GAME OF THE WEEK – Oakland Raiders (2-1) at Baltimore Ravens (3-0), BAL by 3.5 – Both of these teams are off to pretty solid starts this year. This game has the potential for game of the week not just because of what it could mean for the AFC playoff picture in the long run, but also because of the insanity of their last meeting, one of the more exciting games of last season. This time it’s in Baltimore. The Raiders have already looked like road warriors this year, while the Ravens have managed to eke out several tough wins. This game all comes down to the Raiders’ ability to play defense. They performed well against Tennessee, but that’s a bad offense. I like Oakland to escape with a victory on the strength of their offense and doing just enough to get by on defense. UPSET! – Raiders 30, Ravens 24
[bTHURSDAY MIGHT – Miami Dolphins (1-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-2), CIN by 7[/b] – This is just what the doctor ordered for the Bengals after a brutal opening stretch of three games… a home game against one of the conference’s worst teams. The Bengals do have a penchant for blowing it in prime time, but this seems like a game that’ll help them cure what ails them. Bengals 23, Dolphins 13
Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars in London, England, IND by 2.5 – The first of this year’s London games features the Jaguars in familiar territory… still trying to pick up their first win of the year. They started off the season looking good in defeat against the Packers, but have steadily looked worse since then. They’ve got plenty of talent, but simply won’t win regularly as long as Gus Bradley is their coach. Colts 27, Jaguars 20
Cleveland Browns (0-3) at Washington Redskins (1-2), WAS by 9 – Washington definitely surprised me by taking out New York last week. This game was supposed to be RG3’s homecoming, but now it’s just a snoozefest. Can’t pick the browns in this one… or any one, really. Redskins 20, Browns 13
Buffalo Bills (1-2) at New England Patriots (3-0), NE by 4.5 – New England could start Stephen Gostkowski at quarterback and I’d still be easily convinced they could win. Bill Belichick is the GOAT. Patriots 27, Bills 23
Seattle Seahawks (2-1) at New York Jets (1-2), SEA by 1.5 – Hard to say what to expect out of either of these teams. Ryan Fitzpatrick just put on one of the worst quarterbacking performances of all time, but the Jets are still a team capable of hanging with anyone in the league. The Seahawks have looked terrible against teams not named the 49ers. I think this one is definitely going to close, and in fact, I’m going to chance an upset here because I’m probably an idiot. UPSET! – Jets 24, Seahawks 16
Carolina Panthers (1-2) at Atlanta Falcons (2-1), CAR by 3 – This game is far more important for Carolina than it was expected to be this early in the season. The Falcons have shown themselves to once again be capable of high-flying offense with not much defense to back it up. The Panthers are in a must-win situation here, and have the defense to stop the Falcons’ passing attack. Panthers 29, Falcons 20
Detroit Lions (1-2) at Chicago Bears (0-3), DET by 3 – Man, the Bears are so terrible that John Fox might actually stick with starting Brian Hoyer over Jay Cutler. Lions 31, Bears 10
Tennessee Titans (0-3) at Houston Texans (2-1), HOU by 6.5 – It doesn’t get a whole lot more embarrassing for Houston than last week, unless we’re counting last year’s playoff game against the Chiefs. This game is exactly what they need to recover. Texans 23, Titans 9
Denver Broncos (3-0) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2), DEN by 3 – If Trevor Siemian can consistently play as well as he did last week, this Broncos team might just repeat as champions. Broncos 27, Bucs 6
Dallas Cowboys (2-1) at San Francisco 49ers (1-2), DAL by 3 – The Cowboys aren’t going to be contenders, but they’re certainly not rolling over and dying like they did without Romo last year. It should be a nice 3-1 start to the season for them. Cowboys 20, 49ers 16
New Orleans Saints (0-3) at San Diego Chargers (1-2), SD by 3.5 – Another terrible start to the season for the Saints, who just don’t have a defense to speak of at all. Hard to pick a team that would be better off attempting to run out the clock from the start of the game. Chargers 30, Saints 27
Los Angeles Rams (2-1) at Arizona Cardinals (1-2), ARZ by 8 – Who would have ever predicted the Rams would be in first place in the NFC West after three weeks, especially after their terrible performance in week one? I have no clue what happened to Arizona against the Bills, but it was dreadful, whatever it was. They may be favored big here, but they can’t take the Rams lightly… this team knows how to play against its divisional opponents. It’ll be close. Cardinals 23, Rams 20
Kansas City Chiefs (2-1) at Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1), PIT by 5.5 – Man, did the Steelers ever come crashing back to earth last week. Now they face a tough test at home against a good Chiefs team that may be getting back its best offensive player for the first time in nearly a year. I’ll still take Pittsburgh to rebound, but this should be a solid SNF game. Steelers 24, Chiefs 20
New York Giants (2-1) at Minnesota Vikings (3-0), MIN by 4 – In Eli Manning’s career against Minnesota, he has just five touchdowns to 14 interceptions, and the Vikings in that time have never had a defense close to the level of this one. Unless the Giants are able to get the vertical game opened up, this one could get ugly. Vikings 26, Giants 10
BYES: Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles
