NFL teams are broken into three record groupings with Week 3 of the 2016 season upon us.
There are 2-0 teams, 1-1 teams and 0-2 teams. In other words, there are unbeaten teams, .500 teams and winless teams. The soup is just starting to cook, however. This week’s games will stir the pot and further blend the ingredients. Don’t be surprised if a few upsets add some spice to it all.
(Covers.com was used for point spreads.)
Washington (+4.5) at New York Giants
These two teams are heading in opposite directions, so everything points to a Giants win. But there are some intangibles that make this game trickier than it looks. It’s hard not to think about 2007, when the 0-2 Giants went to Washington to face the 2-0 Redskins. The Giants won that game 24-17 and went on to win Super Bowl XLII. This is the exact opposite of that situation. The Giants (2-0) are hosting the Redskins (0-2) this time. If Josh Norman neutralizes Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants will need rookie Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz to step up. If Norman and Bashaud Breeland throw the Giants’ passing game out of whack, the Giants would have to turn to a running game that’s 25th in the NFL at 3.2 yards per carry. The Giants have turned the ball over four times and haven’t forced any turnovers. That could catch up with them and give the Redskins a chance to hand them their first loss on Sunday.
Minnesota (+7) at Carolina
The Panthers (1-1) look mortal this year. Their offense clicked on all cylinders in Week 2, scoring 40 of their 46 points and racking up 529 yards against the 49ers. But the defending NFC champs committed four turnovers and gave up 27 points to a team quarterbacked by Blaine Gabbert. The Vikings (2-0) will be without Adrian Peterson, but the Panthers will be without Jonathan Stewart. The Vikings came within a missed field goal of getting to the NFC divisional playoffs last year. They want to get where the Panthers did last year and won’t let injuries to Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater stop them.
“I don’t think many people think we can win this game. I don’t think many people thought we could win the last game.” – Coach Zimmer
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 21, 2016
The Vikings are fifth in the NFL in yards allowed, tied for fifth in points allowed, first with six forced fumbles and tied for third with seven sacks. The Vikings’ defense will give them a chance to win every game.
Denver (+3) at Cincinnati
It’s hard to understand why the Broncos are underdogs, even if they are on the road against the defending AFC North champs.
The Broncos (2-0) look poised to defend their title this year. The Bengals (1-1) can show Sunday that they’ll be one of the teams in their way, but they’ll have their work cut out for them.
Denver is second in the NFL with 173 passing yards allowed per game and tied for second with eight sacks. The Steelers, who are 31st with 347.5 passing yards allowed per game, limited A.J. Green to two catches for 38 yards in their 24-16 win over the Bengals on Sunday. Bills reject Ross Cockrell covered Green most of the afternoon. Imagine what Chris Harris and Aqib Talib can do.
It sounds weird to say that a defending Super Bowl champion that started the season 2-0 can “upset” a team, but the three points the Broncos are getting seems like an exploitable line.
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia (+3.5)
This is another game in which history makes it hard to pick the favorite even if it really has no bearing on 2016. The Steelers’ last win at Philadelphia came in 1965. Since then they’re 0-8 in Philly. Two Steelers’ championship teams (1979 and 2008) suffered their first loss at Philadelphia.
One of these 2-0 teams will suffer their first loss Sunday.
There was a time when rookie quarterbacks had virtually no chance against the Steelers. Dick LeBeau was 19-2 against them when he was defensive coordinator. This is current defensive coordinator Keith Butler’s first crack at a rookie quarterback. Carson Wentz is the first rookie quarterback to start and win his first two games without turning the ball over. Eagles coach Doug Pederson has said that Wentz takes too many hits and needs to do a better job getting rid of the ball. That might not be a problem against the Steelers, who are tied for last in the NFL with one sack. They’ve mainly used a four-man rush. If that pass rush doesn’t get in Wentz’ face Sunday, another Steelers’ quest for perfection could be cracked like the Liberty Bell.
San Diego (+2.5) at Indianapolis
It’s hard to trust the Colts to win any game these days. Andrew Luck seemed to be living a charmed life going 11-5 in his first three seasons. Then he and the Colts ran into a brick wall of misfortune last season, and it seems to be spilling over into this season.
Luck sat out practice Wednesday with a sore shoulder. After the beating he took last year, that has to make the Colts nervous. On top of that, wide receiver Donte Moncrief will miss four to six weeks with a shoulder injury.
That defense could get a boost from the return of cornerback Vontae Davis, who returned to practice Wednesday. The Colts will need all the help they can get in the secondary because despite losing Keenan Allen for the season in Week 1, Philip Rivers has completed 70 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and no interceptions.
Rivers is getting some help from Melvin Gordon, who after a disappointing rookie season is seventh in the league with 159 rushing yards. The Colts (0-2) are allowing 4.5 yards per carry on the ground.
The Chargers (1-1) bounced back from blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead against the Chiefs in Week 1 to thrash the Jaguars 38-14 Sunday at San Diego. They come into this game with the momentum.
