After a nice Week 1, it was a dismal Week 2 for our upset calls as they went 0-3 straight up with the Chiefs and Jets looking awful in blowout losses. The one silver lining was that at least the Ravens covered the spread. We now expect some improvement in Week 3, especially since none of our calls this week are huge shockers.
UPSET #1: Cincinnati Bengals (+3) +140 over Washington Redskins – The Redskins lost more than just a game to the St. Louis Rams last week, as two of their pass rushers Brian Orakpo (pectoral) and Adam Carriker (quadriceps) were lost for the season and cornerback Josh Wilson was most likely lost for this game with a concussion. Considering that safety Brandon Meriweather and defensive back Tanard Jackson were already out, the Bengals might be able to do whatever they want vs. the depleted Washington defense in this game, be it via the run with BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who has rushed for 166 yards in two games, of via the air with receiver A.J. Green now having a dream matchup for a breakout performance.
Yes, the Redskins’ Robert Griffin III has outperformed the other prized rookie quarterback Andrew Luck so far, but if the Cincinnati offense is as successful as we expect, than the Bengals can just focus on stopping the pass.
UPSET #2: Miami Dolphins (+2½) +110 over New York Jets – It was a tale of two quarterbacks for these teams last week as Ryan Tannehill showed marked improvement from his Miami debut and Mark Sanchez was simply awful while completing just 10-of-27 passes vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. To say that the Miami rushing defense has been impressive thus far would be a severe understatement, as the Dolphins are allowing 2.2 yards per rush, which is best in the NFL, after facing Arian Foster and Darren McFadden the first two weeks! Stopping Shonn Greene should now seem like a piece of cake by comparison, meaning that the Jets’ offense will be put in the hands of Sanchez. Perhaps the wrong team is favored with this game in Miami?
UPSET #3: Cleveland Browns (+3) +130 over Buffalo Bills – Yes the Bills were impressive in a 35-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week in a game that was not nearly as close as the score, as Buffalo once led 35-3. That was at home though, and in their first road game, the Bills were embarrassed 48-28 by the Jets while making the aforementioned Mark Sanchez look like an excellent NFL quarterback. This team does not deserve to be a road favorite over anyone. The Browns have been competitive in their two losses, first losing just 17-16 to the Philadelphia Eagles despite getting nothing from the rookie duo of Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden, and then Richardson ran for 109 yards and Weeden passed for 322 in a 34-27 loss to the Bengals. Cleveland seems ready to break through at home here, especially with this being a terrible scheduling spot for the Bills with their next two games coming against the Patriots and 49ers.
[...] went 1-2 with our Week 3 NFL upset calls, correctly calling the Cincinnati Bengals +140 over the Redskins. We nearly went 2-1, but the [...]