🏈 NFL 2020 Week 3 Preview 🏈

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San Francisco at NY Giants – Well, the 49ers are the better overall team, and the Giants, I think, are better than what their record has been in recent seasons, including this one (they are currently 0-2). But both teams suffered serious losses due to injuries, and are not at full strength. That could be an equalizer, albeit an unfortunate one. If the Giants are capable of pulling off this upset, it just might be when San Francisco is not at full strength, like they are not now. Despite having lost their first couple of games, the G-Men have not exactly played poorly. They were competitive against both the Steelers and the Bears, and should be capable of putting on a good performance again. Then again, however, the 49ers are a very talented team themselves. Yes, they have injuries, but they are still probably overall a better team, and that seems to me to be the reason it would be hard to predict against them. As a Giants fan, I hope that Big Blue can pull this one off. As a realist, however, trying to make predictions, I figure the Niners should take it. My prediction: San Francisco  

Chicago at Atlanta – The bad luck and bad vibes keep hitting this Atlanta Falcons team sees them heading back home to Atlanta, but to face the Chicago Bears, who are off to a hot start, having earned two solid wins. The Bears have a tough defense, and a potentially explosive offense, and the Falcons, who are a very talented team in fact, will have a difficult time winning. They could do it, because again, the talent definitely is there. But everything is going wrong for them right now. The Cowboys effectively handed them opportunity after opportunity, and to their credit, the Falcons were able to take a 20 point lead. But then, another collapse, one that may haunt this team, because it was so eerily reminiscent to the much bigger, and much more infamous, collapse in the Super Bowl. That is very hard to recover from, as is an 0-2 start to the season. Now, Atlanta has both, and they are again facing a quality team. Very tough. Either the Falcons pull together and rally to win, or they make tons of mistakes and find themselves losing yet again, and their season basically come to a de facto premature end of the season after only the third game. It could go either way, but in the end, momentum goes far, and the Bears have the better momentum. That should be enough for this game. My pick: Chicago  

Washington at Cleveland – Washington had an impressive, come from behind win against the Eagles to open the new season, but they suffered a loss in Arizona to follow that up last weekend. This week, they visit Cleveland, who recovered from a blowout loss against the Ravens to start the season with a solid win in a shootout against the Bengals last weekend. I predicted that the Browns would be a solid team, with a chance at least of reaching the playoffs. This may or may not happen. However, the Browns offense was really clicking last weekend, with Baker Mayfield finally showing the kinds of fireworks which we expected from him for years now. He enjoyed a banner day, and it seems that they should be able to take advantage of Washington in this game to follow up. The Browns are in a tough division, with the Ravens and the Steelers. Absolutely brutal. So they will need to win every winnable game on their schedule, and they know it. This one is within their reach, and it should be a victory for the Browns. My pick: Cleveland


Cincinnati at Philadelphia - Two 0-2 teams from different conferences square off in this game. The Bengals have played a bit better than I expected them to, despite their 0-2 mark on the season. But the Eagles figured to be a serious playoff contending team this season, and so this 0-2 start to the year has been very disappointing. However, they should be the better team in this game, and surely are feeling the pressure to win their first game of the season. This is their best chance so far this season, and I figure that they really should be able to get things going enough on both offense and defense to win this one fairly comfortably and convincingly. My pick: Philadelphia

Tennessee at Minnesota – These two teams have had polar opposite beginnings to their seasons thus far. While both teams are coming off strong seasons where they looked impressive in the playoffs last year, they have gone in different directions to this point in the young season. The Titans look like they picked up where they left off, with two impressive divisional wins, while the Vikings have dropped both of their first two games, and bore little resemblance to the legitimate contender of a team that they appeared to be last season. However, I am going to take a chance with this game, an upset special if you will, and predict that the Vikings, feeling an urgency to finally win and get some kind of handle on a season that surely feels like it is slipping away, will hand the unbeaten Titans their first loss of the season. With two 2-0 teams in their own division (and with the Vikings having already lost to both of them), they already have little margin for error, if they want to stay in the playoff race, let alone the division race. My pick: Minnesota


