From left: Sports Editor Karl Winter, Sports Assistant Editor Paxton Ritchey, Staff Writer Kyle McCabe, Photo Editor Ali Levens, Sports Assistant Justin Touhey and Staff Writer Austin Hall. This group of six made its picks for the third week of the NFL season after a more predictable second week. Art by Madeline Duvall
Week 2 of the NFL season brought pain — not for us, but for plenty of the players.
Each Graphic staff member equaled or bettered their Week 1 win total, with Sports Editor Karl Winter even finishing the week with a sparkling 14–2 record. Assistant Sports Editor Paxton Ritchey was not far behind at 13–3 on the week, with Staff Writer Austin Hall hot on his heels at 12–4.
Conversely, a league-wide spate of injuries crippled some teams. The 49ers lost their entire core of key players. New York Giants’ star running back Saquon Barkley will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. Panthers’ star running back Christian McCaffrey and Broncos’ starting quarterback Drew Lock are out for several weeks. The list goes on and on.
The lack of preseason conditioning is beginning to take effect on teams and players, but some have shaken off the rust. Hopefully our staff is in that boat.
At first glance, the Week 3 schedule appears much less predictable than Week 2. There is unlikely to be a 14–2 record this week. With mouthwatering Sunday Night and Monday Night Football games to complement many teams trying to right the ship during the daytime slate, it should be a doozy of a weekend.
Without further ado, allow Staff Writers Hall and Kyle McCabe, Photo Editor Ali Levens, Ritchey, Winter and Sports Assistant Justin Touhey to make their selections, starting with the Thursday night matchup.
Miami Dolphins (0–2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (1–1) (Thursday, Sept. 24 at 5:20 p.m. PDT)
Justin: Dolphins
Paxton: Jaguars
Austin: Jaguars
Ali: Jaguars
Kyle: Jaguars
Karl: Jaguars
“I’m super impressed with how [the Dolphins] played against the Bills — almost beat the Bills in Buffalo. I think the Jags are just a mediocre team best. I think the Dolphins so far, although they’re 0–2, I think the competition they’ve played is slightly better than the Jags.” — Justin
“I don’t think either of these teams have been great in the last two weeks, and both defenses have been poor. And when it comes down to it, [Jaguars quarterback] Minshew has played very well these past two weeks, and I think he’ll get the job done down the stretch. I don’t think the Dolphins are a very exciting or effective team offensively.” — Karl
Houston Texans (0–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (2–0) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. PDT)
Justin: Steelers
Paxton: Steelers
Austin: Steelers
Ali: Steelers
Kyle: Steelers
Karl: Steelers
“Texans have had a pretty tough schedule the first two weeks, and although I don’t think the Steelers are on the level of the Chiefs and Ravens, I don’t think they’re the team that Houston will turn it around against.” — Kyle
Cincinnati Bengals (0–2) at Philadelphia Eagles (0–2) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. PDT)
Justin: Eagles
Paxton: Bengals
Austin: Eagles
Ali: Eagles
Kyle: Bengals
Karl: Eagles
“I’ll go with the Eagles, just for the quarterback [Carson Wentz]. I feel like their offense will pull it together at least once, against this team, if not for the whole rest of the season.” — Ali
“I’m torn on this one because I don’t really trust [Bengals quarterback Joe] Burrow on the road as a rookie in Week 3, but I also don’t trust anything I’ve seen from Carson Wentz this year. [Bengals receiver] AJ Green is not the receiver he used to be but he’s still a better X Factor option than anything that Philadelphia has on that side of the ball. I’d be happy to see the chaos that ensues if the Eagles dropped to 0–3 and I’m going to take the Bengals in a very close game [with] Joe Burrow’s first game-winning drive in the NFL.” — Paxton
San Francisco 49ers (1–1) at New York Giants (0–2) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. PDT)
Justin: 49ers
Paxton: 49ers
Austin: 49ers
Ali: 49ers
Kyle: 49ers
Karl: 49ers
“This might be the injury bowl this week, but with how last week went, every game might be an injury bowl. An injured Niners team is still better than a Giants team that is missing Saquon [Barkley].” — Kyle
Las Vegas Raiders (2–0) at New England Patriots (1–1) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. PDT)
Justin: Patriots
Paxton: Patriots
Austin: Patriots
Ali: Patriots
Kyle: Patriots
Karl: Patriots
