2015 NFL Season: Pokorny's Week 3 Picks

Thursday Night Football: Last week's victory for the Redskins was a bit of a surprise. I thought they were dead and buried, but Kirk Cousins finally beat an NFL team besides the Browns by completing 85% of his passes and having an out-of-nowhere 123-yard rushing performance from rookie running back Matt Jones. The Giants have lost their first two games of the season with less than two minutes to play in each teams against quality opponents. On Thursday Night Football, I think they should be able to put the game away a bit earlier and not have to worry about the Redskins' late-game heroics. Giants 24, Redskins 16

It's the Brandon Weeden Show: It was hilarious to watch Brandon Weeden sit on the sidelines and not warming up after the injury to Tony Romo, but he stepped in and was 7-of-7 for 73 yards and a touchdown pass. He is now the leader of a 2-0 Cowboys team that needs to grind out as many wins as they can until Tony Romo comes back. Their defense has been quite impressive this year, and the offensive line is stellar. However, with Dez Bryant out and there not being a game-changer at the running back position, I don't think the Cowboys will have enough to hold off a Falcons team that has seen the Matt Ryan-Julio Jones combination dominate defenses at will. Falcons 23, Cowboys 20

Who is the Ravens' Leader? For the first time in a long time, the Ravens seem to be lacking a leader. Ray Lewis is retired, Haloti Ngata is in Detroit, and Terrell Suggs is out with an Achilles' injury. On offense, Steve Smith hasn't been able to haul in late-game touchdown passes in back-to-back weeks, and Baltimore is coming off of a game in which they were shredded by the Oakland Raiders. The Ravens will face an uphill battle the rest of the year if they start at 0-3, but I think that is how things will turn out given the Bengals' impressive play on both sides of the ball. The biggest difference I see with the Bengals this year is the fact that Andy Dalton is utilizing a second target he's very confident with in tight end Tyler Eifert. Through two weeks, Dalton has 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Bengals 34, Ravens 20

Not the Production I Expected: When the Colts added some veteran pieces this offseason, like wide receiver Andre Johnson and running back Frank Gore, I thought both guys could be the type of additions to propel the Colts to the next level. Instead, the Colts have scored the fewest points in the NFL through two weeks and Andrew Luck has turned the ball over 6 times. He faced what I consider to be two of the toughest defenses in the AFC, though, and while I expect Luck to be a difference maker against tough defenses, he has a chance to make amends with the team's next three opponents (Titans, Jaguars, Texans). It pays to play in a less-than-stellar division. Colts 31, Titans 17

Blowout of the Week, AFC: Although I admire what the Jaguars have been able to do defensively through two weeks and their ability to upset the Dolphins in Week 2, Jacksonville is not ready to contend with an offensive juggernaut like the Patriots. If New England can put up as many yards and points as they did against Buffalo in Week 2, then I don't see how anyone can stop them. Patriots 38, Jaguars 10

Taking the Division by Storm: Based on how things have gone over the first two weeks, it doesn't look like the Saints are going to contend in 2015. With Drew Brees' ailments coming to the forefront, even if he plays this week, the team is on the cusp of having to declare themselves in rebuilding more. The Panthers, meanwhile, have an opportunity to take the NFC South by storm with a ferocious defense that is giving up the fewest yards per play (3.82) in the NFL through two weeks. Compare that to the Browns, who are yielding 5.36 yards per play, a number that is a respectable 15th in the NFL. The Panthers' defense will stymie the Saints again and move to 3-0. Panthers 26, Saints 16

Expect the Unexpected: About two months ago, I had visions of the Eagles being one of the top two teams in the NFC thanks to a resurgence in the career of Sam Bradford, and the Jets having a good defense but a poor record thanks to being stuck in quarterback purgatory with Geno Smith. Heading into Week 3, the tides have turned. Philadelphia's inability to run the ball to such an extreme level (2.12 YPC) is something I've never quite seen in the NFL, and this week they face a Jets front that is tough to generate movement against. Bradford's struggles are likely to continue against a very good secondary, and Ryan Fitzpatrick has been playing efficient, turnover-free football. Jets 24, Eagles 17

