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NFL Week 3 Picks: Early Odds and Predictions for Every Upcoming Game
- Updated: September 19, 2016
The second week of the 2016 NFL season is almost complete. While the season is still quite young, we now have a better view of the league’s landscape than we did a week ago.
Some of what we thought we knew after Week 1 appeared to be confirmed over the weekend. That Denver Broncos defense, for example, appears as good as ever after effectively handling quarterbacks Cam Newton and Andrew Luck in back-to-back weeks.
Other early impressions, though, may have been a bit off. The Jacksonville Jaguars looked like a quality team against the Green Bay Packers on opening weekend. Considering the Packers have been regular playoff contenders over the past seven years, this seemed to indicate Jacksonville might finally have a contender of its own.
The Packers, though, struggled mightily against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night, while the Jaguars were straight manhandled by the San Diego Chargers.
So while some trends and truths seem to be emerging, there are still plenty of unknowns waiting as we head into Week 3. As is too often the case, some potentially serious injuries have also thrown a proverbial wrench into things.
We’re going to look at the upcoming slate of games and try to predict the outcomes based on what we do know. We’ll also examine some of the bigger storylines bridging the gap from Week 2 to Week 3.
Early odds are courtesy of our friends at Odds Shark.
Matchups to Watch
Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots
Week 3 is set to kick off with one potentially meaningful AFC contest when the 2-0 Houston Texans visit the 2-0 New England Patriots. Both of these teams are leading their respective divisions by at least one game, which means the winner is guaranteed to stay on top.
Depending on how the rest of the season unfolds, this early matchup might even have an impact on playoff seeding.
After two weeks of play, the Patriots are looking like one of the more complete teams in the NFL. They stole a victory over the Cardinals in Arizona in Week 1 and handled the rival Miami Dolphins in Week 2. New England achieved both victories without the aid of suspended quarterback Tom Brady and injured tight end Rob Gronkowski.
The problem is that Jimmy Garoppolo, who has been starting in place of Brady, suffered a shoulder injury against the Dolphins on Sunday and may miss some time.
According to Tom E. Curran of CSN New England, Garoppolo suffered an injured AC joint and …
