NFL Previews and Predictions: Week 3 Edition
By Matt Reed
Houston at New York Giants
Sep 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) reacts after catching a touchdown pass against the Oakland Raiders in the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
The Houston Texans have quietly gone 2-0 to start their 2014 campaign. JJ Watt is scoring touchdowns for the Texans now? Now I’m convinced that he’s the best player in all of football. Houston has a stifling defense, and to the credit of Ryan Fitzpatrick, he has led the offense pretty well thus far. The Giants do have a talented secondary, which can potentially pose a threat or two, but I still like this team. Will this be the week that the Giants get their act together? Probably not, is what I’m going with. Nothing that I saw from New York last week leads me to believe that they will win this game. The defense allowed Drew Stanton to go up and down the field on numerous occasions. Eli Manning and his offense look completely out of sync. Wide receiver Victor Cruz has dropped everything in sight; even Eli’s good passes. This team looks poised for another 0-6 start, at the very least.
Texans win 24-17
Minnesota at New Orleans
The only thing that I’ll say about #28 is that I’m disgusted by his actions. Back to football though. This team have a bright young star in Cordarrelle Patterson, but without their star running back the offense is very one-dimensional. Blair Walsh had a kick blocked and returned for a touchdown in Week 2. Going from Tom Brady to Drew Brees isn’t a very favorable matchup either. The Saints had the hearts broken against Cleveland, although they were outplayed. This is a team that many pundits have picked to win Super Bowl. They won’t start 0-3. Not in the SuperDome.
Saints win 41-21
Tennessee at Cincinnati
The Titans were embarrassed at home against the Dallas Cowboys. Jake Locker wasn’t spectacular, throwing two interceptions. The running game didn’t look good either, and didn’t have the opportunity to, after going down 16-0 at halftime. The Bengals are one of the league’s top teams. They’ll make it difficult for the Titans to score again in Week 3. The Cincinnati Bengals looked very good in Week 2, despite missing All-Pro receiver AJ Green. Even receiver Mohamed Sanu completed a pass. He was also the team’s top pass catcher in Green’s absence. Running back Giovanni Bernard continues to display why he’s one of the NFL’s emerging stars. Bernard posted 169 all-purpose yards last week, and his dual threat abilities make him a likely candidate to put up big numbers yet in again this week.
Bengals win 28-17
Baltimore at Cleveland
We learned something about the AFC North last week. The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t very good. Joe Flacco didn’t even need to throw for 200 yards to beat their division foe on Thursday night football. The Cleveland Browns are a team that can be one of the league’s biggest surprises though. They match a quality defense with an efficient, but not great offense. Baltimore beware. I will be the first to admit that I wanted Johnny Manziel to be the starting quarterback of the Browns. While Brian Hoyer hasn’t dazzled me yet, he has looked very solid thus far. He dueled with one of the league’s best quarterbacks, Drew Brees, and came out on top. He is still throwing way too many incompletions, but that is to be expected with his receiving corps. The possible return of Jordan Cameron would be huge for Cleveland in Week 3.
Browns win 28-24