NFL Week 3 Predictions
September 18, 2007, 10:05 PM | 7 Comments
Note: Predictions for week 3 of the 2008 NFL season can be found here: NFL Week 3 Predictions.
After starting strong in week 1, I had hoped to fair a little better than the 10-6 record I posted last week, but in my defense, there were a lot of surprises in week 2. This week will probably be no different because the schedule has a lot of games on it that I’m really unsure about. On paper, it’s just a breeding ground for surprising finishes.
The first 2 weeks have been pretty fun to watch, but there have been many interesting developments. The Packers, Lions, Texans, Redskins and 49ers are all surprises at 2-0 while the Rams, Saints, Eagles, Giants, Chiefs, and Jets are all 0-2, which is equally surprising. I’m obviously happy about the Packers, but who would’ve thought that the Redskins would be on top (at least, sharing the lead) of the NFC East in the early going and that the Saints would start the season with a thud? I certainly didn’t.
Game of the Week: Cowboys at Bears
Tony Romo is starting to look every bit as good as people in Dallas said he was going to be. With Terrell Owens and Jason Witten as his primary weapons, the Cowboys have burst out of the gate this year scoring 82 points in their first 2 games. Yes, they’ve given up 55 points during that same time-frame, but they’re doing what they need to do to win: score and score often.
The Bears defense has been pretty good so far, so they’ll make Dallas’s job a little more difficult than the Giants and Dolphins have, but the problem with the Bears right now is that their offense hasn’t been very good and they’re not scoring many points. Rex Grossman’s stats don’t look good either, and for the most part, as Rex Grossman goes, so do the Bears.
Whatever happens, this game will be a whole lot of fun to watch. Every week the marquee match-up is on Sunday Night Football and I can’t help but think about how far the Monday Night Football franchise’s star has fallen. ESPN really got screwed with their MNF package because they pay more money than NBC does, and NBC always has the better game and the flex option as the season wears on to make sure it stays that way. Poor ESPN.
Here are my picks for week 3! Record after week 2: 22-10.
| Away | Home | Comments | Pick | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chargers(1-2) |  Packers(3-0) | As much as I love the 2-0 start from the Packers, I just can’t pick them to beat the Chargers. I’m hopeful, and I’d really love to get this pick wrong, but I just don’t see Green Bay taking out San Diego. | | |
 49ers(2-1) |  Steelers(3-0) | If the 49ers can get the type of pressure on Ben Roethlisberger this week that they did on Marc Bulger last week in St. Louis, they might have a shot to beat the Steelers. Two words from St. Louis’ injury report last week though… Orlando Pace. | | |
 Bills(0-3) |  Patriots(3-0) | New England’s shellacking of the Chargers last week went a long way to quiet down all the talk about how much their spying has or has not helped them. With or without any additional competitive advantages though, this team is scary on paper… and so far has been performing as expected. | | |
 Vikings(1-2) |  Chiefs(1-2) | I think this is a risky pick, but I’ll take Kansas City for this one. If it weren’t for a blocked field goal and a guy by the name of Devin Hester, the Chiefs could have won last week in Chicago. The Vikings could win this one as well, but the Chiefs need the win more because if they lose this game and start 0-3, they’ll be pretty much out of it in the AFC West. | | |
 Lions(2-1) |  Eagles(1-2) | Offensively the Eagles have looked horrible in the first 2 games of this season so far. They’ve had over 22 offensive possessions and have only scored 1 touchdown and that just won’t cut it in the NFL. The problem with the Eagles offense (in my opinion) is that it’s too one-dimensional. There’s too much focus on Brian Westbrook and defenses know that. Even after all those points, I’m still going to take the Eagles to win this week for no other reason than, like the Chiefs, they have to. | | |
 Rams(0-3) |  Buccaneers(2-1) | The Rams obviously miss Orlando Pace on their O-line. Marc Bulger was sacked 6 times last week and the Rams are struggling. If the Buccaneers can get that kind of pressure on Bulger, it’ll be another long day at the office for St. Louis. The Rams really don’t look to be any better to me than the Saints (who the Bucs beat last week), so I’ll take the Bucs this week for another win. | | |
 Dolphins(0-3) |  Jets(1-2) | The Jets have started their 2007 campaign by losing their first 2 games against 2 very tough opponents in New England and Baltimore. This week though, they finally get to play a team that they should be able to beat, so I think they’ll get the win and help Miami keep their place at the bottom of the AFC East. | | |
