Nick Chubb is done for the season, but we’ve got Deshaun Watson and the Browns favored by a touchdown in our NFL Week 3 predictions. Justin Fields is feeling “robotic,” and that’s unlikely to help the embattled Bears snap their 12-game losing streak dating back to last season as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs figure to get to 2-1.
Each week throughout the 2023 NFL season, the supercomputer has something to say about every game. No matter if it’s a headliner like the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles vs. the 2-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football or a game we may all be a bit less excited about, it unsentimentally beeps its way through the model’s NFL picks, boldly dropping score predictions for each. Last week it nailed the exact score for the Ravens and Bengals. Which of its calls will you trust the most this week?
Game-by-Game: Week 3 Predictions
We’ll begin the NFL Week 3 predictions with a couple of the unbeatens. The only matchup between 2-0 teams this week is on Monday when Philadelphia plays at Tampa Bay. No team has a higher playoff probability right now than the Eagles at 96.9%, but the Bucs have won four straight against Philadelphia including a playoff win in January of 2022. We expect the Eagles to get to 3-0 with a 28-23 victory in Florida.
The Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Chargers are both at 0-2 despite entering the season with playoff aspirations. The Chargers have given up more passing yards than any other NFL team so far this season. They will be facing off with Kirk Cousins, who is one of just two quarterbacks to throw for 700 or more yards entering Thursday. Whether you credit him or his receivers for that, Minnesota has the edge with a projected score of 28-24.
According to our fantasy football projections, Tony Pollard is expected to rack up the second most fantasy points of any running back this week as he and the Dallas Cowboys take on the Arizona Cardinals, who are clear underdogs here. And with Pollard helping lead the way, Dallas has a 73.8% chance of securing the win in regulation with a projected score of 27-14.
When including the playoffs, the NFL team with the longest active win streak is the Atlanta Falcons, who have won four in a row. They’ll face the Detroit Lions, who have scored at least 20 points in 11 straight games, the longest current streak in the league. And we expect Detroit’s streak to live on and Atlanta’s to end with a 23-20 Lions win.
Over in the AFC East, the Jets have lost a franchise-record 14 straight games against the Patriots as New England will look to avoid its first 0-3 start since Bill Belichick’s first season with the team in 2000. Both of those streaks figure to continue with a 20-17 Patriots win. We expect this game to be a tight one with it having a 6.8% chance of going to overtime, the highest percentage of any game this week. The supercomputer must want bonus Zach Wilson.
Here’s a look at all 16 NFL Week 3 predictions, with Joe Burrow outdueling Matthew Stafford and Lamar Jackson getting back on track against the Colts:
NFL Week 3 Predictions
Thursday night prediction:
- San Francisco 49ers 24, New York Giants 17
Sunday predictions:
- Baltimore Ravens 24, Indianapolis Colts 21
- Cleveland Browns 17, Tennessee Titans 10
- Miami Dolphins 28, Denver Broncos 23
- New England Patriots 20, New York Jets 17
- Jacksonville Jaguars 24, Houston Texans 24 (Win probability weighted by the point spread gives the Jaguars an advantage)
- Detroit Lions 23, Atlanta Falcons 20
- New Orleans Saints 20, Green Bay Packers 17
- Buffalo Bills 27, Washington Commanders 17
- Minnesota Vikings 28, Los Angeles Chargers 24
- Seattle Seahawks 20, Carolina Panthers 14
- Kansas City Chiefs 27, Chicago Bears 14
- Dallas Cowboys 27, Arizona Cardinals 14
Sunday night prediction:
Monday night predictions:
- Philadelphia Eagles 28, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23
- Cincinnati Bengals 23, Los Angeles Rams 21
Don’t forget to check out every team’s chances at making the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl this season in our season-long predictions. We also have weekly fantasy projections and rankings, where you can find out the only running back expected to outperform the previously mentioned Tony Pollard in Week 3, then use our sit/start comparison tool to help you with your lineup decisions.
We’ll be back next week to take a look at Week 4, which kicks off with an NFC North rivalry game on Thursday and features a Sunday afternoon matchup of America’s teams, the Cowboys and Patriots.