Week 2 was another wild week in the NFL, and it featured its own Winners and Losers. Week 3 is here and kicked off with the 49ers blowing out Daniel Jones and the Giants in the 4th quarter. The NFL is as unpredictable as ever, and our writers here at the Official Sports Place have definitely felt that with their predictions over these past 2 weeks.
Greg Graves. Last Week: 12-4. Overall: 22-10.
T-2. Nate Baker. Last Week: 13-3. Overall: 21-11
T-2. Chase Price. Last Week: 11-5. Overall: 21-11
Arye Pulli. Last Week: 11-5. Overall: 19-13.
Lincoln Heimbach. Last Week: 10-6. Overall: 18-14.
Jaymin Kanzer. Last Week: 9-7. Overall: 17-15.
T-6. Jason Perillo. Last Week: 11-5. Overall: 16-16.
T-6. Evan Davis. Last Week: 9-7. Overall: 16-16.
Ani Iyengar. Last Week: 5-11. Overall: 15-17.
New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers
Week 2 began with the 49ers’ skill position players walking all over the Giants. Christian McCaffrey was as unstoppable as ever, and Deebo Samuel could not be tackled. Brock Purdy looked very shaky to start the game, but settled in and spread the ball to his endless disposal of playmakers. George Kittle had his first impact game of the year, and San Francisco’s defense took care of the Saquon Barkley-less Giants offense very easily. We promise we made these picks before the game.
Greg Graves (22-10) – San Francisco 49ers over New York Giants.
Nate Baker (21-11) – San Francisco 49ers over New York Giants.
Chase Price (21-11) – San Francisco 49ers over New York Giants.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – San Francisco 49ers over New York Giants.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – DID NOT PICK. (Automatic Loss)
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – San Francisco 49ers over New York Giants.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – San Francisco 49ers over New York Giants.
Evan Davis (16-16) – San Francisco 49ers over New York Giants.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – San Francisco 49ers over New York Giants.
Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns
This game features 2 of the better defenses in the league, and could easily turn into which offense can produce just a little bit more. The Browns offense this year has been largely on the back of Nick Chubb, who is out for the rest of the season after a ghastly injury on Monday Night Football. Deshaun Watson has been terrible to open the year, but Ryan Tannehill hasn’t exactly been lighting up defenses either. This could be a very ugly game.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Tennessee Titans over Cleveland Browns.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Tennessee Titans over Cleveland Browns.
Chase Price (21-11) – Cleveland Browns over Tennessee Titans.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Tennessee Titans over Cleveland Browns.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Tennessee Titans over Cleveland Browns.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Tennessee Titans over Cleveland Browns.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Cleveland Browns over Tennessee Titans.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Tennessee Titans over Cleveland Browns.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Tennessee Titans over Cleveland Browns.
Atlanta Falcons at Detriot Lions
The Falcons came away with a fantastic come-from-behind victory against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. The Lions, on the other hand, looked like how they looked last year. An elite offense with no defense, and they hope to rectify that against Atlanta on Sunday. For Atlanta, as long as Bijan Robinson is on the field and producing, they will be in this game. For Detriot, the game will rely on whether or not their defense can contain Robinson and the Falcons’ offense enough for Jared Goff and the offense to win the game.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Detriot Lions over Atlanta Falcons.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Detriot Lions over Atlanta Falcons.
Chase Price (21-11) – Detriot Lions over Atlanta Falcons.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Detriot Lions over Atlanta Falcons.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Detriot Lions over Atlanta Falcons.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Detriot Lions over Atlanta Falcons.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Detriot Lions over Atlanta Falcons.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Detriot Lions over Atlanta Falcons.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Detriot Lions over Atlanta Falcons.
New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers
The Saints defense is good. Like really good. Jordan Love faces his first big test as a starting quarterback, after looking like the next great Packers QB for the past 2 weeks. Love and the offense look to get Aaron Jones back in the lineup this week because they will need everything they have to beat a stingy Saints defense. The Saints offense on the other hand? Derek Carr is not looking like a 150-million-dollar quarterback so far this season.
Greg Graves (22-10) – New Orleans Saints over Green Bay Packers.
Nate Baker (21-11) – New Orleans Saints over Green Bay Packers.
Chase Price (21-11) – New Orleans Saints over Green Bay Packers.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – New Orleans Saints over Green Bay Packers.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – New Orleans Saints over Green Bay Packers.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – New Orleans Saints over Green Bay Packers.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Green Bay Packers over New Orleans Saints.
Evan Davis (16-16) – New Orleans Saints over Green Bay Packers.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Green Bay Packers over New Orleans Saints.
Denver Broncos at Miami Dolphins
Tua Tagoviloa looks like an early frontrunner for the MVP award, and Tyreek Hill is firmly in the OPOY conversation. That offense is looking pretty unstoppable at the moment, and even Bill Belichick couldn’t quite find the answer. The Broncos’ offense definitely looks much improved from the mess they were last year, including Russell Wilson, but there is still a long way to go. Can the Bronco’s defense come up with answers against Tua and Tyreek? Unlikely after they let Sam Howell detonate all over them.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Miami Dolphins over Denver Broncos.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Miami Dolphins over Denver Broncos.
