NFL expert picks, Week 3: Who wins the Injury Bowl?

The injury decimated Niners and Giants face off and it’s all a mess.

Sep 23, 2020, 11:00 AM UTC

James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.

The Las Vegas Raiders beating the New Orleans Saints. The Kansas City Chiefs barely surviving a scare from the Los Angeles Chargers. Week 2 in the NFL was wild, and it’s only going to be more difficult to predict moving forward with the bevy of injuries that’s hit the league.

Let’s see how everyone picked this week.

Injuries are really going to show themselves in that San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants game. Both teams are more or less decimated, so it’s kind of appropriate that they’re facing off. The 49ers have no Nick Bosa, the Giants are without Saquon Barkley. It’s going to make that whole game a real mess.

Meanwhile the Chargers are almost close to an unanimous lock this week against the Panthers, who are really going to need to adapt their offense after Christian McCaffrey suffered a high ankle sprain and will be out a few weeks. Teddy Bridgewater has shown potential to keep make good decisions with the football and give Carolina a chance to win, but it’s hard to imagine he can put the team on his back without Bridgewater and lead the team to a win.

The best games this week could really preview where the end of the season will be. The Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys face off, both of whom figure to at least be a part of the NFC playoff picture, and potentially even the championship itself. Seattle gave us one of the best Sunday Night Football games in a long time, with an absolute barn burner against the New England Patriots that saw Russell Wilson go off with five touchdowns.

Meanwhile Monday Night Football might be one of the best games this season with the Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens showing off the class of the AFC. The Chiefs are coming off a bit of a scare against the Chargers, while the Ravens ... well, let’s face it they’ve had a pretty easy road this far.

There are three games this week that the panel thinks are absolute locks: Indianapolis Colts over the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals over the Detroit Lions, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating the Denver Broncos. It’s really tough to see any of these going different. Sorry if you’re a fan of these losing teams, but even you’ve got to admit it’s probably a long shot at this point. Especially the Jets. New York looks to be on full Trevor Lawrence watch at this point, which is ridiculous two weeks in — but yes, the Jets really are that bad.