NFL Week 3 predictions, picks: Our experts face off on Rams-Eagles playoff rematch, Lions-Ravens showdown
CBS Sports writers Jordan Dajani and Steven Taranto predict this weekend's top games

Two weeks into the NFL season, we've seen plenty of surprises. Justin Herbert is a favorite to win MVP, Daniel Jones has the Indianapolis Colts off to a 2-0 start and the Kansas City Chiefs are off to their first 0-2 start since 2014 -- the last time they missed the playoffs. Only three teams have won the Super Bowl after an 0-2 start, the last being Eli Manning and the 2007 New York Giants.
This week, we get a battle of backup quarterbacks, as Jake Browning takes the Cincinnati Bengals to face Carson Wentz and the Minnesota Vikings, Matthew Stafford looks to take down the Philadelphia Eagles in a battle of unbeatens and Russell Wilson has a chance to upset Patrick Mahomes in the Meadowlands.
Which teams should you pick in Week 3, and which should you fade? CBS Sports writers Jordan Dajani and Steven Taranto are here to break down the biggest games of the weekend. For clarity, lines for these selections were taken on Sept. 17 from FanDuel Sportsbook, where new users can get $300 in bonus bets:
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (-11.5)
Dajani (Bills -11.5): I'm not sure what to say about this matchup. Tua Tagovailoa is 1-8 vs. the Bills and 0-3 on Thursdays, while Josh Allen is 13-2 vs. the Dolphins and a perfect 7-0 on Thursdays. The Bills are at home on a short week after a blowout victory, while the Dolphins are on the road on a short week following a close loss. Mike McDaniel is sitting on the hottest of seats, and I'm not going to pick him to cover the spread in Buffalo ⦠Bills 30, Dolphins 14
Taranto (Bills -11.5): It's no coincidence that the two head coaches most imminently in danger of being fired -- Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll -- both have earned reputations as being "players' coaches" and have both driven off hard-nosed defensive coordinators in Vic Fangio and Wink Martindale. Turns out you can't just be everybody's buddy and also have a tough, disciplined football team that plays hard and plays well. If the Dolphins lose badly enough to the Bills, their locker room will be first to undergo a regime change and some tough love moving forward. Bills 40, Dolphins 10
Cincinnati Bengals at Minnesota Vikings (-3)
Dajani (Vikings -3): The battle of backups, Jake Browning vs. Carson Wentz. Who ya got? Logic tells you Browning should be the better quarterback in this matchup given what he accomplished last week vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars and in relief of Joe Burrow in 2023, but the Vikings have a better defense, and I actually think Wentz can find success in a Kevin O'Connell scheme throwing to Justin Jefferson. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but could there be a quarterback controversy in Minny?! Vikings 21, Bengals 17
Taranto (Bengals +3): The "battle of backups" storyline buries the lede in that this is yet another chance for Bengals quarterback Jake Browning to take his revenge against the Vikings. Once upon a time, Browning joined the Vikings as a UDFA in 2019, spending two years on the practice squad before failing to make the 53-man roster at the end of training camp in 2021. Browning has since become an excellent backup on the Bengals, and the hard feelings he has against Minnesota came out when he led Cincinnati to a 27-24 overtime win against his former team late in the 2023 season. Think shouting "Shoulda never f---ing cut me" was enough to sate Browning's purple rage? Think again. Bengals 24, Vikings 10
Indianapolis Colts (-3.5) at Tennessee Titans
Dajani (Colts -3.5): Fading the Titans has worked this year, so I'll continue on that track. The Colts are the first team in NFL history to score on each of their first 10 offensive drives of a season, and still haven't punted yet. Daniel Jones won't win MVP, but he's getting the ball out quickly, hitting open receivers and making some plays with his legs. Tyler Warren looks like one of the best first-round picks in this draft class, and Jonathan Taylor has been the best running back in the NFL up to this point. The Titans are only unbeatable in one area: Racking up penalties. Colts 26, Titans 20
Taranto (Colts -3.5): This is vindication time for everyone who has ever believed in Daniel Jones. The first two games of the Colts' season are living proof that all he needed to be a top 10 quarterback was an imaginative offensive scheme run by a coach that believes in him, playmakers who come through for him and do their jobs, and an offensive line that actually holds up (and not in the way that a sieve holds water). Like the old saying goes: One man's trash is another man's treasure. Colts 27, Titans 16
Pittsburgh Steelers (-1.5) at New England Patriots
Dajani (Patriots +1.5): Pittsburgh has been super disappointing. This Steelers team is not like other Steelers teams we've watched. The defensive line is worse than it's been in some time and the secondary is too inconsistent. How do you lose to a short-handed Seattle Seahawks team at home? Kenneth Walker III rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown while averaging 8.1 yards per carry, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp both averaged 12.9 yards per reception. The Steelers have allowed at least 31 points in each game this season, so I'm not worried about Drake Maye and Co. scoring enough. Patriots 27, Steelers 23