Las Vegas at New England - A big game for both teams here. The Raiders are 2-0, and would love to beat the Patriots in the tough road environment of Foxboro. It is not November or December, so inhospitable weather should not be a decisive factor against them. Las Vegas has looked very good thus far, producing two solid wins at Carolina, and then a big win against the Saints on Monday night last week. But they have to go on the road and face a New England team that is not seemingly as bad as many people had projected them to be. Perhaps many people were hoping that they would not be too good, and so far, maybe this was just wishful thinking, because the Pats still look pretty decent. They convincingly knocked off the Fins in week one, and then barely lost in Seattle last Sunday night. Foxboro is still likely not an easy place for road teams to play, and Belichick is still coaching. That is why I have to go with the home team for this one. My pick: New England


Houston at Pittsburgh - The Texans are not having an easy go of it to start the year. They had to go to Kansas City to open up this season, and not surprisingly, they lost. Then, they lost to the Ravens, which also was not surprising. Possibly the two best teams in the league just to open up the season? The good news is that it likely cannot get tougher. But the bad news is that playing in Pittsburgh is not particularly easy, either. The Steelers might not have the explosive offense that they did some years ago now, and this is not the Steel Curtain defense. Yet, they are undefeated for a reason, and it is because they are a good, solid team, and hard to beat. That is especially true in the Steel City, and it feels like this will be too tough of a test for the Texans, who are still looking for their first win of the season. My pick: Pittsburgh

LA Rams at Buffalo – Another big game this week between two undefeated teams. Yet, they are in different conferences, and neither is overly familiar with the other. The Rams have surprised many people with a hot start, beating up on two NFC East teams, the Cowboys and the Eagles. But Buffalo should easily be their toughest test to date, and they have to travel all across the country to play this game. Not easy. And the Bills have a tough defense, while they also appear to have an explosive offense. My suspicion is that this should be enough for the Bills to take advantage of playing this on their home field, and get a win. My pick: Buffalo  Houston at Pittsburgh –  Cincinnati at Philadelphia -              

NY Jets at Indianapolis – Wow. The Jets are obviously struggling, with an 0-2 record. They were beaten convincingly in Buffalo, and got blown out at home against San Francisco. Now, they go to Indianapolis, and it will be a tough test. Frankly, too tough. The Colts lost in week one to Jax, and that probably woke them up. They won last weekend, beating the Vikings, who feel like a better, more solid team than the Jets. This does not bode well for Gang Green, who obviously want to avoid that 0-3 start. But this is too tough, and I just cannot see any reason or compelling evidence for why this would be the game when the Jets suddenly right the ship and get their season going. The Colts are a decent team, and they were my pick to win the AFC South. Not sure if the Titans are as good as they appear at the moment, but I still feel the Colts are legitimate playoff contenders, and they will show why on Sunday against a much weaker Jets team that feels on the edge of the abyss (yet again). Everything feels like it is falling apart for the Jets right now, and it is just hard to see how they could manage to beat the Colts in this one. My pick: Indy  

Detroit at Arizona – Wow. Like with the Giants and Jets and Dolphins and Falcons, the bad luck just keeps piling up on the Lions. They appear to have some talent, and capable of winning games. But man, they also just keep finding new ways to lose. And after an 0-2 start, they now head west to Arizona, to take on a young and fired up Cardinals team that looks red hot at the moment. It is not impossible that Detroit comes out fired up and gives themselves a chance. Indeed, they took sizable leads against both Chicago and Green Bay in their first two games. But the Cardinals appear to have a ton of positive momentum, while the Lions have lost 11 straight games dating back to last season. Sure, on any given Sunday, anything can happen. It would not precisely be shocking for the Lions to pull off a win here, because again, there is some talent there. Yet, I just cannot bring myself to think that them winning is that realistic, because it just feels like their season is already in free fall. My pick: Arizona 

Carolina at LA Chargers – The Chargers earned a win on the first weekend, and then played the defending champs tough last week, albeit in an ultimately losing cause. They look good, and want to earn their first win on their new home field. In come the Carolina Panthers, who are 0-2, and look like one of the teams destined to struggle and endure a long season this year. Perhaps the Panthers may find a way to win this one, but the Chargers just feel like the better team, and enjoying home field advantage, this should be a win. My pick: LA Chargers  

