NFL Week 3 Odds and Preview

Here is this week’s lineup with the most current odds from America’s Bookie and a short preview of the games.  The New Orleans Saints are already looking like they are in a lot of trouble sitting at 0-2.  New England lost a stunner to Arizona while Philadelphia got the better of Baltimore.  It’s good to see a few of the big boys losing as it should make for a more interesting season.  Now let’s get ready to make some money.

Thursday September 20, 2012

New York Giants (1-1) @ Carolina Panthers (1-1) 8:20 PM ET

New York is favored by 1 and the total is set at 51.  The Giants needed a career game by Eli Manning and a furious comeback in the second half to beat Tampa Bay last week.  Carolina beat the struggling New Orleans Saints with a superstar QB of their own.  Take the Giants in this one as they really can’t afford to start 1-2.  If they lose this game it is going to be a long season.  Lightning won’t strike twice for the world champs.

Sunday September 23, 2012

Buffalo Bills (1-1) @ Cleveland Browns (0-2) 1:00 PM ET

Buffalo is favored by 3 and the total is set at 43 ½.  Buffalo got a fairly easy win over Kansas City last week, but a win over the Chiefs is not really that impressive.  Cleveland lost a tough dogfight to Cincinnati and showed they can be competitive this year.  I’m looking for Brandon Weeden to get better every week and Trent Richardson is going to be a stud in the NFL.  We are taking the road dog in this one.

Tampa Bay Bucs (1-1) @ Dallas Cowboys (1-1) 1:00 PM ET

Dallas is favored by 7 and the total is set at 46 ½.  Tampa Bay lost a tough one to the Giants last week and it will be interesting how they respond.  The Cowboys were terrible in a 27-7 loss to Seattle.  The Bucs have a good team.  They may not win this game but I’m taking the 7 points to cover.

NY Jets (1-1) @ Miami Dolphins (1-1) 1:00 PM ET

New York is favored by 3 and the total is set at 40.  Miami surprised me with their big win over the Raiders last week.  Not that the Raiders are very good, but this is the Dolphins.  Reggie Bush had a huge game and Ryan Tannehill seemed to settle in a little.  This will be an interesting game and could really go either way.  Mark Sanchez reverted back to his old self after a good outing in game 1.  We will have to see if the Jets have any Tebow trickery up their sleeve.  This early in the season I am going to take the home dogs in this one.

Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) @ New Orleans Saints (0-2) 1:00 PM ET

New Orleans is favored by 8 ½ and the total is set at 52 ½.  If the Saints don’t win this one then they might as well close down for the season and wait until next year.  The Chiefs are just not a very good team and I’m afraid they are going to take the brunt of New Orleans’ frustrations this week.  Take the Saints and lay the points because they are going to tee off on KC.

Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) @ Washington Redskins (1-1) 1:00 PM ET

Washington is favored by 3 ½ and the total is set at 49.  We have two good young teams here.  This should actually be one of the better games of the week.  RG3 and crew came up short last week against a good St. Louis team.  A stupid penalty at the end of the game possibly prevented the Skins from pulling it out.  Cincinnati got a tough win over Cleveland but they are going to have a tough time improving on last year.  Washington will get back on track this week but that ½ point bothers me a little.  It might come back to haunt me but I am going to lay the points and take Washington anyway.

Detroit Lions (1-1) @ Tennessee Titans (0-2) 1:00 PM ET

Detroit is favored by 3 and the total is set at 47.  Tennessee is not looking good so far early in the season.  They got thumped again last week by San Diego.  The Lions played tough against San Francisco but came up a little bit short.  The Niners held Matt Stafford in check but Tennessee does not have the D that San Fran does.  I don’t do this very often but take the road favorite in this game.

San Francisco 49ers (2-0) @ Minnesota Vikings (1-1) 1:00 PM ET

San Francisco is favored by 7 and the total is set at 43 ½.  San Francisco is clearly the superior team here.  And the offense is looking even better this year.  All is looking rosy for the Niners and that’s why I’m not going to fall for it.  Everything points to San Francisco this week so that is why I’m taking the Vikings +7.

Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) @ Indianapolis Colts (1-1) 1:00 PM ET

Indianapolis is favored by 3 and the total is set at 42.  Andrew Luck played well and the Colts got their first win last week against Minnesota.  Jacksonville got thumped by the Houston Texans which isn’t really a shock.  Indy is the better team in my opinion but I have a feeling the Jags are due to get their first win.  This isn’t a strong play but I like the road dog in this game. 

St. Louis Rams (1-1) @ Chicago Bears (1-1) 1:00 PM ET

Chicago is favored by 7 and the total is set at 44 ½.  Jay Cutler got pounded last week by the Packers and was sacked 7 times.  The Rams have looked good so far despite a loss in week 1.  They definitely shouldn’t be a 7 point dog even though they are on the road.  Take St. Louis +7.

Atlanta Falcons (2-0) @ San Diego Chargers (2-0) 4:05 PM ET

San Diego is favored by 3 and the total is set at 47 ½.  This will be an interesting one to figure out.  The Chargers are undefeated but I haven’t been that impressed by their performances.  Atlanta got the big win over Denver last week but they got a good bit of help with Peyton Manning throwing 3 TD’s.  Do they win that game if not for the interceptions?  We have 2 good QB’s here but I don’t think we see a high scoring game.  I’m taking the under in this spot.

Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) @ Arizona Cardinals (2-0) 4:05 PM ET

Philadelphia is favored by 4 and the total is set at 43 ½.  Both of these teams are coming off of big wins from last week.  Arizona’s win over New England was much more of a shock than the Eagles beating Baltimore.  The Cardinals have looked surprisingly good after looking pretty bad in the preseason.  I would like Arizona more at home if they had actually lost last week.  I try to stay away from these road favorites but I’m taking Philly and laying the points here.

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) @ Oakland Raiders (0-2) 4:25 PM ET

Pittsburgh is favored by 5 and the total is set at 44. This game could be a trap as the Steelers should destroy the Raiders.  Pittsburgh looked good in their win over the Jets and Oakland showed nothing in a big loss against the Dolphins.  Does Oakland play with everything they’ve got this week and keep it close?  I don’t think so.  Sometimes a game just is what it is so I’m taking Pittsburgh and laying the points.

Houston Texans (2-0) @ Denver Broncos (1-1) 4:25 PM ET

Houston is favored by 2 and the total is set at 46.  I think Denver’s loss against Atlanta and Manning’s 3 interceptions will work in the Bronco’s favor this week.  Peyton is good about analyzing his game and correcting mistakes.  Houston is a better all round team in my opinion but they will catch Denver at the wrong time.  Take the Broncos plus the points and if the Texans win here I predict they are really going to be tough in the AFC this year.

New England Patriots (1-1) @ Baltimore Ravens (1-1) 8:20 PM ET

Baltimore is favored by 3 and the total is set at 48 ½.  Wow, 2 of the top teams in the league meeting after big losses last week!  This should really be an interesting one.  It’s really tough to imagine either one of these teams losing 2 in a row.  My lean is towards the home team but I am going to go with the under here.

Monday September 24, 2012

Green Bay Packers (1-1) @ Seattle Seahawks (1-1) 8:30 PM ET

Green Bay is favored by 3 and the total is set at 47.  Seattle looks like they might be for real this year.  Not that they are going to the Super Bowl or anything but they should be competitive in all their games.  The Packers looked better in their win over Chicago but the offense still doesn’t seem to be clicking like it did last year.  Seattle looked very good in their win over Dallas.  Seattle is fierce when they are at home so that is why I’m going to make my first wacko pick of the year and take Seattle +3.  I will either look pretty smart or like an idiot in this one.

Keep up with the action at NFL Scores and Odds.