Quarterback injuries were the story of Week 2 as the New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets all lost their starters for the foreseeable future. That will severely impact the NFL’s landscape. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top NFL betting games for Week 3.
Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs
Odds: Chiefs -6.5
The marquee matchup for Week 3 features reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes going up against a potential future MVP in Lamar Jackson. While it’s still early, Jackson has completed 71.9 percent of his pass attempts for 596 yards and seven touchdowns, while rushing for an additional 126 yards in back-to-back victories. He will need his best performance of the year so far in order to keep up with Mahomes and the Kansas City offense. Mahomes has thrown for 821 yards and seven touchdowns in a pair of wins, proving that last season was no fluke.
Oakland Raiders @ Minnesota Vikings
Odds: Vikings -7.5
Minnesota followed up an impressive 28-12 win over the Atlanta Falcons with a dud in Week 2 as they fell to the rival Green Bay Packers 21-16. Now the Vikings return home looking to get back to what works, which is essentially running the football and playing tough defense.
Dalvin Cook has exploded for 265 yards and three touchdowns through the first two weeks. Considering how bad Kirk Cousins has been (completed just 22 passes so far), there should be no doubt Minnesota will run its offense through Cook. Meanwhile, the Raiders followed up a Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos by taking a 10-0 lead over Kansas City before being outscored 28-0 the rest of the way. We’ll see if they can rebound in Week 3.
Houston Texans @ Los Angeles Chargers
Odds: Chargers -3
The Texans and Chargers are two teams that are expected to contend for playoff spots in the AFC. Houston followed up a heartbreaking season opening loss to the New Orleans Saints with an unconvincing 13-12 win over rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Meanwhile, the Chargers barely held on for a 30-24 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts at home, only to lay an egg on the road in a 13-10 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 2.
New Orleans Saints @ Seattle Seahawks
Odds: Seahawks -5
The Saints begin a period of six-to-eight weeks without Drew Brees in a tough environment in Seattle. The Seahawks are coming off back-to-back wins over the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. On top of that, Seattle is 15-0 straight up in September home games under head coach Pete Carroll. Teddy Bridgewater is a talented quarterback, but this might be too much to ask of him for his first start of the season.
Los Angeles Rams @ Cleveland Browns
Odds: Rams -2.5
Sunday Night Football heads to Cleveland with Browns fans desperate to see their team prove themselves against the defending NFC champions. This will be Cleveland’s second primetime game in as many weeks after easily beating the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. Aaron Donald and company will be looking to make life miserable for Baker Mayfield and the Browns’ offense. Meanwhile on the other side of the football, there are some obvious concerns about Jared Goff and an LA offense that has sputtered a bit since last year’s playoffs.