Monday Morning Quarterback: NFL Week 3

My week 3 NFL betting pick record is 12 of 15 including picking the Bengals to beat the Steelers.

The Bengals snapped an eight game home losing streak against the Steelers by winning 23-20 this Sunday. It was also the first win in their last six meetings overall for the Bengals.

All you NFL betting fans must realize that this Cincinnati team is for real. The won at Lambeau Field last week, and if the luck hasn’t got their way in the week one against the Broncos they will be 3-0.

Obviously the key for this victory was the superb last drive. Bengals QB Carson Palmer threw only one touchdown pass this time, a four yarder to Andre Caldwell in the fourth quarter. He only completed 20 of 37 passes for 183 yards.

Things are not looking good for the Steelers so far. They are 1-2 in a tough division where the Ravens are already 3-0 and have looked strong in three weeks plus the Bengals are 2-1 and have looked good too. In addition Pittsburgh was one kick away from being 0-3 if Titans kicker Rob Bironas hasn’t missed field goal in week one.

Believe it or not I also had the Lions upsetting the Redskins. Detroit hadn’t won since Dec. 23, 2007 and its 19-game skid matched the second longest in NFL history.

Watching the Skins struggle to beat the Rams last weekend make me realize this is a bunch of players not playing as a team and that is why they lost in Detroit.

However I have to be honest when I say I wasn’t expecting the Jags to win in Houston. Maurice Jones-Drew had his first 100-yard game of the season and scored three touchdowns to lead the Jaguars over Texans, 31-24.

Another disappointment was the performance of the Arizona Cardinals offensive line against the Colts. Those who were expecting a shootout like me were frustrated with the way QB Kurt Warner was or in this case wasn’t protected. The Colts defense had two interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four sacks while giving up 323 total yards.

Week three left us with many questions about several teams. Especially when you realize the Steelers and the Cardinals, both last year’s Super bowl teams have the same record as the Detroit Lions…

Teams that looked better than I expected: Cincinnati, San Francisco, Detroit, Jacksonville and Indianapolis.

Teams that looked worse: Arizona, Oakland, Tampa Bay, and Cleveland. Special mention to the Redskins who help the Lions to stopped worrying about Tampa Bay’s record 26-game losing streak.