Week 3 of the NFL season is here, and some teams are already in trouble. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are staring down the barrel of an 0-3 start, and a couple of those head coaches could be on the hot seat. The Texans and Colts face off this Sunday in Indy, so that will be one to watch!
Elsewhere in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers opens up division play against the Cincinnati Bengals, Kyler Murray returns to the lineup to face the Buccaneers, Lamar Jackson takes on Dak Prescott in Rio de Janeiro and the Los Angeles Rams will play the Denver Broncos on "Sunday Night Football." Which teams should you pick in Week 3, and which should you fade? CBS Sports writers Jordan Dajani and Jared Dubin are here to break down the biggest games of the weekend. For clarity, lines for these selections were taken on Sept. 23 over at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Dajani (Packers -5.5): The Atlanta Falcons will get Michael Penix Jr. back this week, and while I'm sure the offense will improve with the upgrade at quarterback, I'm not sure I can back them in this spot. The Packers are making their home debut in primetime at a rowdy Lambeau Field, and they are 8-1 ATS in their last nine home primetime games when favored by at least five points, according to CBS Sports Research. I still have major concerns about this Packers team that is down their best offensive player and defensive player while working through some serious issues on the offensive line, but this is a solid bounce-back spot against the team that has been the worst in the NFL through two weeks.
Dubin (Packers -5.5): I can't rightly pick the Falcons given the way they have looked so far this season. I know they're getting an upgrade at quarterback with Michael Penix Jr. replacing whatever Cooper Rush was doing out there, but it's not like their defense has been good, either. And now they have injury issues on that side of the ball with A.J.
The only thing stopping me from predicting a Packers blowout is that they have issues of their own. Micah Parsons remains out. Still, they should have enough to win this one fairly comfortably.
Dajani (Bengals -3.5): A battle between two teams trending in opposite directions. The Pittsburgh Steelers are averaging the fewest points per game (11.5) and yards per game (249.5) through two games in Aaron Rodgers' career, while the Bengals defense is reborn, and tied for eighth in scoring defense after ranking 30th last season. In Week 1, Cincinnati recovered four fumbles.
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