NFL Picks Straight Up For Week 3 (2024)

NFL Picks Straight Up Week 3

1. Carolina Panthers seemingly gave up on their 2023 No. 1 overall pick and benched QB Bryce Young.

2. Baltimore Ravens hit 0-2 with a hellish set of fixtures to come. 

3. Chiefs, Bills, and the Texans continue to assert themselves as top teams, now at 2-0.

While the NFL rule changes haven’t led to quite as many of the highlight-reel kick returns that the league wanted, the two weeks of competition haven’t been short on big plays. 

The Chiefs moved to 2-0 with the help of an ill-timed foul from the Cincinnati defence amidst what could have been held up as a poor game for Patrick Mahomes had the Bengals snagged the win. 

Elsewhere, the Cardinals obliterated the Rams 41-10 – making the Bills’ comeback win in Week 1 look even more impressive – and the Saints and Buccaneers both took a couple more scalps, beating the Cowboys and Lions, respectively.

Now, we look to Week 3 in the NFL for some betting tips.

New England Patriots at New York Jets

Sitting 1-1 in the crowded AFC East, both the New England Patriots and New York Jets will be looking at this game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as a potential tick in the win column. 

After ousting the vaunted offence of the Cincinnati Bengals, the Patriots fell just short in their home opener against the Seattle Seahawks (20-23), while the Jets posted their first win by besting the Tennessee Titans 24-17. 

For the Pats, the defence has been particularly impressive, especially against the Bengals. They’ve allowed only two rushing touchdowns, an average of 3.3 yards per carry, and only one touchdown through the air.

The New York Jets, even while adding another major defensive piece to the injury pile – this time with edge rusher Jermaine Jonson injuring his Achilles – were able to hold back the Titans but did rely on some big turnovers to do so.

On paper, the Jets are the better team, but their run defence hasn’t been exemplary, and the main failing of the New England offence is the passing game. 

So, this could be closer than it should be with New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson already collecting over 200 yards this season. 

The NFL Week 3 tip for the Pats against the Jets here goes to the Patriots at +6.5 on the spread.

New York Giants at Cleveland Browns

After a dismal Week 1 display that saw all of the fingers pointed at Deshaun Watson’s struggles under centre, the Cleveland Browns tweaked their system to grind out an 18-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road.

The key to victory was stacking the offensive line. Even without key tackles and tight end David Njoku, six or more offensive linemen were often on the field. 

It facilitated an improved rushing effort from 93 yards to 125 yards between Week 1 and Week 2 and cut the number of times Watson was sacked from as massive six times to just two. 

While certainly not sleeping giants in the usual sense of the metaphor, the New York offence does have some exciting talents who seemingly woke up against the Washington Commanders. 

The Giants still lost 21-18 at home, but there were promising signs from Malik Nabers’ 127 yards for a score and Devin Singletary’s rushing effort of a touchdown and 95 yards. Daniel Jones also avoided getting picked.

Cleveland have to dig deep to put up scores, and the defence doesn’t look as menacing as it did last year, so with the Giants finding some rhythm among their primary offensive playmakers, they could keep this game close.

Taking the Giants at +7.5 on the point spread gets the Week 3 NFL pick here.

Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals

Not much was expected of the Cardinals this season – predominantly due to the quality of the defence on paper – but the offensive unit has shown itself capable of making up for that. 

Against the Bills, the Cards were up convincingly at halftime, eventually falling to a 34-28 loss. Against the LA Rams, they flew out to a 24-3 lead in the first half and just kept going for a 41-10 win.

With Kyler Murray finally finding the seemingly game-breaking Marvin Harrison Jr and James Conner remaining as one of the best and most reliable backs in the NFL, it’ll be tough to keep the Cards quiet in 2024.

In a rematch of Jared Goff versus Matt Stafford, Goff and the Lions put in a decent performance to win 26-20 in overtime. Against the Buccaneers, the Lions buckled early and often. 

Detroit left the 16-20 loss at Ford Field with 463 yards in the bank and seven red zone opportunities – despite two interceptions being thrown by Goff – but they could only muster the one rushing touchdown, the PAT, and three field goals. 

