NFL 2025: Week 3 Picks

The third week of the NFL season brings some intriguing matchups, with 2-0 teams trying to keep their hot starts alive, 1-1 teams trying to find their footing, and 0-2 teams looking to avoid panic mode.

Thursday Night Football features one of those 0-2 teams desperate for a win: Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins. Unfortunately, Josh Allen and the 2-0 Buffalo Bills are a formidable opponent, especially when needing a win on the road.

Sunday features two matchups of 2-0 teams: the 2-0 Los Angeles Rams will face the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles in both a 2025 Divisional Round rematch and potential 2026 NFC playoff preview, and the 2-0 Arizona Cardinals will face the 2-0 San Francisco 49ers for early rights atop the NFC West.

On Sunday Night Football, I would hate to be a member of the New York Giants defense: after giving up 40 points to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, the Giants defense faces an 0-2 Kansas City Chiefs team in dire need of a win. Patrick Mahomes is due for at least a couple passing touchdowns in MetLife Stadium under the Sunday night lights.

But the biggest and best matchup of the week, and Sak Sports Blog Game of the Week honors, go to the Monday Night Football matchup: Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions vs. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams are 1-1, with a loss to a high-quality team through two weeks, and both teams want to avoid a 1-2 start.

Read on for my 2025-26 NFL Week 3 Picks, and if you’d like to debate or discuss any picks, join the conversation with @SakSports on Twitter/X, on Facebook, or by commenting directly on this post!

Picks Record

Week 1: 10-6

Week 2: 13-3

Overall Record: 23-9 (72%)

Thursday Night Football

Miami Dolphins (0-2) at Buffalo Bills (2-0): Bills win 38-20

Sunday Games

Los Angeles Rams or Philadelphia Eagles: who will get to 3-0? (NFL.com)

Green Bay Packers (2-0) at Cleveland Browns (0-2): Packers win 27-13

Indianapolis Colts (2-0) at Tennessee Titans (0-2): Colts win 20-17

Cincinatti Bengals (2-0) at Minnesota Vikings (1-1): Vikings win 24-23

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) at New England Patriots (1-1): Steelers win 30-24

Los Angeles Rams (2-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (2-0): Eagles win 26-23

New York Jets (0-2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0): Buccaneers win 33-17

Las Vegas Raiders (1-1) at Washington Commanders (1-1): Commanders win 20-17 Note: Marcus Mariota to start at quarterback for Washington

Atlanta Falcons (1-1) at Carolina Panthers (0-2): Falcons win 24-13

Houston Texans (0-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1): Texans win 23-20

Denver Broncos (1-1) at Los Angeles Chargers (2-0): Chargers win 30-22

New Orleans Saints (0-2) at Seattle Seahawks (1-1): Seahawks win 27-16

Dallas Cowboys (1-1) at Chicago Bears (0-2): Cowboys win 44-28

Arizona Cardinals (2-0) at San Francisco 49ers (2-0): 49ers win 23-17

Sunday Night Football

Russell Wilson is the NFL’s leading passer through two weeks thanks to a shootout with the Dallas Cowboys. But can he keep up with Patrick Mahomes on Sunday Night Football, with both teams looking for their first win? (NBC)

Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) at New York Giants (0-2): Chiefs win 49-17

Monday Night Football

Sak Sports Blog Game of the Week Detroit Lions (1-1) at Baltimore Ravens (1-1): While there a couple of matchups of 2-0 teams on Sunday, this is a football fan’s dream matchup, and a potential Super Bowl 59 matchup last season that many were rooting for. Dan Campbell and Jared Goff run a creative, high-powered offense for the Detroit Lions. 2023-24 NFL MVP and 2024-25 NFL MVP runner-up Lamar Jackson is also an offensive machine, recently achieving the all-time mark for highest career passer rating, in addition to the most rushing yards ever for a quarterback. Now, while I don’t expect this to be the highest-scoring shootout, both teams can score the football in a variety of ways. And to make things even better, each team has the pressure of falling to 1-2 on their backs. Give me the Baltimore Ravens, at home, earning a gutsy win to make up for their Week 1 loss to Buffalo. Ravens win 30-27