 Cardinals(1-2) |  Ravens(2-1) | It’s nice that the Cardinals gave their home fans something to cheer about on Sunday, but it’s going to be a lot harder of a task to silence the home crowd in Baltimore this week. Last week the Ravens offense scored 20 points behind Kyle Boller and should be able to better that number this week against the Cards. | | |
 Colts(3-0) |  Texans(2-1) | It’s been a pretty surprising start for the Texans this year. Matt Schaub is making everyone in Atlanta feel silly (or mad, if you’re a Falcons fan) and the Texans somehow have stared 2-0 for the first time in franchise history. That said, I still have no compelling reason to pick the Texans to beat the Colts this week. It could happen, but it’s not likely, especially with the knee injury to Schaub’s primary target, WR Andre Johnson. | | |
 Browns(1-2) |  Raiders(1-2) | Last week I was kicking myself for writing “Until the Raiders win a game, I won’t be picking them to win… regardless of who they’re playing” before actually looking at their upcoming game this week against the Browns. That feeling subsided when I saw the shootout that took place in Cleveland last week. | | |
 Bengals(1-2) |  Seahawks(2-1) | The Seahawks lost tough one to the Cardinals last week and the Bengals were embarrassed by the Browns, but at least the Bengals offense played well… right? This is going to be another tough game for Cincinnati against the Seahawks in Seattle, but I think they should be able to get the job done. | | |
 Jaguars(2-1) |  Broncos(2-1) | Nice to see the Jaguars finally beat a team that they should beat last week in Atlanta, but they only scored 13 points. They’ll need to do better than that to beat the Broncos, especially in Denver, and I don’t really see that happening. | | |
 Panthers(2-1) |  Falcons(0-3) | The Falcons this week signed 47-year-old kicker Morten Anderson and ex-Jags QB Byron Leftwich. Their old kicker has already been shown the door and it looks like the Harrington era in Atlanta is about to come to a close as well. The Panthers need some consistency and should be able to start building that this week. | | |
 Giants(1-2) |  Redskins(2-1) | This is a tough game to pick. The Redskins have looked really good on defense so far this season, but it’s been against 2 teams whose offenses haven’t been great (the Eagles and Dolphins). On offense, Jason Campbell is starting to look comfortable in the starting QB role and they seem to be doing just enough to win. The Giants look like they’re lacking any shred of team chemistry right now and I think until they get that problem figured out, it’s going to be a very tough season. This one could go either way, so it’s a toss-up. | | |
 Cowboys(3-0) |  Bears(1-2) | So far Dallas has looked pretty dominant on offense but they’ve played against 2 very average (or agruably below average) teams. This week will be their first real test of the 2007 season and I’ll be watching for 2 things. Terrell Owens usually performs well on the national stage, as did Tony Romo last season except for that one botched snap that ended their chances in the playoffs. I think the Cowboys might be able to take this one away from the Bears (whose offense has struggled) and that TE Jason Witten will have a big game with Chicago focusing a lot of attention on T.O. | | |
 Titans(2-1) |  Saints(0-3) | After suffering a tough loss to the Colts on opening night, the Saints had 9 full days to prepare for the Buccaneers and then proceeded to get blown out. I don’t know if I’m totally ready to give up on the Saints, but I’m really close. On the flip side of that coin, the Titans are a team that has impressed me so far this season and I think they could possibly pull out this victory… for some reason, my gut tells me they will. | | |
So there you have them, my fearless somewhat hesitant predictions for week 3. So far, I’m fairing pretty well when compared to the Expert Picks at ESPN, but I’d like to separate myself a little bit more this week. We’ll see what happens though, because as I said before, this week looks a little crazy.
Update: 11-5 this week to bring my total up to 33-15. I’m so glad I got that Chargers/Packers pick wrong, it’s nice to see the Pack get off to such a good start this season and I’m really hoping they can continue with their momentum… also, shout outs to Favre for tying Marino’s TD record! All in all, not a bad week. Check back Tuesday for week 4.
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Comments
1. Brad - September 19, 2007, 3:18 AM
I’ve always liked you’re picks, you’ve been both reasonable and dedicated in you’re picks. As a packer fan, I’ve gotta put forth a statement on this week.
