NFL Week 3 Predictions: Initial Vegas Odds, Lines, Spreads and Projections

Longtime NFL handicappers know that getting an early look at the lines for the week ahead is essential to the business of picking winners and losers.

When you look at the lines, you almost always have a gut reaction to the numbers, and you have a feeling on who is going to cover and who is going to fall short.

The amateurs among us stick to those gut feelings and make those selections nearly a week later with the determination of a car salesman at the end of the month. They also declare their intentions with such bold declarations as "think long, think wrong."

There's nothing wrong with having an initial reaction or feeling strongly about it. However, there is something wrong with blindly sticking to it.

When the lines roll out, that's your jumping-off point. That's where you begin your research and your process of figuring out the games that you are most interested in playing.

By the way, you shouldn't want to play the Sunday night game or the Monday night game any more than any other game. We understand about catching up after a bad day or bad weekend, but that's the way you get into more trouble. 

Study the numbers, do your research and analyze the injury reports. That's the best way to find winners. The harder you work, the luckier you will be.

Here's our look at the early lines, courtesy of OddsShark. In games where lines have not yet been released, we will still make selections.

Game	Line	Prediction
Washington at N.Y. Giants	NYG -4	N.Y. Giants
Cincinnati at Baltimore	Balt. -3	Baltimore
New Orleans at Carolina	Car. -3	Carolina
Oakland at Cleveland	Cle. -4.5	Oakland
Atlanta at Dallas	Even	Dallas
Tampa Bay at Houston	Hou. -7	Houston
San Diego at Minnesota	Minn. -1	Minnesota
Jacksonville at New England	NE -14	Jacksonville
Philadelphia at N.Y. Jets	NL	N.Y. Jets
Pittsburgh at St. Louis	Even	Pittsburgh
Indianapolis at Tennessee	NL	Indianapolis
San Francisco at Arizona	Ariz. -7	Arizona
Buffalo at Miami	Mia. -2.5	Buffalo
Chicago at Seattle	NL	Seattle
Denver at Detroit	NL	Detroit
Kansas City at Green Bay	NL	Green Bay

New Raiders have some fight to their game

It has been a long time since the Oakland Raiders could compete in the NFL for 60 minutes. They have lost 10 games or more in 10 of the last 12 seasons.

When they got stampeded by the Cincinnati Bengals in the season opener, it looked like the 2015 version of the Raiders would be similar to most of the previous dozen.

But we pointed out prior to the first week of the season that this Raiders team looked different. They may have had a case of stagefright in the opening week of the season, but they bounced back with a hard-fought 37-33 victory over a strong Baltimore Ravens team in Week 2.

The Raiders are improving because they have the semblance of a real offense. Derek Carr fought off a thumb injury and was back in the lineup, and so was his standout rookie receiver in Amari Cooper. In addition, Latavius Murray has the ability to run between the tackles or burst to the outside.

"

Impressive week for Derek Carr thru injury/late-game adversity. "That's how you change a culture." (Via @RAIDERS http://t.co/CH62jXPUdg)

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 21, 2015"

"

Derek Carr completed his outstanding day with a last second TD to put the Raiders ahead. Huge day for him. What a difference a week makes

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) September 20, 2015"

If this was Dallas, we would call them triplets. Carr, Murray and Cooper are a long way from Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, but they have provided a game plan for head coach Jack Del Rio to follow.

On the defensive side, the Raiders have a stud of a linebacker in Khalil Mack.

When the Raiders go into Cleveland this week, there will be no more anxiety. They will simply play hard-nosed and determined football and give the hometown favorites a beating.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Texans take out their frustrations

Bill O'Brien showed off his personality and his coaching skills to fine reviews when the Houston Texans appeared on this summer's version of HBO's Hard Knocks.

O'Brien has an outsized personality, and he proved to be quite direct with his players and assistant coaches. He is one of those "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" kind of coaches.

That may play well on TV, but so far, the Texans have lost two games they should have won to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Carolina Panthers.

The Texans did not outplay either one of those opponents, but they should have won those games because they have more talent than either of those teams.

"

Texans' defense has been prone to many errors today, breaking down in pass coverage, run stopping, etc.

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 20, 2015"

They will be the more talented team in many other weeks, as will certainly be the case in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, quarterbacked by rookie and No. 1 draft choice Jameis Winston.

The Texans send J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Brian Cushing onto the field every time they play defense. Most teams would be thrilled to have one player who ranks with that trio, let alone three.

It is time for the Texans to play shut-down football on defense. That means O'Brien and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel have to start making demands and start pushing their players harder.

There's no way Winston should be able to drive the ball on the Texans. This is the week that Houston starts to show the NFL just how good a team it has.

The Texans will get their first win, and it will come by a double-digit margin.

Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

No stopping Antonio as Steelers head to St. Louis

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been trying to chase down the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central all season.

The standings show that they have not made much progress.

Perhaps the Steelers will show that a team in black and gold can be successful in St. Louis.

The Steelers were one of the most impressive teams in Week 2 as they routed the San Francisco 49ers 43-18.

The Steelers had shown signs in their opener at New England that their offense was going to be quite effective this year because they moved the ball well on the ground even though Le'Veon Bell was out of the lineup. Former Panther DeAngelo Williams attacked the line of scrimmage, and his credibility in the running game opened things up for Ben Roethlisberger and wideout Antonio Brown.

"

#Steelers had time to decide on runner to start while Le'Veon Bell suspended. @DeAngeloRB runs for 3 TDS. Steelers were 0-5 without Bell.

— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) September 20, 2015"

If that unit was good in Week 1, it was simply sensational in Week 2 (453 yards and six touchdowns). However, the reason the Steelers were able to roll to victory against the Niners was the improved play of the defense. The Steelers have not figured out the answers on defense, but Keith Butler's unit played with speed and much better timing than it had in Week 1.

Oh, yes, they also hit the way a Steelers defense is supposed to hit.

This week, the Steelers are scheduled to get Bell back in the lineup. They will now have a two-headed running attack. When they go to St. Louis, the Steelers will be a finely tuned machine on offense and a hard-edged bunch of hitters on defense.

The early line has this game dead even. It will not play out that way, as the Steelers will roll, and they will serve notice that they will be a force all season.