After months of buildup, the 2020 NFL season is now in full swing.
Week 2 was full of injuries to big-name players, and the contenders are starting to separate themselves from the pretenders.
Here are my best bets heading into the Week 3 slate of game.
Season Record: 9-6-1
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of September 25, 2020.
Arizona Cardinals (-5.5)
The Cardinals’ offense is firing on all cylinders, and the Detroit secondary is beat up. On the other side of the ball, Arizona’s defense is fast and aggressive, and it’s hard to see the Lion’s offense keeping pace with Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, and the Arizona offense.
Arizona by a touchdown in this one.
Los Angeles Chargers (-6.5)
The Chargers are flat-out a better football team than the Carolina Panthers. To make matters worse, Carolina will be without their best player (Christian McCaffrey). The Chargers should have no issues winning this game by a touchdown at home.
Chargers/Panthers over 43.5 points
Justin Herbert looked solid for the Chargers against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 in his first career start. The Panthers defense is nowhere near as talented as Kansas City’s. I like the Chargers to put up around 30 points, which means the Panthers will only need to score 14 points for this one to hit.
Green Bay Packers (+3)
My thoughts on this game are dependent on the status of Saints All-Pro Michael Thomas. If he’s out, I love Green Bay. If he plays, I still like the Packers (possibly the hottest team in the league) to keep this game close if not win it outright.
Update: Michael Thomas has been ruled out.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-5.5)
The oddsmakers are clearly leaning heavily on the Broncos’ home field advantage here, because on paper, this spread should be closer to -10 in Tampa Bay’s favor. Denver will be rolling with backup quarterback Jeff Driskel, and it’s hard to see their patchwork secondary slowing down Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and the rest of the Buccaneers’ offensive weapons.
Look for a double-digit Tampa Bay win here.
Raiders/Patriots over 46.5 points
In Week 2, the Raiders shocked the league with their victory over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night, and the Patriots came within two yards of upsetting the Seattle Seahawks on the road.
I also like the Patriots at -5 here, but I like the over more. All said, I see this game ending up in the 30-24 range in the New England’s favor.
New England Patriots (-5)
Cam Newton looks motivated and healthy. The Raiders have impressed through two weeks this season, but they are not yet in New England’s class. Look for the Pats to win by a touchdown.
Titans/Vikings under 50.5 points
This game could go either way, but what I expect to see happen is both teams relying heavily on their rushing attacks. Dalvin Cook and Derrick Henry could have juiced up stat lines, but that will ultimately result in very few clock stoppages.
This isn’t my favorite pick of the week, but I still see this game finishing in the mid-40’s.
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