NFL Predictions: Week 3 Picks

So after two weeks of the NFL season, what do we know in the short season so far?

With Peyton Manning on the shelf, the Indianapolis Colts are absolutely doomed.

It also means that Tom Brady is the premier quarterback of the NFL right now.

Two weeks into the season, I'm already nominating Brady for the NFL MVP in 2011. He won the award last season and is the front-runner already to repeat.

If Brady continues to play at this level, the whole AFC is in some big trouble.

And how about Cam Newton?

It might be two games, but he's already the front-runner for the Rookie of the Year Award.

Now we go into Week 3 of the season with more games and picks.

Last week, I was 11-5 with picks, and I'm 20-11 for the season.

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

Michael Vick's status for the game is unknown due to suffering a concussion against the Falcons.

Vick did return to practice and is expected to play, but how effective will he be against the Giants?

The Giants are going into this game extremely banged up.

They just lost wide receiver Domenik Hixon for the season and Mario Manningham is unlikely to play due to a concussion.

That just leaves Hakeem Nicks as the only dependable wide receiver for Eli Manning to throw to, which means the running game will likely be used more.

The last time the Giants beat the Eagles was back in November of 2008. The Giants are 0-6 since then against Philadelphia.

I think it becomes 0-7 after this game.

Prediction: Eagles 31, Giants 17

New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills

You would never think in Week 3 this game would be a battle of 2-0 AFC East teams.

The Patriots at 2-0 is very believable, but not the Bills at 2-0.

Buffalo's offense under Ryan Fitzpatrick has been scoring a ton of points in their first two weeks.

They dominated the Chiefs in Week 1 and rallied to beat the Raiders last week.

But this week is the true test against Bill Belichick's Patriots.

New England has looked good in the first two weeks.

Tom Brady is playing like an MVP, and his offense is firing on all cylinders.

I think Buffalo will try to keep this game close and might even score points on the Patriots' defense, which is susceptible to allowing a lot of yards and points.

But in the end, Brady will lead New England to 3-0.

Prediction: Patriots 38, Bills 27

Jacksonville Jaguars at Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton is lighting up the NFL and making believers out of everyone.

He threw for 422 yards in his first game against the Cardinals. So what does he do for an encore?

He just throws 432 yards against the defending champion Packers.

The only problem is, it was in losing efforts as Carolina is 0-2.

But they will have a Jacksonville team coming into their building still searching for an identity.

It looks like Blaine Gabbert finally will get his chance to take control of the offense, as Luke McCown looked awful against the Jets last week.

Is Gabbert the real deal? It might be hard to see, considering his first game will be on the road.

In Week 3, I don't see Newton getting denied a victory.

Newton finally gets his first NFL win this week over Jacksonville and their rookie quarterback.

Prediction: Panthers 27, Jaguars 10

San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati Bengals

The 49ers were so close to being 2-0 last week.

But not even a broken rib and a punctured lung could stop Tony Romo from rallying to beat the 49ers at Candlestick Park in overtime.

Now, San Francisco will play their first game on the road this season against the scrappy Bengals.

Cincinnati has played in some tough games early on this season.

They rallied to beat the Browns in Week 1 and fought the Broncos hard in a losing effort last week.

But they soon could lose running back Cedric Benson to a three-game suspension for violating the NFL players conduct policy.

Benson doesn't meet with the NFL until Tuesday to determine if he is suspended or not, so he will play against the 49ers, which is bad news for the 49ers.

If Benson weren't playing, they might win this one on the road.

But I like the scrappy Bengals team at home this week in a close one.

Prediction: Bengals 24, 49ers 20

Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns

The Browns should be 2-0 right now.

They looked like they would knock off the Bengals in Week 1 but lost the lead late.

But they pulled off an upset on the road to knock off the Peyton Manning-less Colts.

Even with Kerry Collins starting, beating the Colts on the road for a team like Cleveland is still a big win.

Now they come home to a struggling Miami team.

The Dolphins are 0-2 at home in 2011. Now they'll play their first game on the road.

Miami's offense struggled last week against the Texans at home, and I think they will continue to struggle on the road against the Browns.

