Get It White: Week 3 NFL Predictions
After two weeks, things are beginning to untangle themselves from the knotted mess of preseason, and the common strands of the regular season are starting to become apparent; like the ‘Seattle don’t lose at home’ rule, the ‘Denver scores a lot of points’ rule and the ‘Jags suck’ rule. These are good signs for the predictor, and after a tidy 13-3 week 2, the total now stands at 22-10 for the season.
Week 3 sees many fewer divisional ties, so it should be very interesting to see how different conferences and divisions stack up against each other. There are so many close games on paper, and picking them has been a real challenge; starting with the return of Andy Reid to Philadelphia.
Friday 1:25am
Kansas City Chiefs 23-20 Philadelphia Eagles
An intriguing ‘Thursday Night’ game, and not only because of Reid’s return to Philly. This is the classic case of two teams who looked to be struggling last year, turning the corner this time around, and making a charge for the postseason. The Eagles’ offense is poetry in motion at times, very fast motion mind you, and it will cause any defense in this league problems. Chip Kelly seems to have revitalised the team, its fans and the city, but he will have to rub some of his magic onto the defense too, because it is still a unit that is struggling. The Chiefs, with Alex Smith at the helm, look a million miles better than they were in 2012, and their previous weaknesses on defense seem to have become strengths. Reid has a talented cast to work with, and although stopping Mike Vick and company won’t be easy, this is a team that can run the football with Jamaal Charles and play some defense, a good recipe for a tough road win.
Sunday 6:00pm
Houston Texans 23-17 Baltimore Ravens
Two teams from whom much was expected, but not that much has, of yet, been delivered. The reigning champs were battered by Denver and then struggled past Cleveland, while the Texans may be 2-0, but both wins, against San Diego and Tennessee, were unimpressive (even if those teams are improved). Baltimore look uneasy with the changes that have been made in the offseason, and the possible absence/limited playing time of RB Ray Rice combined with the familiarity and steadiness that the Texans are showing early in the season, could well be enough for Houston to win this one on the road.
New York Giants 27-20 Carolina Panthers
10 turnovers in two games? That’s crazy… borderline unacceptable. But that’s what the Giants have done in the past two weeks, and an 0-2 record is not a surprise if you make that many mistakes. But there are bright sparks for Big Blue on both sides of the ball: when Eli gets it right, he can throw 350+ yards easily, and when the defense is on their game, they can limit the best – see 1st quarter vs Denver. The Panthers on the other hand, seem to be a bit unfortunate to be 0-2, losing by 5 to the Seahawks and then by 1 point to the Bills, but look deeper than the scorelines and you will see issues. Cam Newton cannot fulfil his potential when he only has Steve Smith and Greg Olsen as reliable targets, DeAngelo Williams is not a load-carrying back and the loss of Charles Godfrey for the season could be huge for the defense who have played well so far this year.
Green Bay Packers 30-24 Cincinnati Bengals
Well-fancied teams from different conferences face off in Cincy, and after the Packers’ demolition of the Redskins, the Bengals’ defense is going to have to be right up for the challenge. Aaron Rodgers’ mammoth day through the air and James Starks’ 150 yards on the ground established the Green Bay offense as one of the most explosive units in the league yet again, but the Bengals also have weapons in AJ Green, Tyler Eifert and Gio Bernard who can explode at any given moment. The efficiency of QB Andy Dalton could decide the outcome of this one, because if he hands the incentive to the Packers with a poorly thrown pass or bad decision, it could become very difficult to peg Green Bay back again.
St Louis Rams 27-23 Dallas Cowboys
Yet again the Cowboys promise so much at times, but fall flat when they really need a spark. The defeat against Kansas City showed exactly this problem, one that has reared its ugly head time and time again over the past few years, and it is an issue that the resurgent Rams would love to exploit. I was impressed by the way Sam Bradford and his young offense fought back against the Falcons in the Georgia Dome and I think there could be a lot more to come for this team, especially with a similarly young defense full of potential. I can’t help but feel this is a team on the way up against a team going in the opposite direction.
Cleveland Browns 13-31 Minnesota Vikings
I was going to predict this as a much closer game, with the Browns’ D causing Christian Ponder problems all afternoon, but then the Browns consigned 2013 to the trash can by trading their best offensive player to Indianapolis. Losing Trent Richardson is a clear signal from the front office that they are not happy with personnel, and will be looking to get a franchise QB in the next draft, even if it means throwing away this year. Vikings win at home, AP runs for 150 and 2 TD’s.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-27 New England Patriots
This is a far more interesting game than it looked to be after week 1. The Bucs fought really well against a good New Orleans team, while the young offense in New England struggled with sloppy play against the Jets. Tampa’s offense has some good pieces in it with Jackson and Martin, but the play of QB Josh Freeman is still questionable and when a QB makes bad throws against the speedy, ball-hawking New England defense, they are often punished. Tom Brady on the other hand, doesn’t often make bad throws, and an efficient gameplan should see the Pats home if the required improvement is seen from the receivers and there aren’t so many drops. Oh, by the way, no I don’t think Rob Gronkowski will play, we’ll have to wait for week 4 for that one.
