NFL Week 3 Predictions

For the people that know me, you know how much I love my Football! So, I'm here to give my Week 3 Predictions for the NFL Season.

I got 1 pick right so far with The Chiefs' win last night over The Eagles. Alex Smith was efficient. Like I said, he plays an excellent game manager. Checking the ball down, and making simple plays. Jamaal Charles carried the bulk of the offense and their defense was on Vick all night, and forced 4 turnovers. I'm not surprised the Chiefs won, I'm surprised the score was 23-9 at one point. I do believe Alex Smith has to take more chances especially when you have a guy like Dwayne Bowe on your team. I do believe Chiefs will go on a losing streak soon, but for now, they're  one of the more balanced teams in Football.

Alright, I'll get into the other games. No time to break down Xs and Os, so I'll just give quick summaries, followed by my predictions.


Houston @ Baltimore

Baltimore hasn't looked like defending Super Bowl Champions which shouldn't shock anybody. Getting stomped by Denver and barely beating Cleveland. I think Houston is just a more complete Football team than Baltimore is. I expect Houston to force some turnovers, and grind it out to get the win in Baltimore.

Prediction: Texans defeat Ravens



NYG @ Carolina

I'm very tempted to pick Carolina here because they're due to get a win sooner or later and they're playing at home, but with The Giants, they always bounce back strong. Cam and The Panthers will get theirs, no doubt about it. I fully think The Panthers can win this game. The Giants do get overrated at times because of their success in the Super Bowl. But they're an amazingly inconsistent team, with a mediocre offense and defense. But if I were to choose one of these teams to go 0-3, it'd be Carolina.

Prediction: Giants defeat Panthers



Green Bay @ Cincinnati 

The Bengals have a good defense, and a very underrated defensive line. They've actually had one of the best defenses for the last couple seasons. I think The Bengals will stifle and maybe even shut down Green Bay's running game because they know how to close the gaps and give no space to the runner. I believe it'll come down to whether or not the Bengals defense can stop Aaron Rodgers and I don't think they can. Aaron Rodgers is one of, if the not, the best QB right now. Dalton has his weapons and he'll get his points. The Bengals offense can shine when they want to, but even though they're at home, give me Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay.

Prediction: Packers defeat Bengals



St. Louis @ Dallas

I'll admit, I was one of those people saying The Rams were doomed before they even started the season. It is still early, but right now, even though they're 1-1, they've looked pretty good. Bradford finally has some weapons. Some young weapons, but weapons nonetheless. The Rams Front 7 is so good. I saw that defensive line when they played Arizona and when they made that little run in Atlanta. They will be a force this season. But the problem with The Rams is that they're inconsistent. They can't perform like they did in Week 1 all the time, and now they're coming into Dallas against The Cowboys. Dallas has the same inconsistency, but playing them at Home is tough. This is a tough pick. The Rams are no longer that guaranteed win. You gotta grind it out to beat them now. I'm gonna take The Cowboys here, but it'll be a close one.

Prediction: Cowboys defeat Rams



Cleveland @ Minnesota

The Browns have pretty much forfeited the season by sending Trent Richardson to the Colts. I'll take the Vikings in this game. They'll force some turnovers and rattle Mr. Brandon Wheeden. Also, The Vikings have the best running back in Football: Adrian Peterson, and they're at home. Even though I don't believe in Christian Ponder and he looks lost without Percy Harvin, I think Minnesota will get the win.

Prediction: Vikings defeat Browns



Tampa Bay @ New England

Even as bad as New England looked against The Jets last Thursday, I still will take them over Tampa Bay. Josh Freeman looks to be regressing. I think Freeman has some talent, but this season so far is looking like it could be his worst.  He's got a guy he can throw it up to in Vincent Jackson and he's got the best corner in Football on his team in Darrelle Revis. I see their offense struggling to generate points and maintain drives, and I see The Patriots bouncing back and getting the win. The Patriots are gonna struggle with points too. This game is just all sorts of weird, but I'll take New England.

