There are plenty of things you can say about Week Three for the 2023 National Football League season, and none of it would be good. It was an issue of up was down, left was right, cats and dogs living in sin…to say it was tumultuous would be a huge understatement. Just look at some of the things that happened last week to get an idea of the weirdness.
For only the FOURTH TIME IN NFL HISTORY, a team scored more than 70 points.
Teams that were double-digit dogs (here’s looking at you, Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans) ended up WINNING OUTRIGHT.
Teams that were thought to be on the upswing (you know who you are…Dallas Cowboys) either turned out to be utter frauds or were overlooking their opposition, something you CANNOT do in professional sports.
Thus, it was a horrendous weekend for pretty much every bettor out there, especially here at PND! Without further ado, we’re going to look back at the games we picked for the NFL Week Three – and it wasn’t pretty. It will, however, demonstrate how close the oddsmakers come to that 50/50 split that they are looking for.
PICK #1 – Los Angeles Chargers v. MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Pick – Vikings -1.5
Result – Chargers 28, Vikings 24 (LOSS)
How this result came about might be a case of a team underestimating their opposition. On the road, without their leading offensive weapons in RB Austin Eckler and WR Mike Williams and facing a home-standing Vikings squad that played both the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers within six points of each game on the road, you would be forgiven if you dropped the lot on the Vikes. Alas, they underperformed, and it has dropped them to 0-3 in this young season – and there are no consolation prizes for “losing close games” in the NFL, just like there aren’t any for losing close bets.
PICK #2 – Buffalo Bills v. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
Pick – OVER 43
Result – Bills 37, Commanders 3 (LOSS)
Again, another game of close, but no cigar. We had it right that the offense would show up – the problem was that the other team’s offense needed to show up, too. After two games in which they were less than impressive, the Bills offense roared to life against the Capitol Captains, with QB Josh Allen finally getting some semblance of what he was like in last year’s playoffs. The Commanders, meanwhile, showed that they have a rookie QB in Sam Howell and made way too many mistakes to win this game – they’re going to have to toughen up in the NFC East, against the Eagles and the Cowboys, if they are going to have any playoff shot.
PICK #3 – Philadelphia Eagles v. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Pick – Buccaneers +4.5
Result – Eagles 25, Buccaneers 11 (LOSS)
Potential for “hometown misinformation” on this one. Living in an NFL city can get you some insights into what a team’s mindset and game plan might be, but it can also get you some “homerism” in that you ignore info on the other team. Yes, the Buccaneers defense did slow down QB Jalen Hurts and the Eagles a bit; the problem is, the Eagles defense chased Bucs QB Baker Mayfield like he was The Fugitive, forcing miscues that Mayfield hadn’t made in the two road games that the Terrors from Tampa had won. Will be interesting to see how the Bucs rebound off this rather uninspired loss.
So, what do you do when you blank your bets? You try to examine where you went wrong and fire again! We’re already looking over the slate of games for this weekend, but the game tonight might be an intriguing one. The Detroit Lions, the sexy pick by many to make the playoffs this year, head to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers. An interesting tidbit of information here is that the Lions have not won a September visit to Wisconsin since 1980 – is that enough to get you to take the Pack with one and the hook? It’s in the eyes and minds of the bettor…
NFL Week Three Results – 0-3
NFL 2023 Season Results – 2-6-1