Week 3 Preseason Predictions: Five Key Games

Derek Lofland, NFL director at Fantasy Football Maniaxs

While it may have lost some significance in recent years, the third week of the preseason is always the most important game of the preseason.  

It’s when we usually see the starters play for an entire half. 

The 2007 playoff teams went 9-3 in the third week of the preseason last year. The Cowboys lost to the Texans, the Giants lost to the Jets, and the Packers lost to the Jaguars.  Both the Jaguars and Packers made the playoffs. 

Staying healthy is always the first goal of preseason. In the case of Tom Brady, the Patriots aren’t going to try to win the third preseason game at the expense of their franchise. Still, with starters expected to go into the third quarter I’m going to look at 5 key games, not so much in terms of who will win the game, but the matchups I’m looking for in these games.

1) Philadelphia Eagles at New England:

These are the two teams I predicted to lose in the Conference Championship. I don’t really care what New England’s offense looks like unless Tom Brady is going to miss time to start the season. With the KGB type culture up in Foxboro who knows how bad that foot is right now.  My guess is Brady will be ready to play in the opener. Tampa Bay abused New England’s defense on the opening drive. I want to see New England’s rebuilt defense play with some pride. I want to see how they handle a speedy back like Brian Westbrook. I don’t think Brady is going to play and that should allow the Eagles to win this game. Winner: Philadelphia

2) Jacksonville at Tampa Bay:

This is a matchup between two playoff teams from a year ago.  The Bucs were very impressive in their opening drive against the Patriots opening the game with a drive that lasted over nine minutes and resulted in a touchdown. I want to see how Jeff Garcia looks in his first action of the preseason. I want to see how the Bucs run defense stops one of the best ground attacks in the NFL. 

For Jacksonville, I want to see how they put pressure on Garcia, a quarterback that doesn’t make many mistakes but did have three of his four interceptions in 2007 against Jacksonville. I like how Tampa Bay is playing in the preseason and the Jags still won’t have their receivers. I look for the Bucs in a close one. Winner: Tampa Bay

3) New York Giants at New York Jets: 

The Giants defensive line looked very good against Cleveland. They knocked Derek Anderson out of the game. Here is what I’m looking for in this contest. 

How does the rebuilt line of the NY Jets handle one of the premier defensive lines in the NFL?  How does Brett Favre look against the defense that kept his Packers out of the Super Bowl in 2007? 

Can the Jets run the ball against the Giants to give #4 a chance with play action passing and relieve the pass rush? Will Brett be forced into sacks and interceptions trying to dissect this defense on his own? 

I don’t expect a lot in Brett’s second preseason game. I look for him to play above average, but in order to beat the NY Giants first team he will have to be exceptional.  I look for the Giants to win the game. Winner: NY Giants

4) Pittsburgh at Minnesota: 

This one is very simple too. I want to see how the Steelers ground game does against one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. I want to see how Jared Allen does against a team that allowed a ton of sacks in 2007. Finally, I want to see how Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, and Heath Miller do against a secondary that gave up the most passing yards in the NFL a year ago. 

On the Vikings' offense I want to see how Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor do against a tough defense. I want to see how the Vikings offense looks without QB Tarvaris Jackson who is questionable for the opener. I like the Steelers to win this game, but by a fairly low score. Winner: Pittsburgh

5) Seattle at San Diego: 

I don’t expect LaDanian Tomlinson to play too much, but I want to see how Phillip Rivers and the passing game handle the Seattle pass rush. I want to see how the Seattle offense runs against a Chargers team that was inconsistent against the run last season. 

I want to see how the Seahawks' thin receiver core does in terms of getting open for Matt Hasselbeck. How many coverage sacks is he going to take?  It’s tough to say who will win this game, because of Tomlinson’s traditionally light workouts, but I think San Diego will win this contest behind their vicious defense. Winner: San Diego