Week 3 NFL Predix

By Jacob Sanders

I can’t remember a time in the last 15 or so years when the League seemed turned on its head. Manning, Roethlisberger, Brees, Fitzpatrick, Newton and Foles were all Week 1 starters that are not suiting up this week due to injury or poor play. It’s amazing to see how storylines can change so much in the span of 7 days. In related news, it also means how the changing storylines can have such a huge effect on how the season will play out. That being said, let’s get to the picks where, spoiler alert, I’ll be picking teams I didn’t think I would be picking this week!

Sanders went 10-6 last week putting him to 21-11-1 on the season.

Sanders picked the Jags on Thursday to win 9-3. (Ending score was 20-7)

CIN Bengals vs BUF Bills

It’s not that I was particularly hyped about the Bengals going into this season, but they were certainly a team I wanted to monitor this season with a new HC who I thought could bring some life to this team. So far, it’s a mixed bag with a great performance against Seattle but then showing up dead on arrival AT HOME against the 49ers. That’s a WTF from me right there. The Bills on the other hand were another team I wanted to monitor and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. The defense has been playing tough, and Josh Allen has been making plays when it matters most. While the Jets and Giants aren’t the toughest competition, you just gotta beat who’s in front of you. After watching the 9ers man-handle the Bengals last night, I suspect the Bills to keep on rolling here at home.

Bengals 16 Bills 19

MIA Dolphins vs DAL Cowboys

Something noteworthy for the Dolphins here. They are starting Josh Rosen. That’s it. They’re still the worst team in the League and the Cowboys will probably hammer then like a nail into wood. There’s not much to say here. Most of these Dolphins starters wouldn’t be starting elsewhere and that’s just fact. Dallas W coming

Dolphins 6 Cowboys 31

DEN Broncos vs GB Packers

Wow have the Broncos been a disappointing mess. Yes, they were robbed of a win last week. Frankly, I don’t see how you can call timeout as a play is ending, but that’s neither here nor there. Them being robbed doesn’t change just how bad the Broncos have looked offensively. The Packers on the other hand, aren’t necessarily excelling on offense either, but they are doing enough for a stellar defense to win the game. I expect more of that here. If the Broncos offense from Week 1&2 show up to Lambeau Field, it’s gonna be a long long day in Green Bay.

Broncos 13 Packers 24

ATL Falcons vs IND Colts

It’s honestly weird how I’m a firm believer that the Falcons are taking the division this season. And yet, I’m pretty sure their season starts 1-2 here. I truly believe in this Colts team to have a fighting chance every game because they have the nastiest O-line in the League. This line gives the rest of the offense time to develop plays and make big runs. It perfectly compliments Brissett’s abilities in the sense that he also likes to create time for his receivers to get downfield. Overall, this offense is balanced and can create an attack the Falcons just haven’t seem to come up with yet. Considering that this Colts D isn’t nice to the running game, I expect the Falcons to continue to struggle getting Freeman going. That’s rough.

Falcons 17 Colts 21

BAL Ravens vs KC Chiefs

It’s safe to say this will probably be the best game of the week. This matchup was an instant-classic last year and is lining up to be an instant classic again. The Ravens found the formula for beating the Chiefs last year and if not for some Mahomes magic, they would have won. The difference this year though, is the Ravens are more set on passing the ball this year which adds a whole 'nother dimension to this matchup. Lamar Jackson has gotten off to a white hot start that no one but the people inside the Baltimore locker room saw coming. Not to be outdone, Mahomes has continued to prove that he’s probably the best QB in the League right now. If Baltimore wants to stop him, they have to do what they did last year. They have to blitz and disrupt Mahomes. However, the Chiefs know this and I’m sure are prepared for the blitzes to come. The Chiefs win it here in another nail-biter with more explosives this time around.

Ravens 30 Chiefs 36

Oakland Raiders vs Minnesota Vikings

Let’s be honest here. The Kirk Cousins hate train is gaining too much steam too fast so let’s slow down for a second. The guy had to play against one of the nastier defenses in Green Bay last week. While I do agree his INT in the endzone was an awful decision, It’s too early to say Cousins is bad. That being said, Cousins is going to have get something going at home if he wants to silence some people. What benefits him though, is that he is playing the Raiders. A team that is 1-8 in away games under Jon Gruden. The Raiders are still a bit of mystery in the sense that we really don’t know how improved this offense became over the offseason. They looked great against the Broncos but then awful against the Chiefs. If they can’t score against the Chiefs defense, I’m not sure how much better they’ll fare against the Vikings defense.

Raiders 17 Vikings 21

NY Jets vs NE Patriots

Quick facts for you. The Jets haven’t won in Foxborough since the Sanchez-Ryan era. The Jets are playing a 3rd string QB. The Patriots have the #1 defense and will sell out to keeping Bell out of the game. So, you think the Jets 3rd string QB, Luke Falk, is gonna beat the Patriots?