Arizona Cardinals 16-34 New Orleans Saints
Again, here are two football teams who are much better this year than they were 12 months ago, and this should be a decent matchup in conditions both teams like in the Superdome. The addition of Carson Palmer has added a quality veteran presence at QB for the Cardinals, and with that promising defense, Arizona are a team who can cause many other sides problems. The Saints are rejuvenated under the returning Sean Peyton and despite being kept close by the Bucs last week, are on an upward curve. They simply have too many weapons for the Cardinals to deal with, no matter how talented the defense is, and Jimmy Graham could tear them apart down the centre of the field: the Honey Badger’s biggest test to date. And that’s not even mentioning the Saints’ defense, which could be sneakily good.
San Diego Chargers 13-20 Tennessee Titans
Maybe it’s time we gave these two teams a little respect after two consecutive good performances and unlucky 1-1 records. The Chargers’ defeat of Chip Kelly’s Eagles shows that they are at least competitive, but the loss of Malcolm Floyd could be big for the offense, even though Eddie Royal is in the form of his life (just the FIVE TD’s so far this year). The Titans have put in two very impressive efficient performances that do highlight their limitations, but the fact that they can win without playing expansive football is a huge credit to coach Mike Munchak. The running game and Chris Johnson could be the key here, as if the Chargers’ struggles against the run continue, Tennessee could control the game with their pass rush and clock management.
Detroit Lions 38-14 Washington Redskins
This one looks simple: the Washington defense has been woeful so far, and with Reggie Bush, Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and Brandon Pettigrew on the field, the Skins will struggle to keep Matt Stafford under 350 yards passing and 3 TD’s. The Lions’ defensive line is also RGIII’s nightmare right now, and there is no doubt he will be hounded all night. Despite being outdoors and on the road, the Lions come in and pound Washington.
Sunday 9:05pm
Atlanta Falcons 27-20 Miami Dolphins
Football is all about matchups, and there is a glaring one here: Matt Ryan and his receivers vs the weak Miami secondary. That cannot end well for the Phins. But they do have offensive weapons of their own, and with Mike Wallace settling in to the team, the Falcons cannot afford to be complacent or take their eye off the former Steeler for a second. Miami’s pass rush will make life difficult for Matt Ryan, but I can’t see the Dolphins and Ryan Tannehill having enough to keep up with Atlanta’s gung-ho approach, even though Steven Jackson will not be around to provide some balance for the Falcons due to injury.
Sunday 9:25pm
Buffalo Bills 13-16 New York Jets
A matchup that many see as the basement battle in the AFC East, between two teams with a few similarities. The most striking of which is the two rookie QB’s who lead their teams. Both mobile, raw and prone to a couple of mistakes, EJ Manuel and Geno Smith are the men charged with providing hope to their respective fan bases, something they both have shown that they have the ability to do. So it is down to the defenses to confuse, frustrate and draw mistakes from the young men, and the simple answer is that the Jets are more prepared for the task than the banged-up Bills D. It should be close, and could be a last second field goal job, but the experience of Rex Ryan and his hard-nosed defensive philosophy could win the game.
Jacksonville Jaguars 0-34 Seattle Seahawks
I don’t know what to say about this matchup to build it up. It is pretty obvious that after their manhandling of the 49’ers, the Seattle Seahawks are the real deal, and a team like the Jags shouldn’t pose a threat. Pete Carroll will not let the team become complacent, and this has a huge chance of developing into the first shutout-blowout of the year.
Indianapolis Colts 17-41 San Francisco 49’ers
San Francisco are a wounded beast right now, and to be honest, I would hate to be that Colts’ defense this week. I can see Colin Kaepernick passing for 300 yards and running for 100 yards against a vulnerable unit in the secondary, while the Niners’ D will want to bounce back and chase Andrew Luck around the park. The trade for Trent Richardson could be a very good one for Indy in the longer term, but this weekend, it may not help them at all.
Monday 1:30am
Chicago Bears 27-13 Pittsburgh Steelers
I feel sorry for Pittsburgh fans; a once great franchise seems to be falling into ruin despite the best efforts of some great veteran players like Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu. The root cause of the problem is the play of the offensive line. They are poor in both the run game and the pass game, and the problem is worsened by the lack of talent around Big Ben, in some areas due to injury but the point remains. The defense is doing its best to keep its end of the bargain up, but when that unit is on the field for 45 out of 60 minutes every game, it becomes difficult for them to keep playing at a high level. The Bears are looking good, and this type of game, where a team are desperate to find a rhythm, suits them down to the ground. If they can go up early, then chasing could cause more problems for the Steelers; Peanut Tillman has a few interceptions already and it wouldn’t surprise me if he bagged a couple more here.
Tuesday 1:40am
Oakland Raiders 10-52 Denver Broncos
The offensive juggernaut of the Broncos welcomes the raiders to Denver on Monday Night Football, and fans could well see the first 50-burger of the season. While Terrelle Pryor may well be keeping Oakland off the bottom of the power rankings, their defense is not, and this is not a good sign coming to face a team with Peyton Manning at QB, especially when his team has put up 40 points in both weeks so far. To their credit, the Raiders are nowhere near as bad as many expected, and they will fight no matter the score, but the Broncos have gone all-in to win a Superbowl, and it is nights like these, in front of a national audience, that they will show everyone how good they are.