Something is wrong with Green Bay's offense as they barely managed to pull out a win in OT against the Bengals. The Packer's will be without their top 4 offensive tackles. I expect Green Bay to win because Mike Glennon is a below average quarterback but the Bears running game of Howard and Cohen gives Chicago a chance to keep it within a touchdown.
The Colts defense looked much better against the Cardinals. DeShone Kizer may be a better test than Carson Palmer, although the rookie quarterback threw 3 interceptions against the Ravens
NY Giants @ Philadelphia (-6) - Philadelphia lost to the Chiefs in week 2 but should have an easier time containing the New York Giants who have failed to score 20 points or more in their last 8 games. For the Eagles, entering week 3, Zach Ertz had 190 yards which is the 3rd in the NFL, 1st among tight ends, and 11 1st downs, tied for first in the NFL.
Denver (-2) @ Buffalo- Denver looks like a solid team win a blowout win. Buffalo's offense seems a bit of a mess although they do have a formidable defense, right now #2 in total defense after two weeks.
New Orleans @ Carolina (-5.5) - The Saints could make things interesting and perhaps upset Carolina. At the moment they have the #32 ranked defense, then again playing the Patriots has not helped. Still, I have Carolina winning at home given that the Saints have struggled on the road and the Saints are still without their top wideout Willie Snead.
Pittsburgh (-7) @ Chicago-
Ben Roethlisberger has thrown a TD in 45 straight home games. Only Drew Brees (60), Tom Brady (47) have longer such streaks.
The Steelers did struggle to put the Browns away on the road but the Steelers seemed to find their groove against the Vikings. Atlanta (-3) @ Detroit - Atlanta has a better running game which is why I give Atlanta the advantage.
Tampa Bay (-1.5) @ Minnesota-
#Vikings QB Sam Bradford is believed to have a bone bruise, source said. They'll see how his knee responds to an injection and go from there
While Minnesota is clearly a better team at home, the Bucs were nonetheless impressive against the Bears.
Houston @ New England (-13) - The Patriots should take care of business here after finding their rhythm . The Texans did put a scare into New England last postseason although I suspect the Patriots offense will have more success against Houston's defense than the Bengals.
Seattle(+2.5) @ Tennessee-
Seahawks this season
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TOUCHDOWN (FINALLY)
Perhaps playing a division rival hurt the Seahawks but they do seem vulnerable to a loss against the Titans. That being said, their defense has been very impressive and Russell Wilson seems to come through in close games in the end.
Cincinnati @ Green Bay (-7) - Look for the Packers to rebound here at home after a big loss to the Falcons. The Bengals offense seems to be in disarray as they have failed to score a touchdown this season.
Good news for #Packers star DL Mike Daniels after his MRI: Minor hamstring injury, source said.
Kansas City (-3) @ San Diego- While San Diego could easily be 2-0, the Chiefs have been impressive on the road including a blowout win in week 1 against New England
Alex Smith's passing chart
through 2 weeks
Oakland (-3) @ Washington - Washington arguably be the toughest opponent that the Raiders have faced all season. However, the Raiders have a great passing game (Crabtree had 2 receiving TDs last week) and a decent goal line offense with Marshawn Lynch.
It remains unclear if Washington will continue to run the ball like they did in week 2 against the Rams.
Dallas (-3) @ Arizona- People are questioning Elliot's effort in their loss to the Broncos asZeke finished the game with .9 yards per carry. That being said, the Cardinals barely put away a struggling Colts team and Carson Palmer who is nearing 40 looks and Arizona's offense looks vulnerable without David Johnson
While the 49ers did a good job slowing down the Panthers and the Seahawks, the Rams on paper have a better offense that both teams especially given Newton's accuracy issues and Seattle's lack of protection on the offensive line. LA showed a lot of resilience battling back from a 13-0 deficit against Washington. Jared Goff inability to lead an offense during he 2 minute drill is concerning although the Rams defense should have an easier task containing San Francisco's offense, which is currently ranked 32nd.
which is a rematch of last season's conference championship.
