Remember when the Bills were pegged as the worst team in the NFL? Remember when the Vikings were pegged as Super Bowl contenders? Well, I’m sure both of those notions are getting questioned after this week. The Bills were listed as 17 point underdogs to Minnesota on the road and pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the last twenty years. Meanwhile, the NFC South is shaping up to be the most competitive divisions ever. The Panthers and Saints picked up wins scoring at least 30 points in each of their respective games. Meanwhile, the Falcons and Buccaneers played tight in their contests and look to be threats as well. The NFC seems to be legit once again as the season reaches its quarter mark.
*I’ve been busy this week with school so some predictions are going to be short*
Week 3 Prediction Record: 9-7
Total Prediction Record: 27-19-2
Week 3 Awards:
Most Entertaining Game: Saints vs Falcons
Upset of the Week: Bills over Vikings
Player of the Week: Calvin Ridley, ATL, (7 REC for 146 yards and 3 TDs)
Team of the Week: Buffalo Bills
Rookie of the Week: Baker Mayfield, CLE, 201 yds passing (in relief of Tyrod Taylor)
Los Angeles Rams 30, Minnesota Vikings 20 (TNF)
Deshaun’s Texans have been disappointing. At least the Colts defense has shown promise (see Leonard, Darius).
Indianapolis Colts 19, Houston Texans 16
Was the Bills’ upset a sign of things to come under rookie QB Josh Allen or more of an anomaly? I’m as stunned as anyone with their bounce back performance and in dominating fashion too.
Green Bay Packers 26, Buffalo Bills 14
Ryan Fitzpatrick is the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for three consecutive 400 yard games. Unbelievable! Despite his first rough game in 2018 (3 INTs), it looks like he’ll keep his job over incumbent Jameis Winston for the foreseeable future. The Bears should be able to force whichever QB starts, presumably Fitzpatrick, into some turnovers. While I do think Chicago will put up a fight, Tampa’s offense is rolling right now. Bucs edge the Bears on the road.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23, Chicago Bears 20
Miami has a two game lead on the AFC East? Is this real life? Tom Brady has struggled in the past down in Miami for whatever reason. Last year, the Patriots were handled by Jay Cutler and Xavien Howard in one of their shining moments. This one is in Foxborough and to say the Patriots lose three straight games is unheard of. Miami will push for the playoffs but New England edges their rival here.
New England Patriots 24 Miami Dolphins 20
Dallas is in deep trouble. With Marvin Jones Jr, Golden Tate, and Kenny Golladay, Detroit can put up points and the Cowboys are the 31st ranked offense in the league. No bueno.
Detroit Lions 20 Dallas Cowboys 14
Good luck playing defense. While the Bengals and Falcons offenses are among the league’s best, the defenses are not. Tyler Boyd and Calvin Ridley are two receivers that many believed wouldn’t be huge contributions at this stage of the season...but here we are. I’d flip a coin here. Give me the Falcons at home to edge Cinci.
Atlanta Falcons 34, Cincinnati Bengals 33
If this game ended as a 0-0 tie, it wouldn’t surprise me. Jags get a defense score to win an ugly one.
Jacksonville Jaguars 16 New York Jets 6
I have a feeling this game is going to be weird. Tennessee always seems to play in low scoring affairs. Derrick Henry needs to do SOMETHING! He is in a timeshare with former New England Patriot Dion Lewis but neither back has impressed. Carson Wentz looked a bit rusty, as expected and things won’t get easier against a surprisingly stout Tennessee defense. I’m tempted to pick my #UpsetSpecial here but I can’t pull myself to do it.
Philadelphia Eagles 17, Tennessee Titans 11
Rejoice Cleveland! The losing streak is OVAH! Is Baker Mayfield finally the savior to Cleveland’s woes? His first start will take place in the Black Hole as a desperate Raiders team attempts to salvage their last season in Oakland before heading to Las Vegas next year. Carr is completing over 76% of his passes but stats do not tell the whole story. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders have produced just three points in three games. Not a recipe for success. This is a must win game for Oakland in my eyes. Going 0-3 is nearly impossible to come back from but only one team in NFL history has made the playoffs at 0-4. Despite the desperate play, I think the Browns will take the momentum and get back to back wins for the first time since Weeks 9-10 of 2014.