I don't like the Fish's chances of surviving in the "Dawg Pound."

Prediction: Browns 26, Dolphins 14

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings

That's right. The Lions are 2-0, and they are very much improved.

They pulled off an upset in Week 1 against the Buccaneers and absolutely dominated the Chiefs in Week 2.

Now in Week 3, it's a test on the road against their division rivals, the Vikings.

Minnesota has lost two close games in their first two weeks.

They allowed both the Chargers and Buccaneers to rally in the fourth quarter to beat them in the first two games.

So Minnesota could have been 2-0, but instead are 0-2.

Normally, you would think the Vikings are due to get a win this week at home.

Not this week, until they get knocked off, I'm taking Detroit in a close one on the road.

Prediction: Lions 21, Vikings 17

Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints

If you like watching offense, this is the game for you. A battle of two good offensive teams in each conference.

The Texans are 2-0 and looking like the top team now in the AFC South.

They've won despite not getting anything out of Arian Foster last week, who was recovering from being injured.

This will be a true test for the Houston defense going up against a good Saints offense in the Superdome.

The Saints rebounded from their Week 1 loss to the Packers and took care of the Bears last week to grab their first win.

Despite losing Marques Colston, Drew Brees is still finding ways for the offense to score points.

Expect this one to be a high-scoring game with the Saints prevailing in the end to give Houston their first loss of 2011.

Prediction: Saints 37, Texans 30

Denver Broncos at Tennessee Titans

Early on, the Titans have barely gotten any production out of Chris Johnson.

He held out of training camp until he got his contract extension, and he hasn't done squat yet to deserve it.

OK, I sound a little bitter, mostly because I did draft Johnson on my fantasy team and he's barely scoring me, and probably many owners all over, any points.

I think that will change this week at home against the Broncos' defense.

Tennessee pulled off a huge win last week against the Ravens, which was led by Matt Hasselbeck.

This week, I think it's Johnson who has the big day, breaking out against Denver.

The Broncos barely held on to win their first game of the year against the Bengals last week.

Denver has been in some close games in 2011 and could also be 2-0, especially if they had beaten Oakland in Week 1.

On the road this week for the first time, I don't see Denver beating Tennessee, but they'll keep it within reach.

Prediction: Titans 24, Broncos 16

Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers

The Chargers lost a tough one last week to the Patriots on the road.

San Diego was in the game, but they made some crucial mistakes that shot themselves in the foot.

Now, they'll come home to play a really awful Chiefs team.

Kansas City is 0-2 right now.

In two games, they have scored a total of 10 points while allowing 89 on defense.

As if that was bad enough, they lost leading rusher Jamaal Charles for the season with a torn ACL.

It just goes from bad to worse for Kansas City.

They don't look anything like the team that won the AFC West a season ago.

They'll be 0-3 after this week. San Diego should win easily in this one.

Prediction: Chargers 31, Chiefs 6

Baltimore Ravens at St. Louis Rams

Did anyone expect the Ravens to lose to the Titans last week?

I certainly didn't, but it happened.

On offense, they didn't get much going in the second half, scoring only three points while allowing Matt Hasselbeck and Kenny Britt to have a field day against the Ravens' defense.

Now, the Ravens will once again be on the road against the Rams.

The Rams had a lot of chances to beat the Giants last week on Monday Night Football, but they made too many mistakes and turnovers, showing their inexperience.

Despite being 0-2, Sam Bradford shows a lot of signs of being a good NFL quarterback with his development.

He threw for over 300 yards last week against the Giants' secondary.

Can Bradford do that again against the Baltimore secondary?

I don't see Baltimore letting that happen again two weeks in a row. Expect the Ravens to rebound.

Prediction: Ravens 28, Rams 17

New York Jets at Oakland Raiders

The Jets look like a serious contender in the AFC after their first two weeks.

They showed heart in rallying against the Cowboys in Week 1 and dominated the Jaguars last week in an easy game.

Their defense looked very dominant last week, allowing only three points and no touchdowns to Jacksonville.

Now, they'll play their first game on the road against the Raiders.

Oakland should be 2-0, but they lost a nail-biter on the road against the Bills.

