**Disappointment central.** You won’t find two more disappointing teams in football than Baltimore and Houston. Both are 1-3, and one of them is going to be 1-4 (well, outside of a tie) after Sunday because they meet in Baltimore. Lamar Jackson’s status is in doubt, the Ravens defense is a mess and also battered by injuries, and the Texans aren’t in much better shape. Houston’s No. 29 scoring offense against Baltimore’s last-ranked scoring defense is the classic stoppable force against a moveable object.
**Fields-ing questions.** The Jets nearly won an emotional opener against former quarterback Aaron Rodgers and now instead find themselves 0-4 under new head coach Aaron Glenn. Quarterback Justin Fields has struggled overall, and Glenn’s defense has given up 27-plus points in all four games. Now they’ve got to try to slow down a potent Dallas offense before heading to London to take on the Broncos. Tough start.
**Signs of progress**. Jacksonville is 3-1 under Liam Cohen and (probably) not just because of the legal sign-stealing operation he runs that caused a bit of a kerfuffle last week with San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. You’d have made a tidy sum if you’d bet preseason that the Jags (3-1) would have a better record than Kansas City (2-2) for this matchup, but Patrick Mahomes and company are still 3.5-point road favorites.
Around the NFC
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**Return of the Mac.** The 49ers had five players, including QB Brock Purdy, ruled out for Thursday night’s visit to the division-rival Rams. They had 12 players on the injury report, and that doesn’t include a trio of stars on injured reserve and PUP in TE George Kittle, DL Nick Bosa and WR Brandon Aiyuk. No matter. They won an entertaining game in overtime, 23-20. QB Mac Jones threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns. The Niners could fill an infirmary and yet are 4-1. Kyle Shanahan’s doing it again.
**Cross-country runners.** Not many longer flights in the NFL than Tampa’s trip to Seattle this weekend. But it’s a darn good matchup between 3-1s in the Bucs and Seahawks. And it’s a game that features two exciting young receivers out of Ohio State in Seattle’s Jaxson Smith-Njigba and Tampa rookie Emeka Egbuka. JSN is second in receiving yards so far, and Egbuka is tied for third in touchdown grabs.
**Make it a double.** Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores are probably eligible to serve on the European Union commission they’ve spent so much time across the Atlantic. The Vikings are playing the second of their first-of-its-kind two-game European road swing when they square off against Cleveland at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Little did the Europeans know they were going to get a double dose of Carson Wentz. The league is probably hoping the Vikes don’t get swept on this journey, because it’ll be a tough sell for others in the future.
Game of the Week
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#### Washington at L.A. Chargers
Jayden Daniels should be back for the Commanders after missing last week’s 34-27 loss to Atlanta. Justin Herbert and the Chargers are looking to bounce back after a confounding loss at the New York Giants. Both of these teams are in fine position early in the season, but they both could really use a win, too. L.A. is favored by 2.5, and Washington has an awfully long flight out to the West Coast. Should be fun to watch Kliff Kingsbury and the Commanders offense try to solve Jesse Minter and the Chargers’ defense.
**Chargers 27, Commanders 23**
Lock of the Week
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#### Detroit at Cincinnati
Detroit scored just 13 points and lost to Green Bay resoundingly in Week 1. Through four weeks, however, the Lions lead the NFL in scoring and point differential thanks to a three-week tear. Dan Campbell’s team has scored 52, 38 and 34 in consecutive weeks against Chicago, Baltimore and Cleveland, respectively. Their running back duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery is monstrous. Jared Goff is playing great. And former Denver passing game coordinator Johnny Morton has hit his stride as the Lions’ OC. Next up: A Bengals defense that doesn’t look fit to stop anybody. The Lions are favored by 10.5, but that seems light. Look out.
**Lions 45, Bengals 13**
Upset of the Week
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#### N.Y. Giants at New Orleans
Jaxson Dart may have only thrown for 111 yards in his NFL debut, but he gave the Giants a little bit of life. The rookie quarterback beat the Chargers and did so by running the ball effectively and avoiding the big mistake. Now he’s got a much more manageable challenge, even if it’s on the road. The Saints have looked lost so far this season, they don’t have a clear answer at quarterback and their defense has really struggled. Giants coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen have their jobs on the line this year, and this is a chance to get a second straight win — even without star WR Malik Nabers. Watch New York’s pass-rush. It’s serious.
**Giants 20, Saints 17**
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