With the Lions expected to get back to their usual strong play on offence and the Cardinals needing to be relentless to make up for the potential playmaking ability of Detroit’s stars, this has the makings of a high-scoring game.

The NFL Week 3 pick for this match-up looks to the over/under line on total points, sliding the bar to over 53.5 points.

Washington Commanders at Cincinnati Bengals

Now 1-11 through the first two weeks of each season he’s been in charge of the Cincinnati Bengals, Zac Taylor will be eyeing up a statement victory against the Washington Commanders to kick on after another slow start. 

The Bengals were humiliated by the New England Patriots in Week 1 – which was one of the biggest opening upsets in the odds seen for many years in the NFL – but came so close to beating the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Ending 25-26, the decisive play was a defensive foul that let the Chiefs build into field goal range. With the ball, the Bengals were dynamic and called a whole collection of plays to keep Kansas City guessing, which seemed to work well. 

The Washington Commanders are now 1-1, with the ground game looking particularly potent thanks to the scampering of Jayden Daniels. That said, against the Giants in Week 2, the rookie QB also threw for 226 yards.

Daniels is yet to get picked or throw a touchdown but has put up 132 yards on the ground, while Brian Robinson Jr. has carried the rock for 173 yards and a score. However, the defence has been lacking. 

Baker Mayfield managed to throw for 289 yards and four touchdowns while getting sacked once, and in Week 2, Daniel Jones also only received one sack and threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Commanders concede 11.7 yards per reception and have allowed six scores through the air already and with Tee Higgins possibly coming back to join Ja’Marr Chase, the Bengals’ passing game should be able to feast in Week 3.

For the Week 3 NFL pick in this game, it’s leaning towards Joe Burrow beating the over for passing yards and Chase to secure over 0.5 touchdowns now that his contract situation has seemingly put to one side by both parties. 

The NFL betting picks for this upcoming week of action look to the Pats and Giants keeping it close, the Lions and Cardinals to score plenty of points, and Burrow to have a strong day against the Commanders.

NFL Tips & Predictions

888Sport’s team of sports betting experts are here throughout the 2024 NFL season to provide their tips and predictions.

Straight up, against the spread and points total wagers will be tipped for those looking to bet on NFL games from the opening weekend of the season in September through to the Super Bowl in late winter.

Our NFL betting markets produce a plethora of gambling options for punters to evaluate. If the point spread or team totals aren’t to your liking, you can dive into player props and numerous other markets to find the value you’re after. 

The experience and knowhow of our experts is invaluable whether you’re looking into preseason Super Bowl tips, the NFL Draft or trying to identify the season’s betting trends.

All of our writers have covered the league for years, and closely follow all the latest news. Their knowledge of online betting, combined with their understanding of the NFL, makes them a reliable source of American football predictions.

Once again, the Kansas City Chiefs top Super Bowl odds and Patrick Mahomes will be hoping to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the end of last season.

While the Chiefs are deserving of their status as NFL season preview favourites, there are plenty of teams who will fancy their chances at a deep postseason run. Look out for the Eagles, Bills, Bengals, Niners and others in the opening weeks as they look to prove they can topple the dynastic Chiefs. 

Elsewhere, Mahomes is again a popular NFL betting UK pick for MVP. Other contenders include Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. Our team will keep an eye on NFL awards betting throughout the season, where odds movement can unlock value.

Running through from Week 1 to the NFL London games and the final hunt for Playoff positioning around Christmas and New Year, 888Sport’s established group of NFL tipsters will be updating this page with weekly tips.

Once the regular year is wrapped up, attention will turn to what should be a fascinating Playoffs. You can follow the latest NFL news from former star cornerback Jason Bell via his exclusive 888sport blog each week.

Expertise is paired with extensive NFL statistics research as we land on our free NFL tips. Head-to-head records, injury updates and analytics are all considered by our writers before they commit to the wager which you will see on this page. 

This is a must visit page for anyone looking to wager on NFL games during the 2024-25 season – bets are available every week of the season, and 888Sport has an exceptional range of markets to enjoy.

*All of our 888 Experts picks and betting tips can be considered as a suggestion only*

*Odds correct at the time of writing - subject to change*

*Credit for all photos in this article belongs to Alamy*