National Football League

Plenty of Captivating NFL Action in the Midwest During Week 3

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:56 p.m. ET

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Sep 18, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) tries to hurdle Detroit Lions defensive end Wallace Gilberry (95) during the first quarter at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams may be gone, but there’s still plenty of exciting NFL action in the Midwest.

With the St. Louis 7-9’s out of town and playing in Los Angeles these days, it gives NFL fans in the Midwest a chance to pick a new team. I would like to congratulate you for this opportunity to get out from under the ranks of mediocrity and root for a team with some upside. Now, to pick a team to stand behind with little information about them would be crazy, right? You shouldn’t just blindly dive into cheering for a new franchise; you should take a season off and keep an eye on some local teams around the league to make an educated decision on which team’s gear you should buy before next fall, and with some of those prices that’s a beneficial financial decision in itself. But don’t worry, I’ll be here all season to keep you updated on a few teams in your area to make that decision a little easier on you. With that being said, here’s a look at a few matchups in Week 3 of the NFL season:

Sep 18, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray (29) runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Titans win 16-15. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Raiders @ Titans, 12:00 PM CT

The Tennessee Titans are a team with a lot of potential in the coming seasons, and it showed last week in their gritty win over the Detroit Lions. Marcus Mariota is still progressing in his second year in the league and is showing at times that he can be a legit starting quarterback in the NFL. For now, however, the Titans’ strong suit is their smash mouth running game.

They have a very talented duo in the backfield with former NFL rushing leader Demarco Murray and former Heisman Trophy-winning rookie Derek Henry. However, the team has only averaged 101.5 rushing yards a game through the first two weeks. I look for that to turn around this week against the Raiders, who have allowed a whopping 523 total yards a game. Despite the Raider defense being well-below average through the first two weeks, their offense, led by young up-and-coming QB Derek Carr, has been extremely impressive. Because of that, I think I’m leaning towards Oakland in this one UNLESS their defense can’t contain the Titans’ talented backfield.

Sep 18, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) loses the football after being sacked in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 34-20. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Chargers @ Colts, 3:25 PM CT

This is a game that the Indianapolis Colts have to win in order to avoid starting 0-3, which is not an easy hole to dig yourself out of when you’re a team aiming for the playoffs. The offensive line is bad. Bad enough to where you have to hold your breath every time Andrew Luck drops back in the pocket. Last year, he wasn’t able to perform due to the deficiencies of the protection in front of him, which ultimately led to an injury that ended his season. This season, he’s played fantastically through two games, despite being on his back half of the time. This week when the Chargers come to town, they’ll be without their best receiver Keenan Allen and the swiss army knife out of the backfield, Danny Woodhead. That doesn’t mean you can chalk this one up as a W for the Colts just yet, though. The Chargers are also 0-2 and will be desperately trying to avoid dropping their third straight game to start the year. With a top-tier quarterback like Phillip Rivers at the helm, it would be hard to count them out already. I expect it to be a very close game, but somebody’s gonna start 0-3 here. The injuries will be too much for the Chargers to overcome, and the Colts pull off a win late in the fourth quarter.

Dec 27, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (19) celebrates after catching a touchdown pass against the Cleveland Browns in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Jets @ Chiefs, 3:25 PM CT

The Chiefs are sitting at 1-1 and could make a statement this week by defending their home turf against one of the best offenses so far in the NFL. A match up that draws my attention in this one is Darrelle Revis covering Jeremy Maclin on the outside. Revis has played corner about as well as a 73-year-old woman would in the first two games of the season, despite being regarded as one of the top corners in the league heading into 2016. I know Alex Smith isn’t usually one to air it out on

game days, but look for the Chiefs to go deep down the field to test Revis at least a couple times in this one. On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs defense has its hands full with a very complete Jets offense. Matt Forte has been everything they could have asked for so far, ranking second in the NFL in rushing yards and going for three scores last week on Thursday Night Football. Not to be outdone by quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who won AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors by throwing for 374 yards and helping his team put up 37 points. Unless Tamba Hali and company can wreak havoc on Fitzpatrick, the Jets offensive will continue to put up points and get a big win in Arrowhead Stadium this week.

Sep 11, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) before the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Bears @ Cowboys, 7:30 PM CT

Daaaaaa Bears…. are not very good at football. And that may be unfair to say this early in the season, but watching them play is not pretty.

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Jay Cutler has gotten so much heat over the years, and at times I thought he received too much of the blame for the Bears’ failures, but after leaving the game last week with an apparent thumb “injury” I’m beginning to lose some respect for the quarterback. His team was losing to the Eagles on Monday night, and he came out of the game just when it was starting to become un-winnable for the Bears. I wouldn’t go as far as saying he quit on his team, but it didn’t seem like there was any sense of urgency out of him to get back in the game. It’s hard enough to win in the NFL, but it’s nearly impossible when the team doesn’t respect or want to play for their quarterback.

On the other sideline, Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott dazzled in the preseason and got an opportunity to start when veteran QB Tony Romo broke a bone in his lower back in game four of the preseason.

Prescott has had a very strong start to the season, breaking the record for most passing attempts without an interception in the first two games of their career. The Cowboys’ running game was expected to be very strong, but hasn’t shown up yet; however, this week against a mediocre Chicago Bears defense (wow, that just doesn’t sound right), I expect rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott to really hit his stride. I don’t expect this one to be particularly close. I think the Cowboys will run away with this one and improve to 2-1.

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