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The underdogs had a good weekend at the betting window in Week 3 of the NFL season going 8-7 against the line through Sunday night’s game. All three home dogs covered the spread with two – Detroit and Washington – winning outright by double digits. The Arizona Cardinals covered the 5.5-point spread in their 2-point loss to Chicago, though there were anxious moments for backers. In the last minute of the game, the Bears intercepted a Josh Rosen pass and returned it for a touchdown, only to have their backdoor cover come off the board due to a defensive penalty. ... 

With two weeks of the 2018 NFL regular season in the books, things are starting to come into focus, but the picture remains a little fuzzy. The Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars have started hot, which isn’t a complete surprise. But the Bucs, Fins and Bengals all undefeated at this point certainly is. Those three are a combined 6-0 ATS in the early going and have made backers a good amount of coin. Can they keep it up? Probably not, but who knows.... 

Most football pundits would have expected the records to be reversed after two games. Heading into the Week 3 Monday Night Football matchup, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the surprise of the NFL with wins over New Orleans and the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles. The Pittsburgh Steelers on the other hand are probably lucky to have a tie on their ledger. And to make matters worse, Antonio Brown is up to his old tricks, skipping out on practice and team meetings, bringing more distractions to a... 

They say you can’t go home, but if Matt Patricia could he would definitely consider it. The start to Patricia’s head coaching career has been a train wreck and the Detroit Lions seek to avoid a 0-3 start when the New England Patriots visit for a Week 3 Sunday Night Football tilt. Patricia never had a losing season during his 14 years as an assistant on Bill Belichick’s staff in New England, but the Lions are scuffling out of the chute. At least they looked better last week in a loss to the 49ers... 

With their Legion of Boom days now just a memory, it was time for the focus of the Seattle Seahawks to turn to Russell Wilson and the offense. For many years, wins and Super Bowls, the defense was the catalyst. Now, the spotlight is definitely on Wilson, and he probably wishes it wasn’t. Wilson was harassed again in Monday night’s loss to the Bears and the Seahawks struggled to move the football. It was actually their defense that kept them in the game. The Seahawks look to break into the win co... 

Scoring points has been an issue for the Arizona Cardinals in the early part of the season and things don’t get any easier with Khalil Mack and the Chicago Bears on the horizon in Week 3. We expected the Cards offense to look different following the retirement of Bruce Arians and Carson Palmer, but we didn’t expect the group to be so inept. The Cards were shut out by the Rams last week and they have scored a total of six points on the season, easily the fewest in the NFL.... 

It is Week 3 of the NFL regular season and Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Fitzpatrick have been lighting up opposing defenses so far this season. Will they both continue their success in Week 3? Will some of the big names in fantasy football finally start to produce? What can we expect this week from Tom Brady, Antonio Brown and David Johnson? What will the rankings look like for Week 3 and who could surprise? Let’s look at

Having Aaron Rodgers in the lineup at less than 100 percent certainly beats the alternative, and Rodgers had another big day on his gimpy knee. But he couldn’t direct the Green Bay Packers to a victory over their division rival Vikings last week, instead settling for a tie. Rodgers took the field with a bulky brace on his left knee, remnants of the injury sustained in the opener, and it could be an issue that persists all season. Still, if Rodgers can play as well as he has since the injury, he ... 

Making the postseason after opening with a pair of losses is difficult. Getting there after a 0-3 start is nearly impossible. There will be a sense of urgency when two winless teams get together in Week 3. The New York Giants and Houston Texans both had aspirations of contending for a playoff spot after woeful showings in 2017 that saw them combine for seven victories. The G-Men are trying to put the mess created by former coach Ben McAdoo behind them, but the criticism of Eli Manning has increa... 

Nick Foles will always be remembered and revered in Philly as the man who brought the city its first Super Bowl title. But the Philadelphia Eagles are Carson Wentz’s team, and now that the strong-armed quarterback has recovered from his shredded knee, he’s ready to assume the starting role. Wentz was having an MVP season in 2017 before sustaining a serious injury in a Week 14 win over Los Angeles. Foles saved the day and earned Super Bowl MVP, but he’s back to riding the bench against the Indian... 

The last time these teams played a regular season game against each other they were both located in different cities. Four years ago the Los Angeles Chargers were based in San Diego and the Los Angeles Rams called St. Louis home. In a few more years they’ll be roommates once again, this time at the plush new multi-billion dollar stadium, bringing football in the Los Angeles area full circle. The teams shared the Coliseum for one year in 1960 before the Chargers, then playing in the AFL, moved to... 

The Denver Broncos needed a quarterback after the Trevor Siemien experiment failed, and they paid handsomely for a career journeyman. The results have been mixed early in the Case Keenum era, but what you can’t take away are the two victories. Keenum engineered a comeback over the hated Raiders last week and he’s 13-3 in his last 16 starts. This isn’t unfamiliar territory for the Broncos, who opened last season with two wins before losing on the road and going 3-11 the rest of the way. The Bronc... 

