Week 3 Preview

Week 3 might have more matchups with playoff implications than Week 16. This weekend is loaded with great early-season showdowns that will help determine those that get an early jump on the season. But if there’s one thing to remember this weekend, remember this: the Super Bowl is not won in September. So no matter how great the game is between Dallas and Green Bay on Sunday night, don’t get too excited.

Best game: Dallas at Green Bay. I think this choice was a bit obvious. There were a plethora of good games to choose from this weekend, but this is the only game featuring two playoff teams from last season that are both still undefeated. This game features two of the NFC’s “young” quarterbacks, both with high-powered offenses that can put points on the board. I don’t think this one will go as high as the Dallas-Philly game on Monday night, but Dallas’ inability to cover in the secondary has to be cause for concern. On the other side, Green Bay had a chance to bury Detroit last week, but let them sneak back into the game before driving the nail in the coffin with two pick-6’s.

Most Intriguing Game: Arizona at Washington. Why did I pick this game when I could have talked about how New Orleans and Denver were going to be racing to break 50? Well, Washington bounced back last week and gave a solid performance against New Orleans. Arizona has had a lot of questions over the secondary in the past few years, and with Jason Campbell coming off a 300-yard passing day, this matchup will give us a clear indicator whether or not Arizona is a contender or a pretender (that still has a shot at a division title). It’s going to be a tough trip for the west coast boys coming across the country to play, but this game should give us a better indicator where they stand in comparrison to the rest of the NFC as compared to their first two games against San Fran and Miami.

Upset of the Week: Jacksonville over Indianapolis. If the Jaguars want to resurrect their playoff hopes, they need a win this week. Otherwise, they are 0-2 in the division and 0-3 overall with Tennesse and Indy at least 2 games ahead of them. Even though the Jags have had some injuries along the offensive line, Indy’s run defense has been disgustingly weak this year, which sets up MJD and Fred Taylor to have big games on the ground. Indy will put up points, but if Jacksonville can control the clock, look for them to have a shot to win at the end of the game.

Best Performance: Eli Manning. The formula here is pretty simple. Pick a player on a good team that has playmakers around him that is facing a bad team this weekend. Eli has been razor sharp in the Giants first two games and now he gets to face Cincy’s defense, which I hear is just as bad even when you put a paper bag on your head. Look for Eli to carve these guys apart, dropping Cincy to 0-3 and getting Marvin Lewis one step closer to the door.

Stay Away From: Matt Schaub. Yes it would have been easy to name anyone on the Bengals, Rams or Dolphins here. But Schaub is poised for another downer of a game. After having last week off, Schaub gets to face a Titans defense that leads the league in Sacks and Interceptions. That’s a dangerous scenario, especially when the Texans lack the running game to support the passing game.