NFL 2017 Week 3 picks

Thurs Sept 14
Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals:  Both of these teams need to redeem themselves from a poor opening weekend.  The Texans already put themselves into disarray by benching Tom Savage and moving in DeShaun Watson.  Is he ready yet?  I don't think so.  Andy Dalton has the experience to bounce back from his career poor performance, so I'll give the Bengals the edge.  BENGALS

Sunday early games
Arizona Cardinals at Indianapolis Colts:  Arizona blew a big lead last week, so you can be sure they'll be tougher this week.  Without Andrew Luck, the Colts seem confused, and the lack of a running game doesn't help.  CARDINALS

Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers:  The Bills looked better than I expected last week, but that could be because the Jets defense doesn't have much punch.  They'll get punched by Carolina this week.  PANTHERS

Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Bucs:  Hurricane Irma delayed the Bucs' opening, and now they have to play 16 straight games.  They'll fade by the end of the season.  Now they are fresh, but they also missed the chance to get coordinated with new starters in opening week.  The Bears showed more strength than I thought, especially producing two 100-yard rushers, so I think that one-week extra experience will help them.  BEARS

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens:  The only real mystery is week is whether the Ravens will get their shutout in a row.  RAVENS

Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers:  Sam Bradford had a career-topping game last week, but the Steelers will give him a more difficult time.  When you rush Bradford, you throw off his pace, and the Steelers love to rush.  The Steelers may have lost a receiver to injury last week, but they still have enough weapons to get past a Bradford-frazzled Vikings offense.  STEELERS

New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints:  The Patriots badly need to bounce back from last week, and no coach is better at that than Bill Belichick.  The Saints will battle, but the Patriots will prevail.  PATRIOTS

Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs:  The Chiefs blew past the Patriots, but I watched that game.  The Patriots seemed to be shocked and stopped pursuing.  The Eagles won't quit, so I think they'll squeeze out a victory.  EAGLES

Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars:  Blake Bortles had a stellar game last week, but his biggest problem has been inconsistency, and that was on display during preseason.  I think he'll fall back this week, giving the Titans the chance to win.  TITANS

Sunday late games
Dallas Cowboys at Denver Broncos:  It looks like Ezekial Elliott will play again this week, which gives Dallas just enough weapons to get past the Broncos.  COWBOYS

Miami Dolphins at LA Chargers:  I still don't trust Jay Cutler to win consistently.  CHARGERS

New York Jets at Oakland Raiders:  The Jets may be the worst team in the league this year.  Picking anyone to beat them is a good bet.  The Raiders have been working hard the past few years to improve their team, and it seems to have worked, so they could win regardless of the pathetic Jets.  RAIDERS

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks:  The Seahawks are a fierce home team, and the 49ers are kind of floundering right now.  This one won't be in doubt.  SEAHAWKS

Washington Redskins at LA Rams:  The Redskins offensive line is very weak, which will give the forceful Rams defense plenty of openings to chase down Kirk Cousins.  This will not be pretty for the Redskins.  RAMS

Sunday night game
Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons:  Matt Ryan and the Falcons are hoping to return to the Super Bowl, but the loss of a Super Bowl that they seemed to have wrapped up has made them question themselves, and that's not a good way to win the NFC.  Green Bay is sure of what they are capable of accomplishing, and they'll demonstrate that in this game.  PACKERS

Monday Night Football
Detroit Lions at New York Giants:  Detroit pulled off a tremendous comeback last week, but I don't see that happening again.  The Giants have plenty of weapons, although some were injured last week.  That could make this game close, but I still think the Giants can pull it out.  GIANTS