NFL Odds: Week 3 Matchup Power Rankings
by Alan Matthews - 6/3/2014
Really not a very sexy lineup of games in Week 3 -- the last before the bye weeks again -- but the entire schedule is boosted up by one matchup: the Super Bowl rematch between the Broncos and Seahawks in Seattle. Think that will do well ratings-wise for CBS? The following odds are part of the full-season of NFL odds that were released recently by CG Technologies in Las Vegas.
1. Broncos at Seahawks (-3.5): Both teams can really go all-out here, as I'm sure they would anyways, because both are on a bye in Week 4. It's really rare for a club to make Peyton Manning look bad twice in a row.
2. Redskins at Eagles (-4.5): If you happen to land DeSean Jackson in your fantasy football draft make sure he's in the lineup for this one. Jackson badly wants to stick it to the Skins for waiving him and trashing his reputation on the way out the door.
3. 49ers (-2.5) at Cardinals: I thought it was a long shot that Arizona would make the playoffs this year. Now it's even longer with top linebacker Daryl Washington suspended the entire 2014 campaign. It's sad guys can't stay off the weed when there's millions of dollars at stake. The Niners made sure Arizona wasn't a playoff team in Week 17 last year with a 23-20 win in the desert.
4. Bears at Jets ("pick'em"): This is the Monday night game, and the Bears are likely to be fairly beaten up heading into it as they visit the 49ers the previous week. Not that the Jets have it much easier in Week 2, visiting Green Bay.
5. Steelers at Panthers (-3.5): It would be an upset in my mind if this isn't the lowest-scoring game of Week 3. Pittsburgh has a minor advantage here with a few extra days to prepare. It plays in Baltimore on Thursday night in Week 2.
6. Packers (-1) at Lions: This game will tell me if Detroit will contend for the NFC North this season as it's one the Lions will need to win to be taken seriously. When the Packers last visited Ford Field they were blown out 40-10 on Thanksgiving last season. It gave Detroit command of the division, but it also wouldn't win another game.
7. Chiefs at Dolphins ("pick'em"): These teams seem really similar to me. They aren't bad, but I don't think either is particularly good. This is a must-win for Kansas City in some ways; otherwise it might be looking at a four-game losing streak heading into its bye. Why? The Chiefs are at Denver Week 2, home to New England Week 4 and at San Francisco Week 5.
8. Cowboys at Rams ("pick'em"): Would you like to bet me that Dallas again has the NFL's worst defense this year after losing linebacker Sean Lee? I could easily see the Cowboys 0-3 after this one. The Rams lost 31-7 in Week 3 last season in Dallas as DeMarco Murray ran for 175 yards for Dallas.
9. Texans at Giants (-4): I'm calling two sacks for Houston rookie and Defensive ROY favorite Jadeveon Clowney in this game against a porous Giants offensive line.
10. Buccaneers at Falcons (-5.5): This is the Thursday short week game and the Bucs' first road game of 2014. Atlanta has a very tough one in Week 2 at Cincinnati, while the Bucs are home to St. Louis. The Falcons beat the visiting Bucs 31-23 in Week 7 a year ago behind three TD passes from Matt Ryan.
11. Chargers at Bills (-1): I don't give San Diego much chance of winning this game. For one, it comes after the Chargers host Seattle. Second, those West Coast teams playing on the East Coast at 10 a.m. Pacific time rarely do well.
12. Titans at Bengals (-7): This feels like a game in which Jake Locker gets injured. We know it's coming at some point. The teams haven't met since 2011, a 24-17 Titans home win when Matt Hasselbeck was their QB.
13. Ravens at Browns ("pick'em"): It's the first road game of the season for Baltimore. The Ravens lost 24-18 in Cleveland last year. That ended the Browns' 11-game losing streak in the series.
14. Vikings at Saints (-10): This will be New Orleans' home opener, and the Saints are invincible at the Superdome when Coach Sean Payton is on the sideline.
15. Colts (-6) at Jaguars: This will be Indy's first non-prime time game of the season after opening with two very tough ones at Denver and home to Philadelphia. This also is Jacksonville's home opener. The Jags were blown out 37-3 at home by Indianapolis last season.
16. Raiders at Patriots (-13): If this were the 2001 season, it would be the marquee matchup on the schedule. Here's guessing there won't be any drama like the "Tuck Rule Game" between these two in the AFC divisional playoff game following that season. This is New England's home opener.
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