America's XML Games of the Week: Week 4 Edition

Don't you hate how flex scheduling in the NFL doesn't start until week 11? Don't you wish you had the power to make sure all the prime time match-ups were of the highest quality of the week? Well, lets pretend we have that power here at XML. Each XML week, i'll highlight the best match-ups of the week, and slot as the primetime game each week (Sunday @ 4:15, Sunday Night, Monday Night). I'll break down what to expect from each team in each match-up, and come up with predictions for the scores. Welcome to America's XML Games of the Week!

Sunday Afternoon Game of the Week, 4:15PM on CBS: Miami Dolphins (2-1) @ New York Jets (2-0)
Only two match-ups in week 4 have two teams with winning records battling it out. This is one of them, as the Miami Dolphins road trip heads to the Meadowlands to take on the New York Jets in a battle of XML rivals.

The Dolphins come into the game with the offense finally finding the big play in the passing game. Last week against the Colts, WR AJ Green and TE Jamie Brooks went wild, each catching two touchdowns for long scores. Kaepernick threw for a career high 358 yards in the game. But in the end, they came up short thanks to late turnovers by the offense.

The Jets are fresh off an early bye week, but have started their season off good so far under their new QB Peter Newcomer. He's completed 75% of his passes so far this season, and has yet to throw an interception. But the key may be getting Adrian Peterson going again, who was held 6 yards on 9 rushes in their last game against the Rams

Offensively, the Dolphins have been able to fire on all cylinders, but defensively, they've been rather disappointing. Coming off the loss to the Colts, I have to believe this is the game where the Phins' get back to playing sound defense, and a powerful run game. But don't count the Jets out. They have been playing sound defense, ranking 4th in scoring defense and 7th in pass defense. But with the weak ranking in run defense (22nd), I expect the Dolphins to exploit that, and walk away from this game with an early lead on the AFC East. Dolphins 28 to Jets 16

Sunday Night Football, 8:20PM on NBC: Philadelphia Eagles (3-0) @ Washington Redskins (3-0)
In the other match-up of two teams with winning records, we head down interstate 95 to see the Washington Redskins play host to their division rival Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams come in undefeated, but only one leaves this game making a statement in the NFC East.

The Eagles have been quite the offensive powerhouse through three weeks this season, scoring 37 points a game (4th in the league) with a balance passing and rushing attack. They've outscored each of their three opponents by two or more touchdowns. But defensively, this crew is playing well too. They stop the run with the best of em, only allowing 74 rush yards a game (4th in the league). Newly acquired QB Tom Brady has been lights out, only throwing one interception to his 11 touchdowns.

The Redskins come off an emotional last-minute win over the Cleveland Browns in a battle between Brother GM's. Tim Tebow led the charge off of a 32 yard run that set the team up at the one yard line late in the 4th quarter and put them over for the win. But now with the Eagles coming to town, they need to feed off of the emotional win, rather then let it hold them back.

In this battle of two of the leagues top red zone scoring offenses, it should be a fun one to watch. Tom Brady and his army of wide-outs should be able to march up and down the field on the Redskins defense. Meanwhile, Tim Tebow can be successful against a suspect Eagles pass defense, but it will all be dependent on how well they can get the run game going against this strong rush defense. The good thing is that Tim Tebow factors into that run game, whether Helu and McFadden are able to run well or not. I'm looking to see a good game, but, I think the Eagles will figure out a way to outlast Tebow and the Redskins. Eagles 34 to Redskins 29

Monday Night Football, 8:30PM on ESPN: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) @ Oakland Raiders (1-2)
The Monday Night Football crew heads to the West coast for an inter-conference game between the reigning NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders.

The Buccs are also coming off of an early bye week, and foaming at the mouth to get back on the field. Their newly draft toy in rookie RB Rodman Brooks has been quite the exciting spark for Tampa Bay fans. In his first two career starts, he's combined for 219 yards on 35 carries, averaging an electrifying 6.3 YPC. But even more exciting for Bucs fans should be that their passing offense finally seems to be clicking. QB Josh Freeman has 4 TDs to just 2 INTs through the first two games. WR Mike Williams and TE Kellen Winslow each have over 100 yards through two games as well. They also have been having quite the time getting after the QB, recording 8 sacks in just two games behind a rising pass rush star in Da'Quan Bowers.

The Raiders hit a rough start under the first two career starts for young QB Terrelle Pryor, but in his latest outing against the Chargers, he seemed to finally hit a groove, going 8 of 13 for 157 yards and a TD. He did still throw two interceptions, so those turnovers need to come down significantly if he wants to lead this team back to the playoffs as Jason Campbell did last season. More importantly though is that this team needs to get back to finding its stride in the running game. Since the departure of both Michael Bush and Darren McFadden, the rush offense hasn't shown the signs of life that carried it into the playoffs last year. The youngster Shakim Simmons needs to step up and put the offense on his back to get things going.

It's an interesting match-up here between two teams who prefer running the ball and playing defense more than anything. Unfortunately for the Raiders, the Buccaneers are doing both of those things better than them right now. If the Raiders want to get it going, this would be the game where they have to do it. I just feel that the Buccs are in too much of a groove in all the aspects of the game to allow for the Raiders to do so. Buccaneers 23 to Raiders 16

After going 2-1 in my picks last week, I'm now 5-1 on the season in my picks. Let's see if I can keep it rollin. Look for another edition of America's XML Games of the Week each and every XML week. Thanks for reading!