2012 NFL Predictions: Regular Season Week 3

I thought Week 1 was rough; Week 2 showed no mercy. But it’s a new week, and a chance to improve my record some. Let’s get to it!

	Game	Puff’s Pick
Thurs., 8:20 pm	NY Giants @ Carolina	Carolina Panthers
Sun., 1:00pm	St. Louis @ Chicago	St. Louis Rams
	Buffalo @ Cleveland	Buffalo Bills
	Tampa Bay @ Dallas	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
	Jacksonville @ Indianapolis	Indianapolis Colts
	NY Jets @ Miami	Miami Dolphins
	San Francisco @ Minnesota	San Francisco 49ers
	Kansas City @ New Orleans	New Orleans Saints
	Detroit @ Tennessee	Detroit Lions
	Cincinnati @ Washington	Cincinnati Bengals
Sun., 4:05 pm	Philadelphia @ Arizona	Philadelphia Eagles
	Atlanta @ San Diego	Atlanta Falcons
Sun., 4:25 pm	Houston @ Denver	Denver Broncos
	Pittsburgh @ Oakland	Pittsburgh Steelers
Sun., 8:20 pm	New England @ Baltimore	New England Patriots
Mon., 8:30 pm	Green Bay @ Seattle	Green Bay Packers

	Puff on the NFL
Week 3 Record	3-13
Current Season Record	20-28

Games to Watch (Predicted winners in Bold)

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, 8:20pm – New York Giants @ Carolina Panthers

Eli Manning threw three picks in the second quarter, but the Giants we saw in the second half last Sunday looked miles better than those we saw fail to defend their home field against the Cowboys. The Panthers, meanwhile, lost a surprising contest to Tampa Bay, the very team the Giants rallied to beat, in Week 1 before knocking off New Orleans in Week 2.

Considering the Panthers lost to the Bucs and the Giants beat them, all signs point toward the Giants winning, but I think the Panthers are ready to show what they’re made of. I’m not yet sold on them as a playoff team, but I already wasn’t expecting the Giants to make the postseason this year so this is a low-risk pick.

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, 1:00pm – Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Dallas Cowboys

In another matchup of teams just one game removed from their connected team, the Cowboys beat the Giants in Week 1 before the Bucs lost a close one in Week 2. Dallas regressed big time in losing to Seattle this past Sunday, and even though this is their home opener, I think this is a big spot for the Buccaneers to prove their worth in the NFC South. Tampa is another ‘pretender’ in my mind, but I think they’ll last another week or two.

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, 1:00pm – New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins

New York put up the most points of any team in Week 1, then barely made a game of their contest against the Steelers a week later. Reggie Bush had a pretty good year in Miami last season, but he looks like a completely different running back, finally the one worth a #2 overall draft selection. He takes a lot of pressure off the passing game.

Also, Rex Ryan still hasn’t figured out how to use Tim Tebow like the Denver coaches did last year, and Tebow seems to be the key to his teams beating Miami.

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, 1:00pm – Cincinnati Bengals @ Washington Redskins

Redskins fans finally get to see RGIII play at home this week, and I’d love to give them the benefit of the doubt and say the Skins will defend home field well, but they lost two key defensive players to injury and the defense is already shoddy at best. I do believe RGIII is the player the Redskins need to keep these games close, but I’m not sure he can do enough for this team just yet.

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, 4:05pm – Philadelphia Eagles @ Arizona Cardinals

I really wanted to pick the Cardinals. They knocked off the Patriots in New England, in doing so becoming the first team to beat the Patriots in a home opener in that stadium ever. The least they can do is defend their home field, but the Cardinals have always struggled against the NFC East. I wanted to pick the Cardinals, but I have to take Philly to go 3-0, as painful as it is to say.

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, 4:05pm – Atlanta Falcons @ San Diego Chargers

I know the Falcons defense doesn’t usually perform as well away from home, but their offense is generally strong no matter where they play during the regular season. In addition, it’s tough to pick a team as inconsistent as San Diego. They’ll beat good teams, no doubt about it; the trouble is picking which ones, and I’m not interested in playing that game this week.

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, 4:25pm – Houston Texans @ Denver Broncos

Denver laid a bit of an egg last week and still had a shot to win the game. The Texans had a rough game passing the ball (Schaub only had 7 fantasy points in my league), but Arian Foster is as consistent a back as there is in the NFL today.

But the game is in Mile High, and as good as Houston’s defense is these days, I wonder how long they’ll be able to take the thin air against a hurry-up offense that Manning ran very well at home two weeks ago. I’m taking Denver in a close one.

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, 8:20pm – New England Patriots @ Baltimore Ravens

This one might have been the toughest one for me to pick. I can’t stand the Patriots, and not to say I’m a Ravens fan by any stretch, I’d root for them 10 times out of 10 against the Patriots, regardless of playoff standing or any other situation that could present itself.

But the idea of the Patriots, of Tom Brady, dropping two games in a row, regardless of the opponent, would signal to me that they are no longer a title contender, and maybe not even a legitimate playoff team, and I don’t think they’re there yet. Look for Brady to get Gronk a little more involved in the passing game, especially with the injury to Hernandez. Also remember that New England’s defense has been performing much better than they did last year.

My first entry in this week’s Games to Watch serves as my preview for tonight’s game. Stay tuned for recaps of this week’s games.

Also be sure to check out how my predictions stack up against my The All-Sports Crew co-hosts! Thanks for reading and enjoy the third week of the season!