Oct. 2 — Atop the 32-team standings are two NFL franchises after four weeks of football. The start of the 2024 season has been a bit unpredictable, as perhaps some teams have underperformed, overperformed, lost a game they shouldn’t have or a mix of all of these things and more.
But the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings have been able to weather all of that as they are both perched atop the league at 4-0 and looking down on all 30 teams remaining.
The Chiefs host the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football on ESPN looking to continue their undefeated start. The Vikings travel to another country. That’s correct. Minnesota will meet the New York Jets in London, England on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Central Time.
The Vikings-Jets match is played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Chiefs and Vikings face opponents who are 2-2. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, though. As I said last week, the Chiefs have shown no ability to break away from anyone. They beat the Los Angeles Chargers 2-2 by 7, the Baltimore Ravens 2-2 by 7, the Cincinnati Bengals 1-3 by 1 and the Atlanta Falcons 2-2 by 5.
The Vikings were the complete opposite as they won two games by 20 or more points and two games by just one possession – same as the Chiefs.
Looking at their Week 5 matchups, in particular, I think the two are going to face off in some tough competition.
First, the Chiefs simply haven’t proven they’re above anyone yet. For all I know, they may be very good at competing with those in front of them. But with Rashee Rice injured, they’ll now have to figure out how to do it with one less weapon.
The Saints are off to one of the best offensive starts anyone could hope for after scoring 91 points in two games. The Philadelphia Eagles defense has humiliated them and they have now scored 36 in the last two games. What offense will appear?
Minnesota’s defense was really good – fourth best in the league, in fact – allowing just 59 points to the opposition. But the Jets will bring a good defense ranked fifth overall with 62 points allowed.
There will be a lot of defense and a lot of adaptation to travel. I think Sam Darnold has a lot of trouble against his old team. One of these defenses will have to win this game. Or an Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary special.
Let’s look at the entire Week 5 slate:
THURSDAY
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) at Falcons (2-2): This Tampa Bay team is legit. He had victories against the Detroit Lions and Eagles. Its only loss was to a tough Denver Broncos defense. BUCCANERS 31-21.
SUNDAY
Jets (2-2) at Vikings (4-0): It’s time to score the first spot on Minnesota. It almost happened at Lambeau Field last week. This happens against a tough defense here. JETS 20-18.
Ravens (2-2) at Bengals (1-3): The Bengals earned their first victory last week. But the Ravens are flying high after their victories against the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills. I’ll take the birds on the road. RAVENS 27-24.
Indianapolis Colts (2-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4): The Jaguars are better than 0-4. I don’t know if they can bounce back to make the playoffs or not, but that effort starts here. JAGUAR 30-20.
Miami Dolphins (1-3) at New England Patriots (1-3): I picked Miami twice in a row with Tua Tagovailoa out. I won’t make this mistake a third time. PATRIOTS 24-10.
Cleveland Browns (1-3) at Washington Commanders (3-1): The Commanders shocked me in that blowout against the Arizona Cardinals last week. I don’t think the Browns have a chance in the nation’s capital this week. COMMANDERS 31-22.
Bills (3-1) at Houston Texans (3-1): Houston has a winning record but has been far from impressive in every victory. I like the Bills to bounce back in a road game here. INVOICES 30-23.
Carolina Panthers (1-3) at Chicago Bears (2-2): The Panthers have looked much better over the past two weeks, scoring 60 points and winning a game after starting 0-2 with 13 points scored. And the Bears have remained a mystery until now. Might as well flip a coin. PANTHERS 31-30.
Las Vegas Raiders (2-2) at Broncos (2-2): You still can’t trust the Broncos offense but you can’t trust the Raiders at all with a loss to the Panthers but a win against the Ravens. I will still bet on the Broncos defense like last week against the Jets. BRONCOS 16-11.
Cardinals (1-3) at San Francisco 49ers (2-2): It’s a terrible time to reevaluate if you’re the Cardinals. You just lost 42-14 to the Commanders and now you have to go to the 49ers. The Niners are rolling. 49ERS 34-17.
Green Bay Packers (2-2) at Los Angeles Rams (1-3): which Rams team will show up? The one who played the Lions in overtime or the one who beat the 49ers? Or will it be the team that lost by 31 to the Cardinals and just lost to the Bears? Uh. Forget it. PACKERS 28-27.
New York Giants (1-3) against Seattle Seahawks (3-1): The Giants will remain tight but that is not enough to win. Seattle is the better team, especially at home. SEAHAWKS 30-24.
Cowboys (2-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1): The Steelers defense struggled against the Colts in both the passing attack and the rush. I expect a deadlier passing attack in Dallas to find the same holes. COWBOYS 30-23.
MONDAY
Saints (2-2) at Chiefs (4-0): Kansas City’s defense must hold on. With Rashee Rice out, I don’t like the offense’s chances. New Orleans was also solid defensively. But we might as well call them the “Find-A-Way” chefs, because that’s what I think they’ll do again here. COUNTS 23-21.
RECORDINGS
Overall: 36-28; Last week: 8 a.m.-8 a.m.
