Here you can find NFL tips for week 3’s Sunday slate along with predictions and best bets.
NFL Week 3 Tips
Best Bet – 7+ TDs scored in Saints vs Eagles @ 7/4
The Saints are the league’s surprise packages at this early stage in the season. They have burst out of the blocks by putting up 47 points in week 1 and 44 points in week 2. With Derek Carr at QB and a largely unheralded receiving group, their offensive output thus far comes as a shock. The key to their success has been new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak who has earned widespread praise for revolutionising this Saints attack.
New Orleans’ 44-point performance against a Cowboys defence which is one of the best in the league on paper suggests that this isn’t some fluke and that we can expect their success on that side of the ball to continue in this game. Another stat which gives you an idea of how great this Saints offence has been is that they have scored on 16 of their 21 offensive drives this season, the highest rate by any team through two weeks since 2000.
The Eagles on the other hand have been one of the worst defences in the league through the opening two weeks of the season. They cannot put pressure on the quarterback, ranking 30th in pressure percentage. This is a franchise that in recent times has always had one of the better pass rushes in the league but right now their failure to rush the passer has them as one of the worst units in the league at 31st in yards per play allowed.
On the offensive side of the ball, there have been positives for Philadelphia however with the addition of star RB Saquon Barkley in particular paying dividends. Barkley dropped a crucial 3rd down pass that would have sealed a win last week against the Falcons. The drop ultimately led to the Falcons going down and scoring a game-winning TD which should mean that we see a big performance from Barkley this Sunday as he looks to make amends for his costly mistake.
The Eagles showed that they can put up points in a hurry in Brazil against Green Bay in the opening week. On that night, Barkley scored 3 TDs. I think we’ll see a similar offensive performance in this one in the comforts of a dome in New Orleans.
Given how good both of these offences are plus how terrible the Eagles' defence has been I think 7/4 odds on 7+ TDs in this game represents great value.
Prediction: Eagles 31 Saints 35
The Chargers To Beat The Steelers @ Evens
This game has the lowest over/under total of the season at 35.5 points, indicating that oddsmakers expect this to be a slugfest with the defences on top. Interestingly, the Steelers are the 3rd team in the Super Bowl era to start 2-0 while only scoring one or fewer touchdowns.
Don’t expect this to be a shootout either as both of these teams love to run the football which lends itself to less offensive plays and lower scoring. The Steelers rank 2nd in rushing play percentage at 62.1% while the Chargers rank 3rd in that same stat at 59.66%.
If the Chargers get behind you would trust them more in this game with Justin Herbert at quarterback as opposed to the Steelers who have Justin Fields at QB. The LA quarterback hasn’t been asked to do much this season to date given the success the team has had in the running game but we know from previous seasons that he is one of the more talented QBs in the league and is more than capable of leading a successful passing attack. Given that Pittsburgh have one of the stingiest rushing defences in the league, ranking 3rd for rush yards allowed to opponents at 76.5 yards per game, we may see Herbert take on a bigger role this week.
The Chargers also have a stout defence, the best in the league according to their ranking as 1st in EPA per play allowed. At this early stage in the season, we are of course working with limited sample sizes but right now LA’s defensive unit is causing problems for opposing offences and I expect that to be the case again against a one-dimensional Steelers offence.
Prediction: Chargers 20 Steelers 16
Ravens to beat the Cowboys @ 20/23
The Ravens fell to 0-2 after a shock loss to the Raiders last week while the Cowboys got off to a hot start but are now reeling after an embarrassing 44-19 home loss to the Saints including giving up 35 points in the first half. That’s the second straight home game that Dallas has given up 40+ points on defence after conceding 48 points to Green Bay in last season’s Wild Card game.
On paper, Dallas looked to have one of the better defences in the league coming into this season under the direction of one of the most respected defensive minds in the game, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. The interior of the defensive line was noted as one of their potential weaknesses and that has proved to be the case as it has been exploited to this point as they rank 23rd in rush yards per play allowed.
The Ravens, in contrast, have been the best team against the run with just 2.7 yards allowed per rush. It’s unlikely that Dallas will have much success running the ball with an ageing Ezekiel Elliott as their primary back. Elliott has put up just 56 yards so far this season running the ball and he has a tough matchup in this one against a stout Ravens front. That means that the Cowboys will have to lean on their passing attack here, primarily QB Dak Prescott and star receiver CeeDee Lamb. I expect them to have success there too against an underperforming Ravens secondary but it likely won’t be enough to keep up with Baltimore.
Despite being 0-2, Baltimore have gained more yards than any other team in the league with 417.5 yards per game. That’s what this struggling Dallas defence, a defence that has given up 92 points in their last two home games, will be up against this Sunday and I think we see the Ravens continue their offensive success here while putting more points up on the scoreboard this time around.
Prediction: Ravens 34 Cowboys 27
NFL Week 3 Sunday Slate
Early Slate – 6 PM Games
Philadelphia Eagles (+2.5) @ New Orleans Saints – Sky Sports NFL & Main Event
New York Giants (+6.5) @ Cleveland Browns
Houston Texans (-2.5) @ Minnesota Vikings
Los Angeles Chargers (+1.5 ) @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Denver Broncos (+6.5) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Green Bay Packers (+2.5) @ Tennessee Titans
Late Slate – 9.05 & 9.25 PM Games
Baltimore Ravens (-1.5) @ Dallas Cowboys – Sky Sports NFL & Main Event
Carolina Panthers (+5.5) @ Las Vegas Raiders
Miami Dolphins (+4.5) @ Seattle Seahawks
Detroit Lions (-2.5) @ Arizona Cardinals
San Francisco 49ers (-6.5) @ Los Angeles Rams
Sunday Night Football – 1.20 AM Game
Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) @ Atlanta Falcons
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