Week 3 NFL Picks: Can Carson Wentz Turn Things Around for the Minnesota Vikings?
Well, we’re through two weeks of the NFL regular season, and the picks have been “meh” in both.
We did crack the .500 mark by going 8-8, but it’s time to start making some ground towards a winning record. Before we get into the Week 3 NFL picks, here is a look at how we fared in Week 2:
- Packers -3.5 (W)
- Titans +5.5 (L)
- Bengals -3.5 (W)
- Ravens -11.5 (W)
- Jets +6.5 (L)
- Dolphins -1.5 (L)
- Saints +4.5 (L)
- Cowboys -5.5 (L)
- Lions -6.5 (W)
- Steelers -2.5 (L)
- Broncos -1.5 (L)
- Cardinals -6.5 (W)
- Chiefs +1.5 (L)
- Falcons +3.5 (W)
- Buccaneers +2.5 (W)
- Chargers -3.5 (W)
Season Record: 15-17
Week 3 NFL Picks
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
- Spread: Bills -11.5
- O/U: 49.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Bills -11.5
Not even the home cooking of Miami could save the Dolphins last weekend, and it’s a sign that things are dreadfully wrong with this team right now. Meanwhile, Josh Allen did not have a spectacular game, especially by his standards, against the New York Jets, and still, the Bills won 30-10. Buffalo has the superior talent, the superior quarterback, the superior coaching, and they are at home. Bills win big on Thursday night.
Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns
- Spread: Packers -7.5
- O/U: 40.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Packers -7.5
The Green Bay Packers are a legit Super Bowl contender this year as much as it might pain Vikings fans to admit it. Jordan Love has a litany of talented weapons around him, and this defense has been taken to another level after the addition of Micah Parsons.
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans
- Spread: Colts -3.5
- O/U: 43.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Colts -3.5
Allow me to go on a quick rant: I’ve seen on the interwebs some comparison between the Indianapolis Colts’ 2-0 start to the New Orleans Saints’ 2-0 start from last year, but this feels different. New Orleans beat the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys, who finished 32nd and 31st respectively in points allowed last season. The Miami Dolphins may be legitimately bad, but the Denver Broncos should not finish the season anywhere near the bottom of the league in points allowed. Indianapolis beat both of them. This is a good team that gets to 3-0 this weekend.
Cincinnati Bengals at Minnesota Vikings
- Spread: Vikings -3.5
- O/U: 41.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Bengals +3.5
The Vikings have been absolutely ravaged by injuries, and it doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Of course, the Cincinnati Bengals won’t have Joe Burrow in the lineup, but Vikings fans know all too well that Jake Browning is no slouch and is capable of showing up in clutch moments. Perhaps Carson Wentz can be the latest Case Keenum/Sam Darnold in Minnesota, but this will be a close game.
Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
- Spread: Steelers -1.5
- O/U: 44.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Patriots +1.5
Do I have to pick this game, or can I have a pass? We have gotten polar opposite performances week to week from both of these teams, and now, they meet at Foxborough. Ultimately, my pick relies on this: what is more likely, a Drake Maye emergence or Aaron Rodgers resurgence at 41 behind a not great offensive line? I’ll take Maye.
Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles
- Spread: Eagles -3.5
- O/U: 44.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Eagles -3.5
It’s a battle of 2-0 squads in Philadelphia, and neither squad has shown a ton of reason to doubt that they can make the playoffs this year. Ultimately, though, the Eagles haven’t lost a game at home since Week 2 of last season, and the reigning Super Bowl champs can rely on Saquon Barkley to control the clock.
New York Jets at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Spread: Buccaneers -6.5
- O/U: 43.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Buccaneers -6.5
The Jets have not shown much defensively through two weeks, and Justin Fields will not play in this game due to a concussion. Baker Mayfield is not one to shy away from an opportunity to make a statement, and the Buccaneers get the win at home.
Las Vegas Raiders at Washington Commanders
- Spread: Commanders -3.5
- O/U: 44.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Raiders +3.5
The Raiders weren’t able to overcome a physical Los Angeles Chargers team on Monday, but the Commanders have not quite gotten the same juice that they had last year to begin this season. This could be a nice bounce back spot for Las Vegas.
Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
- Spread: Falcons -5.5
- O/U: 43.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Panthers +5.5
The Falcons are on the road for the second consecutive, which is not an easy task even if they did dominate the Vikings on Sunday Night Football. The Panthers may be 0-2, but they did show some life down the stretch of their loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Carolina keeps it close.
Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars
- Spread: Jaguars -1.5
- O/U: 43.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Texans +1.5
This game feels like it could be one we point to at the end of the season as the turning point for each of the teams involved. The Jaguars beat the Panthers in Week 1 only to lose to the Bengals who finished the game without Joe Burrow, and the Texans desperately need to get into the win column at 0-2. Ultimately, the Texans are a better team with a talented defense, and they get the momentum-changing win.
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers
- Spread: Chargers -2.5
- O/U: 45.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Chargers -2.5
It’s been a very weird start to the year for the Denver Broncos. Bo Nix hasn’t quite gotten into a rhythm yet this year, and the defense struggled against Indianapolis last weekend. The Chargers, on the other hand, have made back-to-back statements on their way to 2-0. Make it 3-0 this weekend.
New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks
- Spread: Seahawks -7.5
- O/U: 41.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Seahawks -7.5
Spencer Rattler has been surprisingly good at quarterback for the Saints (don’t look at the box score; look at the drops his receivers have had). However, outside of the QB and Alvin Kamara, there is little about this Saints team that is capable of keeping this game competitive against a pretty good Seahawks offense and a very good defense.
Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears
- Spread: Bears -1.5
- O/U: 50.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Cowboys +1.5
This line makes no sense to me. Sure, the Cowboys might not have a great defense, but what about what happened this past weekend showed that the Bears deserve to be favored against anybody other than maybe the Cleveland Browns? Maybe it’s too obvious, but I’ll ride with the Cowboys.
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
- Spread: 49ers -1.5
- O/U: 44.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Cardinals +1.5
The 49ers may have beaten the Saints last weekend, but it wasn’t very pretty. Mac Jones struggled to deal with pressure on the rare occasion that New Orleans’ abysmal pass rush actually got in the backfield, and he will face more pressure against Calais Campbell and Josh Sweat. Arizona pulls off the upset.
Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants
- Spread: Chiefs -5.5
- O/U: 45.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Chiefs -5.5
If the Chiefs lose to the New York Giants this week, major alarms need to start going off in Kansas City. Yes, the Giants put up 37 points in an all-time entertaining game against the Cowboys last week, but holy cow is this defense bad, particularly against the run. That weakness should allow the Chiefs to put together a balanced attack, and they finally get into the win column.
Detroit Lions at Baltimore Ravens
- Spread: Ravens -4.5
- O/U: 52.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Ravens -4.5
If the Lions win this game in Baltimore against an offense that has looked utterly unstoppable through two weeks, any concern of taking a step back this season should be thrown out the window. As someone who predicted that aforementioned step back, though, I need to stick to my guns in this spot. The Ravens are a bonafide contender, and they prove it on Monday night.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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