Editor's note: ESPN senior NFL writer John Clayton's weekly "First And 10" column takes you around the league with a look at the best game of the week followed by primers for 10 other games to get you ready for Sunday and Monday. Here's his look at Week 4.

First ... Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens dispatched their surprising loss to the Bengals by beating the Broncos on the road. After the game, coach Brian Billick and players tried to rub it in the faces of those media people in attendance.

	Steve McNair threw for 176 yards and an INT in the Titans' 24-10 playoff loss to Baltimore in January.

"Everybody wrote us off after the Bengals loss," they muttered in a mantra. Well, I doubt if anyone was foolish enough to write off the Ravens, but those thoughts fueled their motivation for that huge victory over the Broncos. So let's be the first to stay that the Ravens -- despite having a shaky running offense -- are back.

Those willing to write off the Titans would be equally wrong, but that's what makes Sunday's showdown so appealing. The Ravens are 2-1, but the Titans, coming off a painfully long bye week, are 0-2. A loss to the Ravens would make the final 13 games difficult. The Titans would be two-and-a-half games behind the Ravens with the rematch on Nov. 12.

The time off was opportune for the Titans because Steve McNair was able to throw again. McNair will play the remainder of the season with a right shoulder that might need offseason surgery. Coach Jeff Fisher has also had two weeks to study ways to be overly aggressive with their defense against the Ravens' offense.

Since the season-ending loss of halfback Jamal Lewis, the Ravens are trying to feel their way to see if they have a running game. Third-stringer Jason Brookins is their most explosive back. Terry Allen is their most dependable but he isn't spry enough to get big yardage early in games. Fisher will try to turn the Ravens' current weakness into an opportunity to create turnovers.

Points will be precious. The Ravens take away the heart of the Titans' offense in trying to stop halfback Eddie George. Baltimore's streak for yielding non-100-yard games has reached 40, and George has been in a handful of those games. Because of the tender shoulder, McNair might not try to run as much as he usually does, so more production will be needed from his wide receivers and tight end Frank Wycheck.

The Ravens have taken the edge in this series by winning the past two meetings in Nashville. They enter this game with confidence, which could be dangerous. The matchup is a classic, one of the best of the year.

The hitting will border on brutal, but the game will be fun.

And 10. Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Everyone wants to know if the Packers are for real. They are 3-0 against opponents with combined records of 1-7. Quarterback Brett Favre has a 107.7 quarterback rating and eight touchdown passes. Ahman Green is the NFC's leading rusher at 326 yards. Tight end Bubba Franks has three touchdown receptions. Throughout the offseason, the Bucs have been the trendy Super Bowl pick because of their great defense and the addition of quarterback Brad Johnson. The alternative question is whether the Bucs are for real. Johnson hasn't thrown a touchdown pass and his 6.16 average gain per pass play is worse than 21 other quarterbacks in the league. The pressure falls on Johnson in this game. He will have to adjust to not having the elusiveness of Warrick Dunn for the next three weeks. Mike Alstott will be there banging the ball up the middle, so if the Packers stack the line with eight defenders, Johnson must open up the offense with longer completions to receivers in single coverage. The Bucs have to win this home game. If they lose, they would be two-and-a-half games behind the Packers and would still have to go to Green Bay. Not good.

9. Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints: The Vikings put everything together in a final drive against the Bucs to win their first game of the season. For whatever reason, they seem to have an edge on the Saints. Saints coach Jim Haslett wants to reverse that. Vikings receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss enter the game believing that they can beat the Saints' cornerbacks, so Haslett knows his hope is pressuring quarterback Daunte Culpepper and trying to get a lot of hits on him. The 21-day gap between the Saints' Week 1 victory over the Bills and last Sunday's loss to the Giants has not given the passing offense time to get in sync. Quarterback Aaron Brooks is only completing 55 percent of his passes. West Coast quarterbacks usually throw in the 60 percent range. Of course, the offensive line won't be giving up the quarterback pressures it did in Sunday's game against the Giants because the Vikings aren't as talented on the defensive line.

8. San Diego Chargers at Cleveland Browns: This is the biggest game in the Browns' three-year history. Coach Butch Davis has brought a toughness to the Browns. By running the ball 33 times a game, Davis has made Tim Couch's job easier because he's not asked to stand behind a shaky offensive line and be subjected to hit after hit. In their first two years, the Browns' defense was usually on the field 20 more plays than the offense. Davis' team has six more offensive plays than defensive. That's progress. But the Chargers are the most improved team in football. Quarterback Doug Flutie has given the offense a positive direction, and the defense ranks third in the league. Lost in the excitement of the opening three victories is how the Chargers have managed without defensive coordinator Joe Pascale, one of the league's best. He's worked only a few hours during the week because of back surgery, but he's getting healthier. There will be a dropoff in the Chargers' run defense with the season-ending loss of defensive tackle Jamal Williams. Of course, the Browns are averaging only 3.3 yards a carry and rookie James Jackson was banged-up in last Sunday's victory over the Jaguars.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars at Seattle Seahawks: The Jaguars are reeling. Tom Coughlin is still steamed about Gerard Warren's cheap shot on quarterback Mark Brunell, who has bounced back from his concussion to play. Left tackle Tony Boselli said no to thoughts of shoulder surgery and will try to gut it out week by week. And Fred Taylor is hurt. Well, sounds as though the Jaguars are in midseason form. But this is a dangerous game for the Jaguars. Injuries are wearing them down. And the Seahawks are a desperate team. Trent Dilfer is expected to get the start at quarterback in place of Matt Hasselbeck, who has a bad groin injury. Shaun Alexander is expected to get the start at halfback for the next month for injured Ricky Watters. Hey, they can't do any worse. The Seahawks' offense has been bottled up for 248.7 yards a game and they have only two offensive touchdowns in two games. When the Seahawks last played in Husky Stadium, fans called for Dilfer to start and Mike Holmgren told a couple of Seahawks players, "Screw the fans." We edited Holmgren's directive. Of course, if the Seahawks lose before their home fans, they'll be the ones who are screwed.

