Week 3 NFL picks: After many upsets, ‘dogs mostly silenced

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BEST BETS

DETROIT LIONS (1-1) at ARIZONA CARDINALS (1-1)

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LINE: Detroit by 3

Lions head coach Dan Campbell emotionally took the blame for his team’s four-point loss to the Bucs last week because a penalty for having too many men on the field (17) ruined Detroit’s chances at a first-half field goal. He played that card a little too early in the season, but his players will respond. The Lions might have the best offence in the NFL and they haven’t score more than 20 points yet, so expect a breakout. Marvin Harrison Jr. exploded last week, but James Conner and Kyler Murray won’t get much against Detroit’s run ‘D’.

TAKING: DETROIT -3

(O/U 51.5): Lions 31, Cardinals 20

SAN FRANCISCO 49ers (1-1) at LOS ANGELES RAMS (0-2)

LINE: San Francisco by 7.5

It’s the Rams’ home opener and they are ravaged by injuries to both their star receivers and much of their O-line, as well as key personnel on defence. The Niners will be without Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey, who NFL insider Ian Rapoport says will miss six weeks and possible more with Achilles tendinitis. Sigh, go fantasy owners everywhere. Niners have something a NHL coach once called “deep depth.” It shows here.

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TAKING: SAN FRANCISCO -7.5

(O/U 44.5): Niners 28, Rams 14

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (1-1) at CINCINNATI BENGALS (0-2)

LINE: Cincinnati by 7.5

If the Bengals are going to be relevant this season, it’s time to show it. A return by Tee Higgins (hamstring) would make us very confident in this pick, but even as is you have to think Ja’Marr Chase will prove he’s a better teammate than he showed with his late-game tantrums last week. Ask yourself: Are they really in danger of losing to rookie Jayden Daniels in this spot? No.

TAKING: CINCINNATI -7.5

(O/U 47): Bengals 30, Commanders 17

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SUNDAY

CHICAGO BEARS (1-1) at INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (0-2)

LINE: Indianapolis by 1.5

The Colts are at home and desperate after a pair of one-score losses. Jonathan Taylor did some rolling over the Packers last week with 103 yards on 12 carries. The Colts have injuries to key defensive personal — including tackle DeForest Buckner, top corner JuJu Brents and safety Daniel Scott. But while Chicago running back D’Andre Swift should be able to eat up some ground yards, QB Caleb Williams was swarmed for seven sacks by the Texans last week. The Bears’ growing pains continue at Lucas Oil Stadium.

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TAKING: INDIANAPOLIS -1.5

(O/U 43.5): Colts 24, Bears 21

NEW YORK GIANTS (0-2) at CLEVELAND BROWNS (1-1)

LINE: Cleveland by 6.5

Through two games Cleveland’s ‘D’ has not produced a turnover. That should change with Daniel (Danny Dimes) Jones usually ripe for the picking. If the Browns are missing starting offensive tackles Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills for a third straight game, they will be hard-pressed to keep Deshaun Watson from getting damaged against a strong Giants pass rush. The Browns are 6-1 ATS the last seven times they have been home favourites, while the Giants have just one SU victory in their last nine on the road.

TAKING: CLEVELAND -6.5

(O/U 38.5): Browns 23, Giants 14

GREEN BAY PACKERS (1-1) at TENNESSEE TITANS (0-2)

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LINE: Tennessee by 1.5

This line should quickly flip if Jordan Love, who Matt Lafleur says is a game-time call, suits up. Should Tennessee QB Will Levis continue his run of dumb mistakes, Tony Pollard will have success running on Green Bay and the desperate Titans will get another strong performance from their defence, which has allowed the fewest yards against in the league through two weeks. The Packers have never beaten the Titans in Tennessee and that record surely falls to 0-4 if Green Bay backup QB Malik Willis faces his former team.

TAKING: TENNESSEE -1.5

(O/U 37.5): Titans 21, Packers 17

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (1-1) at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (2-0)

LINE: New Orleans by 2.5

The Eagles are a contender? Who says? They’re 2-7 since a 37-34 OT home win over Buffalo in Week 12 last season. Saquon Barkley is all good and nice, but the defence puts very little pressure on the QB. New DC Vic Fangio might want to stray from his playbook and throw a blitz at Saints QB Derek Carr, who has the league’s best passer rating. The Saints lead the NFL in TDs (11) and points (91) and are looking to become the fourth team since 1970 to score at least 125 in their first three games.

