My 2022 NFL Picks (Week 3)

It's only Week 3, and the standings already funky!  The AFC South has a combined total of one win (despite the fact that there have been two AFC South vs. AFC South games!).  Meanwhile, everybody in the NFC North and NFC West is 1-1, and the only divisions with two 2-0 teams are the NFC East and AFC East.  And the AFC East definitely won't have two 3-0 teams.

Thursday Night: Pittsburgh (Loss)

Texans (0-1-1) at Bears (1-1): Chicago-Is anyone surprised Sunday Night Football didn't go well for the Bears last week?  Fortunately, the Texans aren't anywhere near as good as the Packers.  Houston, in fact, is one of the worst teams in the league.  Thus, as bad as last week was, Chicago is still looking good to improve to 2-1.

Raiders (0-2) at Titans (0-2): Tennessee-Two playoff teams from last season who are, perhaps unexpectedly, both 0-2.  An 0-3 start would be much worse for the Raiders than it would be for the Titans.  Unfortunately, that's the result that seems more likely.  Yes, the Titans got their butts kicked by the Bills last week.  I'm still somewhat more encouraged by them than the Raiders blowing their game against the Cardinals, though.

Chiefs (2-0) at Colts (0-1-1): Kansas City-When the Colts saw their 2022 schedule, they probably figured they'd start 2-0.  Instead, they're winless with 20 total points scored after an embarrassing shutout loss in Jacksonville.  The good thing, I guess, is that they're only a half-game back in that horrible division!  But playing the Chiefs won't make them feel any better about themselves.

Bills (2-0) at Dolphins (2-0): Buffalo-An early big game in the AFC East.  The Bills being 2-0 isn't a surprise.  The Dolphins being 2-0 certainly is, although maybe it shouldn't be since we saw some signs at the end of last season.  Buffalo's defense will obviously be impacted by all of the injuries, but I think they're a good enough team to overcome them.  And, if this game turns into a scoring fest, their offense is more than capable of handling that, too.

Lions (1-1) at Vikings (1-1): Minnesota-Both of these teams have lost to the Eagles, who many think are one of the elite teams in the league.  So they probably both have reason to feel good about themselves, despite the fact that they're 1-1.  The Lions actually gave Philly a better game than Minnesota did, but the Vikings looked awfully impressive against the Packers!  That game was in Minnesota, too, as is this one.  Thus, the Vikings are the pick.

Ravens (1-1) at Patriots (1-1): Baltimore-Are the Ravens good or not?  I'm still not really sure.  They looked great against the Jets, then gave up 42 points against Miami.  Now it's the Patriots, a team I'm equally unsure about.  They rebounded from their loss to the Dolphins with a win in Pittsburgh, and now they finally get to play at home.  Will that be an advantage?  Or will the good Ravens team show up?

Bengals (0-2) at Jets (1-1): Cincinnati-Can the defending AFC champs really start 0-3?  They're playing the Jets, so I'm gonna say probably not.  Everybody got all giddy about the Jets winning last week, but let's not get carried away.  They were playing Cleveland!  And, yes, the Bengals are 0-2, but they've played Pittsburgh and Dallas, two much tougher opponents (yes, I'm aware Pittsburgh lost to Cleveland).  Although, Cincinnati did lose to the Jets at MetLife last season, so...

Eagles (2-0) at Commanders (1-1): Philadelphia-After that performance on Monday night, the Eagles are getting lots of well-deserved love.  They may, in fact, be the best team in the NFC.  At least they looked like it last week.  In the NFL, though, you never know what team you're gonna get from one week to the next!  Because this is the same team that barely beat Detroit in Week 1.  Things will probably be similar in Washington, including the result.

Saints (1-1) at Panthers (0-2): New Orleans-We've got an NFC South showdown in Charlotte.  The NFC South, which is the only division with two 0-2 teams.  Which is great for the two teams that aren't 0-2.  Although, frankly, I think the Panthers are staring at 0-3.  New Orleans is better.  At this point in the season, that's enough.

Jaguars (1-1) at Chargers (1-1): Chargers-Believe it or not, Jacksonville is currently in sole possession of first place!  Although, it's also kinda sad that they're the only team in the AFC South with a win this season!  Which means that the entire division could have sub-.500 records after this week.  Already!  After Week 3!  But that's what's likely to happen.  Especially since they ain't beating the Chargers!

Rams (1-1) at Cardinals (1-1): Rams-Not surprisingly, the Rams had a much better performance against the Falcons than they did against the Bills.  What is surprising is how the Cardinals came thisclose to being 0-2.  They needed that comeback against the Raiders to avoid that disaster.  But, when it comes to the NFC West, the division games are really what matter.  So this is a big one for both teams.

Falcons (0-2) at Seahawks (1-1): Seattle-Atlanta plays its second straight game on the West Coast.  The first one didn't go so well.  This one probably won't either.  It's true that the Seahawks aren't as good as the Rams, but the problem is the Falcons aren't as good as either of them.  Although, I must admit, I wasn't expecting Seattle to come into this game with a win already on the board.  They'll come out of it with two wins.

Packers (1-1) at Buccaneers (2-0): Tampa Bay-Rodgers vs. Brady, perhaps for the last time.  It's the Bucs' home opener too.  So, there was plenty of reason for FOX to make this their national game after both of these teams already got a Sunday night.  I know it's still early, but at this point in the season, I'd have to think Tampa has the advantage here.  Later in the season, I might think differently.  But the Packers, who lost their only road game so far, will need to prove me wrong.

49ers (1-1) at Broncos (1-1): Denver-I still don't know what to make of either of these teams.  And, fortunately, Yankees-Red Sox is the Sunday night baseball game, so I don't need to be subjected to this one on national television.  The game itself should be fine, but I just don't see why the NFL and NBC felt the need to make this a Sunday night game in Week 3.  Anyway, it's in Denver, so I'll go Broncos I guess.

Cowboys (1-1) at Giants (2-0): Dallas-All week, people have been jumping all over the Giants as the "worst" 2-0 team.  That very well may be true, but you know what?  They're still 2-0!  Will it last?  Probably not!  It might even end this week.  But there's also plenty of reason to be optimistic about this team after two games.  We'll at least get to see how they stack up against a Dallas team that hasn't looked as good as predicted so far.

This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 9-7
Overall: 15-17-1