With another week down in the 2020 NFL season, some teams are frustrated with how the season is going so far and others couldn’t be happier. Week 3 with a number of down-to-the-wire games and hopefully Week 4 delivers as well. Here are the top five games of the week.
Indianapolis Colts @ Chicago Bears
Odds: Colts -2.5
The Indianapolis Colts have looked very strong since their season-opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They have established a very good rushing attack behind rookie running back Jonathan Taylor as well as improved their defense overall with the addition of DeForest Buckner. This team is starting to get their chemistry down and are coming off of two dominating victories.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears are undefeated still but had a quarterback change in their most recent victory, subbing out Mitchell Trubisky in exchange for Nick Foles. Foles was able to lead them to a big 16-poit comeback victory against the Atlanta Falcons. Are the Bears legit as a 3-0 team or just lucky? We’ll find out more this week.
Buffalo Bills @ Las Vegas Raiders
Odds: Bills -3
The Bills almost blew a 28-3 lead in last week’s matchup against the Los Angeles Rams but were able to hold on and get the huge victory to stay undefeated. Josh Allen has looked like an MVP candidate so far this season, already throwing for over 1,000 yards through three games. The addition of Stefon Diggs has helped take his game to another level this season.
The Raiders lost some wind out of their sails after getting blown out at New England last week. Injuries are piling up in their receiving corps as now rookie Henry Ruggs looks like he’ll be out.
New England Patriots @ Kansas City Chiefs
Odds: Chiefs -7
The Patriots come into this game rolling after defeating the Raiders in their last game and scoring 30 plus points in their last two games. The offense looks to be firing on all cylinders with Cam Newton playing at an MVP-caliber level. This will be their toughest test to date, though.
The Patriots competed well but fell short on the road in Seattle, so we’ll see if they can get their first road win of the year in Kansas City.
Covid-19 Update: The Patriots-Chiefs game has been postponed until Monday or Tuesday after several players from both teams tested positive for Covid-19. The NFL wants to play the game this week and the extra days supposedly would give the league and the teams time to confirm player’s health and clear the remainder for play. Stay tuned for more announcements. Bettors should keep in mind that the NFL could postpone this game until later in the season, as it did the Steelers and Titans game.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Tennessee Titans (Postponed)
Odds: Steelers -1
Each of these teams come into this game 3-0 in a battle of the undefeated in the AFC. The Steelers look to be a completely with a healthy Ben Roethlisberger, Juju Smith-Schuster and James Conner. Diontae Johnson left Sunday’s game with a head injjury, so his status might be in doubt for Sunday’s game.
With most weapons on the field, the Steelers offense is averaging a healthy 26.7 points per game. Meanwhile, the defense ranks second overall.
As for the Titans, they have had a few good wins so far this season and have worked behind star running back Derrick Henry. As one might expect, Henry (pictured above against the Steelers) leads the NFL in rushing yards with 319 through three games.
Covid-19 Update: The Steelers-Titans game has been postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak on the Titans roster. Five members of the Tennessee Titans roster and several staff members have tested positive for Covid-19 in the wake of Sunday’s game with the Minnesota Vikings. The NFL and Titans planned more tests on Wednesday to verify the positive results, while giving tests to everyone associated with the team in the past few days. More team members tested positive, so the game was postponed.
The NFL officially designated the Titans and Steelers for a Week 4 bye. Bettors might expect the game to be made up during the Titans’ normal Week 7 bye – or perhaps during Week 8. CBS Sports reported, “The Titans currently have their bye week scheduled for Week 7, while the Steelers’ bye comes in Week 8. However, the Steelers are scheduled to play the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7 — who also have a Week 8 bye.”
The Steelers play the Ravens in Week 7, but the Ravens have a Week 8 bye, so the game could be rescheduled if the Ravens’ bye week was moved to Week 7 and the Steelers-Ravens game moved to Week 8. Alternately, the Titans-Steelers game could be moved to Week 8, though the Titans’ Week 8 game would have to be moved to Week 7.
Minnesota Vikings @ Houston Texans
Odds: Texans -3.5
This game is the complete opposite as the game listed above, as each of these teams are 0-3 and looking for their first win. One might wonder why a game between 0-3 teams is a Game of the Week, but both teams went to the playoffs last year. Both are desparate for a win, so the stakes are high and many fans will expect the winner to make a turnaround.
The Vikings are coming off a game where their offense finally started looking as dangerous as they could be yet they weren’t able to close out the game. They lost on a late-game field goal.
Meanwhile, the Texans have played the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers in their first three games, one of the hardest schedules in the league. We’ll see if a visit from the struggling Vikings can get them on track.
Covid-19 Update: Readers should keep in mind that the Minnesota Vikings played the Tennessee Titans last Sunday. No Vikings have tested positive for Covid-19, but several Titans players have, so the NFL has suspended in-person meetings for the Minnesota Vikings this week. Also, all players and staff members on the Vikings will undergo Covid-19 tests.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to the Minnesota Vikings and the Tennessee Titans regarding policies moving forward. Bettors should note that Vikings players might be deactivated before the game Sunday, while the team could be affected by lack of practice time. Also, if many Vikings test positive, there is a chance the NFL decides to reschedule the Vikings-Texans game for later in the season.