Prediction: Patriots defeat Buccaneers



Arizona @ New Orleans

The Saints are a very quiet 2-0 team. Their offense have struggled so far, but they're due for a breakout game sooner or later, but it won't be against Arizona. Like The Bengals, the Cards have always had a solid defense. Force turnovers, speed off the edge, nice pass rush. The whole 9. I've always said this team is one great QB away from being a playoff team and maybe even going back to the Super Bowl. Carson Palmer could be that guy, but it's too early to tell. If this was in Arizona, I would probably take The Cardinals in this game. I think they're a good team. But with the game in The Superdome, I'm gonna go with The Saints to get the win. It won't be easy, but I got New Orleans. Don't be surprised if The Cardinals get that upset win.

Prediction: Saints defeat Cardinals



San Diego @ Tennessee

UPSET ALERT

The Titans have looked really good this season so far. They shut down Pittsburgh in their own building and came very close to closing out Houston, but let it slip away. I always thought Jake Locker was a stud and he's playing solid football right now and The Titans as a team are flying under the radar with how their defense plays. Gotta watch more film on them, but their defense isn't Top 5, but it's pretty good. The Chargers are up and down for me. They'll look good one week, score 30 points the next, and then cool down. They don't have an All-Star defense, so The Titans will get theirs. Don't look now, but The Titans right now are looking pretty good. I'll take them for the upset.

Prediction: Titans defeat Chargers



Detroit @ Washington

The Redskins have looked abysmal the first two weeks. They got trounced by Philly in Week 1 and they got absolutely demolished by Green Bay although the score didn't dictate that. Green Bay was up 31-0 in the third quarter. RG3 is suffering from not playing in the preseason and his leg looks like it's still bothering him. He doesn't run as much anymore, almost like he's scared to now. I think The Redskins are due in for a win sooner or later, but they way they're playing, it'll hard to tell when they get a win. I wanna say they'll bring it together and pull out a win against Detroit, but I just think The Lions are a better Football team than Washington.

Prediction: Lions defeat Redskins



Atlanta @ Miami

This is gonna be a GOOD game. I'm still shocked that The Dolphins are 2-0. Then again, Week 1 was against Cleveland, and they had a test against The Colts and managed to pull the win out. Atlanta is a whole different beast. Matt Ryan is such a consistent Quarterback and his team is so stacked. They're gonna get their points because Miami's defense isn't really stellar. I wouldn't be surprised if this game is a shootout. Tannehill has some solid weapons on offense to stretch the field. Playing in Miami, I'm very tempted to pick the Dolphins, but I don't know if they can perform this well against a team like The Falcons. Their defense is good. So far, not as good as last season, but still pretty good. I'm excited to see this game and will definitely be watching. This a tough one. On the flip of a coin, I'm taking the Falcons.

Predictions: Falcons defeat Dolphins



Buffalo @ NYJ

Buffalo almost beat New England in Week 1 and E.J. Manuel had a good win against Panthers last week on a last second TD toss. This Bills/Jets game doesn't necessarily interest me. I think Geno looked good against New England. If their offense was better and could actually generate some points and extend drives, they would've beaten New England. But it's early, and I guess they can get better, but it's gonna take time. The Bills and E.J. look good and if the game was in Buffalo, I'd take them in a heartbeat, but only cause Jets have homefield advantage, I'll take them to beat Buffalo.

Prediction: Jets defeat Bills



JAX @ Seattle

The Jacksonville Jaguars vs The Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks are a physically dominating team at Home on both sides of the ball. The Jaguars haven't been good since they got rid of David Garrard. They're the worst team in the league scoring a grand total of 11 points in 2 games. The Seahawks are gonna destroy them. I would actually LAUGH OUT LOUD if Jacksonville shuts everybody up and pulls an upset. But it's not happening. Seattle wins handily.

