NFL Week 3 Odds and Predictions: Best Picks Against the Spread
Any teams at 0-2 entering Week 3 probably can forget about winning the Super Bowl because only three clubs to start out losing their first two games have done so: 1993 Dallas Cowboys, 2001 New England Patriots and 2007 New York Giants. Here’s a quick look at all Week 3 games with NFL odds, played Sunday unless noted.
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills, Thursday
Including playoffs, Buffalo has won six straight in this series. If the Bills make it seven on Thursday and do so in embarrassing fashion, the first NFL coach fired this year may well be Miami’s Mike McDaniel as soon as Friday. His seat is scorching hot with the Dolphins at 0-2 after Sunday’s home loss to New England. A handful of starters were out injured, and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu left with a calf issue and is not expected Thursday. Buffalo avoided any letdown game Sunday with a 30-10 blowout win at the Jets. The Bills had more rushing yards (224) than the Jets had total yards (154) to improve to 9-1 in their past 10 AFC East games.
Pick ATS: Miami
Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns
The Packers look like the NFC’s best team so far with easy home wins over 2024 playoff teams Washington and Detroit, but let’s see how they look in their first road game. Green Bay’s defence led by new addition Micah Parsons has allowed under 250 total yards in each of the first two games of a season for the first time since 1995. Cleveland is predictably 0-2 because it doesn’t have a quarterback. Coach Kevin Stefanski says he’s not ready to bench 40-year-old Joe Flacco yet, but it’s a matter of time before rookie Dillon Gabriel gets his shot. The Browns’ defence has been playing great.
Pick ATS: Cleveland
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans
Indianapolis has won four in a row in the series, but all decided by one score. The Colts are a surprise 2-0 team after upsetting Denver on Sunday. Daniel Jones was a controversial choice as the starting QB, but he has been great and Indy has become the first team in the Super Bowl era with zero punts in each of its first two games of a season. The Titans are a bad team and are going to get rookie No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward hurt if they don’t protect better as Ward was sacked five more times in Sunday’s 33-19 loss to the Rams in his home debut.
Pick ATS: Tennessee
Cincinnati Bengals at Minnesota Vikings
Neither starting quarterback will be available. Cincinnati has lost superstar Joe Burrow for at least three months. He suffered a toe injury in Sunday’s comeback win over Jacksonville that will require surgery. Devastating news for the Bengals. Former undrafted free agent Jake Browning led the rally vs. the Jaguars and takes over. He is 4-3 career as a starter in the league, all in 2023 when Burrow was out with another injury. J.J. McCarthy missed his entire rookie season for Minnesota injured and is 1-1 this year but injured his ankle in the Sunday night loss to Atlanta and is out at least Week 3. Carson Wentz will start.
Pick ATS: Minnesota
Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
Aaron Rodgers’ home debut in a Pittsburgh Steelers’ uniform didn’t go as planned as he lost 31-17 to Seattle on Sunday, although most of the blame should go to rookie tailback Kaleb Johnson. He forgot one part of the NFL’s kickoff rule that led directly to what would prove to be the game-winning Seattle touchdown. Down three starters on defence already, linebacker Alex Highsmith left and is in doubt this week. New England got Mike Vrabel his first win as head coach of the franchise with a 33-27 comeback victory in Miami. That ended a 46-game drought without scoring at least 30 points for the Pats, tied for the NFL’s second longest this century.
Pick ATS: New England
Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles
The closest the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles came to losing in last season’s playoffs was a 28-22 home win over the Rams in the snow in the Divisional Round. L.A. had the ball late inside the Philly 20 with a chance to win but couldn’t convert. The Rams easily won in Nashville on Sunday to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2021. The Eagles won in Kansas City in a Super Bowl rematch to improve to 2-0. They are 16-0 in the last 16 games that QB Jalen Hurts has started and finished.
Pick ATS: Philadelphia (alt -3)
New York Jets at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Will Jets QB Justin Fields play? He was injured early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 30-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills and is in the concussion protocol. It was Fields’ first documented concussion in the NFL. Usually, landing in the protocol costs a quarterback one game. Veteran Tyrod Taylor would start if Fields can’t. Taylor, 36, has 58 career starts, but he hasn’t started a game since 2023. It’s a short week for Tampa Bay after visiting Houston on Monday night.
Pick ATS: Tampa Bay
Las Vegas Raiders at Washington Commanders
Will Commanders star QB Jayden Daniels play? The reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year sprained his left knee in the Thursday night Week 2 loss in Green Bay, but there is no major damage. Another former Heisman winner, Marcus Mariota, would start in place of Daniels, facing one of his former teams. No. 1 Commanders tailback Austin Ekeler suffered a season-ending torn Achilles’ tendon in Week 2. It’s a short week for Las Vegas after hosing the Chargers on Monday in Week 2.
