NFL Week 4 Preview: The Game of the Week Is in Las Vegas. I Checked Twice.

Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where the 3-0 Raiders host the 3-0 Chiefs on Sunday. Photo: Ken Lund, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Here is a sentence I did not expect to type in 2026: the best game on the Week 4 schedule is in Las Vegas, and both teams are undefeated.

I checked twice. Chiefs at Raiders, Sunday afternoon, 3-0 against 3-0. One of those teams does this all the time. The other one won three games all of last season.

We’ll get there. First there’s a Thursday game to deal with, and then a long list of teams that badly need to win something.

Thursday: the Browns found a way

I’m writing this Friday morning, so Browns 27, Steelers 24 is already in the books. Andre Szmyt hit a 56-yarder with 10 seconds left, Cleveland is 3-1, and the Browns have now won eight straight Thursday night games, which is a real stat about the Cleveland Browns.

It was a bad showing from the Steelers defense, especially in the first half. Cleveland scored 21 points in the second quarter alone, and that quarter is definitely one Pittsburgh will want to forget. Because the Steelers spent the night chasing, we got a pretty vintage Aaron Rodgers performance: 299 yards and three touchdowns. He had to throw 40 times to get there, so the completion percentage isn’t really there (22 of 40, with two interceptions), but the yards are. Jaylen Warren looked good too, with 93 rushing yards on 17 carries and another 33 as a receiver.

None of it was enough. The Browns just found a way to win. Deshaun Watson has now led a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter three weeks in a row, so they keep finding it.

Somebody has to right the ship

A lot of Week 4 is two struggling teams in a room, and one of them gets to leave feeling better.

Packers at Buccaneers is the cleanest example. Green Bay is 1-2 and coming off a 35-14 loss at home to Atlanta. Tampa Bay is 0-3 and starting Jalon Daniels, an undrafted rookie, because Baker Mayfield dislocated his thumb. If I had to pick, I’d pick the Packers. They’ve made some upgrades to that offensive line (Mekhi Becton, Laken Tomlinson and Kevin Zeitler all signed), and with a backup quarterback, expect the Bucs to rely a lot on Bucky Irving. But you never know.

Colts and Commanders play in London at 9:30 in the morning Eastern. For some reason these games in Europe just end up being absolute stinkers, and this one is not a great game either. They’re both 1-2 and both look to be really struggling, although Washington did get a big win over Seattle last week with Marcus Mariota, who starts again.

The Texans really need a win. They’re 0-3 and have scored 23 points in their last two games combined. That defense is good and has not played up to its potential, and C.J. Stroud has had some up-and-down weeks. Dallas comes to town at 1-2.

Rams at Eagles is two teams that desperately need one. Philadelphia just got blown out 27-7 on Monday night by a Bears team starting its third-string quarterback. The Rams are 1-2, and their season has not gone the way people thought it would. (They led Denver 16-0 at halftime last week and lost.)

Cardinals at Giants: not a lot here. The question all week was whether J.J. McCarthy or Jameis Winston would start for New York, and John Harbaugh says it’s Winston. The Giants have gone two straight games without a touchdown, so we’ll see how long that lasts. For Arizona, Jeremiyah Love has looked pretty good (90 yards on 21 carries last week), and Jacoby Brissett isn’t terrible this year.

And on Monday night, Falcons at Saints is two 1-2 teams looking to get a win, and it should be a good offensive game. Bijan Robinson is great. We all know that (194 rushing yards last Thursday, if you needed a reminder). Tyler Shough has played well, with 917 passing yards, second in the league. If we see the Michael Penix Jr. we got on Thursday night last week, we could be in for a treat.

The ones that could get out of hand

Patriots at Bills: I expect this to be a walloping. Buffalo’s offense has looked pretty good, except for the turnovers (five of them last week, in a win). New England has looked bad against even competent defenses. The Patriots have 29 points on 30 offensive drives this season. Drake Maye has got to get out of his own head.

Titans at Ravens leans Baltimore’s way pretty heavily (the spread is 11.5), and I expect a big day from that Ravens offense. Tennessee is 0-3. The Titans just need to develop Cam Ward more.

Dolphins at Vikings has a total of 38.5, and I might even think that’s a little high. Minnesota looks pretty good. Brian Flores has that defense blitz, blitz, blitzing on 68 percent of dropbacks, about 24 points clear of the next team, and Miami hasn’t scored more than 13 in a game all year. I’d expect the Vikings to put up some points and the Dolphins to put up hardly any.

Chargers at Seahawks: the Chargers look terrible with what on paper should be a great team. They’re 0-3. Seattle’s defense let one slip through its fingers last weekend in Washington, but I think the Seahawks will be fine.

The good ones

Jets at Bears: we’ll see what Chicago can do on a short week with a backup quarterback again. (Reports out of practice point to Tyson Bagent. My formal request for more Case Keenum appears to have been denied.) Expect the Bears to rely heavily on the run game. The Jets are a feisty team. They’re 1-2 and have been tied or ahead in the fourth quarter of every game, so they could definitely be 2-1.

Jaguars at Bengals: the spread leans Cincinnati by 2.5. I lean the other way. That Bengals defense is struggling, having just given up 30 to Pittsburgh, and that Jaguars offense is potent. Jacksonville beat New England 35-6 last week. I think the Jaguars might walk away with this one, maybe even by double digits.

Lions at Panthers on Sunday night: I expect Detroit to walk away with it, because the Lions just have higher-skilled players. Look for Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs to have big production games. But Bryce Young has played pretty well this season (he leads the NFL with 939 passing yards), and that Lions secondary is absolute garbage and has played like it. Detroit is giving up 299 passing yards a game, the worst in the league. Maybe we see a surprise.

Broncos at 49ers is another great game. Both teams have looked good on defense and good on offense, and San Francisco is favored by about a field goal. Brock Purdy is honestly my MVP right now: nine touchdowns, one interception, a 133.1 passer rating, and he hasn’t been sacked yet. If he keeps playing like this, I don’t see how the 49ers lose. It’s Purdy’s game to lose, and that Broncos defense will have its hands full.

Which brings us back to Las Vegas.

Chiefs at Raiders is a shockingly good game. Kansas City is 3-0. Kenneth Walker III is having a great season (he leads the league with 360 rushing yards), and Patrick Mahomes is back after his injury and back to being great. The Raiders are finding ways to win games. Kirk Cousins is playing great, with three touchdown passes in every game, and Brock Bowers had a great game last weekend, catching 10 passes for 116 yards in his season debut.

You don’t see 3-0 Raiders very often. You definitely don’t see 4-0 Raiders very often. The last time it happened was 2002.

If it happens Sunday, I’m going to check a third time.