NFL Predictions Week 3: Projections, Odds and Highlighting Top Fantasy Stars

Week 3 of the NFL season got off to an interesting, if unexciting start. Thursday night's game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans was—as has become par for the course for short-schedule games—on the sloppy side.

Neither team looked especially sharp. However, some clutch play from rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II and nine sacks from the Jacksonville defense were enough to net the Jaguars their first win of the season.

The Jags showed that they can be a dangerous team with Minshew running the show. The Titans, meanwhile, have lost all of the momentum they created by shellacking the Cleveland Browns in Week 1.

How will the rest of the NFL fare in Week 3? We will run down score predictions for every game, along with the latest odds and over/unders from Caesars and some top fantasy options for Sunday and Monday.

NFL Week 3 Odds, Over/Unders and Predictions

Atlanta Falcons (+1.5, o/u 47) at Indianapolis Colts: Atlanta 27-26

Baltimore Ravens (+5.5, o/u 52.5) at Kansas City Chiefs: Kansas City 30-28

Cincinnati Bengals (+6, o/u 43.5) at Buffalo Bills: Buffalo 30-21

New York Jets (+21.5 o/u 43.5) at New England Patriots: New England 30-13

Denver Broncos (+7.5, o/u 43) at Green Bay Packers: Green Bay 23-20

Detroit Lions (+5.5, o/u 45.5) at Philadelphia Eagles: Philadelphia 24-23

Miami Dolphins (+23, o/u 47.0) at Dallas Cowboys: Dallas 37-13

Oakland Raiders (+9.5, o/u 44.0) at Minnesota Vikings: Minnesota 30-28

Carolina Panthers (+2, o/u 44.5) at Arizona Cardinals: Cardinals 19-17

New York Giants (+6, 48.0) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: New York 20-18

Houston Texans (+3, o/u 48.5) at Los Angeles Chargers: Los Angeles 22-20

New Orleans Saints (+4, o/u 44.5) at Seattle Seahawks: Seahawks 21=17

Pittsburgh Steelers (+6.5, o/u 43.5) at San Francisco 49ers: San Francisco 28-22

Los Angeles Rams (-3.0, o/u 47.5) at Cleveland Browns: Los Angeles 30-20

Chicago Bears (-4, o/u 40.5) at Washington Redskins: Chicago 23-18

Adam Hunger/Associated Press

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals defense is not good. It looked respectable in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, but it was a disaster in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers—this, plus Seattle's close win over the Ben Roethlisberger-less Pittsburgh Steelers, might say something about the Seahawks.

If a quarterback is playing against the Bengals, though, he's probably a safe start in fantasy. Russell Wilson still completed 70 percent of his passes against Cincinnati and had a pair of touchdowns. Jimmy Garoppolo went off for 296 yards, three touchdowns and a pick.

Enter Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, a dual-threat signal-caller who should gash Cincinnati early and often. He's passed for 502 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions this season—which admittedly aren't impressive numbers. However, he's also rushed for 59 yards and two more scores.

It's Allen's running ability that makes him a potential Week 3 star. The Bengals have allowed an average of 165.5 yards rushing per game, third-most in the NFL. Expect Allen to rack up a few dozen yards on the ground to go with at least one touchdown.

Also expect Allen to hit a few big plays through the air. The guy has a cannon, and Cincinnati is allowing an average of 11.0 per passing attempt.

Allen landing four or five total touchdowns in this game wouldn't come as a shock.

Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers vs. Houston Texans

Melvin who? Los Angeles Chargers fans may have already forgotten about two-time Pro Bowl running back Melvin Gordon and his contract holdout. It's hard to blame anyone who has. Gordon hasn't been on the field, and the Chargers running game hasn't missed a beat.

As a team, Los Angeles ranks 10th in the league in rushing, averaging 131 yards per game. Justin Jackson has been a big piece of the puzzle, but it's Austin Ekeler who has been the star.

Through two weeks, Ekeler has racked up 124 yards rushing, 163 yards receiving, 16 receptions and three touchdowns.

"When the ball's in his hands, you never know what's going to happen," Chargers fullback Derek Watt said, per Bleacher Report's Tyler Dunne. "He can take it to the house every time."

Ekeler might take it to the house a few times against the Houston Texans. While Houston's defense isn't as poor as Cincinnati's, it's still not good. Houston has allowed an average of 125.5 yards rushing per game, 24th in the NFL. It has also allowed 270 passing yards per game, 22nd in the league.

For a dual-threat back like Ekeler, this is an ideal matchup. Just consider how New Orleans Saints back Alvin Kamara fared against the Texans in Week 1—97 yards rushing, 72 yards receiving, seven receptions—and you will recognize that Ekeler's floor in Week 3 is quite high. His fantasy ceiling is much, much higher.

Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings vs. Oakland Raiders

This season, Minnesota Vikings wideout Adam Thielen has been merely an above-average fantasy player. He has been consistent, though. He had three catches for 43 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 and five catches for 75 yards last week.

You can pretty much count on Thielen to top the 10-point mark in most PPR formats every week. Against the Oakland Raiders, though? Thielen should go off.

The Raiders managed to play a strong game against the Denver Broncos in their opener, but they struggled to defend the pass even then. This is why the fact that they have faced Patrick Mahomes doesn't heavily skew their last-place ranking in pass defense (342.5 yards per game allowed).

Joe Flacco passed for 268 yards and a score in Week 1. Expect Kirk Cousins—who desperately needs a statement game on his 2019 resume—to perform even better than that. Thielen will be one of the biggest beneficiaries.

Expect Thielen to snag at least a half-dozen passes against Oakland and to top the 100-yard mark for the first time in 2019.