NFL Week 3 Best Bets: Top Picks for Sunday's Games

The 2026 NFL season is fully in gear now, through the first two weeks of the year and now heading into Week 3. On Thursday Night Football, we saw the Falcons earn their first victory of the season, while the Packers slumped to 1-2. Now we turn our attention to Sunday with 14 games on the menu, including a matchup in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, as the Cowboys battle the Ravens. With that, let's get into our experts' NFL best bets for Week 3 and their top NFL picks for Sunday. You can also find out our NFL predictions on the side and total for every game all season long.

NFL Week 3 Best Bet: Las Vegas Raiders +3 over New Orleans Saints (+102)

Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.

Can the Chargers be considered “that bad” or are the Raiders just “that good”? Well, I personally believe the Chargers have potential they haven’t realized yet, but I also believe the Raiders are “that good”. Their D shut down its first two opponents, is +2 in the turnover ratio, and is ranked #9 in total defense entering Week-3. They have an offense that is arguably as impressive as their defense and that has exceeded expectations Week 1 and Week 2, bringing their team to a 2-0 record. Another big question is: “If a team is surprisingly good through its first two games and beats the Super Bowl hopeful Ravens on their home turf, does it mean that they will continue to perform at that level?”

While the Saints seemingly have come out of nowhere, forcing the Lions to overtime in Week 1 and then surprised Baltimore in a come-from-behind victory the following week, I believe they have weaknesses that the Raiders can exploit when they meet in New Orleans. First, although they sit 1-1 and are coming off a huge win, they have a total defense ranking in the bottom third and are 27 of 32 in rushing defense. Tyler Shough leads the NFL with 662 passing yards and Chris Olave is second in the league with 268 receiving yards. However, it could be said that the duo is too reliant on one another - if an opposing team can shut down Olave and put consistent pressure on Shough, it would likely lead to a situation where there is nothing left in the proverbial bag of tricks.

Although I feel the Saints are one of the best kept secrets in the NFL to start the season, I think that Raiders need to be considered in that same category as well. Both teams have shown that they have a lot of talent and can win games, but the Raiders have shown they are just as tough as the Saints and have the numbers to prove it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they won outright, so getting a field-goal’s worth of points at home is too great of a gift to turn down.

Pick and analysis from expert handicapper Aaron Taylor.

Get more Raiders vs Saints picks, including a prediction on the total

NFL Week 3 Best Bet: Tennessee Titans +2.5 over New York Giants (-102)

Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.

New York opened the season looking like a team on the rise, beating Dallas 28-20 on Sunday Night Football behind three Jaxson Dart touchdown passes. That feels like a long time ago. Dart suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for the rest of the regular season on the opening drive of Monday night's 28-6 loss to the Rams, and Jameis Winston went 11-of-27 for 111 yards and an interception in relief as the Giants managed just 182 total yards. Tennessee is 0-2, but the Titans nearly knocked off Philadelphia last week, leading 20-17 before Jalen Hurts found Darius Cooper for the winning touchdown in the final seconds.

Winston is a capable veteran with 89 career starts, but he's also thrown 114 career interceptions, and he's coming off a Monday night game in Los Angeles on a short week. He may also be without LT Andrew Thomas (groin), who missed Thursday's practice, while pass rusher Brian Burns (ankle) hasn't practiced at all this week. That's a big problem for a Giants defense that has one sack through two games and just gave up 481 yards to the Rams.

There's a coaching angle here, too. Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll spent the past four seasons as the Giants' head coach and knows much of this roster better than anyone. Cam Ward looked much sharper against the Eagles, going 13-of-20 for 183 yards and running for two touchdowns, and Tennessee's defense picked off Hurts twice, including Amani Hooker's 92-yard return. The Titans covered as seven-point underdogs last week, and I'll take them here.

Pick and analysis from expert handicapper Luke Lindholm.

Get more expert analysis in our Titans vs Giants prediction

NFL Week 3 Best Bet: San Francisco 49ers -8.5 over Arizona Cardinals (-105)

Odds available at Fanatics Sportsbook at time of publishing.

The Cardinals pulled off a huge surprise in Week 1 with a 26-14 road victory over the Chargers as 9.5-point underdogs. Arizona wasn’t as fortunate in its home opener, falling to defending champion Seattle, 31-7.

