“Indiana Jones > Danny Dimes.” Is this the kind of Monday 6 a.m. texts you get, or are your group chats normal? Week 2 of the NFL is almost in the books with two more games Monday night, and yet again the panic and prognosticating are turned up to full volume.
Analysts were predicting a lot of unders to hit this week, and instead, we were served a rich menu of high-scoring dishes, highlighted by the astonishing Dak Prescott and Dallas Cowboys overtime win against the nearly resurgent Russell Wilson-led New York Giants. What the heck happened? Joe Burrow is, devastatingly, out for several months; the Chiefs are 0-2 for the first time since 2014; Mike McDaniel is the once-but-no-longer-future king and the Colts seem like they’re for real with Daniel Jones under center.
Anyways, it’s time to take what we’ve learned and look forward to the odds for next week’s games. Let the cycle begin again!
Last week, we reacted to the massive point spread in the Ravens vs. Browns game. This isn’t college, folks, and 12.5 points is a lot for an NFL spread, though Baltimore said “Hold our beer” and won by 24 (somehow despite getting outgained by 81 yards). But look what we have here for Week 3: The Buffalo Bills are favored by 12.5 points over their floundering AFC East rivals, the Miami Dolphins, for Thursday Night Football at Highmark Stadium. Ouch.
Speaking of Baltimore, they wrap up the action in the Monday night slot this week, against a much tougher opponent in the Super-Bowl-contending Detroit Lions. But Baltimore is still favored by a touchdown at home. Seriously?? The Lions looked hapless in Week 1 against what has turned out to be a formidable Green Bay team, but turned around and unleashed their rage on the Chicago Bears in Week 2 in the form of 52 points and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Their performance next Monday could tell us a lot about that team and will hopefully be a thrilling cap to the week’s action.
The Browns are again on the wrong side of one of the week’s biggest spreads, as 9-point home underdogs to the Packers. Meanwhile, the closest spreads go to Steelers (-1) at Patriots, Texans at Jaguars (-1.5), Cardinals at 49ers (-1.5) and Cowboys at Bears (-1). The Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals are 3.5-point underdogs at the Vikings.
Here are all the odds and game times for NFL Week 3.
NFL Week 3 odds
All games on Sunday unless indicated, and times are Eastern. Looking for NFL tickets? Find them here. For information on streaming, click here.
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (Thursday, Prime Video)
Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers (FOX)
Cincinnati Bengals at Minnesota Vikings (CBS)
Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns (FOX)
Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS)
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans (CBS)
Las Vegas Raiders at Washington Commanders (FOX)
Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles (FOX)
New York Jets at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (FOX)
Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots (CBS)
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers (CBS)
New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks (CBS)
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers (FOX)
Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears (FOX)
Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants (NBC)
Detroit Lions at Baltimore Ravens (Monday, ABC/ESPN)
(Photo of DeAndre Hopkins and Lamar Jackson: Rob Carr / Getty Images)