Stampede Blue’s NFL Week 4 staff picks

We’re just under a month into the season and the NFL is slowly starting to take its form, following a shortened offseason that included no preseason games or virtually any legitimate time for new players and coaches to become acquainted with one another before the regular season came ringing.

This is a critical time for those “new” team to really find their grove. Teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts have handled their new quarterbacks or coaches with ease (for the most part), both starting 2-1 on the early season. On the flip side, first-time head coaches like Joe Judge in New York and Matt Rhule in Carolina have started off slow with a combined 1-5 record.

It’s never too late to turn things around, but for a lot of teams with new looks these next two-three weeks could mean the difference of sniffing the postseason or picking toward the top of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Week 3 featured some very exciting primetime matchups, but Week 4 takes a different direction with each of the three standalone games featuring a total of four teams who have yet to win a game. There isn’t an abundance of star-studded matchups, but it’s not like we’ll be doing anything else on a Sunday besides watching professional football.

Let’s take a peek at the docket, check up on the Stampede Blue staff picks standings and see where the staffers have their eyes set on game winners for Week 4.

Can’t-miss contests:

Browns @ Cowboys

Colts @ Bears

Patriots @ Chiefs

Bills @ Raiders

Could be surprisingly fun:

Saints @ Lions

Chargers @ Buccaneers

Jaguars @ Bengals

Cardinals @ Panthers

Eagles @ 49ers

Falcons @ Packers

Hit the snooze button:

Broncos @ Jets

Vikings @ Texans

Seahawks @ Dolphins

Ravens @ Washington

Giants @ Rams

Take a look at the updated standings and picks for Week 3 ...

Elliot Denton: 36-11 (76.11%) / Greg Rader: 34-13 (72.3%) / Chris Shepherd: 33-14 (70.2%) / Thomas Skulski: 33-14 (70.2%) / Brett Mock: 32-15 (68.1%) / Blake Pace: 32-15 (68.1%) / Andrew Aziz: 31-16 (66.0%) / Mateo Caliz: 31-16 (66.0%) / Stephen Reed: 31-16 (66.0%)

Thursday 8:20 pm ET

Broncos @ Jets

Sunday 1:00 pm ET

Saints @ Lions

Chargers @ Buccaneers

Jaguars @ Bengals (6) | Contrarians: Greg Rader, Chris Shepherd

Vikings @ Texans (5) | Contrarians: Andrew Aziz, Elliot Denton, Stephen Reed

Seahawks @ Dolphins

Browns @ Cowboys (6) | Contrarians: Blake Pace, Shepherd

Cardinals @ Panthers

Colts (7) @ Bears | Contrarian: Rader

Ravens @ Washington

Sunday 4:05 pm ET

Giants @ Rams

Sunday 4:25 pm ET

Patriots @ Chiefs

Bills (4) @ Raiders | Contrarians: Aziz, Shepherd, Reed, Thomas Skulski

Sunday 8:20 pm ET

Eagles @ 49ers

Monday 8:15 pm ET

Falcons @ Packers

Who do you have coming out on top in Week 4?