Tampa Bay at Denver – Tom Brady and the Bucs head off to the Mile High City, where the Broncos, despite a rough 0-2 start, feel good about the direction the club is going in. Yes, they have lost both of their opening games thus far, but they played two fairly elite teams, and played both of them well. Now, they host the Buccaneers, an unproven team that figures to stretch the Denver defense a bit in this one. This is a tough game to call, and it could go either way. It will not be a shock no matter who wins. But in the end, Tom Brady always seems to struggle in Denver, and my guess is that this game will prove a bit too tough for Tampa Bay, as the Broncos notch their first win of the young season. My pick: Denver  

Dallas at Seattle – The Cowboys just pulled off a huge win. If they enjoy a championship season, they might go back to that comeback win against the Falcons as the moment when their season took off. Then again, the Seahawks are red hot as well, and earned a very exciting win against a tough opponent in the New England Patriots. So, that makes this game very intriguing, perhaps second only to the Chiefs and Ravens on Monday Night in terms of excitement and anticipation, although there is also the game between the Packers and the Saints. But the question is whether the Cowboys can follow up that spectacular win against the Falcons and win in a very tough road environment in Seattle. If the ‘Boys seriously want a championship season, they probably would need to prove themselves in tough games like this. Yet, I expect that the Seahawks, with a tough defense, a ton of momentum, and home field advantage, should manage another win to stay unbeaten. My pick: Seattle  

Sunday Night Football: Green Bay at New Orleans – Yet another huge game with likely big playoff ramifications somewhere down the line. Most people expect these teams to be serious playoff contenders, if not title contenders. Last year, these teams did not meet, and the Packers won the tiebreaker when they both finished the season with identical 13-3 marks, earning the second seed. So far, Green Bay has the most explosive offense in the league after two games, and you would have to figure that there will be plenty of scoring by both teams in this game, which will likely be a shootout. The Saints just lost a tough game last weekend, and will feel an urgency to rebound with a win, which I expect them to do, by just edging out the Packers, probably securing the victory late in the fourth quarter. My pick: New Orleans  

Monday Night Football: Kansas City at Baltimore – Now, this is the game of the week, at least heading in. These figured to be two of the colossal teams in the league this year, and so far, they have lived up to their billing. They were the top two teams in the AFC in last year’s regular season, and figure to be among the elites and legitimate title contenders this season, as well. The Chiefs not only won the Super Bowl last season, but indeed have won 11 straight games, dating back to midseason last year, including their magical postseason run. Meanwhile, the Ravens have looked just absolutely phenomenal, playing lights out football. They have blown out both of their first two opponents thus far, and have won now fourteen straight regular season games, dating back to last season (they lost the playoff game that they played), and once again, appear to be blowing out their opponents this season, much as they did last season. The Chiefs have their famous explosive offense, led by the still young Patrick Mahomes, who looks like one of the all time greats. Their defense also seems to have stepped up quite a bit, and Andy Reid is obviously an excellent coach. The Ravens have a solid defense, and an explosive offense with probably the best running game in the league, and a young quarterback who can kill opponents with either his arm or his legs. These two teams are playing each other seemingly at the height of their powers, which makes this an enormous game, perhaps one of the most highly anticipated Monday Night Football games in a very long time. These were the top two seeds in last year’s AFC playoffs, so even though this is only Week 3, it is not impossible that this may have some serious impact on who gets home field advantage this season. I expect an explosive game with a lot of offensive highlights for both teams, and one that goes down to the fourth quarter. As for predictions? Well,  home field should help the Ravens, although how much? The crowd will be non-existent, and the artificial fan noise is not necessarily going to be enough. Still, I like the Ravens to likely pull this one off. It could go either way, and the absence of a major crowd in Baltimore might negate some of the home field advantage that they would normally have. Man, this game is exciting, as they are both still unbeaten and looking great. Yet in the end, I expect the Ravens to edge the Chiefs at the end of the game. My pick: Baltimore