Week 3 of the NFL season is always a difficult one to gauge.
Are the wins and losses we’ve seen in the first two weeks really a barometer of what we should expect this season? Or is it too early to tell?
It’s never too early to look forward at the upcoming NFL week or even the The Game of Games come February 7th. That’s where this Super Bowl odds graph is convenient, it generates the average odds from each division to give you a complete profile on the league, an interesting fact from it is that The AFC has won five of the last seven Super Bowls.
For many, they’ll take these first two weeks as the Bible for what will happen the rest of the season. However, that’s unwise. It takes some teams more time to get acclimated to the season. That’s why we still have to look back to preseason prognostication as a determining factor in week 3.
Here’s three games I’m eyeing for winners in the week 3 NFL picks.
Oakland Raiders at Minnesota Vikings (-9)
I love this game. Maybe I shouldn’t be so confident since the Vikings laid an absolute egg in week 3 of 2018, ending pretty much everyone’s Survivor Pool. But I feel like this Vikings team is a much improved version of itself from last year.
The offensive line is better. It wasn’t their fault that Kirk Cousins was terrible in weeks 1 and 2. The line gave him time to throw and opened up lanes for Dalvin Cook. That’s important, especially if they can remain healthy.
And these are the games where Cousins can shine (or whatever you call it when Cousins plays better than average). The Raiders are touting a defense that is allowing 6.5 yards per play, ranking in the bottom-10 of the NFL.
The Raiders won’t be able to move the ball against Minnesota and the Viking should be heavily favored at home. Back the Vikings. — Go Chalk with Minnesota
Detroit Lions (+6) at Philadelphia Eagles
Maybe Detroit isn’t as bad as we anticipated in the preseason. The Lions have looked competent on the offensive side of the ball, averaging 5.9 yards per play, the 11th-best mark in the NFL. The defense has been middle of the pack and looks to be an improved unit from last year.
We already saw Detroit going on the road this season against Arizona and look good for three quarters. The Lions made more strops in week 2 en route to a victory against a good Los Angeles Chargers team.
I loved the Eagles going into this season, but injuries have decimated Philadelphia. That’s an issue and making me think less of their potential. The defense has needed to use gimmicks this year to stop opposing offenses, so I’m going to give the Lions the benefit of the doubt this week. — Go Against The Chalk with Detroit
Atlanta Falcons (+1) at Indianapolis Colts
There’s no reason Atlanta should be underdogs in this situation. Atlanta’s defense is much improved from a year ago and the team is finally healthy.
That should be the major difference in this contest. Atlanta is giving up just 4.6 yards per play, which goes in line to what I expected going into this season. The defense would have been good last year, too, had it not been for massive injuries to its roster.
So now this defense, paired with an offense capable of moving the ball consistently up and down the field, is dangerous. The Colts are 1-1, but they’re average just 5.2 yards per play, the 23rd-ranked offense in the NFL, and giving up 5.9 yards per play, the 17th-best mark in the NFL.
Atlanta is a better team, so I’m banking on the Falcons taking care of business. — Go Against The Chalk with Atlanta
