NFL Week 3 Picks: Rounding Up Top Experts' Predictions

Two weeks into the 2014 NFL season, fans are already starting to draw conclusions about many teams in the league. As a result, predictions for a few of Week 2's games are looking consistent across the board.

Picking the straight-up winners for each NFL game is extremely difficult given the amount of parity throughout the league. Just when you think you know all the answers, the Cleveland Browns beat the New Orleans Saints.

Sometimes it's a good idea to monitor how some smarter minds are handicapping the games. Maybe there's an upset you never considered. Or maybe you can get validation for that one upset that you are picking but nobody else is.

Below are the Week 3 picks from Bleacher Report's six national lead writers.

Matchup	Matt Bowen	Mike Freeman	Matt Miller	Ty Schalter	Michael Schottey	Mike Tanier
SD at BUF	SD	SD	SD	SD	BUF	SD
BAL at CLE	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL
TEN at CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN
DAL at STL	DAL	STL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL
GB at DET	GB	GB	GB	DET	DET	DET
HOU at NYG	NYG	NYG	HOU	HOU	HOU	HOU
IND at JAX	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
MIN at NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
OAK at NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
WAS at PHI	PHI	WAS	PHI	WAS	PHI	PHI
SF at ARI	SF	SF	SF	ARI	SF	SF
DEN at SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA
KC at MIA	KC	KC	MIA	MIA	KC	MIA
PIT at CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	PIT
CHI at NYJ	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	NYJ	CHI

Note: You can view the Week 3 picks from all 16 of B/R's NFL experts here.

Games to Watch

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions

Stop Aaron Rodgers, and you stop the Green Bay Packers. Executing that plan is far easier said than done, of course.

The star quarterback is looking to make history this week. Only three QBs have eclipsed 25,000 career passing yards before their 100th career game, per Numbers Never Lie:

Rodgers didn't look great against the Seattle Seahawks, but he recovered last Sunday in a 31-24 win over the New York Jets.

Historically, the three-time Pro Bowler has the Lions' number. Rodgers is 9-1 in his career against Detroit, throwing for 2,559 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Heading into Week 2, MLive.com's Kyle Meinke argued that the Lions should've done more to strengthen their secondary in the offseason, and choosing to ignore the unit would come back to haunt them later:

"

Since that day, the Lions cut starting cornerback Chris Houston because of his inability to overcome a toe injury from last December. Then on Tuesday, they announced starting nickel man Bill Bentley is lost for the season after tearing an ACL in the opener against the New York Giants.

Those are two giant blows for a team whose biggest weakness already was the secondary. They struggled against the pass last year, ranking 23rd, and then decided to focus on offense in free agency and the draft.

"

Giving up 281 yards through the air to Cam Newton did little to dispel the notion that Detroit's secondary remains a major problem.

With that said, the Lions defense doesn't need to cover the entire field.

They would do well to focus on isolating Jordy Nelson and put him on an island. Through two games, Nelson has 18 receptions for 292 yards and a touchdown. Randall Cobb is second on the Packers in receptions and yards, with 11 and 97, respectively.

It's clear that Nelson is Rodgers' favorite target. In two games, he's targeted Nelson 30 times, per ESPN Stats and Info:

If Detroit can eliminate Nelson as a consistent target for Rodgers, then the Lions will prevail.

However, between Rodgers' history against the team and Detroit's defensive issues, this looks like a close Green Bay win. Having Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and Reggie Bush is only worth so much when you can't stop the other team.

Prediction: Green Bay 34, Detroit 30

San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals

If the Arizona Cardinals want to be considered a serious threat to win the NFC West and beyond, they have to beat the San Francisco 49ers at home. The Cardinals are a very strong team, but most see them as third in the division's pecking order.

Taking the 49ers out would send the message that Arizona is for real and doesn't need a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback to be one of the best teams in the league.

The Cardinals will likely be without Carson Palmer, who's still dealing with a nerve problem in his shoulder. He admitted that he's attempted various means to try to heal his shoulder, but he's running out of options and time.

"I wish I had a concrete answer or somebody knew exactly what to do to wake it up," said Palmer, per Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic. "The only answer is time, and I'm hoping it doesn't take any more time."

Matt York/Associated Press

Drew Stanton went 14-of-29 against the New York Giants on Sunday in Palmer's absence. Those numbers aren't great, but they're good enough when he can rely on Andre Ellington's running ability and one of the best defenses in the league.

The 49ers will be a completely different beast from the Giants, though.

San Francisco is coming off a bad loss to the Chicago Bears, but you have to wonder how often the team will be that bad again:

Colin Kaepernick had only thrown more than one interception in a game once. He threw three against the Bears. Kaepernick looked almost lost on the field, like one of the aliens from Space Jam had stolen his talent.

This game is bound to be close. The difference between the two teams isn't very big.

The 49ers do own a significant advantage at quarterback, though, and that could well be what decides the outcome. As good as the Cardinals are, they're bound to be dragged down by their erratic QB play at some point.

Prediction: San Francisco 20, Arizona 17

Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks

In case you weren't aware, the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks met in the Super Bowl. That storyline hasn't been played up too much as these two teams prepare to meet.

Two things are really working against the Broncos at the moment. They've struggled massively in the second half of their first two games, and the Seahawks are likely still seething from their loss to the San Diego Chargers. A highly motivated Seahawks team playing at home is nearly unbeatable right now.

Former Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe thinks Seattle's defeat could actually work in Denver's favor, per Mike Klis of The Denver Post:

"

Seattle's going to be ticked off. The Broncos have played two very good first halves. That won't be good enough next week against Seattle. They know that. They have to play better. They will play better.

But I think San Diego showed Seattle is beatable. Everybody was talking about them like they were the '76 Steelers. Are they a good football team? Absolutely. But they're beatable.

"

Surrendering 133 rushing yards to a largely Jamaal Charles-less Kansas City Chiefs offense is a concerning sign going into Sunday. Much of Seattle's offensive game plan will revolve around Marshawn Lynch. The more successful he is, the better off the Seahawks will be.

The Broncos aren't going to be lucky enough to have Lynch carry six times as he did against the Chargers:

If this game was in Denver, then you could consider the Broncos favorites. On the road, the defending Super Bowl champs will take the victory.

Prediction: Seattle 28, Denver 17