NFL Predictions Week 3: Picks and Odds Advice for Latest Schedule

In a perfect world, those who wish to play NFL Week 3 lines got a head start against the house.

More often than not, it is easier for bettors to take advantage of early-week lines. There, the house can make slight goofs before adjusting lines later in the week or getting impacted by breaking news.

Luckily for bettors, plenty of solid lines exist this weekend and a quick guide will shine the proper light. Whether it is injuries, a simple mismatch or something more, procrastinators can look like those winners who prepared all week if they know where to search.

NFL Week 3 Odds

Matchup	Spread	O/U	Predicted Winner
Minnesota at Carolina	CAR -7	43	CAR 23-17
Detroit at Green Bay	GB -7.5	48	GB 28-25
Baltimore at Jacksonville	BAL -1	47	JAC 20-17
Arizona at Buffalo	ARI -4.5	47	ARI 24-20
Oakland at Tennessee	TEN -1	47	OAK 23-14
Cleveland at Miami	MIA -10	42.5	MIA 17-13
Washington at N.Y. Giants	NYG -4	47	NYG 30-27
Denver at Cincinnati	CIN -3	41	DEN 23-17
San Francisco at Seattle	SEA -9	40	SEA 24-23
L.A. Rams at Tampa Bay	TB -6	42	TB 28-24
N.Y. Jets at Kansas City	KC -3	43.5	KC 21-17
San Diego at Indianapolis	IND -3	52	SD 28-20
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia	PIT -3.5	46.5	PIT 24-23
Chicago at Dallas	DAL -7	45.5	DAL 30-17
Atlanta at New Orleans (MNF)	NO -3	53.5	NO 33-30

Last-Minute Odds to Bet 

Arizona (-4.5) at Buffalo

It isn't hard to see why bettors may fall in love with the idea of the Buffalo Bills pulling off an upset of the Arizona Cardinals while playing host this weekend.

After all, the Bills have a talented Rex Ryan-led defense, a versatile quarterback in Tyrod Taylor, a great weapon for him to hit in Sammy Watkins and a running back by the name of LeSean McCoy. 

Perspective always helps: The Bills fired former offensive coordinator Greg Roman this week, and while Taylor has three touchdowns to one interception, Watkins has caught all of six passes and McCoy has 117 yards on a 3.8 per-carry average. 

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport provided some news on Sunday that those with an upset on the mind will want to hear:

Arizona might have to travel, but head coach Bruce Arians boasts the better team. The Cardinals have the Super Bowl on the mind, even after getting upset in Week 1 by the New England Patriots. Last week was a return to form in a 40-7 dismantling of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which quarterback Carson Palmer tossed a trio of touchdowns and the defense forced five turnovers. 

It is not hard to see the writing on the wall here. A team, professional or not, doesn't just implement a new offense after one week while missing a key player. It especially doesn't do it against this Cardinals defense. 

Prediction: Cardinals 24-20

Denver at Cincinnati (-3) 

Underdog or favorite, there are plenty of times to roll with the Cincinnati Bengals. 

But this weekend isn't one of them. 

After a one-point win against the New York Jets to start the season, the Bengals showcased distinct weaknesses in a 24-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Andy Dalton only managed one passing score and the entire offense rushed for a paltry 2.6 yards-per-carry average. 

The Cincinnati offense has had a hard time moving the ball after offseason losses of key players around wideout A.J. Green such as Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones. Tight end Tyler Eifert has remained hurt. Going into this weekend Dalton has practiced in full, but he suffered a nagging ankle issue in the loss to Pittsburgh.

Don Wright/Associated Press

Denver is one of those teams that doesn't seem to have any problems no matter what. Trevor Siemian is the new starting quarterback, and he didn't struggle too much in wins against the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts thanks to a defense that has yet to give up more than 20 points. 

With C.J. Anderson leading the way, the ground game has come on as an unexpected strength for the Broncos, rushing for three scores and a 4.7 yards-per-carry average. Now would be the time bettors will want to hear the Bengals have been absolutely gashed on the ground so far, coughing up totals of 124 and 152 yards. 

Denver wins this one through defense and simple logistics. Cincinnati can't stop the rush or rush the ball. The latter is especially terrible in this matchup because it will place more pressure on a perhaps hobbled Dalton, who will look to Green. The problem there is Green will have to deal with names such as Chris Harris while nobody else in the passing game takes attention away from him.

Prediction: Broncos 23-17

Chicago at Dallas (-7) 

Sunday Night Football is usually a fun game to bet on because it is widely accessible to most audiences and features a pair of noteworthy teams. 

One of the above is true about this week's game between the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas isn't a bad team, but isn't what it could be, either. Rookie Dak Prescott continues to play in place of the injured Tony Romo and helped lead the team to a 27-23 win against the Washington Redskins last week. 

This might lend bettors to the idea of an upset against a normal opponent, but the Bears don't fit that classification. A better label might be dumpster fire ready to look ahead to next year's draft, and that's almost being kind. 

Chicago has only scored 14 points apiece to start the season and last week quarterback Jay Cutler had to leave with an injury. Conor Myles of Philadelphia Sports Network put the team-wide issues into perspective: 

"It's the next man up. You don't have any choice. Nobody comes and rescues you. They're not going to cancel the game. So I don't get much into it," head coach John Fox said, according to ESPN.com. 

Indeed, there's no help for the Bears this weekend, with the team missing perhaps Cutler alongside notables such as Danny Trevathan, Eddie Goldman, Willie Young, Adrian Amos, Bryce Callahan, Kyle Fuller, Tracy Porter and Will Sutton.

Dallas shouldn't have many problems moving the football as Prescott continues to get more comfortable with guys like Jason Witten and Dez Bryant. The defense, which hasn't allowed more than 23 points, won't have to worry about a stagnant offense on the road. 

Prediction: Cowboys 30-17

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

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