Week 3 NFL Picks with MLB Pennant Race and College XC Updates
Week 2 was a bloodbath in pick ‘em leagues across the nation. Half of the 16 games were won by underdogs. Five of those losing favorites (Ravens, Cowboys, 49ers, Lions and Eagles) were favored by a touchdown, too.
Sheil Kapadia of The Ringer posted an excellent Week 2 review that is worth a look. He sees the Saints as a surprising 2-0, the Steelers as a questionable 2-0 and the Bengals as an 0-2 team that still has hope. Also, Kapadia’s thoughts on Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni should concern Philly fans.
While the HOTPO staff had a middling pick ‘em day due to the upsets, we successfully unveiled an apricot and hot pepper cream cheese dip to wild success at a watch party with local subscribers. The HOTPO home teams were a mixed bag with the Colts playing terrible run defense to lose 16-10 to the Packers in Green Bay and the Commanders squeaking out a 21-18 victory over the Giants on the strength of seven field goals in Landover, Md. Both teams are still likely to finish their seasons below 0.500.
Week 3 Picks
New York Giants at Cleveland Browns (-6.5): New York is a bad team. Seems clear that head coach Brian Daboll and starting QB Daniel Jones should be working on their resumes, because they won’t have jobs with the Giants a year from now. Cleveland didn’t do anything great beating Jacksonville last week 18-13, but they have plenty of talent to win this game: – BROWNS
Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts (-1): I honestly thought Chicago QB Caleb Williams showed some fight in their 19-13 loss to Houston. As mentioned, the Indianapolis run defense got shredded last week and now they will be missing DL DeForest Buckner. – BEARS
Houston Texans (-2.5) at Minnesota Vikings: Minnesota and Houston lead the league in sacks after two weeks, with 11 and 9 respectively. The Vikings are 19-0 under head coach Kevin O’Connell when they don’t lose the turnover battle, as reported by John Hoefling of the USA Today. Texans QB C.J. Stroud has the greater ability to avoid the pass rush and hasn’t thrown an interception yet this year. – TEXANS
Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints (-3): The New Orleans hot start will likely subside. Philadelphia should be 2-0, but RB Saquon Barkley dropped one critical pass attempt. Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation succinctly predicts that a bad Eagles run defense and pass rush are not a good combination against the Saints, to this point, top-flight offense. – SAINTS
Los Angeles Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers (-1.5): Los Angeles has the 2nd rated defense and Pittsburgh the 5th rated defense in the league. Chargers QB Justin Herbert sustained an ankle injury against the Panthers last week, but is expected to play, as of Thursday morning. If Herbert doesn’t play, the Steelers will have a decided advantage. – CHARGERS
Denver Broncos at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7): Denver rookie QB Bo Nix and the Bronco offense in general have been struggling mightily – rated 29th out of 32. The Buccaneer offense hasn’t been that great in spite of their 2-0 start and the Bronco defense has played pretty well, especially against the pass. Tampa Bay is a big home favorite and favorites did pretty poorly last week. There are ingredients for an upset here, but I just can’t take a rookie quarterback, on the road, against a Todd Bowles defense. – BUCCANEERS
Green Bay Packers at Tennessee Titans (-3): Tennessee QB Will Levis is averaging one insanely stupid turnover per game. Starting Green Bay QB Jordan Love sustained an ankle injury Week 1 and didn’t play last week, but he did return to practice Wednesday. It’s possible the Titans #1 rated defense keeps them in this game. - PACKERS
Carolina Panthers at Las Vegas Raiders (-5.5): Carolina may get a boost this week with the “Red Rocket” QB Andy Dalton taking the reigns from Bryce Young, but that’s just because Young is the worst quarterback in the NFL. The Panthers are a very, very bad team. – RAIDERS
Miami Dolphins at Seattle Seahawks (-4.5): Miami is another team experiencing quarterback health issues. Starting QB Tua Tagovailoa got concussed last week and is now on the injured reserve. Replacement QB Skylar Thompson last started for the Dolphins in the 2022 season, going 1-1 with a 57 percent completion rate, one TD and 3 INTs. That is not going to do it in Seattle against the 6th rated defense in the league. – SEAHAWKS