Prediction: Seahawks defeat Jaguars



Indianapolis @ San Francisco 

The Colts fan in me wants to pick them to win this game, even with the addition of Trent Richardson. But I just don't see it happening. If it was in Indy, it'd be a different story cause they play with a different sort of drive and energy at Home. But in San Francisco, just coming off a beatdown from Seattle, I don't think Indy can win it. I have no faith in their defense and their offensive line is garbage. I don't know if Trent Richardson can find some holes to run through or even create his own runs. And with how good San Fran's defensive line is, Luck is gonna need some time, or else he won't get that ball out fast enough and get sacked a number of times. The Niners offense have so many weapons, and I don't think The Colts can stop them.

Prediction: Niners defeat Colts



Chicago @ Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh clearly has not been playing like themselves all season. Ben's lost his center, Mike Pouncey...AGAIN and they just struggle to put up points on offense. 9 points against Tennessee and just 10 points against The Bengals. They aren't an offensive juggernaut, but they're better than this. Ben looks lost without some of his weapons. Pittsburgh isn't just playing good Football. Ben can still extend plays and buy himself some time, but right now things aren't looking too good. The Bears are coming to town 2-0 and on Sunday Night Football, Pittsburgh is gonna come out strong, play tough and get to the QB. The Bears aren't a scrub team either. They've become more of an offensive minded team. Jay Cutler really shines in this offense and makes some great plays when he was to. But their defense can still force turnovers and get to the QB. I hate to do this to The Steelers, but I'm taking The Bears going 3-0 and Pittsburgh dropping to 0-3.

Prediction: Bears defeat Steelers



Oakland @ Denver

The Denver Broncos are looking like the best team in Football right now. Two back-to-back blowout wins and Peyton Manning has 9 TD's and 0 INT's. This offense is clicking on all cylinders and they can't be stopped. Peyton Manning is playing like the best QB in Football right now, he's got weapons left and right, they've got a 3-headed Monster in the backfield. Their defense on the other hand is a little inconsistent, they can force turnovers and have a lethal secondary, but they have problems getting to the QB. Maybe when Von Miller gets back, their pass rush will improve, but right now, the strength of their defense is the secondary in my opinion. I could see them getting sacks in this game cause Oakland's offensive line isn't exactly the greatest in Football. Pryor can extend some plays with his running, but I'm sure Denver will be ready to shut that noise down. Denver at Home on Monday Night Football with Peyton Manning and that dangerous Broncos Team = Win.

Prediction: Broncos defeat Raiders


There are my picks for Week 2 of the NFL Season! Enjoy the games!


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By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

NFL Week 3 Reaction

Last night closed the books on one of the most wild NFL weekends in recent memory. I have to admit these replacement refs have made quite the impact on the NFL. In a weekend where we had three OT games, and two questionable calls to end the Sunday night game and the Monday night game. We're going to look back on Week 3 for a long time. And let's start with Monday Night Football.


Green Bay 12
Seattle 14

Before I address the big issue that everybody's been talking about, I'm going to go through the game first.

Seattle is always a hard place to play and Green Bay found that out the hard way. Rodgers was sacked, I believe, 9 times in that game. The Seahawks front line was just dominating the Green Bay offensive line. Russell Wilson played a good game like a game manager should. He didn't throw any picks, made safe throws and didn't force anything that needed to be there. And when he could threw it, he did as he set up a 41 yard TD pass to Golden Tate in the second quarter.

In the second half, Green Bay regrouped and came out playing like Green Bay scoring 12 unanswered. Just when you thought Green Bay had regained control and was going to win this game, the unthinkable happens.

When time expired, Russell Wilson throws up a Hail Mary into the Endzone which is pulled down by Golden Tate for a TD to end the game! Right? Wrong!

The official NFL rulebook states as followed:

Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 5 of the NFL rulebook states, "If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control."

The play was reviewed and the TD stood. But here's the thing, both men didn't have possession of the ball. M.D. Jennings had control of the ball from the jump and Golden Tate tried wrestling the ball away from him when they hit the ground. It should've been an interception and a win for Green Bay. The refs got that call wrong. Green Bay got robbed and as a result, drop to 1-2 and the Seahawks go to 2-1.

The refs have been at the center of a lot of NFL Controversy and we're only in Week 3. Add to that, but talks with the original refs don't look like they're going to be settled anytime soon. People can complain all they want but nothing will stop them from watching the NFL. If it weren't for these refs, we wouldn't be watching Football at all.

