Week 3 NFL Lines

Written by Jack Jones

Week 2 of the NFL season is in the books. There have been a lot of surprises so far this season and I’m sure that Week 3 will be no exception. Let’s take a look at the odds for every game this week. Click on the matchup for a more detailed preview of each game (updated throughout the week)!

Sunday September 24, 2011

1:00 PM EST | 49ers at Bengals (Bengals -3, O/U 41) – Cincinnati has been a lot better so far than I think anyone expected. The 49ers might be 2-0 if it wasn’t some questionable decision-making versus Dallas last week. I’m kind of surprised to see the Bengals favored here.

1:00 PM EST | Jaguars at Panthers (Panthers -4, O/U 43) – The Panthers and Cam Newton have looked pretty good, playing close at Arizona and then hanging tough last week when they hosted the Green Bay Packers. They are 0-2, but it looks like they are going to be much better than most experts thought. The Jags are coming off of a rough week at the Jets, plus they are still trying to figure out their quarterback situation.

1:00 PM EST | Lions at Vikings (Lions -4, O/U 45) – Everyone is jumping on the Lions’ bandwagon with them opening 2-0. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good team, but that performance against the Chiefs needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The Vikings are a hard team to figure out so far. They are 0-2 and the San Diego game shouldn’t have been as close as it was, while they probably should have won their game against Tampa last week. What I’m trying to say is it is hard at this point to know what to expect out of them.

1:00 PM EST | Broncos at Titans (Titans -7, O/U 42) – I realize that the Broncos are pretty banged up right now, but this line still comes with a bit of shock. The Titans obviously looked good against Baltimore last week, but this wasn’t a team I expected to be favored by a touchdown to anyone this season.

1:00 PM EST | Dolphins at Browns (Browns -2.5, O/U 41) – On paper these teams look pretty even as far as production so far. Browns get a line boost playing at home. The Dolphins are probably playing with some desperation here after opening 0-2 (or at least they should be).

1:00 PM EST | Texans at Saints (Saints -4, O/U 53.5) – Texan fans have a reason to be excited as Houston has looked great in their first two games. This is a huge game for them, however, as they still haven’t shown the ability to beat a quality team like New Orleans on the road. With that being said, I don’t think the Saints are going to overlook this game, they know that the Texans are an up-and-coming team.

1:00 PM EST | Giants at Eagles (Eagles -9, O/U 48) – We found out last week the the Eagles are far from invincible. The Giants haven’t really looked that good this year, but they notched their first win last week and I would not count them out Sunday.

1:00 PM EST | Patriots at Bills (Patriots -9, O/U 54) – Did anyone think this would be a meeting between a pair of 2-0 teams? The Bills have obviously been one of the biggest surprises of the year so far, but the task of keeping up with the Patriots on offense will be incredibly difficult.

4:05 PM EST | Chiefs at Chargers (Chargers -15, O/U 45.5) – The Chiefs have been hit harder than any other team by injuries and, to be honest, they didn’t look all that good when their starters were healthy. San Diego continues to be it’s own worst enemy, but they’d have to make multiple ridiculous mistakes to lose this one in my opinion.

4:05 PM EST | Ravens at Rams (Ravens -4, O/U42) – Baltimore must have had a hangover after their massive Week 1 win over the Steelers because they did not show up at all against the Titans last week. This is another dangerous game for them, but the Rams are on a short week after losing a game in New York on Monday Night Football that they easily could have won.

4:05 PM EST | Jets at Raiders (Jets -3.5, O/U 41) – The Raiders could easily be 2-0, but it will be interesting to see how they react after blowing a 21-3 second quarter lead in Buffalo last week. The Jets don’t make it to the West Coast very often, I’m wondering if the extra travel time and time zone adjustment will have any affect on them.

4:15 PM EST | Falcons at Bucs (Bucs -1, O/U 46) – Both teams got back on track last week after disappointing losses in their season openers. This is one of the first big divisional games of the year. Expect it to be close.

4:15 PM EST | Cardinals at Seahawks (Cardinals -3.5, O/U 43) – Okay, this game is also technically a big divisional game because of the mess that is the NFC West, but it just doesn’t feel as significant as the Falcons/Bucs or Packers/Bears game. Anyway, both of these teams have shown some potential, but they’ve also both got the potential to play terribly.

4:15 PM EST | Packers at Bears (Packers -4, O/U 46) – Two very good teams battling it out in what is suddenly one of the best divisions in football. The Packers get all of the love, but the Bears showed on Week 1 against the Falcons that they aren’t intimidated by a road team coming in as the favorite.

8:20 PM EST | Steelers at Colts (Steelers -11, O/U 39.5) – This was a game to circle on the schedule back in the pre-Manning injury days. Now it’s probably not even worth watching. The Colts are bad without Manning, really bad.

Monday September 26, 2011

8:30 PM EST | Redskins at Cowboys (Cowboys -5.5, O/U 46) – Now that it looks like Romo will be able to play, the Cowboys are 5.5-point favorites. I’m just not sold that it’s the right move for him to try to play as he already seems to have a knack for making mistakes, even when he is healthy. The Redskins are another one of those teams you didn’t expect to see at 2-0 to start the season, but this team has definitely shown that they aren’t a matchup to be taken lightly.

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