Detroit Lions (-3) at Arizona Cardinals: Both of these teams surprised last week – Arizona with a 41-10 blasting of the Rams and Detroit with a shocking loss to the Buccaneers, 20-16. C. Jackson Cowart of Michigan Live reports the Lions “nearly doubled Tampa Bay’s yardage on the ground (139 to 70) and more than doubled it through the air (324 to 146).” I am taking the Detroit loss as an aberration. – LIONS
Baltimore Ravens (-1.5) at Dallas Cowboys: Great matchup between two preseason favorites that are off to bad starts. This will be a game between two talented, yet desperate teams. Baltimore may be 0-2, but they have played well and barely lost both games, as reported by Peter Dewey of Sports Illustrated. Plus, they have RB Derrick Henry running well and the Dallas rushing defense has been getting shredded. – RAVENS
San Francisco 49ers (-7.5) at Los Angeles Rams: Both of these teams have been ravaged by injuries early and are now struggling to keep pace with preseason expectations, much like the Baltimore/Dallas tilt. With so many backups getting time this week, I sure would like to be able to hold off on this pick until halftime. I am just going to have to go with the betting favorite. – 49ERS
Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) at Atlanta Falcons: If Eagles RB Saquon Barkley caught that easy pass in the flat, Atlanta would be 0-2. We don’t have to think too hard on this one. – CHIEFS
Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills (-5.5): I predicted Jacksonville to be a playoff team before the season started. I wish I could take that selection back. The Jaguars are poorly rated on both sides of the ball and the Bills have had extra rest time for this home game. – BILLS
Washington Commanders at Cincinnati Bengals (-7.5): Just heard on the radio the last time Washington beat Cincinnati in the Queen City was 1991. This is another game we don’t have to think too hard on. Cincinnati will start recovering from their annual slow start. – BENGALS
MLB Pennant Race
The six division races are looking like they are over with all the division leaders holding comfortable, but not insurmountable leads – New York Yankees (+4 games), Cleveland Guardians (+6.5), Houston Astros (+5), Philadelphia Phillies (+6), Milwaukee Brewers (+10) and Los Angeles Dodgers (+4).
The Wild Card pennant races are both still in doubt. In the American League, the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers are tied for the last spot with the Kansas City Royals only two games ahead of them and the Seattle Mariners only two games behind. In the National League, the New York Mets and the Arizona Diamondbacks are tied for the last two spots with the Atlanta Braves two games back.
A couple of weeks ago, a loyal subscriber asked the HOTPO staff about the New York Mets chances of making the playoffs. At the time, they were trailing the Braves for the final spot by a couple of games. Since it was a question from a loyal subscriber, we provided a special report:
The betting sites say it is not likely. Playoffstatus.com has them with a 37% chance of making it. BetMGM says 39.2% chance of garnering a wild card. With the Phillies 7.5 up on the Mets, New York's chances at winning the division are less than 1%.
John Sparaco of Sports Illustrated says the biggest challenge for the Mets is that the Braves have an easier schedule than the Mets the rest of the way. But, they do play each other for one more series before it is all over. I am saying there IS a chance.
The Mets have certainly taken advantage of their chance. The Braves have managed to stay in shouting distance by taking advantage of the - you guessed it - miserable Cincinnati Reds, winning their last two straight by a total of 22-4. This race should get tighter this weekend with the Mets playing the NL East division leading Phillies and the Braves matched against the Miami Marlins, the worst team in the NL.
College XC Update
Radford men's and women's cross country teams had good showings Sept. 13 at the Firetower Project, hosted by Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. The men finished 5th out of nine teams, but did beat Marshall and College of Charleston. The women finished 7th out of ten teams, but each runner ran a personal best time, signaling good things in the future.
Comments
Post a Comment