NFL Week 3 picks against the spread

Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals (-1)

There aren’t a lot of places that still has this bet on the board because of Cam Newton’s status. Newton is dealing with the same mid-foot sprain that took him out in the preseason. His status is up in the air, but what’s more up in the air is playing Kyle Allen or Will Grier at quarterback. Both looked terrible in the preseason, and neither look ready for Sundays. However, one of them may be stuck playing this week.

The Arizona Cardinals are getting into this bad habit of falling behind big, and then trying to make a comeback. They were down 17-6 at halftime to the Ravens, but came as close as 20-17. David Johnson and Kyler Murray is turning out to be a formidable duo. They just need to find that chemistry in the first half of games so they don’t put themselves in that hole.

Right now, this is a good line if you think Cam is going to play. However, he’s in a walking boot right now. Ron Rivera already said Allen will play if Newton can’t go, which shows it’s more likely than not he’s on the bench. This is a scary pick, but we’ll go with the Cardinals. Pick: Arizona (-1)

New York Giants at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-6.5)

The Daniel Jones era is here, and it’s fantastic. Well, at least it’s fantastic until the New York Giants take the field. Jones was the surprise No. 6-overall pick in the past NFL Draft. We thought Eli Manning would have a little more time to let Jones season, but he played as badly as any quarterback in the first two weeks, and Pat Shurmur is coaching for his job this season. He had to make this move.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won on Thursday night after a pathetic effort in Week 1. Jameis Winston threw no interceptions against the Panthers and gave Bruce Arians his first win in Tampa. With Newton and Drew Brees hurt and the Falcons showing major question marks, the Bucs actually have a shot to win this division. It starts this week, where the Giants have Saquon Barkley and not much else on offense.

What is one thing we know about Daniel Jones? So far, he’s played it safe. The Giants actually have the pieces to play it safe. Barkley is one of the best receiving running backs in the NFL. Evan Engram can catch the ball well, and will give an outlet to Jones. The Giants receivers are awful until Golden Tate returns, but for now they have enough to ride the lightning that is Daniel Jones to keep this competitive. Pick: New York (+6.5)

Houston Texans at Los Angeles Chargers (-3)

Coming in to this season, we thought this would be one of the biggest matchups of the season. Both the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans were supposed to be major contenders in the AFC this season. They both very well could, but they both have a loss already two weeks into the season.

The Texans offensive line looks no better after mortgaging the future to get Laremy Tunsil. In just two games, Deshaun Watson has been hit eight times and hurried another 13. This is on top of getting sacked 10 times, tops in the NFL. The offensive line has let Watson down at every turn. When spending as much as they did on a tackle, this team cannot play like they did.

The Chargers are too good on defense to lose this game. They are going to eat everytime the Texans have the ball. The three points is scary as a bettor, but this feels like a strength versus weakness battle. Pick: Los Angeles (-3)

New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks (-4)

Drew Brees is very much out of this game. He might not return until after the New Orleans Saints bye in Week 9. They are playing a team that’s undefeated and played in the playoffs last season. This line should be so much higher. This is in Seattle, and Teddy Bridgewater did not show us anything that makes us think he can just slide into Brees’ spot. Alvin Kamara had 3.5 yards per carry. It was a rough game to say the least.

The Seahawks, like we said, are undefeated. They snuck past both the Steelers, who lost Ben Roethlisberger mid-game, and the Bengals, who are terrible. Maybe they aren’t as good as we think they are, but most of it feels like just figuring things out. The offense needs to do more to get going, as Russell Wilson has under 500 yards and Chris Carson just broke 100 yards in two games.

The Saints have a great team, but without the quarterback it’s hard to ever put money on them and it’s near impossible to put money on them on the road outside of a dome. The Seahawks are one of the best bets of a week where the lines are kind of crazy. Pick: Seattle (-4)

Pittsburgh Steelers at San Francisco 49ers (-6.5)

The Pittsburgh Steelers came into this season with competitive aspirations. Now, it may be another team looking to tank. This is never something we deal with in the NFL, but with a marquee quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa ready to get drafted, teams are willing to lose. We’re not saying the Steelers will do that, we’re just saying we wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Beyond the Big Ben injury, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner haven’t looked that good. There are a lot of issues here.

The 49ers have another great matchup falling in to their lap. After a rough Week 1, Jimmy Garoppolo looked decent in Week 2, and can take another step here. The team is able to slide under the radar despite starting the season 2-0. There are a ton of storylines around the league, and very rarely do we hear the 49ers among them.

We can’t put money on the Steelers without first seeing what life with Mason Rudolph will look like. The 49ers aren’t the most consistent team (obviously), but we feel like they could win this one by a touchdown. Although we’d probably stay away, or spend to bring this line down a little bit, we just can’t trust this Steelers quarterback situation. Pick: San Francisco (-6.5)