Chase Price (21-11) – Miami Dolphins over Denver Broncos.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Miami Dolphins over Denver Broncos.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Miami Dolphins over Denver Broncos.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Miami Dolphins over Denver Broncos.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Denver Broncos over Miami Dolphins.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Miami Dolphins over Denver Broncos.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Miami Dolphins over Denver Broncos.
Los Angeles Chargers at Minnesota Vikings
Both of these teams come into this week 0-2, after starting the year with high expectations. They will look to rebound against one other. If Minnesota wins, most likely there will be many calls for Chargers’ Head Coach Brandon Staley to get fired. If the Chargers end up pulling this one, the Kirk Cousins trade conversations will only heat up. But this game will be a high-scoring affair, no matter what.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Los Angeles Chargers over Minnesota Vikings.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Los Angeles Chargers over Minnesota Vikings.
Chase Price (21-11) – Los Angeles Chargers over Minnesota Vikings.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Minnesota Vikings over Los Angeles Chargers.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Minnesota Vikings over Los Angeles Chargers.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Los Angeles Chargers over Minnesota Vikings.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Minnesota Vikings over Los Angeles Chargers.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Minnesota Vikings over Los Angeles Chargers.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Minnesota Vikings over Los Angeles Chargers.
New England Patriots at New York Jets
The Jets offense in week 2 looked pretty much exactly like the offense we saw last season with Zach Wilson under center. It is bad, and it shows everyone why they acquired Aaron Rodgers in the first place. The Patriots don’t look nearly as bad, but this time they have started 0-2 since 2001, which was before Tom Brady took over at quarterback. Expect a tightly contested and defensive game, as both head coaches, Robert Saleh and the great Bill Belichick, are defensive masterminds with lackluster offensive units.
Greg Graves (22-10) – New England Patriots over New York Jets.
Nate Baker (21-11) – New England Patriots over New York Jets.
Chase Price (21-11) – New York Jets over New England Patriots.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – New England Patriots over New York Jets.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – New England Patriots over New York Jets.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – New England Patriots over New York Jets.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – New England Patriots over New York Jets.
Evan Davis (16-16) – New England Patriots over New York Jets.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – New England Patriots over New York Jets.
Buffalo Bills at Washington Commanders
Commanders QB Sam Howell is looking like one of the NFL’s brightest young stars, and he and 49ers QB Brock Purdy have made the NFL world wonder about how they let the 2 best quarterbacks of the 2022 class slip to the 5th and 7th rounds respectively. Bills QB Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense rebounded against Las Vegas after a horrendous start against New York in the season opener. Washington’s defense is a different animal than Vegas’, however, and much closer to the Jets’ unit.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Washington Commanders over Buffalo Bills.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Buffalo Bills over Washington Commanders.
Chase Price (21-11) – Buffalo Bills over Washington Commanders.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Washington Commanders over Buffalo Bills.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Washington Commanders over Buffalo Bills.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Buffalo Bills over Washington Commanders.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Buffalo Bills over Washington Commanders.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Buffalo Bills over Washington Commanders.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Washington Commanders over Buffalo Bills.
Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars
Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud is lighting it up for Houston and looks to continue that against Jacksonville. Stroud is poised and makes the right decision with the ball, even with an iffy group of wideouts and a bad offensive line. The next step for him is converting his yards to touchdowns, which will happen with time. On the other hand, Jacksonville is the best team in this division and looks to get back on track after a poor offensive showing against Kansas City.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Jacksonville Jaguars over Houston Texans.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Jacksonville Jaguars over Houston Texans.
Chase Price (21-11) – Jacksonville Jaguars over Houston Texans.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Jacksonville Jaguars over Houston Texans.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Jacksonville Jaguars over Houston Texans.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Jacksonville Jaguars over Houston Texans.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Jacksonville Jaguars over Houston Texans.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Jacksonville Jaguars over Houston Texans.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Jacksonville Jaguars over Houston Texans.
Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens’ offense through 2 weeks has looked good, under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who clearly understands how to use QB Lamar Jackson as a passer better than Greg Roman ever did. Rookie WR Zay Flowers has been incredible as well, giving Jackson 2 very good targets on the outside, with Odell Beckham Jr., for the first time in his career. The Colts will likely be rolling out Gardner Minshew for this game, and not Anthony Richardson, so the offense may look very different.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Baltimore Ravens over Indianapolis Colts.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Baltimore Ravens over Indianapolis Colts.
Chase Price (21-11) – Baltimore Ravens over Indianapolis Colts.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Baltimore Ravens over Indianapolis Colts.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Baltimore Ravens over Indianapolis Colts.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Baltimore Ravens over Indianapolis Colts.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Baltimore Ravens over Indianapolis Colts.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Baltimore Ravens over Indianapolis Colts.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Baltimore Ravens over Indianapolis Colts.
Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks had a big rebound game, after getting taken to the woodshed by the Rams the week prior, and beat the up-and-coming Detriot Lions. The Panthers will be without number one overall pick Bryce Young and will roll out veteran QB Andy Dalton. This might be an early season must-win game for the Seahawks, as they cannot lose too many games if they hope to steal the NFC West away from the 49ers, who won’t lose too many games this season.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers.
Chase Price (21-11) – Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers.
Chicago Bears at Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs’ defense put up a dominating performance on Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars, limiting that high-flying offense to just 9 points. The Bears might be the worst team in the league, including Arizona. In year 3, Justin Fields looks worse than he was last season and even his rookie season. If things need to start turning around for Chicago, this is probably not the game, but if Fields can at least put a game together and look good, things might be on the way up.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Kansas City Chiefs over Chicago Bears.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Kansas City Chiefs over Chicago Bears.
Chase Price (21-11) – Kansas City Chiefs over Chicago Bears.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Kansas City Chiefs over Chicago Bears.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Kansas City Chiefs over Chicago Bears.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Kansas City Chiefs over Chicago Bears.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Kansas City Chiefs over Chicago Bears.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Kansas City Chiefs over Chicago Bears.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Kansas City Chiefs over Chicago Bears.
Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals
The Cowboys have had a dominant start to the 2023 season, beating both New York teams by a combined 60 points, which is absolutely wild. The Cardinals were blowing out a New York team 20-0, before seemingly realizing that they want Caleb Williams. This game may not be close, and expect Dallas to have full command of this game. But, this is the NFL, so technically the Cardinals do have a shot as long as they don’t turn the ball over and we get the Joshua Dobbs we saw in the first half last week.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Dallas Cowboys over Arizona Cardinals.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Dallas Cowboys over Arizona Cardinals.
Chase Price (21-11) – Dallas Cowboys over Arizona Cardinals.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Dallas Cowboys over Arizona Cardinals.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Dallas Cowboys over Arizona Cardinals.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Dallas Cowboys over Arizona Cardinals.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Dallas Cowboys over Arizona Cardinals.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Dallas Cowboys over Arizona Cardinals.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Dallas Cowboys over Arizona Cardinals.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Las Vegas Raiders
The Steelers’ defense is legit. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith might be the best edge rushing duos in the league right now, and they are able to win games on their own. They face a battered Raiders team that took a beating in Buffalo in a game where their whole team just looked bad. The Raiders need to figure out a way to get Josh Jacobs going if they have a chance at winning games consistently. Jacobs hasn’t reached 100 yards combined so far this season, after a dominant season last year. Taking the ball out of the turnover-prone Jimmy Garoppollo’s hands as much as possible is probably best for this Raiders offense going forward.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Las Vegas Raiders over Pittsburgh Steelers.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Pittsburgh Steelers over Las Vegas Raiders.
Chase Price (21-11) – Pittsburgh Steelers over Las Vegas Raiders.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Las Vegas Raiders over Pittsburgh Steelers.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Las Vegas Raiders over Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Pittsburgh Steelers over Las Vegas Raiders.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Pittsburgh Steelers over Las Vegas Raiders.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Pittsburgh Steelers over Las Vegas Raiders.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Pittsburgh Steelers over Las Vegas Raiders.
Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Both teams are undefeated, and one will walk away 3-0 and the other 2-1. Nobody expected the Baker Mayfield-led Bucs to look this good early on, but Mayfield has found a great connection to Mike Evans early on. The Eagles have won both games, but neither their offense nor defense has looked like the units that propelled them to a Super Bowl berth a season ago. They will look to regain some of the moxie on primetime, for the 2nd straight week.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Philadelphia Eagles.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Philadelphia Eagles over Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Chase Price (21-11) – Philadelphia Eagles over Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Philadelphia Eagles over Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Philadelphia Eagles over Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Philadelphia Eagles over Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Philadelphia Eagles.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Philadelphia Eagles over Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Philadelphia Eagles.
Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati Bengals
This is a big game for both teams, and it’s not the first big game these 2 have played against each other, as they played each other in Super Bowl 56. At the time of writing this article, it is not clear whether or not Joe Burrow will be a go for this match-up. The Rams will look to rebound after a tough Week 2 loss to the 49ers, and get back in the race for the division crown. How will the Bengals match-up against rookie sensation Puka Nacua? That might determine the result of this match-up.
Greg Graves (22-10) – Cincinnati Bengals over Los Angeles Rams.
Nate Baker (21-11) – Cincinnati Bengals over Los Angeles Rams.
Chase Price (21-11) – Cincinnati Bengals over Los Angeles Rams.
Arye Pulli (19-13) – Los Angeles Rams over Cincinnati Bengals.
Lincoln Heimbach (18-14) – Cincinnati Bengals over Los Angeles Rams.
Jaymin Kanzer (17-15) – Cincinnati Bengals over Los Angeles Rams.
Jason Perillo (16-16) – Cincinnati Bengals over Los Angeles Rams.
Evan Davis (16-16) – Cincinnati Bengals over Los Angeles Rams.
Ani Iyengar (15-17) – Los Angeles Rams over Cincinnati Bengals.
