Week 3 marks the last slate of NFL games before bye weeks begin, so it’s important to make some hay right now.
The football gods giveth, and they taketh away. A bunch of very close losses blunted my Week One momentum as I went 8-8 in Week Two. Still, the season-long record is 21-10-1 (.671). So if I average ten wins a week, that’s fine with me.
(Note: All games will be played on Sunday afternoon unless otherwise noted.)
Jacksonville 27, Tennessee 16 (Thursday night): I don’t have many losses on my record but, strangely enough, two of them are in Thursday night games. The visiting teams sprung surprises on their hosts. But I’m stubborn, so I’m going with another home team in the Jags–especially after the Titans inexplicably lost to the Colts last week.
Kansas City 26, Baltimore 23: This is the Chiefs’ home opener after two road wins. While the Ravens have proven they can play tough against them, Kansas City’s offense has been better and more consistent for a longer period of time. It’ll be another close battle just like last year’s game, but the Chiefs get the call in this one, mostly thanks to a Baltimore secondary that has sprung a few leaks.
Buffalo 23, Cincinnati 17: Long ago, head coaches Sam Wyche (Bengals) and Marv Levy (Bills) bickered over which of their teams invented the K-Gun scheme and who used it better. Today, neither offense approaches what it used to be, but the Bills are at home and have momentum.
Dallas 36, Miami 9: Miami has gotten slaughtered twice at home, and now they go on the road to play one of the league’s most complete teams. This is far from a Super Bowl 6 rematch, but not even Bob Griese and Larry Csonka could save the Dolphins this time. (Come to think of it, they weren’t much help in that Super Bowl, either.)
Philadelphia 30, Detroit 20: They say lightning never strikes twice. The bolts that brought the Lions a win over the Bolts (I mean, Chargers) aren’t likely to strike again this week. But the Eagles are a banged-up team that needs to get healthy, and Carson Wentz needs to be a lot sharper than he was last week in Atlanta.
New England 40, New York Jets 10: The Jets are heading for the bye week with a dazzling assortment of injuries–from the usual strains and sprains to mononucleosis. The game plan this week? Get out of Foxborough as quickly as possible with bodies and sanity intact.
Minnesota 33, Oakland 19: It’s not exactly a rematch of Super Bowl 11, which was the earliest Super Bowl by date–January 9–if you can believe that. But it’s an early indicator of how much Oakland brings to the table. Minnesota had a tough loss in Green Bay last week, but should right the ship at home.
Atlanta 24, Indianapolis 17: I don’t have high hopes for the Andrew Luck-less Colts–even when they are at home, which they are this week. Then again, Atlanta might get second place in its division by default. Carolina looks poor, and Tampa Bay looks even worse. This won’t be a very compelling game, but it should be close.
Green Bay 31, Denver 13: Given the state of the Broncos, this is definitely not a Super Bowl 32 rematch. Instead, they are being led like lambs to the slaughter at Lambeau Field. The Packers have unveiled a defense that not only keeps them in games but can win games, too–just as it did last week against Minnesota.
San Francisco 29, Pittsburgh 19: The 49ers are home, preparing for their early bye week, after getting a solid road win at Cincinnati. The Steelers nearly upended Seattle in their home opener, and Mason Rudolph looked pretty good filling in for an injured Ben Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh can’t afford to fall to 0-3, but they likely will. This will be Rudolph’s team for the rest of the season.
Seattle 23, New Orleans 20: These two teams once met in a playoff game when Seattle had a losing record, but won its division. The Seahawks’ biggest advantage is that Drew Brees is injured and Teddy Bridgewater will have to fill in. It’s New Orleans’ second straight West Coast trip, too. Put the two together, and I’m going with the home-standing ‘Hawks.
Houston 30, Los Angeles Chargers 23: The Chargers were awful in the second half at Detroit last week. Now they’re back home to take on a Houston team that means business. It’s tough to win on the road in the NFL, but I’ll take the Texans to get over the hump in this one.
New York Giants 20, Tampa Bay 16: This is my “Game of the Weak.” Yes, the Buccaneers opened a few eyes with a road win at Carolina. But I’ll still take a past-his-peak Eli Manning over Jameis Winston every day … and twice on Sunday … even if Daniel Jones is at the controls.
Carolina 23, Arizona 13: Ordinarily, a matchup like this wouldn’t require much thought. However, the Panthers in general–and Cam Newton in particular–looked inept in the loss to Tampa Bay. I’m giving the Panthers one more chance to make things right.
Los Angeles Rams 27, Cleveland 20 (Sunday night): Cleveland Rams? Yes, that’s what they used to be before they moved to Los Angeles, then St. Louis, and then Los Angeles again. The Browns have stayed in one place and stagnated there, especially since coming back into the league in 1999. Cleveland is at home for this one–the same place where it lost by 30 points to a mediocre Tennessee team.
Chicago 30, Washington 13 (Monday night): How bad are the Redskins? Let us count the ways. They are horrible in national-TV games. They’re not good at home. They’re weak at quarterback and running back. Basically, they’re not that good and haven’t been good in almost 30 years. With a near-certain win, the struggling Bears will put their nose in front of the .500 mark.