“As much as I liked what I saw from trying to watch the Raiders [on Monday night] while I was in class — I love who they have, I love who they drafted for two years now, but I can’t just go recency bias and pick them because they beat the Saints. […] I really don’t think [Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick] is going to drop back-to-back games. [The Patriots] still look really good against the Seahawks, even though they lost. […] I definitely expect the Patriots, who did better than I thought they would against the Seahawks, to get after [Raiders quarterback] Derek Carr little bit and win this game.” — Austin
Tennessee Titans (2–0) at Minnesota Vikings (0–2) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. PDT)
Justin: Titans
Paxton: Vikings
Austin: Vikings
Ali: Titans
Kyle: Titans
Karl: Vikings
“[Vikings quarterback] Kirk Cousins has struggled and played very poorly, and I think he’ll get back on track this week. I think the Vikings will be in desperation mode at home and can’t afford to start out 0–3. As long as they take care of the ball better than they did against Indianapolis, I think this offense still has enough.” — Karl
“[Titans quarterback] Ryan Tannehill looks freaking good. He threw four touchdown passes this weekend and he works really well into that Titan offense. They don’t look like they’ve slowed down since the AFC Championship appearance last year. They seem to be just as focused and just as good as they were last year, and I think they’re rolling.” — Justin
Washington Football Team (1–1) at Cleveland Browns (1–1) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. PDT)
Justin: Browns
Paxton: Browns
Austin: Browns
Ali: Football Team
Kyle: Browns
Karl: Browns
“I’m not about to go back on my promise I made Week 1 [to never pick the Browns] — Washington Football Team. I think they will just go after [Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield]. I still think it will be a decently close game.” — Ali
“I will go on the record saying that I would not be shocked if Washington wins, but I’m still going to pick Cleveland because I think their offense can make just enough plays. Baker [Mayfield] can get the ball out quickly to beat that pass rush and hit [wide receivers Jarvis] Landry or [Odell] Beckham in space — they’re going to make enough plays to win a low scoring game.” — Paxton
Los Angeles Rams (2–0) at Buffalo Bills (2–0) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. PDT)
Justin: Bills
Paxton: Bills
Austin: Bills
Ali: Bills
Kyle: Bills
Karl: Bills
“You soften up a little bit when you’re playing indoors and [the Rams are] going to be playing in Buffalo. That [Bills] defense is still really good. [Bills quarterback] Josh Allen threw for 300 yards and then 400 yards back to back. The Rams have [cornerback] Jalen Ramsey, but it’s not like that Rams secondary is lethal, by any stretch. I think the Rams might be that Week 1 to Week 5 fools-gold team right now. Even though they’ve looked good, I’m kind of doubling down on everything I saw in the offseason.” — Austin
Chicago Bears (2–0) at Atlanta Falcons (0–2) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. PDT)
Justin: Falcons
Paxton: Falcons
Austin: Falcons
Ali: Falcons
Kyle: Falcons
Karl: Bears
“I will be frank — we are the worst 2–0 team in the NFL. But, the Bears have the best secondary that the Falcons have faced thus far. [Defensive backs] Kyle Fuller and Eddie Jackson are going to give [Falcons receivers] Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley all that they can handle. We may not be the best front seven they faced so far, but I think [Bears defensive end] Khalil Mack will be able to get after [Falcons quarterback] Matt Ryan a little bit and [Bears quarterback] Maserati Mitch [Trubisky] has not looked as bad as you [think]. […] I gotta go with my heart on this one — we’re 2–0 in two ugly games; maybe we’ll make a statement and make it three.” — Karl
“This is a game that the Falcons should win. However, they’ve lost a lot of games they should have won over the past few years. This is a team that doesn’t know how to finish and so it worries me, especially when Maserati Mitch [Trubisky] has sort of magical fourth-quarter comeback — but it’s not going to happen this week. The Falcons are too good. They can put up yards in a hurry, their defense is a lot better than it gives them credit for.” — Paxton
Carolina Panthers (0–2) at Los Angeles Chargers (1–1) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1:05 p.m. PDT)
Justin: Chargers
Paxton: Chargers
Austin: Chargers
Ali: Chargers
Kyle: Panthers
Karl: Chargers
“Carolina almost mounted a comeback against the Bucs last week, and I have a feeling [Chargers Head Coach] Anthony Lynn will actually start [quarterback] Tyrod Taylor again, so I’m feeling a Panthers bounce back in Week 3.” — Kyle