The task doesn’t get easier on Sunday with a trip to Santa Clara to face the 2-0 49ers, who are off a pair of impressive victories over the Rams and Dolphins. San Francisco’s offense ranks first overall in success rate, second in EPA/pass, and eighth in EPA/rush. Arizona’s offense hasn’t exactly scared anyone, sitting 21st each in EPA/pass and EPA/rush.

San Francisco swept Arizona last season, although the home win came in a 16-15 squeaker. The Niners rolled the Cardinals on the road, 41-22, but were outgained by over 200 yards.

Arizona enters this matchup at 1-10 straight-up and 2-9 against the spread in the last 11 games, with the lone win coming in the season opener.

49ers QB Brock Purdy sits second in both EPA/pass and success rate through two weeks, while San Francisco is 4-1 in his five career starts against Arizona. In four of the past six road games for the Cardinals, they have lost by double digits.

This is a big spot for San Francisco to avoid a letdown with games against the Broncos and Seahawks the next two weeks.

Pick and analysis from expert handicapper Kevin Rogers.

Get more Cardinals vs 49ers picks for Sunday's NFL matchup

NFL Week 3 Best Bet: LA Rams vs Denver Broncos Over 44 (-108)

Odds available at BetMGM at time of publishing.

There is a slight chance of rain in this contest, but not enough of a chance (and not significant enough of a storm) where it should affect scoring. The total sitting at this number is very similar to a spread of +5. The market is essentially saying they don't know which avenue to take, so we're going to plop this right in the middle of myriad key numbers.

On one hand, that makes sense; Los Angeles and Denver both have formidable defenses, and these are two unfamiliar opponents who may need to watch more film than usual to game-plan against such talented groups. At the same time, both Los Angeles and Denver benefit from head coaches who are oriented more on the offensive side of the ball, two gurus that lean into the significance of their quarterback and the need for explosive passing attacks.

That was plainly seen in their respective success in Week 2, where Bo Nix averaged 9.3 and Matthew Stafford averaged 9.9 yards per pass. It also helps that both offensive lines are outpacing their brethren on the other fronts. Denver holds the #1 spot at Pro Football Focus’ offensive line rankings and Los Angeles is already ranked top three in pass protection, surrendering a sack on just 1.67% of dropbacks.

Markets may be higher on the Rams’ defense after seeing a mostly successful return from Aaron Donald, and the box score certainly suggests they dominated the Giants (182 yards allowed). Of course, we know that New York turned into an entirely different, far more predictable operation once they lost their starting QB on the first drive, too.

Myles Garrett will not return for a few more weeks, and the Rams’ defense certainly looked more vulnerable in Week 1 against a better offense, too. Sean Payton, who undoubtedly still directs Davis Webb in play-calling duties, runs an aggressive West Coast scheme, similar to Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, although Shanahan’s style is certainly more run-centric. The 49ers pummeled LAR in Week 1 with their dink-and-dunk method, one that racked up 379 yards and 23 first downs. We think their output could look very similar in this case.

The elite receivers on both teams don’t support a low-scoring game, either. Last Sunday, Jaylen Waddle showed why he was a great acquisition this offseason, catching eight balls for 138 yards. Nix also distributed the ball to 10 different receivers against Jacksonville, a sign of an offense finding its rhythm. On the other side, the Rams should get Puka Nacua back on Sunday night, while future Hall of Famer Davante Adams exploded against the G-Men (eight receptions, 195 yards, two touchdowns). 

Lastly, we love that both offenses have legitimate momentum heading into Sunday night, which we love to carry over into this exciting battle between two top-tier teams.

Pick and analysis from pro NFL bettor Chris Farley.

Get NFL stats, trends and more in our full Rams vs Broncos predictions for Sunday Night Football

NFL Week 3 Picks

Find out our expert NFL predictions for every Week 3 matchup below:

• Jets vs Lions predictions
• Bengals vs Steelers predictions
• Chargers vs Bills predictions
• Texans vs Colts predictions
• Patriots vs Jaguars predictions
• Panthers vs Browns predictions
• Seahawks vs Commanders predictions
• Titans vs Giants predictions
• Chiefs vs Dolphins predictions
• Vikings vs Buccaneers predictions
• Cardinals vs 49ers predictions
• Raiders vs Saints predictions
• Ravens vs Cowboys predictions
• Rams vs Broncos SNF predictions
• Eagles vs Bears MNF predictions