NFL Picks 2013: Week 3

The second week schedule looked like a tough one, but the Zoneblitz contributors handled it well. The four of us combined to go 45-19 for the weekend. I led the pack with a 13-3 mark while Rich rebounded from a rough first week as he and Anthony both hit 11 each. Tony got 10 correct.

So heading into week three, the standings look like this:

The schedule doesn’t look a whole lot easier this week with many competitive games on the slate. Hopefully we’ll continue looking like we’ve got at least a bit of a clue. Here goes:

Game of the Week: Cincinnati at Green Bay – There aren’t a lot of must-watch great games on the schedule for this week, but as the season has played out so far there are some interesting ones. The Kansas City/Philadelphia game has some intrigue primarily because Andy Reid has the Chiefs off to a 2-0 start and the Eagles have one of the more entertaining offenses in the league right now. But it’s still a matchup of two teams that finished toward the bottom of the league in 2012, so I’m staying away from that one. Houston at Baltimore was another consideration, but the Ravens have started slowly and the Texans, despite being 2-0, have had to cpome back against inferior competition in both games so far.

I am intrigued by the Green Bay/Cincinnati game. The Packers are one of the top teams in the NFC, but their defense can be exploited. And the Bengals have yet another opportunity at home to show whether they are ready to capitalize on the opportunity to become the current team to beat in the AFC North. They looked good against Pittsburgh Monday night, but if they can defend their home turf against the Pack, I’ll start to think of them as a true contender. Atlanta at Miami and Indianapolis at San Francisco are interesting for similar reasons, as up-and-coming teams take on established contenders in an effort to show their worth, but the Pack/Bengals game wins out because Cincy seems to be the closest to truly taking the next step in the playoffs.

Game of the Weak: Buffalo at New York Jets –Just like there aren’t a lot of great games this week, there aren’t a lot of dogs either. Oakland at Denver and Jacksonville at Seattle would look like mismatches on paper, but the Broncos and Seahawks are among the league’s elites, so it will be interesting to see how they handle their business against clearly inferior opponents.

San Diego at Tennessee is probably the closest thing to an honorable mention for this week’s Game of the Weak. But we’ll go with the Bills and Jets – even though, early on, it appears as though rookie QBs for both teams are showing some promise.

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