NFL Week 3 predictions

 It is Week 3 in the NFL season. It's still a bit too early to determine anything yet, but I'm going to give it my best shot.  Let's get into it

Dolphins vs Bills (Thursday) Bills win 35-14

The Bills are 2-0, after a wild win over the Ravens and a blowout over the Jets. Josh Allen is having a great start to his season, with 542 yards and 2 touchdowns. James Cook is still great, with over 100 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Jets. The Dolphins have had a rough two-game stretch defensively, and against a team like the Bills, I don't see that stopping.

Steelers vs Patriots- Steelers win 28-24

This should be an intriguing game. The Steelers have had a strange start. Aaron Rodgers looked great week 1, but mediocre week 2. Kaleb Johnson had a blooper in last week's loss, running out of the end zone on the opening kickoff, but forgetting to take the ball with him. The defense has looked average, including TJ Watt, who has yet to register a sack. The Patriots are 1-1 as well as the Steelers, and Drake Maye has looked decent so far, but Stefon Diggs has been quiet, with just 10 catches for 89 yards in his first two games. The defense has looked mediocre, and I see Rodgers and the offense having a decent game.

Bengals vs Vikings- Bengals win 17-14

This was supposed to be Joe Burrow vs JJ McCarthy, but neither will be playing. Burrow has turf toe and will be out for most of, if not all of the season. McCarthy will only be out for a few weeks, though. We will instead be seeing Jake Browning vs Carson Wentz. The Bengals are 2-0, and Jamarr Chase had a ridiculous game last week, with 165 yards and a touchdown. The defense has been playing better, but the offensive line is horrible. The Vikings have had some offensive struggles. McCarthy was playing poorly in the first three quarters of Week 1, but turned it around in the 4th quarter. No such luck in week 2. The defense has been playing very well, though. I don't think Wentz will look very good, seeing as the last time he started a game, he played horrifically. So because of that I am taking the Bengals to win. 

Texans vs Jaguars- Texans win 27-21

The Texans have had a slow start, but they played two playoff teams from last year. Their offensive line has been playing poorly. CJ Stroud has looked iffy. The defense had the Buccaneers on the ropes before letting up a touchdown on the final play. Things haven't been great in Houston. The Jaguars have been an interesting team. They have had a solid offense, but a questionable defense. Trevor Lawrence hasn't looked his best. There are a lot of questions about both teams, but the Jags have more questions, and that's why I'm going with the Texans.

Rams vs Eagles- Eagles win 24-20

The Eagles are the defending champions, and they are off to a 2-0 start, but there have been a bit of questions, mostly on the offense. Kevin Patullo doesn't look good so far, and AJ Brown has been non-existsent. Jalen Hurts has looked average. But Saquon Barkley has been great, and so has the defense. Jalen Carter has been better after spitting on Dak Prescott. Vic Fangio has been great. The Rams are coming off a blowout over the Titans. Matthew Stafford hasn't slowed down at all. Neither has Davante Adams. Puka Nacua has looked solid. The defense has looked good, with Jared Verse leading the way. Sean McVay is a good coach, but I'm going with the Eagles.

Raiders vs Commanders- Commanders win 30-16

This might be an interesting game. The Raiders looked lifeless yesterday (I am writing this on Tuesday) but the future is bright with Ashton Jeanty. Geno Smith, however, threw 3 picks. The defense stuffed the Chargers on the ground. They are going to need their defense to show up if Jayden Daniels suits up. If he doesn't, the Commanders will be rolling with Marcus Mariota. If Mariota gets the start, I can see this being a closer game, maybe even a Raiders win. But for now, I see Washington getting the job done.

Packers vs Browns- Packers win 34-16

This one....yikes. The Packers are coming off a 2-0 start after a beat down of the Lions and a victory over the Commanders. The acquisition of Micah Parsons seems to be a key one. He is getting a lot of pressures, and even a sack. The offense has been clicking with Jordan Love. The defense has been doing great. The Browns have not had a fun start. They kept it close against the Bengals week 1, but got crushed in Baltimore the next week. The offense is okay, but the defense.....is not. Yeah, this should be a Packers blowout.

