Heading into week 3 of the NFL season, the “personalities” of various teams are starting to take shape, which should make it easier to start predicting winners. What happens is, however, teams make lineup changes or scheme adjustments to try to plug holes and cover weaknesses, some of which work and some of which don’t. I’ve had pretty good success so far in the opening 2 weeks, with 12 winners picked out of last week’s 16 games. That brings my season record to 22-10, and here are my choices for week three:
New England at Buffalo – the Bills have played great football so far this year, at least offensively. Their defense is still a work in progress, however, and the Pats have owned them, with 15 straight wins in the series. Buffalo will score points, as New England’s secondary has holes, but Tom Brady will make enough plays to pull out a win for his team. The Pats have been winning these types of games for a decade, the Bills are still learning how to do it.
Jacksonville at Carolina – Blaine Gabbert takes over as the Jags’ QB this week, making this an intriguing matchup of rookie first round draft choice signal callers. Gabbert will need time to adjust to his new role, while Cam Newton, who has been lighting it up for 2 weeks, is hungry to get his team a win rather than put up numbers, so I expect a Panther win at home.
San Francisco at Cincinnati – both of these teams are pretenders, although both have been playing hard this year. I’m not a fan of Niner QB Alex Smith, and I expect the Bengal defense to make his life miserable. Cinci wins at home.
Miami at Cleveland – big win for the Browns over the Peyton-less Colts last week, while the Dolphins remain winless. I think the Browns pull out a close win at home, although I think this game could go either way. I have a feeling Miami coach Tony Sparano is starting to lose control of his team, and his “I have no answers” statement after last week’s loss won’t help him.
Detroit at Minnesota – the Vikings lost a heartbreaker to Tampa last week, and will be highly motivated to right the ship at home, but the Lions are starting to look like they’re for real and more importantly, are beginning to believe they can win. Detroit stays unbeaten with a big division road win.
Houston at New Orleans – the Texans are defying the critics and showing that they might be ready to dethrone the Colts in their division, and this game will be a huge test for the team’s rebuilt secondary, coordinated by Wade Phillips. The Saints’ firepower, coupled with their dome home field advantage, will give New Orleans the win.
New York Giants at Philadelphia – division games are difficult to predict, and the Giants lately have dominated play against Philly, only to blow games by giving up big plays at the worst time. I’ll pick the motivated Giants to win here, regardless of who winds up quarterbacking the Eagles.
Denver at Tennessee – nobody saw the Titans’ upset win over Baltimore coming last week, and I have to take back my comment that Tennessee is in for a long losing season. It’s amazing how Matt Hasselbeck has taken control of his new team this quickly, and if RB Chris Johnson ever gets going these guys will be dangerous. I’ll go with the Titans at home.
New York Jets at Oakland – this game should be a good one, and the Jets will need their defense to be at its’ best to get a win in the “Black Hole”. They will rise to the occasion and stay unbeaten with a big early season win here.
Kansas City at San Diego – it’s pitiful how the Chiefs have had such a negative turnaround from 2010, and now besides looking unprepared and listless, season-ending injuries are mounting for them. San Diego, smarting from a loss at New England, wins easily at home.
Baltimore at St. Louis – tough schedule for the young Rams to start off 2011, and now they have to face an angry Ravens team raring to get rid of the stink of being upset by the Titans. Baltimore is the better team and will win this game.
Green Bay at Chicago – replay of last year’s NFC Championship game, which Green Bay won to get to the Super Bowl. The Packers’ defense has been surprisingly vulnerable so far this year, but they’re still unbeaten and will stay that way with another big win at Soldier Field.
Arizona at Seattle – I don’t trust either of these teams to pick a winner, but I’ll go with the home team and pick the Seahawks to get their first win of 2011.
Atlanta at Tampa Bay – the Bucs’ big comeback win over the Vikings may have saved their season, and I believe they will carry that momentum into this game and upset the Falcons in a big NFC South matchup.
Pittsburgh at Indianapolis – this would have been a classic matchup, but with Peyton Manning hurt the Steelers will have little trouble winning as their defense will dominate the game.
Washington at Dallas – one of the NFL’s most fierce traditional rivalries, dating back to some classic matchups between coaches Tom Landry and George Allen. The ‘Skins are 2-0 and Dallas QB Tony Romo will probably be playing wearing a flak jacket to protect a rib / punctured lung injury, which makes Washington a popular pick to win this game on Monday night. However, I’m going with the Cowboys to grab a hard-fought win on the road.