NFL picks against the spread, Week 4: SuperContest picks, all picks

We are officially entering the quarter mark of the 2017 NFL season for 30 of the 32 teams. Miami and Tampa Bay had a Week 1 bye due to the hurricane, but otherwise, the rest of the NFL will play their fourth game of the season this weekend.

For the fourth straight season, I am back for the Westgate SuperContest. SB Nation's partners over at Odds Shark are sponsoring my entry again. The contest requires selecting 5 games each week and picking them against the spread. This year's contest is expected to have over 2,700 participants, which is a new record for the SuperContest. SB Nation is represented by myself, Matt Ufford, and Jason Kirk, and there are folks from all over the blogosphere involved. I am off to a less than stellar start, with three straight 2-3 performances out of the gates. It was not ideal, but I suppose it could have been worse. There is a running leaderboard here, but you can check how I’m doing against my Odds Shark teammates here. You can follow my standings under the name "Fooch.”

Here’s my Week 4 SuperContest picks:

COWBOYS (-6.5) over Rams
RAVENS (+3) over Steelers
BUCCANEERS (-3) over Giants
49ers (+6.5) over CARDINALS
BRONCOS (-2.5) over Raiders

Yep, I’m taking the points with our San Francisco 49ers! It’s not exactly a perfect matchup, but with the Cardinals offensive line in shambles due to injury, this is a huge opportunity for San Francisco. Two weeks ago, they had Russell Wilson running around fairly regularly. This week, they face an offensive line just as bad as Seattle’s, and a quarterback who is not mobile. Arizona will build on their short passing game, but if the 49ers don’t manage three or four sacks, it will be a disappointment. And that is what they need to win this game.

I stuck with mostly home teams this week, three of whom are favorites. I suppose this is not ideal, but I am scuffling along and need to try something new. What I’ve been doing has not been working. 2-3 each week is not the end of the world, but it’s clearly a losing strategy. And so, let’s shake it up a bit.

Here are all my picks for Week 4. I was 6-10 last week, which brings me to 19-27-1 for the season.

PACKERS vs. Bears (+7): Packers - WIN
Saints vs. Dolphins (London) (+3): Dolphins
PATRIOTS vs. Panthers (+9): Patriots
COWBOYS vs. Rams (+6.5): Cowboys
VIKINGS vs. Lions (+2.5): Vikings
TEXANS vs. Titans (-1.5): Titans
JETS vs. Jaguars (-3.5): Jaguars
BROWNS vs. Bengals (-3): Browns
RAVENS vs. Steelers (-3): Ravens
FALCONS vs. Bills (+7.5): Falcons
BUCCANEERS vs. Giants (+3): Bucs
CHARGERS vs. Eagles (+1.5): Chargers
CARDINALS vs. 49ers (+6.5): 49ers
BRONCOS vs. Raiders (+2.5): Broncos
SEAHAWKS vs. Colts (+13): Seahawks
CHIEFS vs. Washington (+6.5): Chiefs