Which Week 4 results help the Lions: a game-by-game guide
The short version
- The Lions play Sunday night, and the Week 4 slate opens at 9:30 a.m. ET with Colts-Commanders in London.
- The guide favors the winless Buccaneers over the Packers, who would fall to 1-3 for the first time since 2006.
- A Vikings loss to Miami would give Detroit a chance to pull even atop the NFC North.
- Monday night leans Saints because the Lions already hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over New Orleans.
- The Lions visit the Panthers on Sunday at 8:20 p.m. EDT on NBC.
A game-by-game look at the Week 4 outcomes that most benefit Detroit, from the 9:30 a.m. ET London opener to Monday night in the NFC South.
The Detroit Lions do not kick off until Sunday night, leaving their supporters free to watch nearly the entire Week 4 schedule before their own team plays. A game-by-game guide to the weekend lays out which results would help Detroit most, starting with the league's 9:30 a.m. ET opener from London between the Colts and the Commanders. The guide was published after that game had already begun, but it backs Indianapolis.
Matchups between two AFC teams are left out of the recommendations because of their minimal effect on Detroit's playoff chances. In the early window, the Jets (1-2) visiting the Bears (2-1) draws a firm call in favor of New York. It is a meeting of two former Lions coordinators, and the guide sides with Aaron Glenn, noting that Chicago plays in Detroit's division while the Jets sit in the other conference.
Two other 1 p.m. ET kickoffs are treated as genuine toss-ups. The guide leans Cardinals (1-2) over the Giants (2-1), pointing out that Detroit faces both clubs later this season, Arizona as soon as next week, while doubting either is a real wild-card threat; it allows that New York may be deeper than it appears after winning its most recent game without quarterback Jaxson Dart. The Rams (1-2) at the Eagles (2-1) gets a preference for Philadelphia, with the guide arguing it is worth deepening Los Angeles' early hole even though it views the Rams as the stronger team.
The clearest early-window wish involves Green Bay. The guide wants the winless Buccaneers (0-3) to beat the Packers (1-2), a result that would leave Green Bay 1-3, its worst start since 2006, and would come against a Tampa Bay team playing an undrafted rookie at quarterback.
Dallas (2-1) at Houston (0-3) receives a similar call. The guide backs the Texans, reasoning that a winless fellow Texas club knocking the Cowboys back to .500 would blunt a solid opening stretch.
The afternoon window carries the biggest divisional stakes. A Dolphins (0-3) upset of the Vikings (3-0) at 4:05 p.m. ET, unlikely as the guide concedes it is, would open a path for Detroit to pull even with Minnesota atop the NFC North.
At 4:25 p.m. ET, the guide picks the Broncos (2-1) over the 49ers (3-0), citing San Francisco's form through three weeks and questioning whether injuries are due to catch up with one of the five unbeaten teams left in the league. In the same window it favors the Chargers (0-3) against the Seahawks (2-1), on the general principle of preferring AFC wins and with an eye on an imposing NFC West.
Monday night closes the week with the Falcons (1-2) at the Saints (1-2) at 8:15 p.m. ET, another game the guide says is hard to call. It leans slightly toward New Orleans because Detroit already holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Saints, though it acknowledges New Orleans may be the better team and either result is acceptable.
Detroit's own game finishes the week: the Lions visit the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, October 4, with kickoff at 8:20 p.m. EDT on NBC.
Games to watch
