Two wins and two losses last weekend in our NFL betting tips to improve on an ordinary start to the year the week before. We’ll look to continue that improvement this weekend as we preview some of the key games in Week 3 of the NFL and offer our betting tips below.
NFL Week 3 Betting Tips
Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers (Saturday 10.25am AEST)
NFC West rivals in the Rams and 49ers will go toe to toe in the Friday morning game (AEST). The 49ers will be looking for their first win of the season after going down to Carolina and Seattle in the first two games. The Rams started the season with a massive win over Indianapolis in Week 1 but dropped the ball last weekend against Washington.
Both teams possess some lethal skill position players but are lacking in a decent starting quarterback. The Rams starter, Jared Goff was ordinary on the weekend, throwing 15/25 with one interception while 49er Brian Hoyer is yet to throw a TD pass and has 2 interceptions over the two games.
It will most likely be a defensive slugfest here. The 49ers did a reasonable job in restricting the Seahawks to just 13 points on the weekend while the Rams could only muster 20 against the Redskins. We can easily see the 49ers scoring under 10 points for the third week in a row here so the line of 39.5 seems a touch high.
TIP: Total points UNDER 39.5 - $1.92 at Sportsbet
Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday 11.30pm AEST)
Bit of an odd time slot for us Aussies with the Ravens and Jags facing off at 11.30pm Sunday night due to the game being in London. The Ravens come into the game with a 2-0 record but have faced off against some average opponents in the Bengals and Browns in the first two weeks. The Jags captured a great win in week one over the Redskins but faltered against the Titans on the weekend.
Blake Bortles seemed to return to his usual ways in Week 2, throwing 20/34 with two interceptions. Rookie RB Leonard Fournette received just 17 carries, way down on the 26 he got in Week 1 and he’ll need to be big here if the Jags hope to win this one. The Ravens have allowed a total of just 170 rushing yards through their first few games so odds are that won’t happen.
Baltimores defence should hold up here on neutral ground and with the line at just 3.5 we expect them to cover.
TIP: Baltimore -3.5 - $1.90 at Ladbrokes
Oakland Raiders at Washington Redskins (Monday 10.30am AEST)
The late game on Monday morning for us Aussie fans is a cracker as the Redskins host the red hot Raiders at FedEx Field. Oakland will be looking to go 3-0 after two big wins over AFC opponents in the Titans and the Jets. Raiders QB Derek Carr has been great in both wins but maybe the surprise packet of the season so far has been the great play of recruit running back Marshawn Lynch, who ran for 76 yards on 18 carries against the Titans in week one and had a TD in week two.
Kirk Cousins and the Redskins got their first win of the season in week two, downing the Rams in LA as running back Chris Thompson carried for 77 yards and 2 TDS on just 3 carries.
Due to the home field advantage and the decent win on the weekend, the bookies have Washington at just 3 points the underdog. We think that is a bit of an oversight on how well the Raiders are playing at the moment. They have the number one ranked offence in the league backed up by a solid defence led by superstar Khalil Mack. Should be too good for Washington here.
TIP: Oakland -3 - $1.92 at Sportsbet
Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals (Tuesday 10.30am AEST)
After many predicted them to rout the NFC East and possibly make the Super Bowl this season, the Cowboys may have completely fallen off the wagon after their average start to the season. They crawled over the line against rival New York Giants in week one and were thoroughly outplayed by the Broncos in week two.
The Cowboys are extremely susceptible to a quality run defence and the Cardinals possess a decent one. They are top ten in the league in rushing yards allowed and rushing TD’s allowed through the first two games which could be a massive problem for Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliot.
Elliot couldn’t find anything against the Broncos as he rushed for just 8 yards on 9 attempts. He needs to be massive for the Cowboys to be effective on offence and we just aren’t sure if he can be here. We love the Cardinals as home underdogs here.
TIP: Arizona Cardinals to win - $2.42 at Sportsbet
