The NFL season continues this weekend with a fantastic slate of games headlined by the monster 14 game fixture throughout Monday morning. With the change of the clocks on the weekend, those late-afternoon games (American time) become a little easier for us viewers while the primetime 11.20am fixture is now syncing perfectly with lunch-time.
As always, we have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for the marquee clash, which this week sees the Chiefs travelling to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers. We also have a few extra tips for the late afternoon games below.
NFL Week 4 – Monday 3rd October
Kansas City Chiefs at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
11.20am (AEDT)
The Chiefs lost their first game of the season last week as they went down to the Colts on the road by three points. It was an uncharacteristic performance from arguably the best side in the league, who will have another tough road matchup against one of the top defences in the NFL this week.
Patrick Mahomes struggled to find a rhythm against the Colts, going just 20/35 passing for 262 yards in the loss, including an interception. Speaking of QB’s struggling to find rhythm, Tom Brady has looked a shell of his prime over the first three weeks of the season. Luckily, the Tampa Bay defence has been carrying the clearly ageing quarterback, leading them to a 2-1 record through three games.
The Buccs defence has held their opponents an average score of just 9.0 points per game so far this season, but this will no doubt be their toughest test to date and a true barometer to whether they are contenders again this season.
The Chiefs start as slight 1.5 point underdogs here, which means when you take the obligatory three point home field advantage into account, that means the bookies actually think the Chiefs are the better side, and so do I. The Buccs offence has showed absolutely no signs of being able to keep up with the dynamic Chiefs through the early stages of the season, and their defence is yet to face a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes.
I love the Chiefs to win this won outright on the road. I think this game sets up for Mahomes to pick a few holes in this Buccs defence with his screen option game, which should see the likes of Clyde Edwards-Helaire have a big receiving game catching dumpoffs.
Edwards-Helaire Over 16.5 Receiving Yards ($1.88 at Ladbrokes)
Late Afternoon Multi
New England Patriots at Green Bay Packers
7.25am (AEDT)
Three games headline the late-afternoon slate in the NFL this week, which kicks off at around 7.05am (AEDT). The headline of the triple header sees the Packers hosting the Patriots in a game that I think will be heavily one sided. The Packers have been just okay throughout this season so far but they have had some tough opposition through three weeks, facing the Vikings, Bears and Buccs. I think they absolutely roll the struggling Patriots at home this week with Aaron Rodgers really clicking into gear.
Denver Broncos at Las Vegas Raiders
7.25am (AEDT)
The Broncos travel to Las Vegas for a divisional matchup against the Raiders in what should be an interesting clash from 7.25am. The Raiders are currently 0-3 but will start as slight favourites in this clash against a Denver team that is 2-1 but hasn’t looked fantastic by any means. I think the Raiders will secure their first win of the season in front of a home crowd here.
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers
7.05am (AEDT)
Last but not least, we have the Panthers hosting the Cardinals in the most even game of the late afternoon fixture. The bookies are finding it tough to split these two with both at $1.90 and I agree. Opting to play the overs here instead. The Cardinals have one of the leakiest defences in the league, allowing 29.0 points per game so far this season. I think the Panthers should be able to move the ball freely on the back of Christian McCaffrey here, so 43.5 for the total seems a touch low.
Packers -9.5
Raiders -2.5
Panthers/Cardinals Over 43.5
Later Afternoon Multi
$6.50
