NFL Week 3 Picks: Predicting the Winner and Score for All Upcoming Matchups

Week 3 in the National Football League features a handful of unique matchups. 

As it usually is in September, the schedule is full of AFC vs. NFC clashes and interdivisional showdowns in each conference. 

Of the 16 games being played from Thursday to Monday, only two pit division rivals against each other, with one clash coming from the NFC South and the other from the AFC South. 

Although it's only Week 3, some of the games possess intriguing quarterback situations that could linger in the coming weeks.

NFL Week 3 Schedule

Thursday, September 20 

New York Jets at Cleveland (8:20 p.m., NFL Network) 

Sunday, September 23 

New Orleans at Atlanta (1 p.m., Fox) 

San Francisco at Kansas City (1 p.m., Fox) 

Indianapolis at Philadelphia (1 p.m., Fox) 

Green Bay at Washington (1 p.m., Fox) 

New York Giants at Houston (1 p.m., Fox) 

Oakland at Miami (1 p.m., CBS) 

Buffalo at Minnesota (1 p.m., CBS) 

Cincinnati at Carolina (1 p.m., CBS) 

Tennessee at Jacksonville (1 p.m., CBS) 

Denver at Baltimore (1 p.m., CBS) 

Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams (4:05 p.m., CBS) 

Chicago at Arizona (4:25 p.m., Fox) 

Dallas at Seattle (4:25 p.m., Fox) 

New England at Detroit (8:20 p.m., NBC) 

Monday, September 24

Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay (8:15 p.m., ESPN) 

Score Predictions

Tampa Bay 26, Pittsburgh 21 

Week 3 was supposed to be the last time Ryan Fitzpatrick started at quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

However, it will be hard taking the 35-year-old off the field in favor of Jameis Winston if he produces yet another stellar showing. 

Fitzpatrick leads the NFL in passing yards with 819, and he's carried the Buccaneers to 75 points in victories over New Orleans and Philadelphia. 

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

The Bucs have another opportunity to beat one of the league's marquee teams on national television Monday night, when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Mike Tomlin's team has been far from perfect in the first two weeks, especially on defense, where it's given up 63 points to Cleveland and Kansas City. 

The good news for the Steelers is their offense put up some impressive numbers with Ben Roethlisberger sitting second behind Fitzpatrick in passing yards and James Conner fifth in rushing yards. 

While a good amount of the focus Monday night will be on Tampa Bay's quarterback situation and if Fitzpatrick deserves the permanent starting gig, plenty of attention will be paid to Pittsburgh's slow start. 

The absence of Le'Veon Bell isn't the only issue plaguing the Steelers, as their defense has been subpar, which is something we're not used to seeing from a Tomlin-coached team. 

Given the big-play potential of both sets of receivers, Monday's clash at Raymond James Stadium will be dominated by offense, with "FitzMagic" pulling off a third win in a row and creating some drama when Winston is eligible to return from suspension in Week 4. 

Philadelphia 21, Indianapolis 17 

Philadelphia's quarterback situation got brighter Monday, when Carson Wentz was cleared to return from an ACL injury. 

The 25-year-old sat on the sideline for the first two weeks of the season as a precautionary measure, as the Eagles didn't want to rush him back too soon following a long layoff.

The return of the North Dakota State product comes at the perfect time for the Super Bowl champion, as it's looking to bounce back at home following a rough loss to the Buccaneers. 

Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts doesn't carry a massive amount of stakes in the eyes of the Eagles, as it's against an AFC team and won't mean much in the standings when it comes to playoff tiebreakers if they lose. 

Before going down with the ACL injury against the Los Angeles Rams December 10, Wentz was putting together a MVP-caliber season with 3,296 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions. 

Although the Eagles will be riding an emotional high, they still have flaws to fix, especially in the receiving corps. 

Alshon Jeffery isn't close to returning and Mike Wallace is out with a fractured fibula, which means a cast of characters led by Zach Ertz and Nelson Agholor must step up to make Wentz's return special.

Andrew Luck and the Colts will play second fiddle on the national stage to the Eagles all week, but it won't be a surprise if they hang with Doug Pederson's team given head coach Frank Reich's familiarity with the Philadelphia defense. 

Mark Tenally/Associated Press

In his own return from injury, Luck has been decent with 498 passing yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions, but in order to defeat the Eagles at home, he needs to limit his turnovers. 

As it did in the Week 1 win over Atlanta, the Philadelphia defense comes up with a big stop in the second half to shift the momentum and set the stage for a game-winning drive out of Wentz. 

Other Predictions

Cleveland 17, New York Jets 14

New Orleans 27, Atlanta 23

San Francisco 21, Kansas City 17

Miami 16, Oakland 9

Minnesota 37, Buffalo 10

Green Bay 21, Washington 14

Carolina 27, Cincinnati 26

Jacksonville 21, Tennessee 15

Denver 17, Baltimore 13

Houston 31, New York Giants 27

Los Angeles Rams 45, Los Angeles Chargers 37

Chicago 21, Arizona 0

Seattle 24, Dallas 13

New England 21, Detroit 6

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.