carr is playing like an MVP as he leads the league in passing yards while the defense does just enough to give him and the offense a shot.
Derek Carr: The only QB with 300+ passing yards in every game this season 🚀
And the Raiders are 3-0 👀 pic.twitter.com/ToJVpnydCF
— PFF (@PFF) September 26, 2021
The Chargers should also be 3-0 but some bad penalties against Dallas cost them in Week 2. This team just beat the Kansas City Chiefs and Justin Herbert has also looked like an MVP lately. But the Chargers have lost their last two home games against Las Vegas and have the worst run defense in the league.
The Raiders have a healthy running game even if Josh Jacobs (foot) is banged up. This team has put up 144 rushing yards a game against the Chargers in their last three games. Ultimately, we still had to side with Herbert over Carr if this game came down to the wire.
First Runner-Up: Detroit Lions (0-3) at Chicago Bears (1-2)
When: Sunday (1 p.m. ET)
Moneyline: Lions +125
It’s amazing to see the Lions as underdogs to the Bears despite Chicago’s historically bad loss against the Cleveland Browns. In case you haven’t heard, the Bears had one net passing yard against Cleveland. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields took nine sacks and made just six completions. Coach Matt Nagy looked bewildered, to say the least.
But at the end of the day, it’s still the Lions right? If Detroit knows how to do anything consistently, it is to find ways to lose a game. They should have beaten the Baltimore Ravens but they let Lamar Jackson complete a pass at on fourth-and-19 as Justin Tucked doinked an NFL-record 66-yarder to sink Detroit.
So Detroit is now 0-3 but it gave two Super Bowl contenders a run for their money. Still, Chicago should be better than last week and its defense did keep Cleveland from dropping 50 points on them. As tempting as it is to fade Chicago, we just can’t settle on the Lions as our upset NFL prediction.
Upset of Week: Carolina Panthers (3-0) at Dallas Cowboys (2-1)
When: Sunday (1 p.m. ET)
Moneyline: Carolina Panthers +175
Perpetually the underestimated team, Carolina enters Arlington as close to 2-1 underdogs. They already humbled the New Orleans Saints as a dog in Week 2 so they can do it again. Dallas beat up on the hapless Philadephia Eagles 41-21, but coach Mike McCarthy is only 6-9 after a short week coming off Monday Night Football.
Carolina is 12-4 in its last 16 games against the NFC East and has beaten Dallas in their last two meetings (1-0 in the Dak Prescott era). The Panthers have the best defense in the NFL right now and playing three offensively challenged teams shouldn’t discredit this hungry underdog.
Dallas is rolling right now and it has the sixth-best offense. But their passing defense still needs work (31st). Not to mention this team is starting to lose key players by the week. Carolina may also be down two stars in running back Christian McCaffrey and cornerback Jaycee Horn, but this team adjusted and handled the Houston Texans without them.
Bet online for the Panthers, our Week 4 Upset of the Week.
Pick: Carolina Panthers +175
