NFL Picks: Week 3

Staff picks for Week 3 are in, two days after the most epic Thursday night game of the season. Maybe of the last two seasons. Maybe forever. I like hyperbole. Anyway, my goal for the rest of the year is to share these picks on Thursday mornings. That way, if you need help figuring out if the Bears can beat the Packers at Lambeau in Week 4, we have you covered.

Week 1 results were:
Clark: 10-5 (66.7%)
Ghoji: 10-5 (66.7%)
Mark: 10-5 (66.7%)
J.E.B.: 9-6 (60%)
Pete: 8-7 (53.3%)
Matias: 8-7 (53.3%)
Heath: 8-7 (53.3%)

I told you guys I would be last. Moving on to Week 3...

To say the Patriots (-1000) are massive favorites would be an understatement. As of Saturday morning the other largest favorites were: Green Bay (-360) vs. Cincinnati, Pittsburgh (-330) at Chicago, Miami (-265) at New York Jets, Philadelphia (-265) vs. New York Giants, and Carolina (-245) vs. New Orleans. With New Orleans suffering a rash of injuries recently, I love me some Carolina this week.

Based on Week 1 results, we should probably heed the collective wisdom of Clark and Mark (new podcast title?) in a pair of games. They are the only two writers who like the Bengals to win at Green Bay and the Giants to win at Philadelphia. Clark has taken matters one step further and rolled the dice on the golden arm of Drew Brees getting the job done at Carolina. This is a tall order for Brees without the services of cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Sterling Moore, as well as tackles Terron Armstead and Zach Strief. Linebackers Stephone Anthony and Nate Stupar are also questionable...The No. 1 rated Carolina defense might “eat” this weekend. And Cam may actually prove to be useful. We shall see.

Unanimous picks by our staff:

Baltimore over Jacksonville

Tampa Bay over Minnesota

New England over Houston

Pittsburgh over Chicago

Miami over New York Jets

Oakland over Washington

I am probably most interested in watching the Falcons at the Lions. A dome game with those two offenses is sure to be full of fantasy goodness. For my part, I like Stafford to get the job done. Who are you watching this weekend?