We are in week 3 of a brand new season of NFL action, punter James Godlonton takes us through selected games and provides the best bet for six games. You can also listen to the podcast version below.
HOU Texans v CAR Panthers (Friday – 02:20)
The Panthers have allowed 14 and seven points in their two games so far and are living up to the hype that they would give a stout defence. On the other side of the ball, their offence hasn’t been as impressive but certainly hasn’t disappointed. Panthers fans have been happy with what they’ve seen from Sam Darnold in his first two starts and the Texans should provide another opportunity for him to show his worth.
The Texans suffered a huge blow midway through the Browns game with QB Tyrod Taylor limping off with a hamstring tweak. Taylor has had a fantastic start to the season and played well before going out. Mills, the rookie backup who is now likely to start and against this panthers, had a difficult start to his NFL career and went 3 and out and then was picked off on his next drive. Against a firing defence, the Mills and the Texans will be in for a tough day at the office.
TEN Titans v IND Colts (Sunday – 19:00)
Similarly to the Texans, the Colts have a massive injury concern at quarterback. It’s been reported that Carson Wentz has sprained both of his ankles when he was brought down by Aaron Donald. Back-up Jacob Eason hardly looks like an NFL QB and the Colts offence has already struggled to convert in key moments.
The Titans on the other hand got their first win when they beat the Seahawks who happened to beat the Colts in week 1. Derrick Henry put the team on his back in the 2nd half and rushed for a total of 182 yards and 3 TDs on 35 carries. The referees did their best to lose this game for the Titans by controversially ruling out a TD that looked clear when seeing the replay. However, they were still able to power through.
If Carson Wentz doesn’t play this Titans line is a lock.
CLE Browns v CHI Bears (Sunday – 19:00)
The Browns managed to beat the Texans by 10 points even though they played a mistake-ridden game. Losing one of their biggest leaders in WR Jarvis Landry is a massive blow to not only the fire-power of the offence but also the team spirit. Without Landry, the Browns will rely on their youth to step up and make some big plays. An interesting one to keep an eye on whether or not the talismanic Odell Beackham Jr. will make his return from injury.
The Bears have now announced that Justin Fields will be the starter for the Week 3 matchup with the Browns. This will be the rookies first NFL start and the entire Bears franchise will be very excited, hoping their young star can give them some indication that he can be the franchise QB that they’ve been begging for, for over a decade.
The Browns are short receivers but their running game is the real threat. Against a rookie QB at home, they should have enough to cover this spread.
PIT Steelers v CIN Bengals (Sunday – 22:05)
The Steelers went down to the Raiders after a big win in Week 1 again highlighting the issue with their offensive line. Questions were raised when they drafted a running back in the first round instead of fixing their offensive line and it was an issue in their last match-up. There’s no doubt Najee Harris is a good runner, but if his line can’t move people out the way he will continue to struggle to rack up the yards. If the Steelers are to be successful, they are going to have to rely heavily on their defence. The good thing for them is that their defence is still one of the best in the game.
The Bengals put in a disappointing showing after an impressive Week 1 win and looked more like the team many expected them to be this season. Joe Burrow was put under all sorts of pressure and this week may even be worse against one of the best pass-rushing defensive fronts in the league. Expect the Bengals to struggle here and Joe Burrow to be on the ground multiple times.
This should be a fairly low-scoring affair, but the Steelers defence is a mismatch for this Bengals O-line and expect them to cause lots of issues. The Steelers may be struggling on offence but still have enough in the tank to comfortably get past their division rivals at home.
Suggested Bet: Steelers -3.5 (Best Weekend Bets)
LV Raiders v MIA Dolphins (Sunday – 22:05)
The Raiders are on a roll after beating two of the big dawgs in the AFC North. They looked good for their win over the Steelers and they may have proved that their week 1 win over the Ravens was no fluke. Derrick Carr leads the league in passing yards with over 800 and defence has proved more than effective.
The Dolphins took a spanking against their division rivals the Buffalo Bills going down 35-0. QB Tua Tagovailoa went out hurt early and it’s been confirmed that he has fractured ribs and is set to miss the Raiders game. Jacoby Brissett takes over as the starter and has plenty NFL experience to hold his own but he’s not the kind of QB to set the world alight.
At home and against a back-up QB this line is too small for the Raiders.
DAL Cowboys vs PHI Eagles (Tuesday – 02:15)
Dak Prescott’s Cowboys got away with one in LA against the Chargers and will be looking to put in a more confident showing when they play their first home game of the season. The Cowboys weaponry is frightening and if they can get any use out of their run game at all they will put up big points in this affair. On the defensive front, Micah Parsons is leading the way for Defensive Rookie of the Season so far and put in a very impressive performance playing DE for the first time since high school. It will be interesting to watch this very exciting player grown into his role as one of the most important players on this defence.
Philly got knocked down a peg after their loss to the 49ers followed their huge win in the season opener. Jalen Hurts has done some great work with his legs but still has work to do to convince critics that he can also be the throwing QB that an NFL team requires in the modern game.
This is a division matchup and both teams will be itching to get one over their long-time rivals. But the fans in Dallas will have that stadium absolutely rocking for their first home game of the season. The Cowboys will have too much for the Eagles offensively and their defence is looking vastly improved. Expect them to cover this spread, but it may be close.
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