Taranto (Steelers -1.5): What I enjoy about this matchup is that it pits the Steelers against one of their own in Mike Vrabel, who was initiated into Pittsburgh's culture and standard of toughness as a third-round draft pick in 1997. Quite honestly, they could use a player like Vrabel right about now, as their defense has been uncharacteristically soft through two weeks. Nevertheless, and even if I'm just going by reputation and off the idea that they'll figure it out eventually, I like the Steelers on the road against a still fledgling and inexperienced Patriots team that's still getting a grasp of what Vrabel demands of them. Steelers 27, Patriots 21
Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5)
Dajani (Rams +3.5): I think the Rams have a chance to dethrone the Eagles and represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this year. Sean McVay's squad is surely juiced to avenge its divisional-round loss, and they've been dominant on the road, too. The Rams have covered in five straight games, including playoffs, on the road (which is the longest active streak in the NFL) and have five outright wins as an underdog since the start of last season, which is tied for second-most in the NFL. Rams 24, Eagles 20
Taranto (Rams +3.5): An overarching lesson through two weeks of the NFL season is that the Eagles' offense, while still one of the best in the league thanks largely to the overpowered Tush Push, isn't the juggernaut that it was under Kellen Moore. New offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has not gotten off to a roaring start, and if anything, his offense has made Jalen Hurts' limitations as a passer far more obvious. It's been enough to get the Eagles to 2-0, but I wouldn't count on it being enough against a well-coached Rams team highly motivated to finish what they started last January. Rams 21, Eagles 13
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers (-2.5)
Dajani (Broncos +2.5): The Broncos have not played like a Super Bowl sleeper through two weeks, while the Chargers are now favorites to win the AFC West. I'm calling an upset here in Week 3. The reason Denver lost to Indy on Sunday (other than a random penalty on that field goal), was Jonathan Taylor running wild for 165 yards, plus another 50 and a touchdown through the air. That won't happen with the Chargers' run game. Broncos 24, Chargers 23
Taranto (Chargers -2.5): This is a tough matchup to handicap given it's a divisional game between two very good teams, one of which has a quarterback in Justin Herbert that has emerged as an early season candidate for league MVP. The Broncos have had the Bolts' number historically, but the Chargers were able to turn the tables last year with a sweep of Denver, continuing Jim Harbaugh's success against Sean Payton from his time with the 49ers, where he went 3-1 against Payton's Saints, including in a classic NFC Divisional Game in 2011. Most other things equal, I'll go with Harbaugh's coaching in giving the Chargers the upper hand in what should be a tight game. Chargers 27, Broncos 24
Kansas City Chiefs (-5.5) at New York Giants
Dajani (Chiefs -5.5): Not a fan of this line, but I'm giving the Chiefs a bit of a break after having to play the Chargers in Brazil and then the reigning Super Bowl champs without Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice. If Travis Kelce didn't give the ball to the wrong team on the goal line, I wonder how that game would have gone. The Giants' offensive explosion vs. the Dallas Cowboys was surprising, but can Steve Spagnuolo do a better job vs. Russell Wilson? It won't be a best bet from me, but I have the Chiefs winning. I guess I'll take 5.5. Chiefs 24, Giants 17
Taranto (Chiefs -5.5): Of all the terrible decisions the Giants have made over the last decade, one of the worst was throwing the baby out with the bathwater by allowing defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to leave following the 2017 season and the firing of Ben McAdoo. The Giants hired James Bettcher in his place (the less I say about Bettcher, the better), launching a defensive coordinator carousel that has now landed on Shane Bowen, who cost his team a certain victory last week by inexplicably running Prevent Defense needing to protect just 20 yards in 19 seconds. The Giants are yet again one of the NFL's worst red zone offenses and can't run the ball, and unlike last week when they ran roughshod through an undisciplined Cowboys secondary with no threat of a pass rush, Spags is going to make sure that every blade of grass is protected against his former team. Chiefs 27, Giants 6
Detroit Lions at Baltimore Ravens (-5.5)
Dajani (Ravens -5.5): People will say that the Lions' offense got back on track vs. the Chicago Bears, but my main takeaway was that this Bears defense stinks. I'm not ready to proclaim the Lions are back just yet. I have the Ravens winning this game, but the spread of course is a different matter. The Ravens have covered in five out of their past six games, and they are a perfect 4-0 SU and ATS on "Monday Night Football" since the start of the 2023 season. Ravens 27, Lions 21
Taranto (Ravens -5.5): I'll take a similar tone in that I'm not sure if the Lions are as good as their Week 2 thrashing of the Bears or as bad as Week 1 against the Packers where they were the ones getting thrashed. This matchup will be a great opportunity to see where the Lions stack up among championship-contending NFL teams, but as of right now I'm hard-pressed to see any kinks in the Ravens' armor. Ravens 31, Lions 21