Jets 7 Patriots 28

DET Lions vs PHE Eagles

Last week was a disappointment for the Eagles as they failed to make the comeback in the final minutes of the game. On the other hand, the Lions had a nice weekend upsetting the Chargers. And by nice weekend, I mean they won. Other than that, it was pretty bad football in the Lions-Chargers game which leads me to my next point. The Lions might be 1-1, but I really don’t understand where they go from here. Nothing has stood out from them so far and it’s hard to pinpoint their team identity. The Eagles on the other hand, have shown they are a team that loves to play an offense that creates disruption/confusion and combine that with a mean defense. That defense hasn’t necessarily been “mean” in the first two weeks allowing 27 points to the ‘Skins and 24 to the Falcons, but I think they find their groove here.

Lions 14 Eagles 27

Carolina Panthers vs Arizona Cardinals

You know what’s absolute insanity to me? That people are picking the Cardinals to win this game for the SOLE REASON THAT NEWTON ISN’T PLAYING. So, you’re telling me you’d pick the Pathers if an injured Newton was playing? Let’s examine Newton his last 6 games where he’s been injured all 6 games. He has gone 1-5 in that span throwing 4 TDs compared to 8 INTs. So, tell me again why in the world you’d pick the Panthers here if Newton was playing. The obvious choice, no matter the Panthers QB, is to pick the Cardinals. This Cardinals team has new life with an exciting offense and bullish pass rush with Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs leading the way. It just doesn’t compare to expect an offense that looks dead on arrival to outscore an offense that has been so much fun to watch in the first two weeks of the season.

Panthers 13 Cardinals 23

NY Giants vs TB Buccaneers

Hot-take. Daniel Jones is going to light up the Bucs and Jameis Winston won’t be able to keep up. What makes me say this exactly? Historically in the NFL, rookie QBs have excelled when they have a star running back and go-to target to throw to. Enter Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram. To me, Jones is set up for success here and he couldn’t have asked for a better first career start. Don’t get me started on the Bucs in this column. They got the W last week against a bad Panthers. Yet that win was sloppy, unrefined, and frankly showed nothing to make you think the Bucs improved from their Week 1 disaster.

Giants 17 Bucs 10

HOU Texans vs LA Chargers

This is the hardest matchup to pick this week. Frankly, my heart says to pick the Texans here. But Deshaun Watson is on his way to be sacked 80 times this season if the sack-rate continues and he’s facing a defense that has Ingram and Bosa. Uhhh. Yikes. That being said, I don’t trust a Chargers team that couldn’t muster up any points against the Lions. If we’re being fair, they did catch the injury bug early this season again, but still. Hard to imagine the Chargers winning here unless Watson is sacked 8 or so times. And that’s not out of the realm of possibility either.

Texans 23 Chargers 20

NO Saints vs SEA Seahawks

I’m not being a hater here. I’m a huge Teddy Bridgewater fan. But after watching his last two starts, I think he’s gonna need some time as the starter before he gets rolling. Unfortunately for him, he’s playing the Hawks in Seattle. While the Seahawks haven’t been the most fearsome competition through the first two weeks, they have been incredibly clutch and have won two exciting games so far. I imagine that the Saints could possibly get off to a hot start (which I don’t foresee), but even if that did happen, Wilson and Co. have been too good in the 3rd and 4th quarter to even think I can pick against them. So, Seattle starts 3-0. Who would have known?

Saints 13 Seahawks 21

PIT Steelers vs SF 49ers

I. LOVE. THIS. MATCHUP. What Mason Rudolph put on tape last week was impressive. Where Roethlisberger looked tired and out of sync with his offense, Rudolph looked comfortable, at home, and made some pretty ballsy throws. The problem for the Steelers though, is that their defense hasn’t performed up to expectation at all. You know who hasn’t had a problem on defense? San Francisco. Through the first two weeks, the 49ers defense has been in lockdown mode allowing Shanahan’s offense to have time on the field. I had some serious doubts, but this 49ers team has been a lot of fun to watch so far, and I anticipate that they will be fun to watch again this week.

Steelers 23 49ers 26

LA Rams vs Cleveland Browns

After a lot of consideration, I convinced myself that this matchup, on paper, isn’t as mismatched as I once thought. I wrote this down as an L for the Browns before the season even started. However, Myles Garrett has been a game-wrecker for the Browns and the Rams O-line has been well below average. This means the Browns D has a chance at getting Goff out of rhythm and if that happens, man oh man, the Browns are IN this game. However, the coaching matchup is still a giant gap to me. It’s hard to imagine Sean McVay getting outcoached by Freddie Kitchens in this game. So, I got the Rams here.

Rams 20 Browns 17

CHI Bears vs WAS Redskins

I certainly thought the Bears offense was going to decline a bit this season, but not THIS MUCH. Mitchell Trubisky was over-drafted. He only had 10 college game starts. We all know this. But after an impressive year last year, it’s so bizarre to see this kind of regression without injury being involved. The game plans Nagy has been putting out have even clearly stated that he is trying to hide Mitch Trubisky. Knowing this, can you convince yourself they’ll beat an 0-2 Redskins team? Quite honestly, the Redskins has a rough start to the schedule drawing the Eagles and Cowboys. It’s also not like the Redskins just fell on the floor for either team and they gave both teams tough Ws. If you ask me, I don’t trust Keenum to beat this Bears defense which has been baller. But I really don’t trust this Bears offense to get anything done. WAS grabs their first W of the season here.

Bears 10 Redskins 14