Looking at Week 4.

Week 4 is highlighted by several ‘distance’ games - contests that will make a great difference in certain division favorites or contenders to put some distance between the trailing pack.

The matchup of the week is no doubt the Broncos at Colts on Sunday afternoon. It’s a bigger game for the Broncos than it is the Colts, who have had Denver’s number as of late. For the Broncos, this game is about getting back on track and keeping their lead atop the AFC West, but a loss would be their second straight, and would allow the Kansas City-San Diego winner to tie them at 2-2.

Speaking of that K.C.-S.D. game, that might be one of the biggest games of the early season, as both teams will be looking to get their star running backs on track and their teams off of a slide. L.J. and L.T. have combined for only 270 yards in the first three games. Considering what’s at stake, don’t be surprised if they hit that number on Sunday.

Elsewhere, there’s a big one in the NFC East, as Philly goes to the Meadowlands to face the Giants, for NBC’s Sunday night matchup. Both teams are 1-2 after picking up their first wins of the season last week, but are still very much in need of a win with the Cowboys in position to run away with the division very, very quickly, with a favorable schedule (minus New England, which is a home game) in the next few weeks.

In the NFC North, Green Bay goes to Minnesota looking to go to 4-0. Brett Favre has struggled in road games against the Vikings, but won the last time he was there. After the Packers have opened with three impressive wins, you can bet the Vikings want to knock them back down to earth, and close the gap in the division.

Chicago goes to Detroit with a new starting quarterback. Lovie Smith apparently has had enough of Rex Grossman’s inconsistencies, and is turning to Brian Griese for Sunday’s game. Maybe this is what Grossman needs to fire him up. But, it’s the perfect week for Griese to take over, as he’ll be slinging it against one of the worst pass defenses in the league. As for the Lions, a win over the Bears would be yet another step in the right direction, and erase the bad taste from that beatdown at the hands of Donovan McNabb and the Eagles.

In the NFC West, Seattle visits San Francisco in a pivotal early-season showdown. Both teams are 2-1, but could both easily be 0-3, if a couple of close games had gone the opposite way. The winner of this one will have an early leg up on the division title, and an automatic playoff spot. The question for San Francisco is this - Can they get the offense going? If they don’t soon, they’ll be in trouble, as Sunday’s game against the Steelers showed. They got away with it against the Cardinals and Rams, because they produced just enough to win, but just enough isn’t going to be enough most of the time.

In the AFC East, the race for second place goes into Week 4, as winless Buffalo goes on the road to face the 1-2 Jets. If the Jets win, things could get close in a heartbeat if the Bengals can knock off the Pats on Monday night.

That game is another ’distance’ game. A Patriots win would, at best, keep their two-game lead over the Jets, but if the Bills beat the Jets, they’ll already have a three-game lead, which is more than enough. Meanwhile, the Bengals need to shore up their weaknesses very quickly, because if they don’t bring their ‘A’ game on Monday night, they’re going to be yet another victim of the seemingly unstoppable Patriots’ train.

Baltimore goes to Cleveland in a pretty important matchup. The Ravens had a close call against the Cardinals at home on Sunday, and could very well get tripped up if Derek Anderson can stay on his feet long enough to get the ball to Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, and if Jamal Lewis can make the most of his first meeting against his old team.

That game, and the Bengals-Pats game, are big, because the Steelers are facing Arizona. The smart money says the Cardinals should give the Steelers’ D their biggest test to date, but the way the Steely McBeam’s are playing, the Cardinals might end up getting run over just like the Browns, Bills, and 49ers did.

The other games on the schedule are of great importance as well.

Tampa Bay and Carolina, both 2-1, face off at the Panthers’ den for the NFC South lead. A win for the Bucs would really signal their resurgence as a good team.

Houston goes to Atlanta, looking for win #3 and looking to keep the Falcons out of the win column. Matt Schaub faces off of against the team that (stupidly) traded him just before the Michael Vick mess came up, and has a chance to inflict more misery upon the Falcons, who aren’t catching many breaks right now. But, if Joey Harrington can build off his strong performance against the Panthers (361 yards, two TD, no picks), then maybe, just maybe Falcons’ fans will go home smiling on Sunday afternoon.

Jacksonville (2-1), Tennessee (2-1), Washington (2-1), and New Orleans (0-3) are off this week. The Redskins will be a close watcher of that Giants-Eagles game, as it will have bearing on if they have any room to breathe going into Week 5.

Week 4 Schedule

Chicago at Detroit
St. Louis at Dallas
Baltimore at Cleveland
Buffalo at New York Jets
Houston at Atlanta
Green Bay at Minnesota
Oakland at Miami

Seattle at San Francisco
Tampa Bay at Carolina
Kansas City at San Diego
Denver at Indianapolis
Pittsburgh at Arizona

Philadelphia at New York Giants (Sunday night)
New England at Cincinnati (Monday night)