Packers Chargers week 3. This will be the game of the week in my opinion.
Chargers have started playing some good teams, but all in all, their offense has started out pretty poorly. Their defense was proven to be average, but not super against the patriots. You can argue that the patriots have a superb offense, but if they had a great defense, they’d be able to control(not stop) a superb offense and they just did not do that even after a win. Their emotions are going to be mixed in this game and that will be a player in the game.
However, the pack are coming off a pretty triumphant win. Their first half wasn’t superb offensive wise, but that second half made me think i was watching an early 90’s Brett Farve. He’s like a tiger sensing his end, he’s going to be bloody fierce this year. We have our RB coming back in, hopefully our other starting WR coming in off of Injured reserve, and we’re going to have even more offensive power this week. Our defense shut down the good eagles offense who came into the game strong and left hurting and confused.
This year is a statement year for the pack. Coming off the past two years poorly in the beginning and finally pulling together at the end of last year, It’s going to continue through this year with a great feeling of a 2-0 start. Paperwise, sure Chargers look to be the winners, but when you put in everything that actually matters, You’re looking at a great game.
We’re not going to completely stop LT, but we’ll contain him. I predict two good breakaway’s by LT leading to a redzone appearance, but they’ll end in Field Goals. A few great passes by a team that’s trying to put together a passing crew, will result in what I think to be between 15-21 points by the Chargers in the end, However Favre will either come out strong in the first or will start Smiling in the second Quarter and Half and get at least 3 TD passes. Leading to a close Victory in Green Bays First True Test of the 07/08 season.
2. Ryan - September 20, 2007, 11:20 AM
I’m picking the Pack as my upset of the week. They shouldn’t win, but they can. Reason being, their defense. You can argue that the Pats defense is performing great and on of the best so far this year (and although I know last year is last year) if you look back just two more games into last season, the packers have the number one defense across the board, in all categories that matter. That defense hasn’t changed even if the years have. If the bears and pats can hold LT to such disappointing numbers, the Packers can too.
I’m gonna take the Saints as well. I think event though they are facing a tough Titans squad, they finally figure out how to win.
Raiders to beat the browns. I think the Browns season will be full of ups, downs and zero consistency. I full expect them to put up another 50 points two or three weeks from now.
I am going to go out on a limb with two games now. Lions over the Eagles. I think I suffer from the same condition you expressed about the Raiders, with the Eagles. And the Texans over the Colts, for no real good reason other then my gut. Something about the Texans makes me feel all fuzzy inside this year.
I guess I am picking a lot of upsets this week. Considering how last week went, I think I am justified.
3. Thomas - September 21, 2007, 9:09 PM
I’ve just started getting back to reading different blogs, and really enjoy the break of web-related-stuff to reading these NFL predictions … really nice to see that my ‘Boys are your game of the week!
Hey, are you going to switch the old NFL logo you have on these posts to the new?
4. Jonathan Eckmier - September 22, 2007, 10:19 AM
Brad, Ryan: The Packers could take this game against the Chargers, based on how both of these teams have done so far this season. I’d love to watch Green Bay get a win against a pretty good football team, but I just don’t really see it happening. Again, I hope it does happen, but you have to think that the Chargers offense is going to wake up sooner rather than later.
Thomas: Glad you enjoy reading my site! I’ll switch to the new NFL logo next season, as the NFL themselves haven’t actually made the switch yet, they’ve just announced the new logo. As far as I know, they’re going to start using the new logo in April at the draft, or at least, that’s what this USA Today article says.
Speaking of the new logo, I like it! I didn’t at first, but after looking at it more closely and reading about the reasoning behind it, I think it’s pretty good.
5. Rockwell - September 22, 2007, 8:37 PM
Jonathan…
It seems we are really in line this week. I’m only picking two games differently. I think the Giants and the Jaguars will come up winners.
I like the reasoning you have on all these games and even those two that I listed will likely be decided by a field goal or less. A very competitive week ahead.
And as a footnote: the NFC East looks fairly mediocre this year, except perhaps for the Cowboys.
6. Ryan - September 25, 2007, 12:16 AM
I went 10-6 again, for a total of 32-16. I’m beating seven of the nine experts.
7. Mick - September 25, 2007, 7:35 AM
Hey man…I’m 35-13 with my picks so far this year. I am so smart! I am so smart. S-M-R-T! I mean, S-M-A-R-T!