Admin September 18, 2024
Ravens struggle against Raiders, Vikings get win over 49ers
Prince Grimes breaks down all the ups and downs of NFL week 2 of the 2024 season.
Sports Seriously
The NFL sure didn’t make it easy to stay alive in survivor pools during Week 2. It was an upset-laden week, with surprise winners like the Minnesota Vikings (over the San Francisco 49ers), New Orleans Saints (over the Dallas Cowboys) and Las Vegas Raiders (over the Baltimore Ravens). This made for an exciting and chaotic Sunday.
But if you picked the right team again, it’s time to put all this new information to work in Week 3. Perhaps a slightly better understanding of who’s good and who’s not is developing. Or maybe this is simply a wide-open year in the NFL. The picture should become more clear after this weekend.
A survivor pool waits for nobody, though. A winner must be picked each week. So here are three games that could be the best bets to help you survive your NFL survivor pool in Week 3:
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NFL Week 3 Survivor Pool Best Bets
Las Vegas Raiders over Carolina Panthers
This is more a reflection of how bad the Panthers have looked through two games than the potential of the Raiders, although Las Vegas just got an impressive Week 2 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Carolina is benching former No. 1 pick Bryce Young at quarterback in favor of veteran Andy Dalton and maybe that will provide a spark. But the Panthers were 0-3 during games in which Dalton appeared last season. This just might be a bad football team, perhaps the worst in the NFL, and it’s playing on the road in Las Vegas. Carolina didn’t win a road game last season. For survivor pool purposes, it wouldn’t be the worst move to just pick against the Panthers whenever possible.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Denver Broncos
The Buccaneers brought back all their key pieces from a playoff team and they looked like an NFC contender in their win at Detroit in Week 2. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is off to a fast start, wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans are still producing and the defense has given up just four touchdowns through two games.
Denver, meanwhile, looks very much like a team breaking in a rookie quarterback. Bo Nix is among the worst-rated passers in the league after his first two games under center, with four interceptions and no touchdown passes. As a team, the Broncos have just one touchdown thus far and appear to be the favorite to finish last in the AFC West. This is a good spot to pick the Buccaneers, a team that has the pieces in place to win the NFC South again.
Cincinnati Bengals over Washington Commanders
Pick the Bengals if history means anything. Cincinnati has started 0-2 for the fifth time in six seasons. The four times it happened with Joe Burrow at quarterback, the Bengals won or tied their third game. They’re also coming off a close Week 2 loss to the Chiefs in which Burrow, after concerns about his surgically-repaired wrist in Week 1, threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns. He mostly played well aside from a costly fumble early in the fourth quarter.
The Commanders are still finding their way with new coach Dan Quinn and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. They caught a break and didn’t need to score a touchdown to get their first win when the New York Giants lost a kicker last Sunday. But this really comes down to whether you believe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals will figure it out again and avoid dropping to 0-3 at home on ‘Monday Night Football.’
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