Week 3 Predictions

Kansas City 13, Atlanta 27- The Falcons/Michael Turner should run circles around a Kansas City defense that gave up over 300 yards rushing against the Raiders in Week 2. By the way, I have no idea how Kansas City is going to manage 13 points.

Oakland 17, Buffalo 31- Buffalo is one of the top run defenses in the league thus far, giving up fewer than 100 yards per game. This will be the first real test for them, but the Bills will stuff the box until Jamarcus Russell proves he can beat them with the pass.

TB 21, Chicago 20- This should be a defensive game. Both offenses are only average. Matt Forte will have a difficult time against the Bucs front 7, while the Bucs secondary is one of the best in the league against a very pedestrian passing game. Joey Galloway has not been a threat so far this season, and though Brian Griese might have some extra motivation to beat his former team, victory won't come easily with the tools at his disposal.

Carolina 27, Minnesota 17- Can't win a game kicking field goals, as Minnesota found out against the Colts. The Panthers match up well against the Vikings, especially with the return of Steve Smith. The Vikings seriously need to get something going on offense to even have a chance, and I've yet to see the vaunted Minnesota pass rush take over the game like it was supposed to.

Miami 10, NE 31- No surprises here. The Patriots should have a field day with the Dolphins "defense," with or without Tom Brady.

Cincinnati 14, NYG 38- The Bengals don't have anything going for them on defense, and little more on offense. You'd think that with Chad Ocho Cinco and TJ Houshmanzadeh catching on the outside you'd be able to put up at least 200 yards a game. Unfortunately Carson Palmer didn't get that memo. Plus it's the first half of the season so the Giants should play well.

Houston 17, Tennessee 23- The Titans are tough to beat at home. The lack of a proven running back and a lacking defense is going to haunt the Texans all season. Falling to 0-3 pretty much ends their playoff hopes by virtue of being the bitch team in the ultra-competitive AFC South.

Arizona 31, Washington 27- Arizona won't have as easy a time as they did against the Dolphins. The Redskins and Jason Campbell appear to have turned a corner after a painful Opening Thursday loss to the Giants. Campbell looked comfortable with the offense and played a good game. However the receiving duo of Larry Johnson and Anquan Boldin is tough to matchup with for even the most talented secondary, which Fred Smoot, Shawn Springs, and Carlos Rogers are not.

New Orleans 13, Denver 34- The Broncos' offense reminds me a lot of the 2007 Colts: a dominant wide receiver in Brandon Marshall, a receiving tight end in Tony Scheffler, and a promising second wide receiver in Eddie Royal. Against the highly regarded Chargers secondary Cutler threw four touchdowns. The Saints have a lot of injury problems on the defensive side, and the loss of Marques Colston clearly hurts their offense (as does Jeremy Shockey fumbling the ball). This game has blowout written all over it.

Detroit 24, SF 30- JT O'Sullivan had a very Martz-ish game in week 2 against the Seahawks, and now they get to play a home game against a defense that hasn't allowed fewer than 400 yards in a game. Detroit should spend their week praying, because divine intervention is the only viable strategy they have.

St. Louis 13, Seattle 23- Seattle at home is a tough opponent, even with receivers dropping like flies. The Rams are just a bad team. Their defense is non-existant. The playcalling would make even Brad Childress fall asleep, without the AD factor. Chris Long? Non-factor. They'll be fortunate to get a win before December.

Cleveland 27, Baltimore 23- The Browns beat the Ravens in both meetings last season, both with Derek Anderson under center. The Ravens might have made some upgrades (Joe Flacco?) on offense, but I don't think it will be enough for the win.

Jacksonville 20, Indianapolis 30- If Jeff Saturday returns the Colts should bear much closer resemblance to the team that went 13-3 last year. The Jaguars need to win this game in order to stay in the race for the division. MJD and Fred Taylor have so far been stuffed in the run game, which should change against the run-prone Colts (minus Bob Sanders due to injuries, of course). The Jaguar defense which got shredded by Tom Brady in the Divisional round not only failed to produce a pass rush, but concentrated so much on taking away Randy Moss that Wes Welker ran wild underneath. Look for Peyton Manning to do the same with Anthony Gonzalez on Sunday.

Pittsburgh 27, Philadelphia 34- A tough loss in a shootout to the Cowboys on Monday night should have the Eagles looking for consolation. Pittsburgh is one of the better defenses in the NFL, but then again so is Dallas. McNabb looks dominant, and played very well against the Cowboys. As long as he and Brian Westbrook remain healthy, the Eagles are contenders. Barring any goal-line heroics by DeSean Jackson, the Eagles should be favored.

Dallas 31, Green Bay 27- Aaron Rodgers is going to have his first real test as a starter. The league has seen what he can do and will prepared for him, unlike his entry into the Dallas game last year. Of course the way the commentators talk about Rodgers, the Cowboys might as well prepare to play Favre...

NYJ 17, San Diego 30- Obviously this game was scheduled for the Favre appeal and the hope that both teams would be playing well enough to merit the MNF spot. Wrong. The Chargers look lost on defense to the same degree that the Jets look lost on offense. Favre's cute toss-ups won't work against the Chargers, however. Philip Rivers appears to have taken his game to the next level, directing the powerful Chargers offense for some ridiculous scores.