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

Week 3 in the NFL has already provided plenty of entertainment, with Baker Mayfield making his debut and leading the Cleveland Browns to their first victory since December 2016 on Thursday night against the New York Jets. Hopefully Sunday's action can follow up on that satisfying appetizer.

Based on the spreads, which OddsShark shared, it looks like we should be in store for an exciting gameweek. 10 of the remaining fixtures feature spreads of under seven points, which indicates there will be close games and exciting finishes.

Here's a rundown of the games, followed by a closer look at three of the best bets of Week 3. Predicted winners against the spread are in bold.

Bills at Vikings (-16.5)

Giants at Texans (-6)

49ers at Chiefs (-6.5)

Saints at Falcons (-3)

Packers (-2.5) at Redskins

Colts at Eagles (-7)

Raiders at Dolphins (-3)

Broncos at Ravens (-5.5)

Bengals at Panthers (-3)

Titans at Jaguars (-9.5)

Chargers at Rams (-7)

Cowboys at Seahawks (-1.5)

Bears (-4.5) at Cardinals

Patriots (-7) at Lions

Steelers (-1.5) at Buccaneers

Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams (-7)

Rich Barnes/Associated Press

Picking this game requires a bit of guesswork because neither the Los Angeles Chargers offense nor the Los Angeles Rams defense has been tested through the first two games. 

The Chargers have put 59 points on the board, but the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills provided minimal resistance. On the other side, the Rams defense has held the inept offenses of the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals to 13 combined points.

So which unit are you willing to trust?

It's possible both units are as good as they have looked, but it's a little easier to buy into the Chargers based on last year's success.

In 2017, the Chargers ranked fourth in total offense and return the majority of their key players, most notably quarterback Philip Rivers and running back Melvin Gordon.

The Rams, however, have revamped their defense with additions of Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters and others. Those are excellent additions to the defense, but it's common for a unit many new faces to run into some growing pains early in the season. Since the Chargers will be the first competent offense to challenge them, it's possible this matchup turns into a shootout and the Chargers find a way to keep it closer than expected.

Prediction: Rams 31, Chargers 27

New England Patriots (-7) at Detroit Lions

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

The New England Patriots are heavy favorites to knock off the Detroit Lions on Sunday night, but a prime-time game on the road has proved to be a tricky spot for them in recent seasons.

Since the start of 2015, New England has played seven prime-time road games, and while it has gone 5-2 overall, only two of those victories were by more than seven points.

Just last season, the Patriots had a stunning road loss on a Monday night against a Miami Dolphins team that went 6-10. They also had a close call against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, pulling out a 19-14 victory against a squad that finished the year 5-11.

So even though the Lions don't appear to be a formidable opponent, sometimes the added spotlight of a prime-time game causes teams to elevate their performances to another level.

Prediction: Patriots 24, Lions 20

Steelers (-1.5) at Buccaneers

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Through the first two gameweeks, no one has been able to figure out Ryan Fitzpatrick and the high-powered Buccaneers offense. However, the Bucs defense hasn't been able to figure out opposing quarterbacks, either.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and the Philadelphia Eagles' Nick Foles have combined to complete 77.4 percent of their passes for 753 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions against the Bucs defense.

With the unit allowing opposing quarterbacks to move the ball at will, Tampa Bay has needed every bit of Fitzpatrick's magical performance to jump out to a surprising 2-0 start.

Based on Brees and Foles' success, it's hard to imagine Ben Roethlisberger having any trouble carving up the Bucs defense Monday night, even without Le'Veon Bell, who has yet to report back to the Pittsburgh Steelers because of a contract dispute. So to pick Tampa Bay to stretch its record to 3-0 requires believing in the 35-year-old Fitzpatrick to keep up his MVP pace.

There does seem to be some genuine improvement to the Bucs offense thanks to innovative offensive coordinator Todd Monken. However, it's hard to buy in enough to trust Fitzpatrick to outscore Roethlisberger in this one.

Prediction: Steelers 30, Buccaneers 24