Colts vs Titans- Colts win 31-14

This is another matchup that is not very appealing. The Colts are having a surprising 2-0 start on the back of Daniel Jones. Yes, you read that right. Daniel Jones, who was considered the worst QB in the league not that long ago, is on fire and undefeated. The defense hasn't been bad either. The Titans are 0-2, but it's not Cam Ward's fault. He's been playing fine. His receivers aren't good. Neither is Brian Callahan. The defense couldn't stop the Rams at all. I see an easy Colts victory.

Falcons vs Panthers- Falcons win 20-10

This is an interesting matchup. The Falcons had a mediocre offensive showing, outside of Bijan Robinson, who was fantastic. The defense was also great. Michael Penix was mediocre, however. The Panthers looked to be dead in the water after being blown out 26-10 in Jacksonville and being down 27-3 in Arizona with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. But Bryce Young started heating up, and the defense shut the Cardinals out in the 4th quarter. They still lost 27-22, but there is optimism in Charlotte once again. I don't see that happening again because the Falcons have a stout defense, and Young's arm isn't the best.

Jets vs Buccaneers- Buccaneers win 35-10

The Jets are 0-2 and got their ass kicked by the Bills this past week. Justin Fields is out with a concussion right now, meaning Tyrod Taylor will likely get the start. The defense can't stop anything right now. The offense is hit or miss, and with Taylor under center, I'm feeling like there will be more misses. The Buccaneers are coming off a wild comeback against the Texans. Baker Mayfield had a hell of a showing, throwing for 215 yards and 2 scores. Bucky Irving had 71 yards on 17 touches. The defense looked strong out there. The offense looked fantastic. This isn't going to be close.

Broncos vs Chargers- Chargers win 31-28

This should be fun. The Broncos lost on a heartbreaking leverage penalty last week, allowing the Colts to win on a walk off field goal. Bo Nix had a solid showing, with 206 yards and 3 touchdowns. The man is a good QB. The defense under Vance Joseph is strong. The Chargers knocked off the Chiefs and Raiders thanks to Justin Herbert and a strong defense. Quentin Johnston looks good, surprisingly enough. Jim Harbaugh is doing a great job. This should be tight, but I'm picking the Bolts.

Saints vs Seahawks- Seahawks win 21-14

The Saints were supposed to suck, and although they're 0-2, they aren't that bad. Spencer Rattler looks solid. The secondary isn't the best, though. The defense as a whole isn't bad, but they don't have a secondary. The Seahawks are having a nice start to the year, with Sam Darnold leading the way. The defense is decent, and I think they can shut down the lacklaster offense of New Orleans. 

Cowboys vs Bears- Cowboys win 24-17

The Cowboys are having an iffy start. Dak Prescott looks okay, but the defense doesn't. Trading away Micah Parsons didn't exactly help. The Bears have an even worse defense, allowing 52 points in Detroit. Caleb Williams doesn't exactly look good either, and Ben Johnson is having a rough time. This game might suck, but I'm taking the Cowboys due to the Bears bad defense.

Cardinals vs 49ers- 49ers win 24-21

Both teams are 2-0. The Cardinals almost blew a lead to the Panthers. The offense looked complacent to finish the game off. The defense couldn't stop Bryce Young. Jonathan Gannon isn't looking great. The 49ers aren't much better. They're without Brock Purdy and George Kittle for a few weeks. The offense looks not great without them. This is a tossup, but I'm taking the 49ers because they're at home.

Chiefs vs Giants (Sunday night)- Chiefs win 24-9

This might not be fun. Both teams are 0-2, but one looks significantly better than the other. It's the Chiefs. Mahomes is 0-2 for the first time in his career, but they don't look bad. He's still a good QB, and the Giants offense isn't great. Chiefs win.

Lions vs Ravens (Monday)- Ravens win 42-40

This should be a fantastic game. Both teams are 1-1, and they both have high-powered offenses. The Lions dropped 52 last week; the Ravens 41. This is going to be close, but I'm going with the Ravens due to Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, and home field advantage. 

That's all for week 3! I might do predictions going forward, but with school it'll be difficult.