NFL Week Three Cheat Sheet

Go Army, Beat Tulane!

I am away from my Hoosier Homeland here along the Potomac, but I am always surrounded by my Army family in this "company town." Had some old Army friends over last night for pizza, ping-pong, and proper preparation for today's Army game.

Picture is from last fall in Carlisle, Pennsylvania -- missed an opportunity to take a photo last night.

Winnable game for the Army team today. Excellent preview by Dan Head on his blog.

Indiana Football Hoosiers didn't play Florida International last week due to the weather. That is a winnable game off the schedule. They need to get the running game going and secure a victory today versus Georgian Southern.

NFL Week Three

Another good week last week with 12 out of 16 correct. When I initially looked at this week's slate of games, I breezed through 16 selections and felt pretty confident. Upon further review, it wouldn't shock me to see 10 of the remaining 15 games go opposite of my prediction.

I am really excited about this week, because I think many games are going to be tightly contested. Vegas says seven of the remaining games are three-point differences -- those are toss ups. There are going to be some nail biters this week, and I am sure a couple of these games will have us reassessing our assumptions.

Baltimore Ravens at (+3.5) Jacksonville Jaguars (in London): Baltimore G Marshall Yanda who has been the anchor of a solid offensive line is now out for the season with an ankle injury. The Jaguars defense leads the NFL in sacks with 11 through two weeks and will cause the Ravens line problems. Jacksonville QB Blake Bortles played well enough Week One to garner a win, but the real Bortles committed "crippling mistakes" (his norm) in a Week Two loss. -- RAVENS

Atlanta Falcons at (+3.0) Detroit Lions: This is a great game between two 2-0 teams that made the playoffs last year, with the Falcons losing in the Super Bowl. I honestly can't find any information other than the Vegas line that makes me think either team will win. While both have quality offenses, the Lions defense seems a little more locked in right now, so I will go against the line (this might end up hurting a little). -- LIONS

Cleveland Browns at (+1.5) Indianapolis Colts: How would you like being a home underdog against the Browns? Certainly not an ego boost, but most likely accurate. I never pick the Colts to win unless I feel absolutely certain of an Indianapolis victory to avoid jinxing them. I probably won't pick them once this year. -- BROWNS

New York Giants at (-6.0) Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles gained a tough road victory at Washington in Week One, and were extremely competitive in a Week Two loss at Kansas City. New York has been a dumpster fire for two weeks. Giants coach Ben McAdoo was publicly critical of QB Eli Manning after Monday's disappointing performance versus the Lions, too. Things are not good in Gotham. -- EAGLES

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at (-1.5) Minnesota Vikings: I thought the Vikings were a playoff team prior to the start of the season. In a Week One victory over the Saints, they looked like it. But Minnesota QB Sam Bradford hurt his knee prior to Week Two, and the Vikings took a 26-9 drubbing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Case Keenum will start at quarterback for Minnesota again this week, and he has beaten the Buccaneers two years in a row as the Los Angeles Rams starter. Still, not taking Minnesota until they prove they can win without Bradford. -- BUCCANEERS

Pittsburgh Steelers at (+7.0) Chicago Bears: This is not a competitive match-up. The 0-2 Bears are reeling after a 29-7 loss to the Buccaneers. Pittsburgh hammered Minnesota last week to go to 2-0, and bring a decidedly better offense than Tampa. -- STEELERS

Miami Dolphins at (+6.0) New York Jets: New York has shown a distinct inability to stop the run -- they have given up 370 rushing yards through the first two games. That's a lot, friends. Miami is coming to north Jersey this weekend with bell cow RB Jay Ajayi. We all knew this would be a bad year for the Jets. -- DOLPHINS

New Orleans Saints at (-5.5) Carolina Panthers: You have to think that New Orleans coach Sean Payton is getting some things figured out after the Saints got skull drug by the New England Patriots last week 36-20 and fell to 0-2. Carolina has won this match-up in Charlotte the last two years, but only by three and five points. This promises to be a tightly contested inter-divisional match-up. Ugh, not comfortable with this one. -- PANTHERS

Denver Broncos at (+3.0) Buffalo Bills: Denver is 2-0 after mashing the Dallas Cowboys Sunday 42-17. The Broncos have proven to be adept at running the ball (1st in the NFL) and stopping the run (3rd). The Bills are missing lineman on both sides of the ball due to injury, and will hamper their effort to run and to stop the Broncos from doing the same. -- BRONCOS

Houston Texans at (-14.0) New England Patriots: There are nine 1 p.m. games this weekend. Six of them are intriguing games that I would like to watch. This is not one of those six. -- PATRIOTS

Seattle Seahawks at (-2.5) Tennessee Titans: The Seahawks offense is struggling. They have scored 21 points over two games, and QB Russell Wilson has been hit 17 times in that span. It's a bad thing when those numbers are close to equal. Seattle is probably making adjustments along their struggling offensive line this week, but offensive lines are not things you fix quickly. -- TITANS

Cincinnati Bengals at (-9.0) Green Bay Packers: Prior to the start of this season, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis had won 118 games over 14 season as the head man in Cincinnati. No other coach in franchise history comes close. Before Lewis, the Bengals had made the playoffs in consecutive seasons once in their 48 seasons. Lewis took them to five consecutive playoff appearances. Cincy fans are fed up with Lewis as the Bengals missed the playoffs last year and have looked putrid going 0-2 so far this year. He is not THE best coach Cincinnati has had, but he has done way more good than harm. In light of all this data, what should we get him for his going-away present? I think an autumn themed gift with "2003-17" engraved on it would be a good start. -- PACKERS

Kansas City Chiefs at (+3.0) Los Angeles Chargers: Kansas City QB Alex Smith has completed 49 of 63 passes with five touchdowns. His quarterback rating after two games is 134.1, but his career average is 86. Time for a regression to the mean? The Chargers have lost two close games this year, and they have been the worst team in the NFL in close games since 2015. Smith HAS to come down from his high rating and the Chargers HAVE to start winning close games. I just don't think either of these inevitable regressions to the mean begin this weekend. -- CHIEFS

Oakland Raiders at (+3.0) Washington Redskins: Some of these games really make my head hurt. The Raiders are traveling coast-to-coast, but the prime time kickoff should alleviate some of that strain. The Redskins got a good road win in Los Angeles last week behind a good running game and solid play by QB Kirk Cousins, but they are wildly inconsistent. Oakland has a solid offensive line, and Washington doesn't really have a home field advantage. Not real comfortable with this one, either. -- RAIDERS

Dallas Cowboys at (+3.0) Arizona Cardinals: That beat down the Cowboys took against the Broncos last week has to be an anomaly, and let's not forget that Denver is proving to be pretty good. The Cardinals struggled to get past the Dolts from Naptown on Sunday. I will not overthink this, I will not overthink this, I...will...not...overthink...this. -- COWBOYS