Week 3 Predictions

Last week I ended up 11-5 for my NFL predictions. I got off to a good start, but missed a couple close games that were missed by several people. I also predicted a tie that did not play out (and though I gave near-perfect insight on how the game would play out if it did not end in a tie, I still gave myself a loss for that pick). But I missed both the Sunday Night and Monday Night games and so finished just one game better than during opening week.

I am happy with 11-5, but I will be looking to improve a little for this week. So far, I am 21-11 for the season. The following are my predictions for this weekend’s games, with my predicted winners in bold.

Sunday, September 25

1:00pm
Jacksonville @ Carolina

This matchup sets Cam Newton up to continue his impressive run to begin his rookie season, and with the Jaguars still searching for their identity as a team, preparing to start a rookie of their own, and the Panthers playing at home, this could very well be Newton’s first NFL win.

Houston @ New Orleans

Houston clearly is a fantastic team this year, but New Orleans is at home and they have a pretty good team themselves, so I give this one to the home team.

New England @ Buffalo

The Bills are flying high right now, but last week they had to come from way behind to beat the Raiders, who are not on the same level as New England. If the Bills cannot keep it close early, the Patriots will run away with this one.

Miami @ Cleveland

Chad Henne is looking pretty good so far, and though, like Ryan Fitzpatrick, he will need to continue this run before I fully believe he is the real deal, he kept Miami in the New England game and then lost to Houston by just 10 points. Cleveland is no pushover, but the Dolphins are coming off consecutive close losses to two of the better AFC teams, and I expect Miami to take those experiences and win fairly easily in Cleveland.

Denver @ Tennessee

New York Giants @ Philadelphia

If Vick had not yet been cleared to play, I would play this one safe and say the Giants will win this one. But Vick was cleared yesterday for practice and today he was cleared to play in Week 3. The Eagles know that their chances of beating New York rest on Vick playing, and I fully expect him to play. However, if he gets knocked out early I will have to take a loss on this game.

Detroit @ Minnesota

This one is an easy one. Minnesota has had two consecutive second half collapses, and Detroit is looking very good early in the season. This could be a blowout.

San Francisco @ Cincinnati

I can’t remember if it was the PTI or Mike & Mike podcast that I heard this on, but Bengals 2nd round draft pick Andy Dalton has made just four misreads in his first two games under center. That is pretty impressive. San Francisco played a very good game against Dallas, but Cincinnati is at home and they have probably the second best rookie quarterback starting on Sunday.

4:05pm
New York Jets @ Oakland

Baltimore @ St. Louis

I think Baltimore’s performance against Tennessee may have just been due to a feeling of invincibility after their record win against Pittsburgh in week 1. I still believe they can have a great season and finish the season with over 10 wins, but clearly they were not sharp against the Titans. Baltimore should not have to worry about that this week, and if they got their work done in practice, St. Louis should not be able to run with the Ravens.

Kansas City @ San Diego

4:15pm
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay

We saw a Falcons team much closer to what was expected right out of the gate last week against Philadelphia. Tampa Bay looked pretty good, but only beat Minnesota by four points.

Arizona @ Seattle

Green Bay @ Chicago

Green Bay has a good pass rush. Chicago’s offensive line sucks at their job of protecting Jay Cutler from hitting the ground. Even in a matchup between fairly evenly matched teams at home, I do not think Chicago will pull this one out.

8:20pm
Pittsburgh @ Indianapolis

We should see some continued improvement from Kerry Collins in this game, and even though Pittsburgh’s defense only had to deal with Seattle last week, I do not think Indy is that much better on offense than Seattle at this point in time, and a shutout is a shutout, no matter who it is against.

Monday, September 26

8:30pm
Washington @ Dallas

I am a little bit worried about this prediction. If Romo does not play, it would make me feel much better about this pick, and even if he does play I think the Redskins can win. But Romo played through a broken rib and a punctured lung last week and played one of the best games I have seen from him in the past three years, definitely the best from this and last season, which was cut short for him. But he had already gotten to build up some endorphins to mask that pain last week. If he has to start a game hurt like this, it might not go as smoothly as it seemed to last week when he re-entered the game.


My schedule has been very busy lately. I will be back sometime after this weekend to recap the weekend’s action, but I don’t know exactly when or how I will recap the games, so for my Facebook friends, keep an eye on my account for updates and you can also follow me on Twitter @CPuffett to find links to my most recent posts. I am also considering making a Facebook page for Puff on the NFL sometime in the near future so that I can post links on that rather than my Facebook profile and get more visibility.

Thank you for reading!