Green Bay hosts The Saints on Sunday and Seattle travels to St. Louis to face The Rams.



New England 30
Baltimore 31

Here's another game where the refs had an effect on the outcome. But before I get to that, we're going to go through the game.

In the wake of his little's brother's death, Torrey Smith plays alongside The Baltimore Ravens in Sunday night's game against New England. On a personal level, it was amazing to see him cope with his brother's death and still be able to play Football all in the same day. Much respect and love to him. He came to play scoring two TD's in this win.

The game didn't start off so hot for The Ravens. Brady and Co. engineered a 13-0 lead in the first quarter moving the ball at will. But Baltimore came back and scored two TDs, including one to Torrey Smith in the second quarter for a 14-13 lead at halftime.

In the second half, it was back and forth as Flacco and Brady moved the ball willingly down the field. Brady and Lloyd were killing the Ravens' Defense on short yardage plays and the it came down to which defense would make the big play to stop the offense.

Now, in the fourth quarter, here was the play where the fans of Baltimore came unglued. New England had the ball up 30-28. Brady goes for Welker on 3rd down, but it gets intercepted by Ledarius Webb. The call is illegal contact, but it could've just been called as holding. Another penalty was given for unsportsmanlike conduct on John Harbaugh who was almost out on the field. The fans started a Bulls*** chant which wasn't blocked out on NBC and actually gave a me a little laugh. They were extremely worked up as New England might have had the opportunity to put this game away.

After not converting on 3rd and 16, Baltimore gets the ball back, drives down the field and the rookie kicker Justin Tucker kicks what appeared to be the game winning FG. The Ravens were celebrating and the Patriots were saying the kick was no good. It looked to me like it was no good, but when you look at it closer, it just barely gets inside sailing way above the right upright. I'm still questioning that call myself.

So was Bill Belichick who raced after the referee to talk to him about the call, but the ref ignored him even when Bill put his hands on him.

New England is now 1-2 and travel to Buffalo on Sunday. The Ravens have a short week as they have to face The Browns on Thursday night.



Detroit 41
Tennessee 44

The game of the week. Hell, the game of the year so far took place in Tennessee.

This game had everything you wanted and then some. Big plays, trick plays, a 46 point fourth quarter, a hail Mary, and OT to close things up. Tennessee blew a 20-9 halftime lead and Detroit would score 18 straight and Tennessee would come back to score 21 straight in the fourth including a spectacular catch by Nate Washington right over the back of a defender, and racing into the endzone for the TD. 46 points combined were scored in the fourth.

An onside kick that was recovered by Detroit set up the hail Mary pass from Shaun Hill who took over for the injured Matthew Stafford. He let it fly and it was caught in the endzone by Titus Young! An amazing ending to a game that was not going to end anytime soon.

In OT, Tennessee kicks a FG and now it's Detroit's turn to score. They take the ball down to the redzone and on a 4th & 1, instead of taking the points and tying the game up, they decide to QB sneak it, and get stopped. Questionable call in an OT game on the road only down by three. I don't understand that. You can't tell if Detroit's defense would've been able to stop Jake Locker, who was on fire that day.

No question on how serious Stafford's injury is, but they face Detroit next week. The rejuvenated Titans face  The Texans next week.


New York 23
Miami 20

Another OT game which wasn't as exciting as the others, but still worth mentioning.

The Dolphins looked good early on moving the ball with Reggie and keeping the game plan simple for Tannehill. But when Bush went out with and injury, Miami's offense took a big hit and didn't really capitalize on opportunities. For instance, an interception in the Endzone and a missed FG by Dan Carpenter early on in the game. The Jets offense looked pitiful. Their lone offensive TD came in the fourth quarter. And let's just say, their two QB system is not working. You either you use one QB, or don't.

And then, then in OT, Dan Carpenter misses a FG which costs Miami the game and Santonio Holmes carries The Jets offense down the field for the game winning FG.

