Week 3 is upon us and that means it’s time to take a deeper look at three games that could be dogfights, at least we hope so. These games have been looked at under a microscope to analyze offense performance, defensive performance, match up difficulty, and overall predictions.
Best of NFL Week 3 Games
Houston Texans vs New England Patriots
The battle of the unbeatens begins on Thursday night as the Houston Texans take on the New England Patriots. Coming into week three, both offenses have found ways to score, the Patriots ranking 12th and Texans 18th. But the story of Thursday night will be how rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett performs after being thrust into the starting lineup because of injury. Brissett faces a tough match up in prime time as the Texans defense ranks third in terms of points against and passing yards, which is bad news for a rookie quarterback who has only attempted nine career passes. The good news for the Patriots defense is that Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler has turned the ball over three times in the first two games. In addition, the Texans run game has yet to reach the end zone this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday is another battle of undefeated teams in Philadelphia as both teams come off great week two performances. The Steelers went for over 370 yards of offense, including 124 on the ground. Through the first two weeks, Mike Tomlin has shown his commitment to the run, or at least it seems so. The story of the game for the Pittsburgh Steelers, however, will be how Antonio Brown responds after he was effectively shut down as he managed only four receptions for 39 yards on 11 targets. Those yards won’t come easy however against the Eagles pass defense which ranks fourth in the league. For head coach Doug Pederson and the Eagles, they are coming off a game in which they allowed no passing touchdowns. The Eagles defense has been stifling for the first time in many years as they rank second in points scored against. This could end up being a dogfight, depending on how the Eagles pass defense limits or doesn’t limit Brown.
Minnesota Vikings vs Carolina Panthers
The final game of the week is the Minnesota Vikings taking on the Carolina Panthers. Despite being 1-1, the Panthers still seem poised to win a good sum of games, as they rank first in total points scored, which was headlined by a 46 point outing last week. Behind Cam Newton, the offense has managed to score 66 points and go for 862 total yards. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the defense has been a sore spot. It’s ranked 20th in the league over the first two weeks, and has had a harder time against the run. The good news is that the Vikings have been terribly inefficient on the ground, having rushed for only 24 total yards in the first two weeks, and they lost Adrian Peterson for the foreseeable future due to a torn meniscus. The bright side for the Vikings is that Sam Bradford played well in his debut, throwing for 286 yards and two touchdowns.
In conclusion these games could fallout either way but with the Eagles defense, Panthers offense and Texans defense should all be looking at wins.