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TAKING: NEW ORLEANS -2.5

(O/U 49.5): Saints 34, Eagles 27

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (2-0) at PITTSBURGH STEELERS (2-0)

LINE: Pittsburgh by 1.5

Looks like Justin Fields will make his third start as Steelers QB with Russell Wilson still nursing a sore calf. Fields has not turned the ball over in Pittsburgh’s two road wins, but he will be pressured more in this one, with Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa leading the charge. Former Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins makes his return to the AFC North after rushing for 135 and 131 yards in his first two games with the Chargers, but the Steelers present his biggest challenge. The uncertainty of Chargers QB Justin Herbert’s ankle swayed the final decision.

TAKING: PITTSBURGH -1.5

(O/U 36): Steelers 17, Chargers 14

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HOUSTON TEXANS (2-0) at MINNESOTA VIKINGS (2-0)

LINE: Houston by 1.5

The well-surrounded Sam Darnold has completed 72 percent of his passes in his first two games with the Vikings, but Justin Jefferson might not be fully healthy. He was limited at practice Wednesday because of a quad injury. While Texans wide receiver Nico Collins is a beast to defend, don’t be surprised if QB C.J. Stroud leans on Stefon Diggs — an author of the Minneapolis Miracle in 2018. The Vikings have won all five meetings since the Texans settled in Houston 22 years ago, but that streak ends.

TAKING: HOUSTON -1.5

(O/U 46): Texans 27, Vikings 25

DENVER BRONCOS (0-2) at TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (2-0)

LINE: Tampa Bay by 6.5

Denver head coach Sean Payton is 3-18-1 ATS in the first two weeks over the last 11 years, but has more success from Week 3 on. The Bucs defence is dealing with injuries to key players, and Payton’s Broncos should keep things close in the best outing to date for Bo Nix, the rookie QB who has thrown for 384 yards, zero touchdowns and four interceptions in two games.

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TAKING: DENVER +6.5

(O/U 39.5): Bucs 21, Broncos 17

CAROLINA PANTHERS (0-2) at LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (1-1)

LINE: Las Vegas by 5.5

Andy Dalton was quite decent the last time he started a game for the Panthers, completing 34 of 58 pass attempts for 361 yards and two TDs with no interceptions, but that was 51 weeks ago and the Panthers still lost 37-27 to the Seahawks. Las Vegas QB Gardner Minshew is playing well and the Raiders have a good defence. After their stunning 26-23 victory in Baltimore last week, they won’t let down here.

TAKING: LAS VEGAS -5.5

(O/U 40): Raiders 24, Panthers 14

MIAMI DOLPHINS (1-1) at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (2-0)

LINE: Seattle by 4.5

Dolphins QB Skylar Thompson didn’t impress anyone when he came on in relief of the concussed Tua Tagovailoa last Thursday, but he has had a whole week of first-team reps and now has the keys to a shiny and exciting offence. Miami has enough big-time players to not just cover against a Seahawks that won in overtime on the east coast last week, but the Fish were supposed to be Super Bowl contenders when Tua was healthy, so they could very well sneak into this spot and pull off an upset.

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TAKING:  MIAMI +4.5

(O/U 41.5): Dolphins 23, Seahawks 20

BALTIMORE RAVENS (0-2) at DALLAS COWBOYS (1-1)

LINE: Baltimore by 1

Do the over-rated Ravens fall to 0-3, or do the over-rated Cowboys lose a second straight home game after a 25-point beating by the Saints in their opener? Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry could run over a Dallas ‘D’ that allowed New Orleans 190 yards along the ground but embarrassment leads to the Cowboys to a turnaround performance. Note, Ravens have won five of the six, all-time meetings, with the lone Cowboys victory eight years ago in Dallas.

TAKING: DALLAS +1

(O/U 48.5): Cowboys 23, Ravens 21

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (2-0) at ATLANTA FALCONS (1-1)

LINE: Kansas City by 3.5

It’s not ideal to be playing the Super Bowl champs on a short week, especially after they weren’t clicking in last week’s one-point win over Cincinnati. They’ll click against a Falcons team that had flashes against Philly.

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TAKING: KANSAS CITY – 3.5

(O/U 46.5): Chiefs 27, Falcons 20

MONDAY

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (0-2) at BUFFALO BILLS (2-0)

LINE: Buffalo by 5.5

Jaguars have won the last two meetings, including a 25-20 victory in Buffalo last season, and after two close losses they are desperate to get on the right side of the ledger. Trevor Lawrence is off to a slow start but he keeps things interesting in the opener of an overlapping (why?) Monday Night doubleheader against a well-rested Bills squad.

TAKING: JACKSONVILLE +5.5

(O/U 45.5): Bills 28, Jaguars 24

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