The NFL Lockness Monsters didn’t skip a beat last week, going 5-0 against the spread.

That runs the season total to 7-3. We’re not expecting an undefeated streak to continue, but we’re ready for week 3 of the NFL season. Here’s our five best bets for week 3 of the NFL season.

Last week: 5-0 ATS

Season: 7-3 ATS

The St. Louis Rams will have a tough time covering this week. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1iTjRz3/Keith Allison
The St. Louis Rams will have a tough time covering this week. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1iTjRz3/Keith Allison

Pittsburgh (-2) at St. Louis

We know St. Louis defeated Seattle in week 1. But what about the Rams do we like?

St. Louis’ defensive line features a good pass rush, but so far in two weeks, the defense is allowing too many rushing yards on the ground. The Rams have allowed the third-most rushing yards per game this season in the NFL, and Le’Veon Bell is coming back from a two-game suspension to run through the Rams.

St. Louis’ offense also hasn’t shown us that it can consistently move the ball. The Rams are second-worst in total yards offensively, while the Steelers are first. When it comes to actually running plays and sustaining drives, no one is worse than St. Louis. The Rams have run the least amount of plays in the NFL this season.

There’s no reason that the Steelers’ offense will be shut down by the Rams, and we’re not liking St. Louis’ offense enough to keep up with the high-flying Steelers. — Go chalk with Pittsburgh

Oakland at Cleveland (-3.5)

A young team going on the road for the first time? That’s not a good sign, especially when that team is awful on defense.

Oakland will take its youth movement on the road and it will face a Cleveland team that looked good on defense, and at least competent enough on offense to move the ball. We like Josh McCown coming back as quarterback and we expect the Browns will have no trouble knifing through the Raiders defense.

Oakland will be one of those teams that can pull out some upsets this season, because its talent is as good as it has been in years. However, that talent is young, so expect some major stinkers. This is one of those letdown games where we see Oakland not coming to play. We would have liked that spread to be a field goal or under, but we still like the Browns to take care of business at home. — Go chalk with Cleveland

Don't go all in on the Jets yet. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1iA9nEA/Guy Harbert
Don’t go all in on the Jets yet. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1iA9nEA/Guy Harbert

Philadelphia (+2.5) at New York Jets

We’re all hyped about the New York Jets. They beat the underwhelming Colts on the road and a Cleveland team at home that had its starting quarterback knocked out of the game, so obviously we’re overreacting. Oh, and did we mention that Philadelphia has looked awful in three of the fourth halves it has played this season?

Let’s not overreact too much. This Jets offense hasn’t been pressured at all to make plays. Head coach Chip Kelly knows what he’s doing, so we expect a more inspired effort this week against the Jets. With a better offense, the Eagles can put pressure on the Jets’ offense, making Ryan Fitzpatrick throw the ball in pass-obvious downs.

If the Eagles can do that, we look for a cover by the Eagles, and we can go back to having a negative opinion of the Jets. — Go against the chalk with Philadelphia

The Miami Dolphins are a risky survivor pick. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1UJdxef/June Riveria
The Miami Dolphins are a risky survivor pick. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1UJdxef/June Riveria

Buffalo at Miami (-3)

Let’s calm down the hype on the Buffalo Bills. After week 1, we went crazy about how good the Bills would be this year and that they would challenge New England for an AFC East crown. Even last week, oddsmakers pretty much made the Bills vs. Patriots game a pick ’em.

Then the Patriots did pretty much what the Patriots do.

Now, we’re back to the two teams which were supposed to compete for an AFC East title. The Dolphins didn’t do their part either last week, losing to Jacksonville.

We’re not scared away by that loss. The Dolphins were undertaking back-to-back to road games and the Jaguars are a lot like the Raiders this season. They will compete and win some games that we don’t expect, but also will throw in some ugly performances.

The Bills are really good against the run. That’s OK, considering the Dolphins don’t want to run. Miami will pass often, much like the Patriots did last week, and should win this game by more than a field goal. — Go chalk with Miami

Cincinnati (+3) at Baltimore

We understand that the world says Baltimore should win. If the Ravens go 0-3, then they won’t go the playoffs and the world’s axis may go off tilt.

We don’t care about all that mumbo jumbo. Baltimore has been awful on offense in one week and then awful on defense in the next. Granted, the Ravens were playing back-to-back road games, but coming home won’t cure all the mess that we’ve seen in weeks 1 and 2.

The Bengals, on the other hand, withstood a strong effort by San Diego last week, and was able to go 2-0. We like how Andy Dalton has played this season, and if the Bengals offense can continue to have threats at the wide receiver, tight end and running back positions, they will succeed on a weekly basis.

Mix that in with a defense that appears to be as good as it has been in the past, and Cincinnati is a better team than Baltimore.

We know everyone just assumes everything will click for the Ravens in this game. But we’re not buying it. We’re going with the better team. — Go against the chalk with Cincinnati

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