NFL Week 3 Games

John Morgan

Sep 23, 2012 at 12:10am ET

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So I'm driving down a six-lane 45 mile per hour road today in the right lane. About a quarter mile ahead of me the light changes from green to read so I take my foot off the accelerator; at the same time I put my right turn signal on. The driver behind me finds the fact that I have slowed to just below the speed limit unacceptable; after creeping up within a couple feet of my bumper he floors it and passes me.

And immediately cuts back into my lane.

I am unable to turn right on red, so we both wait for three and a half minutes at the red light.

Question: did you do this to piss me off, or are you just clueless?

So while sitting there I jot down his license plate number and think of all the evil things that I can report him doing on various anonymous tip lines. I hope he hits every red light for the next month. For his sake he had better hope that the Patriots win Sunday night.

Here is a look at Sunday afternoon's NFL games to get us warmed up for the main event to kickoff on Sunday night. Most of the nation without Sunday Ticket will get to see the Chiefs at the Saints early on CBS (Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf), Texans at Broncos late on CBS (Jim Nantz, Phil Simms), and Bucs at Cowboys early on FOX (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman). The New England area and much of Florida will get the Jets at Dolphins (Marv Albert, Rich Gannon) rather than Kansas City at New Orleans for the early CBS game. For a full visual of what games are being broadcast where, please visit our friend JP over at the506.com.

Before you read the following, please note that neither I nor this website am in any way advocating, promoting or recommending gambling. This is solely for entertainment purposes. It is just something I do for fun to test myself on my knowledge of the NFL. If you have a gambling problem get help; call 1-888-ADMIT-IT.

Early Games

1-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 1-1 Dallas Cowboys
Fox; DTV channel 705
Buccaneers +8; under 46
I think all the talk about the game ending kneel down will have a counter productive effect on this young Bucs team, who dealt with those questions all week rather than focusing on the next game. An already subpar Tampa secondary (510 passing yards last week) could be without Eric Wright. The Dallas offensive line is inconsistent, but if Andre Brown could run on the Bucs for 90 yards on 15 touches in his first NFL action, what will DeMarco Murray do? On the other hand the Cowboys haven't got much of a pass rush and have been vulnerable against the run. Dallas win but the Bucs cover.

2-0 San Francisco 49ers at 1-1 Minnesota Vikings
Fox; DTV channel 706
49ers -7; over 43
Last year San Francisco debunked the theory that west coast teams wilt on the road playing early games. The 49ers have won seven of their last nine road games although they are only 1-4 ATS in their last five away games. To me the thing is that I just don't see any weaknesses on the 49ers, while I see plenty of weaknesses on the Vikings. I just don't see Minnesota getting anything going offensively, and at the same time I don't see the Vikings stopping the 49ers. Unless San Francisco gets complacent after beating the Packers and Lions I can't envision the Vikings staying within a touchdown.

1-1 Detroit Lions at 0-2 Tennessee Titans
Fox; DTV channel 707
Lions -3.5 (1 unit); under 47.5
The Titans have scored just 23 points and have a league worst -49 point differential through two weeks. Detroit takes out some aggression after losing to the 49ers.

1-1 Cincinnati Bengals at 1-1 Washington Redskins
CBS; DTV channel 712
Bengals +3.5; over 49.5
The Redskins are now without Brian Orakpo and Adam Carriker, their two best players on defense. Time for Washington to return to their rightful spot among the bottom quartile of all NFL teams.

1-1 New Jersey Jets at 1-1 Miami Dolphins
CBS; DTV channel 710
Jets -1; over 41
Darrelle Revis returns, though it doesn't really matter considering who the Dolphins have at receiver. Even in the September Florida humidity I just don't see the Dolphins winning.

0-2 Kansas City Chiefs at 0-2 New Orleans Saints
CBS; DTV channel 711
Saints -8.5; over 53 (3 units)
Saints receivers are dropping passes and their defense is not forcing any turnovers. The Chiefs defense (37.5 points per game) is just what a cajun doctor ordered to cure what ails the Saints.

1-1 Buffalo Bills at 1-1 Cleveland Browns
CBS; DTV channel 708
Bills -3 (2 units); over 44
The Browns defense is fine, but they backed the wrong horse when they decided to use a first round pick on Brandon Weeden. If the Bills are able to shut down Trent Richardson and force Weeden to throw then Buffalo should get the win.

0-2 Jacksonville Jaguars at 1-1 Indianapolis Colts
CBS; DTV channel 709
Colts -3 (3 units); under 43
Jacksonville has just two sacks and rank in the bottom ten defensively against both the run and the pass. The Colts are without Dwight Freeney but it doesn't matter; Blaine Gabbert isn't a quarterback that you fear. I like the Colts at home here.

Late Games

2-0 Atlanta Falcons at 2-0 San Diego Chargers
Fox; DTV channel 713
Chargers -3; over 46
Am I to believe that other than the home field that these two teams are equal? I don't think so. But Atlanta is traveling across three time zones after playing Monday night, effectively losing two days to prepare. Add in a much improved San Diego defense (a league best 12 points per game), the returns of Antonio Gates and Ryan Mathews, and a possible distraction due to Michael Turner's arrest, and San Diego gets the win. Too bad most Charger fans won't see it, as the game is blacked out in Southern California.

2-0 Houston Texans at 1-1 Denver Broncos
CBS; DTV channel 715
Texans -1.5 (2 units); under 45
Even with Peyton Manning I'm still not sold on the Broncos. I can't see Houston having any let up in this game. If Denver struggled against the Falcons then what's going to happen when they face the Texans defense? Houston has more than enough quality players on both offense and defense to overcome Denver's Mile High home field advantage.

1-1 Pittsburgh Steelers at 0-2 Oakland Raiders
CBS; DTV channel 716
Steelers -3.5 (3 units); under 45.5
Home teams get three points; am I to believe that the Steelers are only a half point better than the Raiders on a neutral field? I think people see that James Harrison and Troy Polamalu and threw in their Terrible Towels. If the Raiders are not the worst team in the NFL, they're close to it. Let's pay attention to all injuries: Oakland is going to be without both their starting corners; think Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace might be able to take advantage of a pair of backups? The Raiders aren't much better on offense; their line can't run block (Darren McFadden is averaging 2.1 ypc; his 54 yards rushing ranks him 44th in the NFL) and they're not giving Carson Palmer any pass protection either; on top of that their starting RT is out Sunday too. Bad teams have poor depth; Oakland is a bad team that will look even worse without those starters.

Sunday Night

Monday Night

Last week wasn't that great overall in terms of wins and losses, but very good in terms of the games with the most confidence. Taking a few of those top games with teasers worked out well.

Straight Up: 10-6 for the week, 18-14 for the season
Against The Spread: 9-7 / 12-20
Over/Under: 10-6 / 20-12
1 Unit Plays: 3-4 / 5-6
2 Unit Plays: 6-0 / 8-2
3 Unit Plays: 3-0 / 6-2
4 Unit Plays: n/a / 0-1
5 Unit Plays: 1-0 / 1-0
2-Team Teaser: 1-0 / 1-0
3-Team Teaser: 1-0 / 1-0
All Confidence Picks: 13-4 / 21-11
+ 2460 for week 2, +2700 for the season

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September 23, 1974:
Robbie McIntosh, a founding member of the Average White Band, dies after snorting what he thought was cocaine but was actually heroin at a Hollywood party.

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