Buffalo (+7.5) @ Carolina- The Bills may be winning the AFC East at the moment but the Panthers look to take care of business at home. That being said, expect a relatively low scoring game. Tyrod Taylor did outperform Cam Newton in the first game of the season and Buffalo has a solid run defense.
Chicago @ Tampa Bay (-7) - The Bears did manage to hold the Falcons to 2.8 yards per carry and Jordan Howard looks like he will play according to Adam Schefter. Still, the Tampa Bay's deep threats including Evans and Jackson give the Bucs a decent enough chance to take care of business against Chicago
Cleveland @ Baltimore (-7.5) - The Ravens shut down the Bengals last week while the Browns played surprisingly well at home against the Steelers. The Ravens have some game tape on Deshone Kizer and look to keep an undefeated record as Cleveland could struggle on the road.
Minnesota (+7.5) @ Pittsburgh- The Steelers should come away with a win as Big Ben is a better quarterback at home. That being said, the Vikings looked impressive containing New Orleans. Minnesota's rookie running back Dalvin Cook rushed for over 100 yards and Stephon Diggs was impressive while catching two touchdowns against the Saints.
New England (-7) @ New Orleans - New Orleans appears to be missing a gear without a couple of their top wideouts from 2016 including Willie Snead (suspended up until week 4) and Brandin Cooks, who they traded to the Patriots. New England looks to rebound against New Orleans after giving up 42 points to the Chiefs. New Orleans was only 4-4 at home last year and their defense appears shaky after their Monday night performance against the Vikings.
Philadelphia @ Kansas City (-6.5) - The Chiefs and Andy Reid look to get revenge. Their short passing game could divert Philadelphia's pressure. The Eagles will be without Ronald Darby although the Chiefs will be without Eric Berry. That being said, the Chiefs were impressive against the Patriots in week 1. The Eagles are unlikely to generate 14 points from their defense on the road like they did against Washington.
Tennessee @ Jacksonville (+1) - The Jaguars looked impressive against Houston and they have beaten the Titans the past three seasons. Jaguar's rookie running back Leonard Fournette has been running over people like he did in college.
Arizona (-7) @ Indianapolis-
Colts already have ruled out Andrew Luck for Sunday's game against Arizona. He doesn't sound close to playing anytime soon.
Without Andrew Luck, the Cardinals appear to be a mess. David Johnson likely out 12 weeks. Bruce Arians returns to coach against his former who he once helped take to the playoffs in 2012.
NY Jets @ Oakland (-13.5)-
The #Raiders' interior DL forced 11 total pressures against TEN as a unit (on pace for 176).
Oakland looks to keep winning especially against inferior teams. The Jets could be better served in playing Powell more who was second in the NFL last season at 5.51 yards per carry Although Powell only had 7 carries for 22 yards last week against the Bills.
Miami @ Los Angeles Chargers (-3.5) - The Dolphins are coming off a bye while Los Angeles did alright for themselves in a close loss to the Broncos. For now the Chargers are slight favorites because Jay Cutler is a wild card.
Seattle's offensive looked tentative last week but should get it going against the 49ers who struggled against an inconsistent Cam Newton and San Francisco's offense could be turnover prone due to Seattle's home field advantage.
Washington @ LA Rams (-2.5) - The Redskins were a bit turnover happy and may struggle even on the road against the Rams who handily took care of the Colts. Sean McVay may devise a good strategy to slow down Kirk Cousins while Washington's defense has been watching game film of its own offense to prepare for Los Angeles.
Sammy Watkins and Cooper Kupp could spell trouble for the Redskins' secondary while Todd Gurley may finally capitalize if the Rams have a decent passing. The hype about Dotscon may have been premature as he only had 1 target in 15 snaps.
The Cowboys will have Elliott again while Dallas's defense looked impressive they went against the Giants without Beckham. As long as Dak Presscot has been good at limiting mistakes and should give the Cowboys a good chance to win this one, even though Dallas struggled in the red zone against the Giants.
Green Bay (+3) @ Atlanta- The Falcons came away with a squeaker against the Bears. I was impressed with how the Packer's defense contained Seattle's offense although Atlanta should not be taken lightly as they did manage to win in their last matchup.
Detroit (+3) @ NY Giants- With Odell Beckham's status in doubt, I am going with the Lions due to Eli Manning's poor performance against the Cowboys. The Giants have now scored less than 20 points in their last 7 weeks (friendly reminder that Washington only scored 10 points in week 17 against NY last season).
Since the start of last season, the @Lions have trailed in the 4th quarter of 16 games, tied for most in the NFL.
NY Jets (+8.5) @ Buffalo - Wide receiver Robby Anderson of the Jets could be in line for a big season. I expect Buffalo to win although it could be a low scoring game considering that they are division rivals. Josh McCown could be a slight upgrade over Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Philadelphia @ Washington (+1) - Washington is 5-1 against Philadelphia in the last 3 seasons. Washington still has Jordan Reed and signed Terelle Pryor who scored 12 touchdowns for the Browns last year. Washington should be nervous since they lost DeSean Jackson as an emotional leader especially against the Eagles. Big running backs like Blount have given Washington problems in the past.
Oakland(+3) @ Tennessee - It will be interesting to see if Carr is a 100% after a broken leg. Marshawn Lynch could give Oaklnd's run game a boost. The Titans with a solid running game and good defense should not be taken lightly.
Jacksonville @ Houston (-6.5) - The Texans may have their hands full with Leonard Fournette but Jacksonville's pass game under Blake Bortles remains shaky.
Arizona(-1.5) @ Detroit - Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick look to stay healthy this season as they only played a combined 6 quarters for the Lions last season. Still, the Lions will also have to contend with a healthy David Johnson who had over 2,000 yards from scrimmage last season.
Pittsburgh (-9) @ Cleveland - Losing Myles Garret hurts and DeShone Kizer has a big arm but could struggle in his rookie debut against Pittsburgh's 3-4 defense.
Atlanta(-6) @ Chicago - Mike Glennon is the starting quarterback for the Bears. It will be interesting to see how the Falcons recover from their Super Bowl collapse and the departure of offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
Baltimore @ Cincinnati (-3) - A close game against division rivals. While Dalton is inconsistent and the Ravens have made upgrades in their secondary, the Bengals still have superior players in receivers, running backs, and tight ends going into the season opener.
Indianapolis @ LA Rams (-3.5) - LA looks to take advantage of the absence of Andrew Luck. The Rams have upgraded their passing game by drafting rookie wideout Cooper Kupp and acquiring Sammy Watkins.
Carolina (-6) @ San Francisco - The 49ers have a new head coach and a bunch of new weapons. Still, I am not sure how the 49ers can contain Cam Newton as well as an improved running game with Christian McCaffery.
Seattle @ Green Bay (-3) - In what could be the game of the week, Aaron Rodgers looks to finally take one of these big game match-ups against Seattle. The key will be Green Bay getting something from their running game lead by Ty Montgomerry. Eddy Lacy may get a few carries as Seattle's starting running back against his former team.
NY Giants (+4) @ Dallas - Dallas should win this game but it could be close especially since the Giants somehow swept the division series last season. Ezekiel Elliot plays in this game although that has not stopped the Giants' defense from containing him before.
New Orleans (-1) @ Minnesota - While Minnesota have an interesting rookie QB, the Saint may have done enough in the offseason to improve their defense to contain Sam Bradford.
San Diego @ Denver (-3) - Denver looks to open the season with a win against the Chargers, the same way they closed the 2016 season.
The Chiefs are known to generate good pressure although
Brady has been good at avoiding hits
Kansas City was a play or two from playing the New England Patriots in the 2017 AFC Championship. However, Alex Smith failed to complete a couple of long passes which ultimately caused the Chiefs to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In this matchup, the Patriots look to take advantage of Alex Smith's weak arm while utilizing a new set of offensive weapons including former New Orleans wideout Brandin Cooks although New England has lost Julian Edelman for the season. The Chiefs wideouts look a bit worse than last season with Tyreek Hill listed as the #1. A healthy Gronkowski could make this a tough game for the Chiefs to win on the road.