The Jets offense is absolutely horrid and they need more weapons instead of running their offense through Santonio Holmes. They host The Niners next week and Sanchez might be in for a rude awakening. Miami takes on the 3-0 Arizona Cardinals. Best of luck to them.


Kansas City 27
New Orleans 24

Battle of 0-2 teams and this quite the game.

The Saints were moving slow in the beginning like they seem to do now as of late. They only had a 10-6 lead at halftime. But coming out of the locker room, they exploded and took a commanding 24-6 lead over The Chiefs. Game Over, right? Wrong!

The Chiefs came to New Orleans to win and they slowly started to chip away at New Orleans by feeding the ball to Jamaal Charles gaining 233 yards on the ground. The Chiefs offense came all the way back from 18 down to tie the game at 24 and send the game in OT. The Saints' defense allowed The Chiefs to run and throw all over them. And then, a Drew Brees led offense only racked up over 288 total yards of offense.

In OT, The Chiefs made all the plays and took the ball down the field and Ryan Succop kicked the winning field goal. Chiefs go to 1-2 and The Saints go to 0-3. The Drew Brees Saints go to 0-3. Saints haven't been 0-3 since 2007.

It may be 0-4 because The Saints face Green Bay on Sunday. The Chiefs host The San Diego Chargers.



San Francisco 13
Minnesota 24

San Francisco was being touted as the best team in the NFL already, but they ran into a major trap game here with Minnesota. The Niners defense ran up to a very smart offense. They jumped on The Niners early by methodically running the ball and setting up Ponder to make plays with his arm and his feet. More importantly, they forced the game into the hands of Alex Smith and he couldn't beat them.

I don't look at The Niners any differently after this game. I still think they're one of the best teams in the NFL. This was just a bump in the road that they're gonna rebound from.

The Vikings on the other hand look like they have a pretty damn good team over in Minnesota. We'll have to see how they develop in the next few weeks. They've got a tough division foe in Detroit next week. Let's see how they do in Divisional action before we start proclaiming them as anything.

The Niners travel to New York to face The Jets. The Jets defense will be without Darrelle Revis, so that's one worry out of the way. A talented QB like Alex Smith should be able to rebound and have a big game.



Honorable Mentions:

Arizona - They rolled on the Eagles and made it look easy. Arizona moves to 3-0 and so far look pretty legit. They have a relatively easy schedule coming up. Let's see if they can keep it up.

New York - Went into Carolina and dismantled The Panthers. That defense couldn't do anything against The Giants offense.

Atlanta - The Falcons finally look like they've got the defensive side of things figured out to complement their offense. They completely ran over San Diego and look like the best team in the NFC. But only time will tell how long it'll last for.

Cincinnati - It looked like business as usual when they defeated Washington. They gave up a Big lead, but Dalton and Green rallied and look like one of the best tandems in the NFL right now.

Houston - Beating up on a Peyton Manning led team in Denver and moving to 3-0. Houston may just be the most complete team in the NFL.



Dishonorable Mentions - 

Philadelphia - Vick isn't going to make it through the season if he keeps getting knocked around like he did against Arizona. And with games like Pittsburgh, New York, Detroit, and Atlanta coming up, this offense needs to figure out what they're doing wrong and fast. It's funny, I'm talking about them like they're 0-3, but they're 2-1. Go figure.

Carolina - Their defense was abysmal against The Giants. They couldn't rush the passer, couldn't cover, couldn't tackle. Long story short, they were horrible. With Matt Ryan coming to town on Sunday, they better get their act together. If they show up like that on Sunday, I guarantee The Falcons drop close to 45-50 points.

Denver - Not necessarily on Peyton Manning and the offense, but the defense. They gave way too many big plays and allowed Houston to convert third down after third down after third down. It's starting to look like Indy all over again for Peyton Manning. This defense needs to get its act together if they're going to amount to anything.

Dallas - Sure they won, but their offense is so inconsistent. They have the firepower, but they don't seem to use it all the time. 16 points? I expect more out of the team that beat the Super Bowl Champions on opening night. They're gonna need more than 16 points to beat Chicago next Monday night.



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By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete