With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.The Early Games
Minnesota (4-0) at St. Louis (0-4): One of the reasons that the Vikings are off to one of their best starts in six years is the 40-year old Brett Favre. Surprisingly, he's experiencing success by avoiding the risky situations that he flourished in during the early portion of his career and that caused him grief in the later. Against St. Louis, Favre should be able to throw the ball like he was still in his 20s, but the wise, older quarterback would do good to let Adrian Peterson run the ball, since the Rams are porous against the run.
Kyle Boller will likely start for the Rams instead of Marc Bulger, which isn't good news for the Rams. Boller threw for only 108 yards last week with an interception filling in for the injured Bulger. Steven Jackson will find it tough to run against Minnesota and their top-ten rush defense.
Pick: Minnesota
Tampa Bay (0-4) at Philadelphia (2-1): The Eagles look to get Brian Westbrook and Donovan McNabb back this week -- which comes at a great time as the Buccaneers have the worst defense in the NFC, allowing 393.5 yards per game.
Three of Tampa Bay's four losses have come at the expense of the NFC East. As the Bucs complete the divisional cycle on Sunday don't expect a different result. Having the entire NFC East on their schedule in their first five games is brutal.
Pick: Philadelphia
Oakland (1-3) at New York Giants (4-0): No defense in the league is as stingy as the Giants when it comes to gaining yardage. They allow an NFL best 232.3 yards per game while the Raiders only gain 208.5 yards per game -- an NFL worst. If Eli Manning is able to play with his foot injury, he's not going to have to put up too many points to win.
If the bad news of JaMarcus Russell's inconsistency and slow development weren't enough, the Raiders will be without running back Darren McFadden for two to four weeks as he recovers from knee surgery. This offense can't catch a break.
Pick: New York
Dallas (2-2) at Kansas City (0-4): The Dallas offense started strong, but now that's looking more like playing against weak defense than real progress. Since Week 1, Tony Romo has thrown four interceptions and has played his last two games without throwing a touchdown pass. Is there any doubt the Dallas offense is stalling? Marion Barber being healthy on Sunday will help -- so will playing against the Kansas City defense.
The Chiefs have lost 27 of their last 29 games and haven't started a season this poorly since 1980. The defense will have trouble with Romo and Barber on Sunday but did catch a break as Roy Williams may be unable to play. On offense, Larry Johnson must bring his 2.6 yards per carry average up and the Chiefs must do better in third down situations -- 2 third down conversions in their last 26 attempts -- if Kansas City is to have any chance.
Pick: Dallas
Pittsburgh (2-2) at Detroit (1-3): For Pittsburgh, this game constitutes who isn't playing almost as much as who will be on the field. Willie Parker is unable to play due to turf toe so Rashard Mendenhall will have to step in. Mendenhall rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns last week so the ground attack could still be in good hands without Parker. Troy Polamalu will miss the game with a knee injury also -- nobody can do justice replacing him.
Detroit may be without their rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford, who injured his knee last week and has only been available to practice on a limited basis. Calvin Johnson may also miss the game with an injury. Without Stafford and Johnson, the Lions will have next to no chance of winning this game.
Pick: Pittsburgh
Washington (2-2) at Carolina (0-3): When the Redskins get to play a winless team they get the job done. Both of their wins this season have come against teams that haven't tallied a victory. If they want this trend to continue on Sunday Jason Campbell, who threw for three interceptions last week and Clinton Portis, who is without a 100-yard rushing game, need to step up and score some points. The Redskins average 14 points per game -- 27th in the league.
Evey team that has played against the Panthers this season has rushed for at least 150 yards. The Carolina defense would like to stop that from happening on Sunday and would also like to get Jake Delhomme back on track. Delhomme has seven interceptions with only two touchdown passes this season.
Pick: Carolina
Cleveland (0-4) at Buffalo (1-3): The Browns average 12.3 points per game and just had to trade a major offensive weapon in Braylon Edwards due to off-field troubles. Mohamed Massaquoi broke out with eight receptions for 148 yards last week and the offense could use more development from the rookie receiver -- no matter which quarterback throws him the ball.
Buffalo is a fumbled kickoff return and two minutes of utter frustration away from an extra win (remember the opening game against New England) and possibly a much different mentality around the clubhouse. The Bills are still waiting for Terrell Owens to have a breakout game and that could happen against a weak Browns defense. Also watch the two-headed rushing monster of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. This could be the week something special happens among the running back tandem.
