Five NFL teams facing the most pressure heading into Week 4: Vikings, Giants and Bengals make the list

Some NFL teams will definitely be feeling more pressure than others in Week 4 so we’ve decided to take a look at which teams should be feeling the most pressure heading into the weekend. 

Although it’s early in the season, it feels like there are a few teams out there who are in a must-win situation. Will their season be over if they lose? No, but it will probably feel like it. 

With that in mind, here’s a look at the five teams facing the most pressure this week, starting with two of the four winless teams: 

• 1. Vikings (0-3). The Vikings are the defending NFC North champions and they had high expectations going into the 2023 season, but those expectations will be going straight out the window if they lose to the 0-3 Panthers on Sunday. If the Vikings can’t beat Carolina, it might be time for Minnesota to start a fire sale by trading everyone not named Justin Jefferson. … “Hey Jets, do you want Kirk Cousins? Make us an offer.” 
• 2. Broncos (0-3). Sean Payton was supposed to fix everything in Denver, but instead, things have somehow gotten worse. If the Broncos lose to the 0-3 Bears one week after giving up 70 to the Dolphins, the new ownership group might soon start regretting the fact that they gave up so much to get Payton.

NOTE: We could have included all four 0-3 teams in our rankings, but we decided not to do that and that’s mostly because the Vikings and Broncos had much higher expectations entering the season than the Panthers and Bears. 

OK, let’s move on to the next three teams in our rankings. 

• 3. Giants (1-2). After making the playoffs last year, the Giants have been a borderline disaster this year. In their two losses combined, they were outscored 70-12 and their only win came in a game against the Cardinals where they trailed 28-7. The Giants have a chance to get their season back on track, but if that’s going to happen, they have to beat the Seahawks on Monday night. The problem there is that Daniel Jones is 1-11 in his career in prime-time games. If Jones can’t beat the Seahawks, he’ll fall to 1-12 and a lot of people will starting wondering why the Giants gave him a $160 million contract, if they’re not wondering that already. 
• 4. Chargers (1-2). When it comes to the Chargers, it seems like Brandon Staley is permanently on the hot seat and this team is always under pressure. Although Staley staved off hot seat talk with a win over the Vikings in Week 3, that conversation will start again if the Chargers lose to the 1-2 Raiders. The pressure feels very real this week for Los Angeles. 
• 5. Bengals (1-2). With Joe Burrow hobbled, the Bengals need to make sure to win the games they’re supposed to win and they’re favored to beat the Titans on Sunday. The problem for the Bengals is that if they lose in Nashville, they’ll be two games out of first place heading into Week 5 since the Browns are playing the Ravens this week and the winner of that game will be moving to 3-1. Two games out after four weeks with an injured quarterback would put the Bengals in a pretty ugly situation. 

If you’re looking for one game where both teams are under a lot of pressure, it’s probably Patriots at Cowboys. The Cowboys offense has been almost nonexistent this year and if it struggles against the Patriots after an embarrassing performance in a shocking Week 3 loss to the Cardinals, that will put the microscope on Mike McCarthy, who took over play-calling this year. As for the Patriots, it wouldn’t be a good look for Bill Belichick if his team drops to 1-3 for the third straight season.