Injuries were the name of the game in Week 2 of the NFL season. We saw a slew of huge names go out of games, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Jimmy Garoppolo's time as the New England starter is likely said and done with after he sprained his AC joint, while Josh McCown's career might be over after he suffered a shoulder injury for the Browns a week after Robert Griffin III suffered the same injury. Throw in running backs Adrian Peterson, Doug Martin, Ameer Abdullah, Arian Foster and Danny Woodhead, and you've got the makings of a lot of offenses that are going to look a lot different in Week 3 than they did in Week 2.
NFL Week 3 Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Texans ( N/A ) at Patriots ( +2.5 )
Broncos ( N/A ) at Bengals ( -3 )
Raiders ( 48 ) at Titans ( PK )
Cardinals ( 47 ) at Bills ( +5 )
Ravens ( 47.5 ) at Jaguars ( PK )
Browns ( N/A ) at Dolphins ( -7 )
Redskins ( 47.5 ) at Giants ( -4 )
Lions ( N/A ) at Packers ( -8 )
Vikings ( N/A ) at Panthers ( -6.5 )
49ers ( 42 ) at Seahawks ( -10 )
Rams ( 42 ) at Buccaneers ( -3.5 )
Steelers ( N/A ) at Eagles ( +5 )
Jets ( 44 ) at Chiefs ( -3.5 )
Chargers ( 50.5 ) at Colts ( -3 )
Bears ( N/A ) at Cowboys ( -4 )
Falcons ( 52.5 ) at Saints ( -3 )
Games of the Week
Texans at Patriots – Thursday 8:25 p.m. ET
Pop quiz, hot shot. When was the last time the Patriots lost a game at home when they were underdogs?
Answer: 2005. Translation: No one has ever once tweeted about a favored team going into Foxboro and winning.
In fact, New England has been a dog just twice at home since '05, both games of which occurred in 2014 when Tom Brady was thought to be at the end of his career. All the Pats did those days against the Bengals and Broncos was hang 43 points in four-score victories.
Of course, Brady isn't walking through the doors at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night, and barring a medical miracle, neither is Jimmy Garoppolo. That means it's up to Jacoby Brissett to start his first career game against a Houston defense that has allowed exactly two offensive touchdowns all season long and just a total of six points in the second halves of games this year. Good luck with that, kid.
The spread hasn't gone mainstream yet, but BookMaker.eu has the Texans listed as 2.5-point chalks in a game they probably would have been more than TD dogs in had Brady been healthy.
Steelers at Eagles – Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET
The Keystone State showdown is going to be overlooked by some in Week 3, but as of the publication of this article, it's one of the only games on the docket featuring undefeated teams. (The Eagles play against the Bears on Monday Night Football to close out Week 2.)
Carson Wentz has only played one game in his career thus far, but he looked darn good in it, and he surely looked better than Joe Flacco did against the same Cleveland defense a week later. Dare we say that Wentz looks a little bit like a young Ben Roethlisberger?
Big Ben will be waiting on the other sideline in Week 3 for this one, and he's hoping to get some more good productivity out of his defense. Offensively, the Steelers were challenged by the Bengals and Mother Nature in Week 2, and they didn't help themselves with a bunch of dropped passes. That said, this offense still has a slew of potential, even without Le'Veon Bell as he finishes up his three-game suspension this week.
The Eagles were a bit of a surprise in Week 1. If they can carry some momentum into Week 3, this could end up being one of the better games of the week.
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