The Raiders' offense did show they are very capable of scoring big, but their defense also showed they are prone to giving up a lot of yards, too.

This will be a close, tough game for both teams.

But in the end, the Jets should pull this one off to go to 3-0.

Prediction: Jets 27, Raiders 24

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears

The defending champions had to fight hard to pull out the win against the Panthers last week.

They started down 13-0 and then the Packers' offense got going. They also made Cam Newton make mistakes, forcing three interceptions on the rookie.

The Packers' defense still gave up a lot of yards to the Panthers, just like they did in Week 1 to the Saints.

Now, they will face the Bears in an NFC Championship rematch.

The last time the Bears played Chicago, Jay Cutler couldn't finish the game and people questioned his mental toughness because of it.

Will Cutler get a second chance to beat the Packers?

I think they will give Green Bay a fight, but Green Bay's defense will force Cutler to make mistakes.

Until someone can beat the Packers, I'm not picking against the current champions.

Prediction: Packers 30, Bears 21

Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks

The Cardinals were very close to going 2-0 last week, but lost a heart-breaker to the Redskins 22-21.

The Cardinals were up 21-12, but a late touchdown and field goal with a Chansi Stuckey fumble cemented a Redskins win.

Now, the Cardinals will play their NFC West rivals on the road, the Seahawks.

So, in Week 3, Tarvaris Jackson is still the starting quarterback for Seattle.

And Seattle is 0-2 because of it. And David Garrard still sits on the open market, unsigned. Yet, Jackson is the starter of this team.

The Seahawks have under-performed tremendously in 2011.

Marshawn Lynch hasn't been a factor, and Sidney Rice hasn't played in a game yet.

Things aren't looking good for Pete Carroll's team early on.

Arizona should rebound on the road to beat their division rivals.

Prediction: Cardinals 27, Seahawks 10

Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Falcons fought hard and rallied to beat the Eagles last week in a tough Sunday Night Football game.

Matt Ryan took a beating against the Philadelphia defense, yet he was tough until the end and beat the Eagles.

Now, his team will have another tough game against a division rival.

Tampa Bay was very close to starting off 0-2, but they pulled off a great rally to knock off the Vikings on the road.

Now they'll come home and try to knock off a division rival in their building.

The one knock on Atlanta is that they don't play as well on the road as they do at home, especially against good teams.

I think this week, Atlanta proves that theory wrong and knocks off Tampa Bay in a very tight game.

Prediction: Falcons 24, Buccaneers 21

Sunday Night Football: Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts

The Steelers rebounded from an embarrassing Week 1 loss against the Ravens and shut down and out the Seahawks last week.

It was anything that resembled the re-match of Super Bowl XL back in February of 2006, and Pittsburgh didn't need the referees to help them win this time.

Now, they'll play the Colts on Sunday Night Football.

Normally, this would be a heavyweight matchup between two AFC contenders.

Right now, the Colts are anything but an AFC contender. Not with Kerry Collins and without Peyton Manning.

Is Kerry Collins horrible? No. But he is nowhere near Manning's level and should be running his offense.

Without Manning, the Colts' 2011 season is absolutely doomed.

We had two good games the first week of Sunday Night Football games.

Don't expect this one to be, unfortunately.

Prediction: Steelers 34, Colts 14

Monday Night Football: Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys

Upset special coming up with this game.

The Redskins are 2-0 and in first place of the NFC East.

They knocked off the Giants in Week 1 and rallied to beat Arizona in Week 2.

Now, in Week 3, they play another division rival in the Cowboys.

Dallas is coming in with a ton of injuries.

Tony Romo has a broken rib. Felix Jones has a separated shoulder. Dez Bryant has a leg injury and Miles Austin has a hamstring injury.

Austin, despite having a monster game against the 49ers last week, will likely not play against Washington on Monday.

Bryant's status is also unknown for the game.

Romo and Jones are likely expected to play, but how effective they will be is a major question.

Washington always plays Dallas tough, especially at home.

And with all of the injuries Dallas has encountered over the first two weeks, it can't go well for the Cowboys on the road.

They got lucky against the 49ers, but I don't think it will end well in Washington.

Prediction: Redskins 28, Cowboys 27