NFL Eliminator Challenge: Week 3

Welcome to week three of our NFL Eliminator Challenge series!  While we didn’t go 3-0 last week like we did in week one, we did hit on our pick of the week, and one of our two alternate picks.  The games might have been closer than we would have liked, but if you’ve been going with our pick of the week, you are still alive and that’s all that matters.  Let’s go for three!  Read on and feel free to comment at the bottom or hit me up on twitter!

Step 1 – Avoid Division Matchups

We had a lot of divisional matchups last week, and with it, lots of great games and some surprises.  We saw Cincinnati shockingly handle the Ravens, the Dolphins upset the Jets in New York, and our second division game of the season ending in a tie.  That doesn’t even include Tennessee upsetting Houston and Denver sending Gruden to an 0-2 season start.  I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, do yourself a favor and avoid the below division games:

• New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
• Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars

Step 2 – Avoid Marquee Matchups

I already hit on the Ravens/Bengals upset, but it is worth noting that both the Sunday night game and the Monday night game were only decided by seven points.  These games seem to go one of two ways: either they are big upsets or become very close games.  Unless you want to take a chance, I would avoid the below marquee games:

• New York Jets at Cleveland Browns
• New England Patriots at Detroit Lions
• Pittsburgh Steelers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Step 3 – Avoid Picking Against Home Field Advantage

While Buffalo and Pittsburgh weren’t able to defend their home fields, we did see some other surprises.  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued to play spoilers as they beat the defending Super Bowl champs in Tampa. The Jacksonville Jaguars showed their Florida fan base that they were able to handle the defending Super Bowl runner ups, the New England Patriots.  Be aware and avoid the below games where the favorite is the away team:

• Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins
• Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals

Step 4 – Make your pick!

My pick of the week is:

• Minnesota Vikings over the Buffalo Bills

In two weeks, the Buffalo Bills have been blown out by teams that aren’t exactly Super Bowl caliber squads.  Last week got so bad that a player actually retired at halftime and went home.  With the sour taste of a tie in their mouths, I don’t think Vikings are going to let Buffalo get their first win of the season in Minnesota.

Other options I like this week:

• Los Angeles Rams over the Los Angeles Chargers

The Rams looked absolutely dominant against the Cardinals last weekend and just because the Chargers can beat the Buffalo Bills handily, doesn’t mean they are ready for this LA brawl.  I expect the Rams to win a very physical game.

• Miami Dolphins over the Oakland Raiders

As much as I try to avoid picking the Dolphins in this series, teams from the west coast historically struggle when playing 1 PM games on the East coast.  Add in that the Raiders are still looking for their identity and I think Miami can squeak this one out.

Overall record: 5-1

Week 2 record: 2-1

Follow me on twitter and let me know what you think of this week’s picks @DE_aaron!

https://twitter.com/DE_aaron

Thanks for reading!

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