“Christian McCaffrey is a bigger loss for the Panthers than Saquon [Barkley] is for the Giants. […] The Chargers are going to win this game because the Panthers don’t really have anything to do on offense and their defense isn’t elite by any means.” — Paxton
New York Jets (0–2) at Indianapolis Colts (1–1) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1:05 p.m. PDT)
Justin: Colts
Paxton: Colts
Austin: Colts
Ali: Colts
Kyle: Colts
Karl: Colts
“The Jets are just garbage. Them and the Giants are literally having a competition to see who can be the absolute worst team, who could put the least amount of points in New Jersey. It’s so bad. So Colts by default, because the Jets are awful.” — Ali
Dallas Cowboys (1–1) at Seattle Seahawks (2–0) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1:25 p.m. PDT)
Justin: Seahawks
Paxton: Seahawks
Austin: Seahawks
Ali: Seahawks
Kyle: Seahawks
Karl: Seahawks
“The Seahawks have looked really, really, really good, just top to bottom, even though they kind of almost blew that game [against the Patriots] — but they didn’t, ultimately. 2–0, looking super, super strong, one of the best 2–0 teams I think we have right now. I’d love to see a 21-point victory on this one.” — Austin
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1–1) at Denver Broncos (0–2) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1:25 p.m. PDT)
Justin: Buccaneers
Paxton: Buccaneers
Austin: Buccaneers
Ali: Buccaneers
Kyle: Broncos
Karl: Buccaneers
“In [backup quarterback Jeff] Driskel we trust.” — Kyle
“The Broncos do not have Drew Lock, which is a big L, but also [Bucs running back] Leonard Fournette actually played well against the Panthers, so it seems like [Tom] Brady’s got a pretty good running back. [Brady] will do what he normally does — throw three-to-four-yard completions and march down the field.” — Justin
Detroit Lions (0–2) at Arizona Cardinals (2–0) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1:25 p.m. PDT)
Justin: Cardinals
Paxton: Cardinals
Austin: Cardinals
Ali: Cardinals
Kyle: Cardinals
Karl: Cardinals
“I do kind of like [Lions quarterback] Matthew Stafford, [but] it’s just such a bad combination because [Cardinals quarterback] Kyler Murray just dances around — he’s very good at escaping pressure, [and] I think the Lions have two sacks in the first two weeks. It’s such a bad combination of personnel. […] I’m going to go with the Cardinals even though I don’t want to. […] [And for Lions Head Coach Matt Patricia] Why do you have a Dixon Ticonderoga pencil in your ear, the entire game when you’re holding a laminated play sheet? What is that for?” — Austin
Green Bay Packers (2–0) at New Orleans Saints (1–1) (Sunday, Sept. 27 at 5:20 p.m. PDT)
Justin: Packers
Paxton: Packers
Austin: Packers
Ali: Packers
Kyle: Saints
Karl: Packers
“An all-time QB matchup for this one. I think that the team around [Saints quarterback] Drew Brees is better than the one around [Packers quarterback] Aaron Rodgers this year, so that’s why I’m going with New Orleans.” — Kyle
“That bad man [Packers quarterback] Aaron Rodgers will win this game. […] He’s dropped 42 and 43 points. He’s a man on a mission. People have been calling him a baby for years, telling him he’s soft, telling him he’s passive-aggressive, telling him to get over his bad relationship with his parents and his brothers and siblings, that he has no good relationships, no friends — his relationship with the football is not a struggle, because he can sling that thing, and he’s gonna win this game.” — Justin
Kansas City Chiefs (2–0) at Baltimore Ravens (2–0) (Monday, Sept. 28 at 5:20 p.m. PDT)
Justin: Ravens
Paxton: Chiefs
Austin: Chiefs
Ali: Ravens
Kyle: Ravens
Karl: Ravens
“Give me the MVP. I don’t care if it’s not the playoffs yet, I think [Chiefs quarterback] Patrick Mahomes shows up in big games. It’s not that [Ravens quarterback] Lamar Jackson won’t, but I just think the Chiefs are a more complete football team. […] The Chiefs did struggle offensively against the Chargers last week; they were great defensively […] Mahomes is just too good to play like that two weeks in a row. I think that Patrick Mahomes is going to be mad that the NFL players who, for some reason, voted Lamar Jackson is the number one player in the NFL Top 100, which was ridiculous.” — Paxton
“The Chiefs have just been less convincing in their two wins than the Ravens have, especially this past week where they easily could have lost the game. It took them a while to even score a touchdown against the Chargers, and with Baltimore being at home, as good as they’ve looked, I think that they will get it done at home. The Chiefs are due to be dealt a loss here.” — Karl
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Contact Karl Winter via Twitter: @karlwinter23 or by email: karl.winter@pepperdine.edu