6. New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins: Bill Belichick does a masterful job of getting into the head of quarterback Peyton Manning, particularly on games in which Manning is on the road. It's different against the Dolphins. The Patriots don't have enough talent to make the Dolphins worry. Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey won't be intimidated by Belichick's schemes, and he will just make Jay Fiedler's job of executing smart plays easier. The Patriots also don't have enough offensive talent to match up well against the Dolphins' defense, which is still stinging from being blown out by the Rams' offense. Tom Brady isn't Drew Bledsoe, but he's an efficient young quarterback who might be able to win if he has a great surrounding cast. He doesn't have that great surrounding cast, so beating the Dolphins' defense will be almost impossible.

	Chewing up the undermanned Redskins' defense is one thing. Going into Invesco Field and doing the same to a more talented Broncos team is another.

5. Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos: The Ravens exposed some holes on what seemed to be a seemless Broncos team. Eddie Kennison isn't catching enough passes to be a threat to draw coverage away from Rod Smith at wide receiver. Cornerbacks Denard Walker and Deltha O'Neal aren't able to shut out receivers and can be occasionally beaten. The Broncos' defense still is struggling to get the right combination of safeties. That said, the Broncos are still too good to go on prolonged losing streaks. The Chiefs' biggest problem is that they are void of consistent talent at wide receiver. Chewing up the undermanned Redskins' defense is one thing. Going into Invesco Field and doing the same to a more talented Broncos team is another. Don't discount Dick Vermeil's tenacity in division games, but he needs more firepower at wide receiver to win these big games on the road.

4. Carolina Panthers at San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers look so much better than they did a year ago. Kevan Barlow has the potential to be a great back, and seeing Garrison Hearst run over the Jets for 95 yards was a treat. Still, it's vital that they beat the Panthers if they want to keep hopes of making a playoff run. Their schedule was set for a fast start. Believe it or not, this is their third of four home games in the NFC West. Though they figured to lose the game against the Rams, they can't afford to drop a home game to a young Panthers team. George Seifert's squad is a little better than forecast. Chris Weinke gives defenses problems, and the running game will be better with Nick Goings and Richard Huntley. Tim Biakabutuka is long forgotten and on the inactive list. The Panthers' defense will be more vulnerable after losing their best young linebacker, Dan Morgan, with a fractured tibia.

3. St. Louis Rams at Detroit Lions: Kurt Warner at his hottest versus Ty Detmer. Sounds a little one-sided to me. Warner is so hot he could throw a fit and Marshall Faulk would catch it. The Lions are underachieving with their pass rush and their secondary is banged up and patched up. The fact that the Lions probably won't sell out is another problem. Lions fans are still burned up after watching Detmer throw seven interceptions to Cleveland Browns defenders. The Lions are in transition. The Rams are on a roll. This one could be ugly.

2. Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons: The Bears showed a little bit of a spark during their first two games. Jim Miller gives them their best chance to win at quarterback. Their defense may lack the ability to dominate but it keeps the Bears in games. With Jamal Anderson out for the season and Tony Martin out for a month with a dislocated shoulder, Chris Chandler has gained more value as a leader and a heady executioner of plays. Chandler is smart. Blitz him, and he can burn a defense for a big play. He's still one of the best play-action quarterbacks in the league, and that's where he will be challenged. Running backs Maurice Smith and Rodney Thomas have to earn some respect to prevent teams from dropping an extra defensive back into coverage and taking away Chandler's deep ball. No defense is going to respect play-action until Smith and Thomas show they can be formidable on the run.

1. New York Jets at Buffalo Bills: The Bills can't do much on offense. The Jets can't stop the run. But if Gregg Williams loses this home game, he could send the Bills on a long losing streak. Injuries are causing the Bills to run out of players. One of these two teams will come away with renewed confidence. You could see Vinny Testaverde biting his tongue wondering whether to say that Paul Hackett's West Coast offense wasn't exactly lighting up the first few weeks. Testaverde is a pro, but not having the ability to throw deep takes away one of his best assets. The Bills should be able to run the ball on the Jets, but how long will Rob Johnson be able to stand up. Actually, though, the Jets might be thinking a knockout of Johnson could hurt them. Some think in Buffalo that backup Alex Van Pelt could do better things.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.