Pick ATS: TBA on Daniels
Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
These NFC South rivals split in 2024, each winning on the road. Atlanta impressively won at Minnesota on Sunday night in Week 2, 22-6. The team’s rookie defenders dominated: Both third-round pick Xavier Watts and fourth-round pick Billy Bowman Jr. had interceptions vs. the Vikings. First-rounders Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. each had at least half a sack. Carolina fell way down at Arizona on Sunday and made it respectable late, 27-22. QB Bryce Young had two more turnovers. This will be the Panthers’ home opener.
Pick ATS: Carolina
Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars
Houston swept the 2024 season series but only by a combined seven points. The Texans are on a short week after hosting the Bucs on Monday night to close Week 2. Jacksonville had every chance to be 2-0 but blew a late lead Sunday in Cincinnati in a 31-27 loss. First-year Jags coach Liam Coen was a bit too aggressive as he chose to go for it on fourth-and-5 from the Cincinnati 7-yard line with less than four minutes remaining with a three-point lead. The Jaguars didn’t convert, and the Bengals drove 92 yards and scored the winning TD.
Pick ATS: Jacksonville
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers swept the Broncos last season, winning each by a TD. This will be the home opener for Los Angeles but on a short week after visiting Las Vegas on Monday to conclude Week 2. Denver had 2-0 in its grasp but blew a late lead Sunday in Indianapolis and lost 29-28 thanks in large part to a personal foul penalty in the final seconds. Broncos star cornerback and 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II tweaked an ankle but said he wasn’t worried about it.
Pick ATS: Los Angeles
New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks
The Saints were expected to be terrible, and they have been at 0-2 and averaging only 17.0 PPG. But they also have been pretty competitive overall, albeit both at home thus far. In each game, they had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final minutes. QB Spencer Rattler is now 0-8 career as an NFL starter. Seattle was an upset winner in Pittsburgh on Sunday with the defence holding Steelers to 267 yards despite a secondary that was missing Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon and rookie safety Nick Emmanwori due to injuries.
Pick ATS: Seattle (alt -6.5)
Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears
Dallas is very fortunate to not be 0-2 as stellar kicker Brandon Aubrey made a 64-yard field goal at the end of regulation Sunday to force overtime (longest field goal ever to force OT) against the New York Giants and then won it on a 46-yard kick in OT for the first victory in Brian Schottenheimer’s career as a head coach. It has not gone well for first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson thus far as his team is 0-2 and was completely outclassed Sunday in Detroit, 52-21. Those were the fifth-most points the Bears have ever allowed. They are 1-12 in their past 13 games overall.
Pick ATS: Chicago
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
Arizona had lost four straight in the series before sweeping in 2024. Many around the NFL thought the Cardinals would be much improved this year, and they are 2-0 but also have played maybe the NFC’s two worst teams in the Saints and Panthers. Cornerbacks Max Melton and Garrett Williams both left Sunday’s win over Carolina injured. The Niners played without QB Brock Purdy and Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle on Sunday but escaped at New Orleans, 26-21. Mac Jones threw three TD passes in a rare start. Neither Purdy nor Kittle is expected back for the home opener.
Pick ATS: San Francisco
Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants
Sunday night game. Patrick Mahomes is already a first-ball Hall of Famer for the Chiefs but is on the first three-game losing streak of his NFL career including playoffs. The offence just doesn’t look right without wideouts Rashee Rice (suspended) and Xavier Worthy (injured). It’s possible Worthy is back this week. The Chiefs are 0-2 in one-score games this season after winning an NFL-record 17 straight such games previously. The Giants stuck with veteran QB Russell Wilson in Week 2, and he had one of the great games in franchise history with 450 yards and three scores Sunday but New York lost 40-37 in OT at Dallas. That at least should allow Wilson to keep the starting job for one more week as New York’s 37 points were its most in a loss in 10 years.
Pick ATS: New York
Detroit Lions at Baltimore Ravens, Monday
Lot of people predicted this as this season’s Super Bowl matchup in the spring. Could definitely be the case as both bounced back easily in Week 2 off bad Week 1 losses. Detroit slaughtered Chicago 52-21 on Sunday, the second-most points scored in franchise history. Jared Goff threw for 334 yards and five scores. It was the Lions’ 11th straight win after a loss. Baltimore completely choked away a Week 1 game in Buffalo but took out its frustrations Sunday on Cleveland, 41-17. The Ravens are the 13th team in NFL history with at least 40 points in each of its first two games, but the only one that didn’t start 2-0. The only negative was that Baltimore’s streak of 18 straight games outrushing its opponent was snapped. That was a modern-day NFL mark.
Pick ATS: Baltimore