Getting a Pulse on the Rams: After the Rams' Week 1 upset over the Seahawks, my instant reaction was, "this is the year it'll finally click for Jeff Fisher's team." Then, they proceeded to lose handily to one of the league's worst teams (Redskins), while the victory over Seattle looked less impressive when Green Bay also handled them with relative ease. Le'Veon Bell returns from suspension for the Steelers this week, and while he will be a long-term asset, I think it's going to create enough of a hiccup in this week's offensive gameplan for Pittsburgh to where they don't know what they want to do for a stretch of the game. Rams 27, Steelers 24

Nothing Comes Easy: Philip Rivers is another one of those quarterbacks who is immune to having stress-free games; everything comes down to the final whistle with the Chargers. After the Vikings laid a surprisingly awful egg in Week 1, they came right back with a Week 2 performance that was more in line with what I expected of them. Both of these teams are evenly matched, but I have to roll with the Vikings at home. The best decision they made in Week 2 was taking the restraints off of Adrian Peterson, who touched the ball 31 times for 192 yards. Vikings 24, Chargers 21

Reality Check of the Week: Did anyone see Jameis Winston's post-game speech after beating the Saints last week? The way he was gloating over his first victory was cringe-worthy because I feel his success was more of an indictment against the Saints than a tribute to the Buccaneers. The Texans have an internal mess of their own due to their quarterback situation and being 0-2, but there is nobody on Tampa Bay's offensive line who will come close to containing J.J. Watt. I expect Watt or his teammates to have a monster day defensively against Winston. Texans 28, Buccaneers 6

Blowout of the Week, NFC: The 49ers' true colors came through last week against the Steelers. They suffered too many losses this offseason to overcome them and unless they can put together a turnover-free game combined with a strong rushing attack, they aren't going to stand a chance. The Cardinals have been lights out offensively under Carson Palmer, and rookie running back David Johnson looks to be the real deal. Cardinals 34, 49ers 14

A Minor Setback? Everyone was sky-high with their hype of the Bills heading into Week 2 against the Patriots, but then they fell flat (sorry, the 21-point comeback attempt in the 4th quarter isn't enough to overcome how much they were dominated the first three quarters). The question now is whether it was just a minor setback for the Bills, or could Rex Ryan hit even more of a snag this week if he loses his second straight divisional game to fall into fourth place? I don't think the Buffalo train is dead yet -- their defense will pick up the intensity against. Bills 24, Dolphins 13

The Return of Kam: Kam Chancellor's holdout is over, and that should mean an end to Seattle's struggles to begin the 2015 season. At 0-2, they are still a good enough team to overcome the slow start, just like they did a year ago, and contend for the Super Bowl again. Their run begins this week against as easy of a matchup as you could ask for: being able to feast at home against Jimmy Clausen. Hide the children. Seahawks 27, Bears 3

Not Dead Yet: I couldn't have been more joyful than to see during last week's second half performance that Peyton Manning isn't dead yet. He still has some life in his arm, but Gary Kubiak can't keep putting Manning under center and letting him take hit after hit. ESPN pointed out that through 2 games, "the Lions have allowed opposing QB's to complete 49-of-60 passes (81.67%)." The Lions still have talent offensively, but things haven't been clicking on either side of the ball for them. Broncos 31, Lions 21

Monday Night Football: After the disastrous collapse that the Chiefs had during their prime time game in Week 2 against the Broncos, they'll have had the maximum rest time to prepare for the Packers without having a bye week. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are coming off of a solid prime time win over the Seahawks, though, so I like Green Bay's positive momentum and superior quarterback play to out-weight the Chiefs' additional prep time. Packers 28, Chiefs 23

The End of the Soft Schedule: Before the season started, I said that if the Browns had any chance of being a winning team this season, they needed to begin the season at 2-1, because the game against Oakland marks the end to their "soft schedule" to begin the season. My full preview and prediction of the Raiders vs. Browns game will be posted this Saturday on DBN.