Both Denver and Baltimore are coming off bye weeks, but they return to action in much different situations. Denver has raced to a 6-0 start and a commanding lead in the AFC West. The Ravens, meanwhile, spoiled a 3-0 start with three consecutive losses.

Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens

Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1:00 p.m. ET

NFL betting: Ravens -3

Are the Ravens contenders or pretenders? It’s very difficult to say. Two of their first three wins came against creampuffs (Cleveland and Kansas City) while they lost three in a row to New England, Cincinnati and Minnesota—by a total of 11 points. Offensively, there are few complaints. Ray Rice is emerging as one of the league’s most impressive running backs. He’s coming off a two-touchdown, 294-yard effort against the Vikings and is averaging nearly 130 yards from scrimmage per game.

Of course, offense hasn’t been the problem. The once-vaunted Ravens “D” has completely imploded and is allowing over 20 points per game. The passing defense is surrendering 241 yards per outing and shows no signs of improvement on the horizon. If Baltimore wants to compete in the AFC North, the defense must shape up quickly.

Defense hasn’t been an issue in Denver. The Broncos are allowing a paltry 11 points per game while playing stingy against both run and pass. Minimizing big plays has been a major factor; Denver has allowed just one run of 20-plus yards and one pass of 40-plus yards, both tied for tops in the NFL.

The Broncos have been very efficient with the football. They won’t be breaking scoring records any time soon but, with their defense, they don’t need to. The ground game has been very effective at 132 yards per outing, but don’t shortchange Kyle Orton on your sports betting system; he’s turned over the ball just once this season, on a meaningless end-of-half Hail Mary, no less.

It’s always difficult to make NFL picks on a team coming out of the bye, and in this matchup we have two of them. There’s no telling who will come out fresh or flat but, based on what we’ve seen this year, the Broncos are the team to bet. Denver has the “D” to slow Rice and Co. while the offense will quietly chug away with some impressive rushing totals. Hard to believe, but bet on Denver to go 7-0.

The NFL betting fans wrapped up Week 3, but that’s no reason for fans to waste any time breaking down Week 4’s hottest matchups. Let’s check out a few of the bigger games and make some NFL picks:

Baltimore at New England

The Ravens are undefeated and look like serious contenders this season. No, the defense might not be as dominant as years past, but it’s still very good—and now it’s backed up by a talented offense. Joe Flacco is following up a nice rookie season with a fantastic effort in 2009.

Speaking of quarterbacks, Tom Brady has struggled in his return to the Patriots’ lineup. Brady has gone through a tremendously long layoff so some rust should be expected. He finally got help from the running game last week—Fred Taylor rushed for over 100 yards—and to no one’s surprise, the Patriots won.

This will be a very close contest but Brady is getting his feet back under him. Look for the Pats to bail one out at home.

New York Jets at New Orleans

Offense and defense collide! The Saints have been firing on all cylinders; last week, even with Drew Brees heavily planned against, New Orleans still rolled up 27 points thanks to a banner rushing effort.

The Jets, meanwhile, look like a completely different team under new head coach Rex Ryan. This team has a lot of swagger and cornerback Darrelle Revis is good enough to take Marques Colston out of the game. Unfortunately for the Jets, New Orleans has many weapons to choose from.

With a balance offense and an improving defense, look for the Saints to break New York’s three-game winning streak.

San Diego at Pittsburgh

These are two talented teams that seem to be scraping by. The Steelers are in a little bit of trouble; after two straight losses they trail the 3-0 Ravens in the AFC North. Pittsburgh has played in three very close games now so at least its resolve must be hardening. Still, this team has to figure out how to run the ball.

San Diego can’t run the ball either, but it hasn’t mattered too much with Philip Rivers picking up where he left off last season. Rivers leads the NFL in passing yards so far. There are problems on defense, though, as the Chargers can’t get any pressure on the quarterback. Losing Shawne Merriman to injury won’t help either.

Look for the defending Super Bowl Champions to get their act together. They’re desperate for a victory and the running game at least showed some signs of life last week.

Green Bay at Minnesota

Favre Mania is going to be out of control this week. The Favre vs. Packers angle was already intense enough but, after throwing a last-second touchdown to knock off San Fran this week, the veteran quarterback has tossed more fuel on the fire.

Can the Packers knock off the 3-0 Vikings? Green Bay’s greatest asset is its offense, which has struggled somewhat so far this year. However, the Pack did hang 36 up on the Rams last Sunday. This should be a high-scoring struggle but Minnesota is the better team overall—and you know that building is going to be rocking. Bet on the Vikings to help Favre knock down his former team.