It was just last season that the Buffalo Bills went 9-7 and won a tie-breaker over a few teams to end a 17-year playoff drought, but it seems like such a long time ago. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Not that the Bills were mighty or anything, but I don’t think anybody saw this coming. After two weeks they are the worst team in the NFL getting outscored 78-23. And it got so bad that they had a player retire from the league during halftime of last week’s game. The Bills are a 17-point underdog i... 

Break up the Cincinnati Bengals. After two miserable seasons that saw them finish below .500 and fail to reach the postseason, Marvin Lewis got a reprieve and he’s making the most of it. Cincy sent a message to the rest of the AFC North with their win over Baltimore last Thursday, slapping 34 points on one of the better defensive clubs in the conference. The Bengals now begin a difficult two-game trip through the NFC South in Week 3 with a visit to the Carolina Panthers... 

The NFC South figures to be competitive once again and with the emergence of Tampa Bay, winning within the division takes on added importance. After knocking off Carolina last week, the Atlanta Falcons have a shot to take down the defending division champs when the New Orleans Saints come calling in Week 3. This rivalry is one of the most heated in the NFL but was often played in obscurity considering the teams stunk for so long. Now that they are both playoff contenders, the intensity has picke... 

It’s still very early, but this isn’t the start the Oakland Raiders were looking for when handing over a good chunk of money to lure Jon Gruden out of the broadcast booth and back onto the sideline. At 0-2 the Raiders continue their road trip with a visit to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3. The Fins are an early season surprise after opening with a pair of victories to lead the AFC East, and with a game against New England coming up the following week they better not overlook the Silver and Black.... 

If it’s not one thing it’s another as the Cleveland Browns try to end that horrible winless streak that has reached 19 games after a gut-wrenching loss to the Saints. The defense did a solid job on New Orleans’ fast-break offense and Tyrod Taylor looked more comfortable as the starter. But special teams was the culprit last Sunday and the Browns will be in the market for a new kicker after Zane Gonzalez missed a pair of extra points and field goals in the three-point loss. The Browns need to sto... 

Based on early results, the Kansas City Chiefs made the right decision trading Alex Smith and handing the offense to Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs lit up the scoreboard again with Mahomes the catalyst in a victory over the Steelers. Mahomes tossed six scoring passes and is the first player with 10 touchdown tosses through two games. The Chiefs have scored 80 points through their first two outings and have a date with Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers in their Week 3 home opener.... 

With the first weekend of the NFL regular season in the books, we have a better idea of what teams look like, at least for this week. NFL rosters are always fluid, mainly due to injuries, and we had a few whoppers last weekend that can and will impact the lines. The biggest took place in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers’ knee. He came back after the injury to post a historic comeback, but the line for the Packers’ Week 2 game with Minnesota remains off the board.... 

A rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game could also be a preview of what to expect next January. The Jacksonville Jaguars came oh so close to their first Super Bowl appearance, leading by 10 points in the fourth quarter before Tom Brady took over. The New England Patriots have been to the conference title game so many times – seven in a row and 13 overall to be exact – that they are expected to be there once again. Fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars are guardedly optimistic that their team... 

The Chicago Bears aren’t the first team to succumb to the heroics of Aaron Rodgers and they won’t be the last. But the defeat stings nonetheless. This is a much different Bears team than we saw the last four seasons, and they showed glimpses of what they could be. The deal for Khalil Mack is a game-changer and the offense showed some creativity under new coach Matt Nagy. Part of growing as a team is learning from your mistakes and not repeating the gaffes. In the end it was a loss, but blowing a... 

On the field, the most recent Jon Gruden era got off to whimper with the Oakland Raiders lay down defeat to the Rams on Monday night. As many times as the coach was shown on the ESPN telecast, you would have thought he still worked for the network. And with Gruden calling the shots, specifically on the Khalil Mack impasse and eventual trade, should we start calling him the GM too? The Raiders and Denver Broncos renew their rivalry from the old AFL days when they get together in Week 2.... 

Saquon Barkley or Sam Darnold? It’s a debate that will last for years in the Big Apple as long as the stars continue to shine. But Barkley will forever have a leg up after being taken second overall by the New York Giants, one spot ahead of Darnold, who was taken third by the rival Jets. Both had impressive debuts, however Darnold got his team a win, and isn’t that all that matters? Barkley will matchup with one of the best running backs in the game on Sunday night when the G-Men visit the Dalla... 

It is Week 2 of the NFL regular season and some excellent matchups are on tap, including the New England Patriots at the Jacksonville Jaguars. We did well with some of our fantasy football rankings in Week 1, including Drew Brees as our top ranked quarterback and the Baltimore defense as our top ranked defense. What will the rankings look like for Week 2 and who could surprise? Let’s look at Week 2 Fantasy Football rankings. ...