ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- Before the season began, the Week 4 matchup between the New York Jets and Denver Broncos loomed large as a replay of last year's AFC Championship Game. Now it's about survival. The loser falls to 0-4 and will be hard-pressed to make the playoffs.
It's another sign that the downhill slide of last year's top teams -- New York Jets, Broncos, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings -- continues unabated. After Week 3, they are a combined 1-11.
Randall Cunningham, Randy Moss and the rest of the Vikings try to get their offense untracked against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their timing is bad. The Bucs' defense seems to be getting stronger, although defensive lineman Warren Sapp will be playing with a broken hand.
Meanwhile, the surprising Tennessee Titans have a chance to go 4-0 as they visit the 2-1 San Francisco 49ers, quarterbacked by backup Jeff Garcia as Steve Young sits out a week following Monday night's concussion. Here's the complete lineup:
| Week 4 NFL Preview |
| Cardinals (1-2) at Cowboys (2-0), 1 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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9: Number of interceptions thrown by Jake Plummer in Arizona's first three games.
Stats matchup
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| Key Matchup |
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Cowboys back Emmitt Smith, who rushed for more than 100 yards in weeks 1 and 2, vs. Cardinals' defense, which is allowing an average of 143.7 yards per game on the ground.
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| Player to Watch |
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Deion Sanders: The gimp-toed master of prime team is scheduled to return this week, just in time to make Plummer's life even more miserable.
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| Buccaneers (2-1) at Vikings (1-2), 1 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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9: Number of catches made by Vikings' Randy Moss in first three games.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Vikings formerly high-powered offense against one of the stingiest defenses in the game. Tampa Bay gives up an average of only 55 yards per game on the ground.
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| Player to Watch |
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Trent Dilfer: Streaky Bucs quarterback completed 83 percent of his passes against Denver last week.
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| Saints (1-1) at Bears (1-2), 1 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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4-1: Shane Matthews' TD to INT ratio for the Bears, one of the best in the league.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Saints WR Keith Poole, who is averaging 31.6 yards per catch, vs. Bears cornerback Walt Harris.
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| Player to Watch |
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Ricky Williams: Can the battered running back, who showed signs of getting untracked in Week 2, overcome injuries to his ankle and elbow?
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| Ravens (1-2) at Falcons (0-3), 1 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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9: Total number of touchdowns scored by both teams in their first three games.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Ravens running game vs. Falcons surprisingly porous defense, which is allowing an average of 123 yards per game on the ground.
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| Player to Watch |
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Errict Rhett: Ravens running back is averaging 4.9 yards per carry, rushing for 214 yards on 44 attempts.
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| Jaguars (2-1) at Steelers (2-1), 1 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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8: Games won by the home team in the eight games played since the Jaguars joined the league in 1995.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Jaguars rushing offense against Steelers rushing defense. Jaguars are ranked second in the AFC with 149.3 rushing yards per game, while the Steelers have the top-rated defense in the AFC, allowing only 239.7 yards per game.
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| Player to Watch |
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Jerome Bettis: Bettis hasn't scored a touchdown yet in the 1999 season, but he has run well against the Jaguars historically, with 429 yards rushing in the last four games against Jacksonville.
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| Patriots (3-0) at Browns (0-3), 1 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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561: Difference in passing yards between New England's fourth-ranked passing attack with 872 yards in three games, and Cleveland's last-in-the-league total of 309 yards.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Cleveland secondary and defensive line against the New England passing game that has thrown only one interception and suffered only four sacks on the season.
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| Player to Watch |
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Drew Bledsoe: The league's fifth-rated passer is off to a torrid start, with 872 yards passing and five touchdowns in the first three games.
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| Eagles (0-3) at Giants (1-2), 1 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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3.0: Philadelphia's awful yards per passing attempt average, well below the league average of 6.3.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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The Giants Stadium end zones against the lowly offense of the Eagles. Unless the defenses score on turnovers, the end zones may not see much action Sunday with these two low-scoring offenses facing off.
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| Player to Watch |
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Jessie Armstead: The New York linebacker is among the league leaders in total tackles with 32, and has one sack, one forced fumble and six stuffs to boot. |
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| Rams (2-0) at Bengals (0-3), 1 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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2: Number of players in NFL history who have had three touchdown passes in each of their first two NFL starts: Rams starter Kurt Warner and Dolphins QB Dan Marino.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Bengals pass defense, which is allowing 8.3 yards per attempt on the season against Warner and the Rams passing offense, which is averaging an impressive 8.5 yards per attempt this season.
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| Player to Watch |
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Kevin Carter: Rams end has four sacks in the last three games and has become such a force defensively that most teams run away from him and to Grant Wistrom's side of the field instead. |
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| Chiefs (2-1) at Chargers (1-1), 4:15 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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3.1: Average yards per carry for the Chargers on the season, the seventh-worst yards per carry average in the league.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Chargers defense against the Chiefs offense, which is averaging a league-best 7.12 yards per play on first-down plays.
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| Player to Watch |
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Rashaan Shehee: Shehee may be the third running back to start in three weeks for the Chiefs, after Kimble Anders was injured in the opener and Bam Morris was injured last Sunday against Detroit. |
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| Titans (3-0) at 49ers (2-1), 4:15 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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83: Weeks since the Titans/Oilers franchise had been in sole possession of first place in the AFC Central.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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49ers passing attack against the Titans defensive unit, which picked off Jacksonville's Mark Brunell three times on Sunday.
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| Player to Watch |
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Jeff Garcia: 49ers backup quarterback will be making his first career start against one of the best young defenses in the NFL, which has generated eight sacks and five interceptions in the first three games. |
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| Jets (0-3) at Broncos (0-3), 4:15 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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37: Weeks since the two teams played for the AFC Championship on January 17th in Denver.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Broncos struggling rushing attack against the Jets defense, which is allowing 130.0 yards per game on the ground.
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| Player to Watch |
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Steve Atwater: Jets safety was one of the most popular players in Broncos history, as he played 10 seasons in Denver and totaled 24 interceptions and 1,125 total tackles.
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| Panthers (1-2) at Redskins (2-1), 4:05 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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10.2: Average number of yards per carry by Panthers running back Tim Biakutuka.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Redskins' Brad Johnson-lead offense, averaging 416 yard per game vs. Panthers defense, which holds team to just 362 yards per game.
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| Player to Watch |
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Mushin Muhammad: Panthers wideout is seventh in the league in receiving yardage with 284.
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| Raiders (2-1) at Seahawks (2-1), 8:20 p.m. |
| Key Stat |
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63.6: Raiders QB Rich Gannon's completion percentage through three games.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Raiders receiver Tim Brown, who has 22 receptions, vs. second-year cornerback Shawn Springs of the Seahawks.
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| Player to Watch |
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Ricky Watters: Seattle running back is due to have a breakout day. Has gained 218 yards on 65 carries with no TDs in first three games.
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| Bills (2-1) at Dolphins (2-0), 9 p.m. Monday night |
| Key Stat |
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88: Dan Marino's passer rating after two games, 10th best in the league.
Stats matchup |
| Key Matchup |
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Bills QB Doug Flutie vs. Dolphins cornerbacks Terrell Buckley and Sam Madison, one of the best cover tandems in the game.
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| Player to Watch |
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Zach Thomas: Dolphins linebacker leads the team in individual tackles with 18.
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