Ramblin Fans NFL Picks and Predictions: Preseason Week 3

Here at Ramblin Fan we run a weekly NFL picks and predictions article during the regular and post seasons.  Since the preseason is all about getting practice reps in it only makes sense that we would start our weekly picks article during the preseason too.  Sure preseason games are impossible to predict, and the final score is about as meaningless as an apology from a politician, but hey let’s have some fun anyway.  Preseason week 3 kicks off with two games this evening and continues throughout the weekend, with the Rams traveling to play the Denver Broncos on Saturday night.  The St Louis Rams game against the Broncos will be a nationally televised game on CBS so don’t miss it Rams fans.  Let’s get started with our preseason week 3 picks and predictions.

New England Patriots @ Detroit Lions (Thursday 7:30 ET).  Tom Brady and friends will travel to Ford Field to take on the Lions.  The Patriots are 2-0 so far in the preseason, and Brady has looked as impressive as ever in spite of an entirely new receiving corps.  Rams fans wont be surprised to hear that Danny Amendola has been absent from practice this week and may not play against the Lions.  Calvin “Megatron” Johnson just may make his preseason debut against the Patriots, giving fans something other than Tom Brady to tune in for.  The Patriot Machine continues to roll as they defeat the Lions 34-20.

Carolina Panthers @ Baltimore Ravens (Thursday 8:00 ET).  Cam Newton and the Panthers will travel to visit Joe Flacco and the reigning Super Bowl Champion Ravens.  Rumor has it that Flacco is likely to play into the 3rd quarter of this one, so superstar injury watch is in full effect for this game.  Cam Newton will get off to a hot start and leave the game after leading the Panthers offense to touchdowns on each of their first 3 series en route to a 31 – 14 Panthers victory.

Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers (Friday 8:00 ET).  After thoroughly dismantling the Broncos last week the Seahawks are clearly on a devastating march towards a Super Bowl Title.  At least that is what the National Media outlets would have you believe, then of course there is the “rematch” aspect to this game.  Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense has been clicking, while Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense have yet to score a touchdown.  The Seahawks win 65 – 9 as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers first team offense fail to score against the Juggernaut that is the Seahawks.

Chicago Bears @ Oakland Raiders (Friday 10:00 ET).  Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears will travel down to Oakland to take on the Raiders.  If the Raiders offensive line protects as well as it did last week against the New Orleans Saints Matt Flynn may not survive the first quarter.  Each of these teams is 1-1 in the preseason so someone will get above .500 in this one.  Raiders fans everywhere will be holding their breath every time Darren McFadden touches the football, if the Raiders are going to have any success this season they need McFadden to be healthy the entire 16 games.  The Cutler to Marshall connection powers the Bears offense early as the defense has a field day on poor Matt Flynn, Bears win 24 – 6.

Buffalo Bills @ Washington Redskins (Saturday 4:30 ET).  Promising rookie QB EJ Manuel will be out of this game due to a minor knee procedure, on the other side the dynamic RGIII and Kirk Cousins will be out.  If Cousins can’t go than the likely matchup will be Kevin Kolb vs. Rex Grossman, need I say more?  Bills win 12 – 6.

Cleveland Browns @ Indianapolis Colts (Saturday 7:00 ET).  Two of the NFLs more promising young QBs face off in this one as Brandon Weeden takes on Andrew Luck.  Weeden has been quite impressive so far in the preseason and should be able to continue that trend agains the Colts.  This could be an early shootout before the starting offenses get pulled in favor of younger players.  Luck and the Colts take advantage of home field advantage and win 31 – 28.

New York Jets @ New York Giants (Saturday 7:00 ET).  The Jets never-ending QB competition will continue in this game and Victor Cruz will be on the sidelines wearing a walking boot.  There may not be a less interesting game on the schedule this week, unless you are a fan of either of these teams there isn’t much to see here.  The Giants win 20 – 6 by virtue of having 1 Manning to the Jets 0 Mannings.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Miami Dolphins (Saturday 7:30 ET).  Josh Freeman and the Buccaneers will head to Miami to take on Ryan Tannenhil and the Dolphins.  Tannenhill has continued to show some promise, and will look to continue to build a rapport with free agent addition Mike Wallace.  Darrell Revis probably wont see the field until the regular season, and in his absence the Buccaneers still field one of the worse secondaries in the NFL.  Tannenhill and Wallace have a field day and stake the Dolphins to a large early lead, Dolphins win 28 – 10.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Pittsburgh Steelers (Saturday 7:30 ET).  Alex Smith and the Chiefs will travel to Pittsburgh to take on Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers.  The Steelers got some bad news regarding rookie running back LeVeon Bell and a potential Lisfranc injury.  The Chiefs on the other hand apparently view Donnie Avery as a “legitimate starter” so I am not sure who is in a worse spot right now.  Steelers win 20 – 10.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Jacksonville Jaguars (Saturday 7:30 ET).  The Chip Kelly lead Eagles will head to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars.  Blaine Gabbert has secured the starting spot in Jacksonville, but will be out the remainder of the preseason due to an injury.  Can the Chip Kelly offense take advantage of a sub-par Jaguars defense?  As long as Michael Vick maintains ball security they will, Eagles win 31 – 7.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Dallas Cowboys (Saturday 8:00 ET).  The Bengals are enjoying a surprising level of preseason hype, while the Cowboys are in the same “is this finally the year” mode.  Dalton to Green is on heck of a combination and on the other side there is Romo and Bryant.  This game has potential for fireworks as these rosters both have playmakers.  Cowboys take advantage of home field advantage and win 21 – 17.

Atlanta Falcons @ Tennessee Titans (Saturday 8:00 ET).  Steven Jackson travels to take on the Tennessee Titans as the Falcons and Titans both look to get their first preseason victory.  Jackson is likely to get around 10 carries and then go on the shelf until the regular season, but if he can be as efficient as he was last week the buzz surrounding his potential “breakout” year will continue to grow.  Jackson breaks at least one 20+ yard run and scored on a tough goal line run to lead the Falcons to a 28 – 10 victory.

St. Louis Rams @ Denver Broncos (Saturday 8:00 ET).  The Rams will travel to take on Peyton Manning and the Broncos still searching for their first preseason win.  Clearly the Rams haven’t been concerned with “winning” preseason games as they have gone with the most vanilla game plans I have ever seen.  They will be hoping to clean up the little mistakes that have plagued them so far, as well as avoid the injury bug.  This game will be on national television so your chance to see Bradford vs. Manning with absolutely nothing on the line is right here.  Gonna be a major homer and say the Rams win 28 – 21.

San Diego Chargers @ Arizona Cardinals (Saturday 10:00 ET).   Phillip Rivers and the Chargers will travel to Arizona to take on Carson Palmer and the Cardinals.  Two QBs who are likely past their prime, but can still really sling it will be dueling in the desert.  Hopefully the Chargers can escape this game without suffering any more injuries as they have been hit pretty hard this preseason.  Patrick Peterson gets an opportunity at a punt return and makes the Chargers pay by taking it to the house, Cardinals win 24 – 13.

New Orleans Saints @ Houston Texans (Sunday 4:00 ET).  Drew Brees and the Saints travel to take on Matt Schaub and the Texans Sunday on Fox.  These two offenses can really rack up the yards so it could be fairly entertaining.  I will be watching to see University of Idaho alum Shiloh Keo roaming the deep secondary for the Texans.  Keo takes a punt return 50+ yards into the redzone before being caught from behind.  Texans win 20 – 17.

Minnesota Vikings @ San Francisco 49ers (Sunday 8:00 ET)  In the final matchup of preseason week 3 the Vikings will travel to take on the 49ers on NBC.  How many snaps do superstars such as Adrian Peterson and Colin Kaepernick get in this game?  I will be watching this game to see how the division rival 49ers play against a 2012 playoff team.  49ers take advantage of home field and win 30 – 20.

Well that is it for week 3 NFL Picks and predictions for the preseason.  There is a very strong possibility I don’t get a single prediction correct, the only thing I am really hoping for is an injury free weekend of football!  Thanks for reading and as always Go Rams!