NFL Week 3 Predictions: Projections for the Early Lines, Spreads and Odds

If the injury fairies keep this up, the NFL may have to start calling Keanu Reeves and Jon Favreau by Week 10. 

Sunday provided another wildly entertaining slate of football, but it was unfortunately marred by an endless run of injuries. Robert Griffin III, Jamaal Charles, A.J. Green, Vernon Davis, Ryan Mathews, DeSean Jackson, Knowshon Moreno and several others went down with injuries of various severity. 

The landscape of the NFL is becoming increasingly unpredictable as a result, but let's take an early look at the Week 3 matchups and best bets. 

Note: Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Week 3 Odds and Predictions

Away	Home	Spread	Pick Against Spread
Tampa Bay	Atlanta	ATL (-4.5)	Falcons
San Diego	Buffalo	PK	Chargers
Oakland	New England	NE (-14.5)	Raiders
Minnesota	New Orleans	NO (-9.5)	Saints
Tennessee	Cincinnati	CIN (-7)	Bengals
Houston	NY GIants	HOU (-2.5)	Texans
Baltimore	Cleveland	PK	Ravens
Washington	Philadelphia	PHI (-6.5)	Redskins
Green Bay	Detroit	DET (-2)	Lions
Dallas	St. Louis	DAL (-1.5)	Cowboys
Indianapolis	Jacksonville	IND (-7)	Colts
San Francisco	Arizona	SF (-2)	Cardinals
Kansas City	Miami	MIA (-3.5)	Chiefs
Denver	Seattle	SEA (-3.5)	Seahawks
Pittsburgh	Carolina	CAR (-3.5)	Panthers
Chicago	NY Jets	PK	Bears

Atlanta Falcons (-4.5) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Think of the worst possible start to a season you can imagine, and it might not quite rival the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' last two weeks. 

Not only have they lost two games at home to teams being led by backup Derek Anderson and third-stringer Austin Davis, respectively, but they've been absolutely ravaged by injuries. Doug Martin, Adrian Clayborn, Michael Johnson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins missed Sunday's game. Gerald McCoy, arguably the team's best player, broke his hand. Mason Foster left with a shoulder injury. And on and on and on. 

The Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud and WTVT Fox13's Kevin O'Donnell summed up the recent spell of horrendous luck with some frightening numbers:

And the last thing a team with a handful of injuries to significant players wants? A Thursday night game on the road. The Bucs will get just that, though, as they travel to Atlanta to battle the Falcons on just three days of rest. 

It's the perfect storm for a blowout. 

Normally, betting on Thursday Night Football is a crapshoot. The lack of time to prepare tends to set the stage for some sloppy play, and results are often unpredictable. But the Falcons, despite an underwhelming Week 2 performance, have the explosive weapons to move the ball with ease against this banged-up defense. 

Dallas Cowboys (-1.5) at St. Louis Rams

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

While the Dallas Cowboys held the Tennessee Titans to just 10 points Sunday, they did allow 6.4 yards per play, which is more than they gave up in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers. So, the problems on defense haven't magically disappeared. 

However, Jason Garrett seems to have finally discovered the blueprint for masking those problems: smashmouth football with one of the best running backs in the league. 

The 'Boys handed the ball to DeMarco Murray 29 times Sunday, and the talented fourth-year back turned those totes into 167 yards and a touchdown. According to ESPN Stats & Info, he took 19 first-down carries for 116 yards (6.1 YPC). 

Rotoworld's Patrick Daugherty put it simply:

And yet Murray, who did fumble at the start of the game, could still only talk about getting better, via David Helman of the official Cowboys website.

"We had a good day running the ball, but we definitely left some yards out there," Murray said. "We’ve got to get better on a few things, we’ll watch film and review it. It was a good victory for us, but we’ve got to clean it up a little bit."

Thanks to the run-heavy attack (43 runs, 29 throws), the Cowboys held the ball for a staggering 41 minutes and 11 seconds, or 68.6 percent of the game, on their way to a 26-10 win. 

They'll have the chance to make similar work of the Rams, who won Sunday but let Bobby Rainey—who isn't quite on Murray's level in terms of talent—run for 144 yards on 22 carries.