Welcome to Week 4 — we’re at the 23.529% mark of the season! (Darn that pesky prime number 17th game…) If you’re new here, we welcome everyone and would be glad to have you hop onboard and ride along for as far as you’d like! To get you up to speed there’s a brief recap at the bottom. But first let’s look at results from Week 3’s action:

I know it was almost 30 years ago that the Levy/Polian-era Bills lost their last two SBs to Dallas, but I still LOVE the smell of schadenfreude whenever that team pulls an epic faceplant. How ‘bout them Cowboys! I agree with WillG’s assumption that a significant portion of the folks eliminated from the official pool this week were Cowboys casualties. If you’re one of them and you’re reading this we won’t hold it against ya, climb on board if you want. But I’m happy to report that none, zilch, zero of our current contributors here were seduced by Zak & Co. and on the contrary almost everyone came away from this week‘s games unscathed.

Bills over Commanders This most awesome of all picks was selected by the one and only Billsnerd! You, good sir, are a superfan indeed…

49ers over Giants This was our most popular pick and it’s a winner for Poor49, hockey-time, and feartheflamingtablesoffredonia (who had the foresight to phone it in early. Hope you’re having safe travels, FtFToF.)

Chiefs over Bears Will G and zappafan hit the "Easy" button on this obvious winner.

Seahawks over Panthers Looks like Chuck-Wagon’s hunch paid off.

Steelers over Raiders Woody501 had a feelin’… he’s believin’… now he’s dancin’ through his li-ii-fe… (okay, I’ll stop now. too late? sorry…) But I’m extra sorry that this was my "fun" pick, but instead I officially went with…

Ravens over Colts Colts over Ravens Arrggghhh! Second time in only three weeks that I’ve been bitten on the ass by a road underdog that came from behind to beat my pick in overtime. I wish I could’ve put some money on those odds!

Jaguars over Texans Texans over Jaguars Sorry, jengajam, but that’s the bad ju-ju you get from picking against a trio of ex-Bills fan favorites in Jerry Hughes, Devin Singletary, and Robert Woods. I mean c’mon man, there’s still Rumblers walking around in each of their jerseys!

But congrats, most everyone. 8-2 is a better outcome than almost every panel of so-called media experts. Hear that ESPN? Pay us here the big bucks and we’ll deliver the winners! Good luck to all with all your Week 4 picks…

Newbie Recap:

For a multitude of technical and human-error reasons many Rumblers were locked out of the official, cash-money prize pool contest announced just prior to Week 1. I was one of them and decided to write a weekly fanpost to give anybody and everybody a chance to try their luck at going 17-0 just for fun. But I also want to do it in the most forgivable and inclusive Ted Lasso-ish way possible so there are very generous house rules to this "non-contest":

You can play however strict or loose to your rules as you want. The only rule I think that is written in stone is that you can only pick a team once. Everything else is up to your personal interpretation of how you’d like to participate. I gave everyone Week 1 amnesty and a chance for a fresh start. As we move on, it’s up to you to be honest and keep your own score but I want to give everyone as many mulligans as they want. If you go 0-17 for the season but had fun doing it and had a chance to share a laugh with a fellow Rumbler along the way then you’re a winner in my book. You can join any time in the season, leave when you want, or even take breaks. You do you on your own schedule and we’ll always leave a light on for you. All I ask is that you come for the good company, some friendly competition, and even some playful ribbing if you dare pick any of the Boston, Miami, or NY AFC East teams to win under almost any circumstance. Also very encouraged is stating your "official" pick and then also tossing in 2-cents worth on a "just for fun pick" that is of special interest or involves a team or teams you already used. Also, feel free to share a few details on why you think your weekly pick is a sound one and then comment on other folks’ methodology. Let me hear some chatter out there!…