2014 NFL Season: Pokorny's Week 3 NFL Picks

Failing Expectations: Through two weeks, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have fallen short of expectations. On paper, things look good -- a new coach in Lovie Smith, and a quarterback (Josh McCown) who thrived with two big targets in Chicago last year and now has two big targets with the Bucs. Instead, after throwing one interception in 8 games last year, he's thrown 3 through two games. The Falcons' run defense has been terrible after two weeks, and Tampa Bay's defense is still pretty stout. I'll go with the Buccaneers to pull off the upset. Buccaneers 24, Falcons 20

Perhaps an Overreaction? For the first two weeks, I was blasting the Cowboys for having one of the worst defenses in the NFL. As it turns out, though, they havent been that bad, and Tony Romo came to the rescue with a strong performance against the Titans last week. For the Rams, Austin Davis had an excellent debut last week, but I can't see that offense keeping it up -- plus, even with all that efficiency from Davis, the Rams needed four field goals to squeak out a win. Cowboys 27, Rams 17

Hard to Place: I like both of these teams, but heading into Week 3, it's really difficult to decide which team should be the favorite. Detroit destroyed a bad Giants team in Week 1, but couldn't do anything against a strong defensive Panthers team in Week 2. The Packers staged a big comeback against the Jets last week to escape with a victory. In a coin flip situation, I'm deferring to the home teams this week. Lions 24, Packers 21

Unusual Defensive Stats: What is unusual about the Texans is that they've only given up 20 points this season, yet they rank 26th in the league in yards allowed. They've got a lot of yardage, but their yards per play given up is closer to the league average. Perhaps the key stat is that the Texans rank 2nd in the league at defending third downs. Anyway, I like Houston's defense to continue wearing down the terrible Giants. Texans 20, Giants 10

Time for Bortles: After the Jaguars' 17-0 start to the season, they have been outscored 75-10 in their past six quarters of play. Yikes! The only shred of optimism for them is that since the Colts are also 0-2, Jacksonville could climb out of the basement with a win. I can't imagine the Colts blowing it this week, but I think one could say that the AFC South looks like the worst division in football. The Jaguars have to go to Bortles soon. Colts 31, Jaguars 21

Blowout of the Week, Part I: Who is ready for the Saints to take out all of their frustration of starting the season at 0-2? New Orleans can't afford too many losses, or they won't even have a chance at catching the Panthers by the half-way point of the season. With the Saints ready to let loose in their first home game and the Vikings coming off an awful effort against New England, this one will get really ugly for Minnesota. Saints 52, Vikings 10

Blowout of the Week, Part II: The Raiders are in a really rough spot. Defensively, they aren't going to intimidate anybody. Offensively, they have no running game and Derek Carr is trying to work through the life of starting as a rookie quarterback. The Patriots are going to pile it on the Raiders to send a message. Patriots 42, Raiders 17

Are the Bills for Real? After two weeks, the most surprising team in the NFL for me has been the Buffalo Bills. The defense has been playing well, E.J. Manuel has pulled off looking like a competent quarterback, and Sammy Watkins made the highlight reels in just his second game. I'm going to start giving them respect soon, but this week, it's all about the Chargers being one of the AFC's best teams. Their dismantling and ball control against the Seahawks last week was a work of art. Chargers 28, Bills 20

No Green, No Worries: I thought the Titans might have turned the corner, but then they laid an egg against the Cowboys in Week 2. The status of A.J. Green (toe) is up-in-the-air, but Cincinnati is one of the more complete-looking teams in football, and Andy Dalton is playing at a surprisingly high level. With or without Green, the Bengals will get by the Titans. Bengals 23, Titans 17

Lure Them in...and Attack! Is the new strategy for the Eagles this year to lull their opponents to sleep and then attack? The Eagles have been out-scored 34-6 in the first half the first two weeks, but are blowing teams out of the water 58-10 in the second half. The Redskins' offensive explosion and logging ten sacks last week was certainly unexpected, and it's hard to see them pulling off a similar feat against a high-powered offense. Eagles 34, Redskins 20

Seizing Control: Last year, the Cardinals tried to stage a late rally in the NFC West, but they simply ran out of time. This year, they have control of the division early in the season and do not want to let go. The quarterback situation in Arizona is still unclear due to Carson Palmer's nerve issues, but their defense has been top-notch. The 49ers' collapse last week had me lose a great deal of faith in Colin Kaepernick -- you can't make those mistakes after your team was in complete control of the game. It'll cost the 49ers again this week in a defensive battle. Cardinals 17, 49ers 16

Super Bowl Re-Match: In terms of analysis, I don't really know what to say here. I'm certain that the Seahawks are still the best team in the NFC, despite getting it handed to them by the Chargers last week. I'm also certain the Broncos are still the best team in the AFC, so this week's encounter comes down to the home-field advantage factor. This won't be a Super Bowl blowup, but the Seahawks will pull out a last-second win. Seahawks 26, Broncos 23

RB Injuries: Both teams suffered injuries to their top running backs last week -- Jamaal Charles in Kansas City, and Knowshon Moreno in Miami. Charles surprisingly returned to practice on Thursday despite having an ankle sprain, but I don't think we can guarantee he'll play on Sunday. I feel this is another "as even as you can get" matchup heading into it, until we get a larger sample size of the season. Therefore, I'm deferring to the home team again. Dolphins 20, Chiefs 17

Points Hard to Come By: The Steelers have had trouble putting points on the board over their past six quarters, and it doesn't get any easier against the Panthers' defense. The Panthers aren't particularly good against the run, but this is a week where I could see Cam Newton rushing for over 100 yards en route to a Sunday Night victory, as I ask for the Steelers to stop having prime time games. Panthers 24, Steelers 11

Feels Like an Upset: The Jets are 2.5 point favorites in this game, which is why I can't technically label it as an upset special. It certainly feels like an upset, though, and that's because I still have a lack of faith in Jets quarterback Geno Smith. What the Jets have pulled off the past two weeks has been impressive, though, and they nearly upset the Packers last week. They'll finish the job at home this week against the Bears, who needed a second half surge last week to finally get things going. Jets 24, Bears 20

Heading Into the Bye Week Happy? Last year, the Browns faced the Ravens at home heading into the bye week and emerged with a 24-18 victory. Can they do it again this year? I'll have my full game preview and prediction for the Ravens vs. Browns game posted on Saturday.