Cleveland Browns 20, Oakland Raiders 16
The Josh Rosen era has begun in Arizona. I think we all know this was inevitable. I do question the decision to place Rosen in the game with four minutes left. I would’ve let Bradford finish the game at least but I guess Steve Wilks had seen enough. On the bright side, rookie receiver Christian Kirk flashed some potential with 90 yards against a strong Bears D. Him and Ricky Seals-Jones look to be two young stars for this team. Seattle looked great in their home opener against Dallas as Chris Carson had a breakout game (32 carries for 102 yards, 1 TD). Earl Thomas III made a case to be paid with a two-interception performance. That will certainly hike up his trade value if and when he leaves the Seahawks. These teams always are in a dogfight but I’ll take Wilson to spoil Rosen’s first NFL start in a snoozefest.
Seattle Seahawks 9, Arizona Cardinals 6
What a clutch win for the Saints on the road in Atlanta. Drew Brees and Michael Thomas are making NFL history and doing it in style. While the Saints defense suffered another loss to their secondary in CB Patrick Robinson, Payton and Co are still in a good spot. The NFC South will be a seventeen week battle so every game counts. This game could be another classic like in 2015 when the teams combined for 101 points in the Superdome. I doubt the teams will go up and down the field like three years ago but it has potential. Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara, Odell Beckham Jr, Ted Ginn Jr, Michael Thomas, Eli Manning, and Drew Brees. SIGN. ME. UP. I’m going to make a bold prediction here. Never in the history of the league has there been a 32-26 final score. Scorigami will take place in another wacky game in the Meadowlands as the Saints hold on for the win.
New Orleans Saints 32, New York Giants 26
RIP 49ers. Jimmy Garoppolo is out for the season with a torn ACL. Now San Fran will have to turn to C.J. Beathard for the remainder of 2018. With two of their offensive studs on injured reserve (McKinnon, Garoppolo), it looks like they may fall out of the playoff chase before the season even got going. The Chargers will definitely try and take advantage in this interstate matchup. Without Joey Bosa, their rookie safety Derwin James is leading the team in sacks. According to Chargers Wire, James is the first defensive back to record two sacks and an interception in his first three games. Solid start from the former FSU standout. The Chargers are 1-2 but that shouldn’t be too much of a concern. They’ve lost to two Super Bowl contenders (Chiefs, Rams) and have time to make up ground with the Browns and Raiders up next before their mid-October trip to Wembley. LA should run away with this one.
Los Angeles Chargers 28, San Francisco 49ers 10
Ravens. Steelers. Still one of the best rivalries in sports. The jury is still out on these two squads. The Steelers have looked hot and cold. Their offense can still go toe-to-toe with anyone in the league. However, their offense does have moments of droughts like in the first half of the Browns game or in the second half of the Bucs game. Le’Veon Bell is losing his leverage as James Conner is running just as hard. Is Bell really worth 15 million a year? Probably not. Baltimore is continuing to see a revival in their passing game, fueled by John Brown. With the AFC North tight up to this point, the Ravens have an opportunity in the next two weeks to separate themselves from the rest. Every season, I always predict a split in this rivalry so in a close one, Pittsburgh defends Heinz with a W.
Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Baltimore Ravens 27
Offensively, the Kansas City Chiefs look unstoppable. Of course, we said that in 2017 too, when the Chiefs started 5-0 before flaming out in the Wild Card Round against Tennessee. Will that happen again? Time will tell but this feels like a completely different team under the leadership of Mahomes. I’d like to see some more production out of Kareem Hunt. He scored his first two touchdowns of the season but his yardage total has been modest at best. The Broncos offense, on the other hand, needs improvement. Case Keenum hasn’t been the efficient quarterback that Denver was hoping for and they’re paying the price. The run game has looked solid but Philip Lindsay remains their best option despite his ejection on Sunday. On Sunday Night, give me KC to go 4-0 for the second straight season.
Kansas City Chiefs 35, Denver Broncos 23
Bye Weeks: Carolina, Washington
Game of the Week: Falcons vs Bengals
Upset of the Week: N/A
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