Pick: Buffalo
Cincinnati (3-1) at Baltimore (3-1): One of these teams was supposed to be 3-1 -- one is an unexpected guest near the top of the standings. For Cincinnati to continue their winning ways they'll have to find a way for Cedric Benson to run against a fierce defense that hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 39 games. In the likely event Benson is held short of 100 yards, Carson Palmer must continue his success against the Ravens -- he's 6-3 with 2,235 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine games against Baltimore.
The defense in Baltimore has always been the story. But this season the Ravens offense is putting up 31 points per game -- third best in the NFL. Joe Flacco should be able to pick apart the Bengals defense that allows 242.3 yards passing per game.
Pick: Baltimore
The Late Games
Atlanta (2-1) at San Francisco (3-1): The big story in San Francisco this week was the signing of Michael Crabtree, its first-round draft pick. Crabtree won't be a factor this week against the Falcons so the 49ers will need another solid game from the defense, a unit that is best in the NFC -- allowing only 13.3 points per game.
The Falcons travel west after a bye week and are happy to not be facing Frank Gore, who is out with an injury. The big question will be if Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez can put up enough points against a great defense to hold off the San Francisco offense.
Pick: Atlanta
Jacksonville (2-2) at Seattle (1-3): The Jaguars have scored 68 points over the last two weeks, both times winning games. Maurice Jones-Drew has four touchdowns in the past two weeks and Mike Sims-Walker has emerged as a No. 1 receiving threat. This awakened offense will face a Seattle defense that has allowed an average of 27.3 points per game over the past three weeks after blanking St. Louis is Week 1.
Seattle will get its starting quarterback back this week as Matt Hasselbeck will return from a rib injury to lead an offense that has floundered since their opening week victory. Seattle has gone three weeks scoring under 20 points in each game and both Nate Burleson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh -- who are both top-25 receivers from a receiving yardage standpoint but only have one touchdown between them -- will be glad to be catching ball from Hasselbeck.
Pick: Jacksonville
New England (3-1) at Denver (4-0): When Denver traded Jay Cutler to Chicago and got Kyle Orton in return, many felt the defense would have to raise the level of their game. Through four wins, the Broncos defense has allowed an average of 6.5 points per game. For their winning ways to continue, they'll need to have continued success keeping the Patriots off of the scoreboard.
The Patriots will be facing an unbeaten team for the fifth straight game. And while Tom Brady and the offense aren't scoring at will like usual the Patriots defense is keeping them in games until the very end. Look for New England's top-ten pass defense to shine against Orton and with Correll Buckhalter out, the Patriots will find ways to shut down rookie running back Knowshon Moreno.
Pick: New England
Houston (2-2) at Arizona (1-2): Arizona will try and fix what ails its high-flying offense that averaged 26.7 points per game last season but has only mustered 19 per this year. One area to focus may be Kurt Warner, who threw twice as many touchdowns as interceptions last year, but has four picks and only four touchdowns this year. The Houston defense, while performing well last week, still gives up 368.8 yards per game. This could be the week Warner and the offense turn things around.
Matt Schaub is one of nine NFL quarterbacks who have already hit the 1,000-yard mark in passing yards this season. The Arizona defense is 30th in the league giving up 280.3 yards in the air each week. Expect Schaub to put up big numbers in Arizona.
Pick: Houston
SNF
Indianapolis (4-0) at Tennessee (0-4): This isn't your typical 4-0 team versus an 0-4 team. Indianapolis is the real deal thus far, but nobody expected a winless Titans team at this point after the Titans won the AFC South last season. Even though Kerry Collins is the NFL's 28th-ranked passer, he'll remain under center against an Indianapolis pass defense that's ranked No. 8, allowing only 201.8 yards through the air.
Peyton Manning is off to one of the best starts in his professional career, and he's doing it with a lot of new personnel, not to mention a new coach. Manning leads the league with 1,336 yards passing and is tied for the lead with nine touchdowns. The Colts have won 13 straight regular season games -- their last loss coming against Tennessee last season.
Pick: Indianapolis
MNF
New York Jets (3-1) at Miami (1-3): The Jets have a new head coach in Rex Ryan and a new quarterback in Mark Sanchez. But all eyes have been on the newest member of the Jets this week --Braylon Edwards, who came over in a trade from Cleveland on Wednesday. Edwards will suit up and play on Monday night and may have to shoulder a bigger workload as Jerricho Cotchery may miss the game wit a hamstring injury.
Miami and their new quarterback Chad Henne will face the challenge of facing a Rex Ryan defense. Henne didn't hurt the Dolphins last week in his debut as a starter but also didn't impress throwing for only 115 yards and a touchdown. They'll need another impressive rushing attack -- the Dolphins amassed 250 yards on the ground against Buffalo last week -- to have a chance for victory.
Pick: New York
