Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Week 3 seems WAY too early to announce the most anticipated NFL regular-season game of the year, but that’s pretty clearly the case Monday night when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Baltimore Ravens, who are 3-point favorites.
These are the two favorites to win Super Bowl 55 – of course, the Chiefs are defending Super Bowl champions, while the Ravens entered the last postseason as the No. 1 overall seed with a franchise-record 14 wins but were upset in the Divisional Round by Tennessee. Baltimore lost just once on the road all of last season: Week 3 in Kansas City 33-28 as Patrick Mahomes outplayed Lamar Jackson. Mahomes was the 2018 NFL MVP and is the +500-second favorite this season. Jackson won it last year and is the +500 second-favorite as well. Kansas City is 10-2-1 ATS in its past 13 as a dog.
Just as Chiefs-Ravens could be an AFC title game preview, the other marquee Week 3 matchup is Sunday night as Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers visit Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints in a potential NFC Championship Game preview. It could be the last time Rodgers and Brees ever face off if they don’t meet in this postseason with Brees likely to retire after 2020. The Saints are -3 but 1-5 ATS in their past six at home against teams with winning records.
The Los Angeles Rams play a second straight game in the east with a 1 p.m. ET matchup of unbeatens Sunday at the Buffalo Bills, who are -2. In a normal situation, a west coast team playing back-to-back games in the east would just stay in that time zone and practice. However, due to some NFL restrictions due to COVID-19, the Rams have opted to crisscross the country again. Los Angeles is 9-2 ATS in its past 11 road games.
The Denver Broncos aren’t that far from being 2-0 but instead are 0-2 with two very close losses and now will be without starting quarterback Drew Lock for 2-6 weeks and No. 1 receiver Courtland Sutton for the season. The Broncos, who will start journeyman Jeff Driskel at QB, are 6-point home underdogs against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Tampa is 6-14 ATS in its past 20 as a road favorite.
The biggest spread of Week 3 is the winless New York Jets getting 11 points at the Indianapolis Colts. Might this be the last game as Jets coach for Adam Gase? New York is 3-18 in its past 21 as a road dog.
