2014 NFL Week 3 Picks

Here are my picks for week three of the 2014 NFL season.

Thursday, September 18th
(0-2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs (1-1) Atlanta Falcons: This Thursday night we have division rivals facing off that both came off poor performances from the previous week. Expect Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan to have a great as well as his supporting cast behind the home field advantage they have and for them to bounce back and win. Prediction: Atlanta 30, Tampa Bay 17.

Sunday, September 21st
(1-1) San Diego Chargers vs (2-0) Buffalo Bills: This is one of the more underrated games of the early-afternoon slate considering San Diego is coming off a big win against the defending champs and Buffalo is surprisingly undefeated. This should be a great game, but expect San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers to make big plays late to lead San Diego to their second straight win. Prediction: San Diego 23, Buffalo 20.

(1-1) Washington Redskins vs (2-0) Philadelphia Eagles: Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III suffered a dislocated ankle and now enter in backup Kirk Cousins, who actually played well last week after Griffin left the game. Philadelphia is coming off a big road win in Indianapolis and expect them to keep on rolling. Prediction: Philadelphia 40, Washington 31.

(1-1) Dallas Cowboys vs (1-1) St. Louis Rams: Dallas got a nice road win in Tennessee last week while St. Louis won in Tampa Bay against a struggling Buccaneers team. Expect a close game between these two, but for Dallas quarterback Tony Romo to come up clutch. Prediction: Dallas 24, St. Louis 16.

(2-0) Houston Texans vs (0-2) New York Giants: Houston is undefeated and coming off a nice win in Oakland, but Oakland is the worst team in the league. The Giants are coming off a brutal loss against a very good Arizona team. This should be an interesting game by all means. Expect Houston defensive end JJ Waat to have a great game, but Houston to fall short because I expect quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to struggle in a hostile environment in New Jersey, in which the Giants will get their first win of the year. Prediction: NY Giants 24, Houston 20.

(1-1) Minnesota Vikings vs (0-2) New Orleans Saints: This is a very big game. New Orleans is winless and Minnesota is coming off a loss against a desperate New England team. Speaking of desperate, New Orleans must play like their desperate because they cannot afford to start their season 0-3 and this is a must win for them. Prediction: New Orleans 38, Minnesota 13.

(1-1) Tennessee Titans vs (2-0) Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati is coming off a very impressive win over Atlanta in a game which wide receiver AJ Green left with an injury. Tennessee is coming of a disappointing loss against a mediocre Dallas team. Expect Cincinnati to win with another impressive defensive performance. Prediction: Cincinnati 30, Tennessee 17.

(1-1) Baltimore Ravens vs (1-1) Cleveland Browns: This should actually be a pretty good game. Cleveland and Baltimore are both coming off impressive home wins over Pittsburgh and New Orleans respectively. I really like Cleveland in this matchup and expect their defense to come up big a few times for yet another win. Prediction: Cleveland 27, Baltimore 24.

(1-1) Green Bay Packers vs (1-1) Detroit Lions: Green Bay is coming off a come from behind win at home against the Jets and Detroit is coming off a bad loss in Carolina. Green Bay has not been impressive so far and Detroit is poised for this game and expect Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson to have a big day and for Detroit to win. Prediction: Detroit 35, Green Bay 31.

(0-2) Indianapolis Colts vs (0-2) Jacksonville Jaguars: This matchup isn't very intriguing to me. Two winless teams, which one team was not expected to start winless and the other team is just awful. Expect Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck to light it up against Jacksonville's defense just like Washington backup Kirk Cousins did last week. Prediction: Indianapolis 27, Jacksonville 14.

(0-2) Oakland Raiders vs (1-1) New England Patriots: This matchup is not very fascinating either. It's the leagues worst team versus one of the AFC's best teams. New England is coming off a bounce back win in Minnesota and Oakland is coming off a bad loss against Houston. Expect New England to win in dominant. Prediction: New England 38, Oakland 17.

(1-1) San Francisco 49ers vs (2-0) Arizona Cardinals: This is the most underrated game of the late-afternoon games. San Francisco is coming off a brutal loss in their home opener against Chicago and Arizona is coming off an impressive win in New Jersey against the Giants. Expect Arizona to win a very close game, while taking advantage of San Francisco's issues. Prediction: Arizona 27, San Francisco 23.

(2-0) Denver Broncos vs (1-1) Seattle Seahawks: It's the Super Bowl rematch between the leagues best two teams. Denver is coming off a win against a mediocre Kansas City team and Seattle is coming off a loss against a good San Diego team. Don't expect this to be a repeat of the Super Bowl, but expect the so called "twelfth man" to help Seattle to another good win over Denver. Prediction: Seattle 40, Denver 20.

(0-2) Kansas City Chiefs vs (1-1) Miami Dolphins: Miami is coming off a bad loss in Buffalo while Kansas City is coming off a loss in Denver, in which they played pretty well. Expect Kansas City to get a nice road win against a mediocre and overrated Miami team. Prediction: Kansas City 23, Miami 17.

(1-1) Pittsburgh Steelers vs (2-0) Carolina Panthers: Carolina has surprised some folks by starting 2-0 because almost everyone, including myself thought Carolina was bound for regression. Pittsburgh had one dominant half two weeks ago against Cleveland, but have struggled ever since. Expect Carolina's defense to step up and keep this fast start going. Prediction: Carolina 33, Pittsburgh 27.

(1-1) Chicago Bears vs (1-1) New York Jets: Chicago is coming off an impressive come from behind win in San Francisco and the Jets are coming off a loss in Green Bay in which Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and defensive end Sheldon Richardson called an ill advised time out that cost them the game. Expect Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler to light it up with receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery against a weak Jets secondary like Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers did last week with his receiver, Jordy Nelson. Prediction: Chicago 30, NY Jets 21.