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NFL Picks: Week 3

Fake Teams writers make their predictions for the upcoming slate of NFL games.

NFL: Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Chargers
How often do you get to trust Jay Cutler in your NFL Survival pools? Heh!
Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

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?

NFL Picks: Week 3

Games Pete Clark Heath Ghoji Matias J.E.B. Mark
Games Pete Clark Heath Ghoji Matias J.E.B. Mark
LAR @ SF LAR LAR LAR LAR SF LAR LAR
BAL @ JAC BAL BAL BAL BAL BAL BAL BAL
ATL @ DET ATL DET DET ATL ATL ATL ATL
CLE @ IND CLE IND CLE IND CLE CLE CLE
TB @ MIN TB TB TB TB TB TB TB
HOU @ NE NE NE NE NE NE NE NE
PIT @ CHI PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT
MIA @ NYJ MIA MIA MIA MIA MIA MIA MIA
DEN @ BUF DEN DEN BUF DEN DEN DEN DEN
NYG @ PHI PHI NYG PHI PHI PHI PHI NYG
NO @ CAR CAR NO CAR CAR CAR CAR CAR
SEA @ TEN TEN TEN TEN TEN TEN TEN SEA
CIN @ GB GB CIN GB GB GB GB CIN
KC @ LAC KC KC LAC KC LAC KC KC
OAK @ WAS OAK OAK OAK OAK OAK OAK OAK
DAL @ ARI DAL ARI DAL DAL DAL DAL DAL