Coming off an emotional, last-second victory, I’m taking E.J. Manuel and the Bills +2 over Geno Smith and the surprisingly not-awful New York Jets in a matchup of rookie quarterbacks.
I’ll be reporting from Heinz Field again Sunday, where I expect the Bears -2.5 to cover against a Steelers team that hasn’t been able to do anything so far on offense. Consider this: Last Nov. 12, Jonathan Dwyer ran 19 times for 56 yards … and no Steeler has topped that performance since. Yuck.
Week 3 picks, made against lines in Thursday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Buffalo +2 at NY Jets — Buffalo
Chicago -2.5 at Pittsburgh — Chicago
Cleveland +5.5 at Minnesota — Minnesota
Tampa Bay +7.5 at New England — Tampa
Houston -2.5 at Baltimore — Baltimore
St. Louis +4 at Dallas — Dallas
Arizona +7.5 at New Orleans — Arizona
Detroit +2 at Washington — Detroit
Green Bay -2.5 at Cincinnati — Cincinnati
NY Giants +1 at Carolina — NY Giants
Atlanta +2 at Miami — Atlanta*
Indianapolis +10.5 at San Francisco — Indianapolis
Jacksonville +19.5 at Seattle — Jacksonville
Oakland +15 at Denver — Oakland
Season record: 9-19-2, 0-2 best bets. Slow and steady…
Last week:
Carolina -3 at Buffalo — Carolina
Bills 24-23. Loss.
Pittsburgh +7 at Cincinnati — Cincinnati
Bengals 20-10. Win.
San Diego +7.5 at Philadelphia — San Diego
Chargers 33-30. Win.
Cleveland +6.5 at Baltimore — Baltimore
Ravens 14-6. Win.
Tennessee +9 at Houston — Houston
Texans 30-24. Loss.
Miami +2.5 at Indianapolis — Indi
Dolphins 24-20. Loss.
St. Louis +7 at Atlanta — Atlanta
Falcons 31-24. Push.
Washington +7.5 at Green Bay — Green Bay
Packers 38-20. Win.
Dallas +3 at Kansas City — Dallas
Chiefs 17-16. Win.
Minnesota +6 at Chicago — Chicago
Bears 31-30. Loss.
New Orleans -3.5 at Tampa Bay — New Orleans
Saints 16-14. Loss.
Detroit -1 at Arizona — Detroit*
Cardinals 25-21. Loss.
Jacksonville +5.5 at Oakland — Oakland
Raiders 19-9. WIn.
Denver -4.5 at Giants — Giants
Broncos 41-23. Loss.
San Francisco +3 at Seattle — San Francisco
Seahawks 29-3. Loss.
Last: 6-8-1 0-1
Total: 9-19-2, 0-2