There are always upsets each week in the National Football League, but at the same time, there tend to be a few strong favorites that get the job done as well.
And while Week 3 may not have many”locks” at first glance, we’ve identified five teams that will surely emerge victorious in their respective matchups. This information at this website could help decide who to pick in your survivor pool, or could also serve as guidance for your weekly pick’em office pool.
These five teams are stone-cold locks to win in Week 3:
Miami Dolphins will beat the Cleveland Browns
It’s hard to view the Dolphins as a strong favorite against, well, anyone. But the Browns are starting rookie quarterback Cody Kessler under center against one of the league’s best defensive fronts.
Expect Miami to bring pressure throughout the game to rattle Kessler, and given the Browns’ lack of playmakers on offense, don’t expect the team to have much success in the passing game.
The Browns have lost 10 of their last 11 road games, and we expect them to add to that total on Sunday. And the Dolphins, who have now started the season off with consecutive losses, will find a way to get a victory in this must-win scenario.
Carolina Panthers will emerge victorious against the Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have scored just two offensive touchdowns so far this season, but have won both of their matchups. Don’t expect things to get any easier for them against the Panthers’ defense, which forced three turnovers against the 49ers last week. And they can move the football, too. The Panthers racked up 529 yards in Week 2, with reigning MVP Cam Newton completing passes to seven different players.
Minnesota has forced six turnovers in its first two games, which has been a big reason for its success. Carolina will likely counter with a conservative gameplan early on, mixing it up with a number of running plays and short passes to move the ball. The Panthers racked up 176 yards on the ground last week, so we don’t see them going away from that anytime soon.
Without Adrian Peterson in the mix, expect Carolina to formulate a defensive gameplan around containing Stefon Diggs, who hauled in 182 of Sam Bradford’s 286 passing yards against Green Bay. The NFC’s reigning champion will win this game as long as they don’t beat themselves, like the Packers did last week.
Seattle Seahawks will beat the San Francisco 49ers (again)
There’s no love lost when the Seahawks and 49ers square off, and San Francisco now faces its division rival in a tough spot after they turned in one of their worst performances of the Russell Wilson era with a 9-3 loss in Los Angeles. The Seahawks will be out for blood, and there’s no better way for them to get back in the win column than playing a team they’ve beaten four consecutive times.
The Seahawks’ defense has been dominant—they lead the league in points allowed (9.5/game) and total defense (248.5 yards/game). They’re even better at CenturyLink Field, with “The 12s” behind them, and we expect them to force a few turnovers against Blaine Gabbert and Co.
Carlos Hyde struggled last week against the Panthers, picking up only 34 yards, and we expect the Seahawks’ stout run defense to render their opponent one-dimensional and force Gabbert into plenty of passing situations, which favors the opportunistic defense.
The Seahawks’ offense is off to a poor start this season so far, but we expect the defense to set the tone early and pave the way to victory.
Dallas Cowboys will win against the Chicago Bears
Anyone that suffered through Monday Night Football earlier in the week knows that the Bears are an awful team, in all facets of the game. They have issues at the quarterback position (and are set to start journeyman Brian Hoyer this week), got picked apart by rookie Carson Wentz and look like a team that may be mailing it in for the season already.
The Cowboys, on the other hand, have been hard-pressed to avenge a poor 2015 campaign. They put together a strong showing to earn a hard-fought road win in Washington in their last game, and were a bit unlucky in losing a close matchup against the Giants in Week 1 by a single point.
Dak Prescott sure doesn’t look like a rookie. He completed 22 of 30 passes for 292 yards against the Redskins, and still has yet to turn the football over this season. Hoyer, on the other hand, is a game manager—not a game winner—and the Bears don’t have the weapons on offense to dink and dunk their way to a win in AT&T Stadium.
Lock of the week: Green Bay Packers will beat the Detroit Lions
The Packers have already lost to one divisional foe, and they can’t afford that to happen again anytime soon. Last week saw Green Bay fall to Minnesota in a game that was close throughout, and we can expect them to bounce back in their first home game of the season.
Lambeau Field will be rocking on Sunday, and so will the Packers, who will be excited to play at home after playing on the road in their last four games (including exhibition play).
The Lions ended a 24-year losing streak at Lambeau last season with a win, but the Packers got revenge in Detroit just a few weeks later thanks to a Hail Mary pass in a thrilling finish.
Rodgers will do what he usually does against the Lions—beat them. The Packers have won 11 of the last 14 games against the Lions when Rodgers has started under center.
The Packers beat themselves last week, with four fumbles and poor special teams play. They’ll correct those mistakes, and in Week 3, they’ll beat the Lions.