NFL 2021 Week 4 preview, best bets & top matchups

The Kansas City Chiefs will be trying to avoid a third straight loss when they visit the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4 of the 2021 NFL season. We’ve got a pick in that game and two other plays in the Tennessee Titans vs New York Jets and Detroit Lions vs Chicago Bears matchups in this Sunday’s NFL best bets.

Detroit Lions (+2.5) vs Chicago Bears (-2.5)

Make no mistake about it; both of these teams are terrible. The Detroit Lions (0-3-0) are looking for their first win of the season, while the Chicago Bears (1-2-0) enter this matchup coming off of a 26-6 loss at home to the Cleveland Browns.

Had Justin Tucker not set an NFL record for the longest field goal in history (66 yards) last Sunday against the Lions, Detroit would be 1-2 with an impressive 17-16 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Instead, the Lions have now lost seven straight games and are a betting underdog against a Bears team that ranks dead last in the NFL in total yards on offense with only 191.7 per game and second-to-last in scoring with only 13.3 points per game.

Chicago may be the better team on paper, but the Lions have been showing more fight this season. We like their chances to pull off the outright upset on Sunday, but we’ll take the points to avoid losing should another heartbreaker like last week’s occur.

Kansas City Chiefs (-7) vs Philadelphia Eagles (+7)

The Kansas City Chiefs (1-2-0) went 14-2 straight up during the regular season in 2020. They have already matched last season’s loss total just two games into the 2021 campaign. Four turnovers doomed the Chiefs in a 30-24 loss to the Chargers last Sunday. And while it isn’t fair to put the loss on the defense given the turnovers, this unit now ranks 30th in the NFL in yards allowed per game with 430 and tied for last in points allowed with 31.7 per game.

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The Philadelphia Eagles (1-2-0) meanwhile are coming off of a 41-21 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night. Jalen Hurts has played well this season at quarterback, and his ability to rush the ball should come in handy against this struggling Chiefs defense. Philadelphia may be worth a shot as a 7-point underdog, but why not play the OVER instead? Kansas City’s elite offense should score into the high 30’s against the Eagles and Philadelphia’s offense should be good enough to cover the rest.

Tennessee Titans (-7) vs New York Jets (+7)

No team in the NFL has looked more hopeless than the New York Jets through the first three games of the 2021 season. They looked halfway decent in a 19-14 loss against the Carolina Panthers, but have followed that up with a 25-6 loss to the New England Patriots and a 26-0 loss to the Denver Broncos. Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson is struggling badly with two touchdown passes and seven interceptions, and the offense is averaging a dismal 6.7 points per game.

Tennessee (2-1-0) meanwhile has two straight wins and has covered the spread in both of them. The Titans have an excellent offense that should be able to produce enough points against the Jets to put their terrible offense in a hole it can’t dig out of. Lay the points and look for the Titans to win by double digits in New York.