The NFL is unpredictable, so nothing is ever truly guaranteed. However, some teams are entering "any given Sunday" (or Monday) a little more hopeless than others.
The Week 3 slate of games has plenty of intriguing matchups, but it's not the ones that look like coin flips on paper we'll be talking about today. This one is for the teams guaranteed to come away with victories in Week 3 with a clear advantage on paper.
As always, anything can happen in the NFL on a given week, but these are the teams that are looking like "guaranteed" winners ahead of Sunday and Monday action.
NFL Week 3 Predictions: Three guaranteed winners
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Jets)
The Buccaneers have had a couple of close calls to start the 2025 season against the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons, but things get a little "easier" for them in Week 3. It's obviously going to be important to avoid the classic trap game, but the Bucs have a lot more going for them on paper than the New York Jets, who will be without quarterback Justin Fields.
The first two games of this season have been one-score games requiring late heroics from Baker Mayfield. My guess is that the Bucs are going to be able
2. Green Bay Packers (@ Browns)
Just like any of these games, the Packers could be in for a bit of a trap against the Cleveland Browns, but that feels extremely unlikely for a number of reasons.
The talent discrepancy between the Packers and Browns is significant, and obviously that plays a huge factor even with the Browns playing at home. Cleveland has desperation on their side, but the Packers are playing on extended rest after beating the Commanders last Thursday night.
This is one of those games that feels like the Packers just have too much margin for error to find any way to lose.
3. Seattle Seahawks (vs. Saints)
Believe it or not, the Seattle Seahawks are tied with the Packers as the biggest favorites remaining in Week 3 of the 2025 season.
The Seahawks are favored by 7.5 points and playing at home against a young QB, it's not difficult to see why.
Playing in Seattle is always a difficult environment for opposing quarterbacks, and even though Spencer Rattler has played relatively well in the early goings this season, it's going to be tough for him to go up against this Seattle defense.
The Seahawks had a rough outing in Week 1 but the way they took it to Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers in Week 2 obviously inspired some confidence in what they can do going forward. This would be a tough one for the Saints to even figure out a way to cover, much less pull off the upset.