NFL Week 3 Betting Picks: Colts, Seahawks, Lions Will Win and Cover Odds

It’s well-known that NFL teams starting 0-2 rarely rebound to make the playoffs, putting tremendous pressure on them to buck the odds.

Three teams that qualified for last year's postseason are hoping to be added to the list of five teams out of 66 (8 percent) that have accomplished the feat since 2007: the defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks, the Indianapolis Colts and the Detroit Lions.

The Colts have now gone 0-2 in successive seasons, and no team in NFL history has ever gotten into the playoffs when that has happened. Indianapolis does have Andrew Luck, though, and plays in arguably the weakest division in the league.

The team is a three-point road favorite versus the Tennessee Titans (1-1) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. Indianapolis has beaten them seven times in a row both straight up and against the spread in addition to winning 13 consecutive AFC South matchups (going 12-0-1 ATS).

The Seahawks are the biggest favorites of Week 3 as 14.5-point chalk, and they are 3-1 SU and ATS in their past four meetings with the Chicago Bears. While both teams are winless at 0-2, Seattle played its first two games on the road while Chicago dropped both at home.

The Bears are also riding a seven-game losing streak overall dating back to last year and will be playing without starting quarterback Jay Cutler due to a hamstring injury.

The Lions are three-point home underdogs for Sunday night against the unbeaten Denver Broncos (2-0), and they have also played their first two away from home. Detroit is 0-2 ATS, losing to the San Diego Chargers 33-28 as a 3.5-point underdog in Week 1 and following that up with a 26-16 setback versus the Minnesota Vikings as a 2.5-point dog in Week 2.

Denver has gotten defensive scores at the end of both of its first two games to win them, overcoming a pair of lackluster performances from future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.

Lions head coach Jim Caldwell knows Manning well from when he held the same position with the Indianapolis Colts, leading them to Super Bowl XLIV, where they lost 31-17 to the New Orleans Saints.