It takes a few weeks for NFL teams to establish their identities, which can make early-season betting and projections difficult. After all, do we really know these teams after two games'Can we assume that the New England Patriots can keep up their winning ways in their third week without Tom Brady'Are the Green Bay Packers with Aaron Rodgers really a shell of the team they used to be'Are the Minnesota Vikings still going to make a playoff run without Teddy Bridgewater, Adrian PetersonandMatt Kalil'Odds and expert picks are two tools we have at our disposal to make game predictions. Whether you're looking to place smart bets, or you're just in a picks pool with your friends, let's break down which teams have the best odds in Week 3.Stay Away from the Packers (-8)Chalk bettors might feel confident that the Packers can cover the spread against Detroit.But maybe they shouldn't.The struggling Packers, whose offense looks as discombobulated as it did in 2015 despite the return of wide receiver Jordy Nelson, may beat the Lions.But for a team that has in no way looked deadly, it's hard to see Green Bay winning by more than a touchdown.Against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, the Packers never led by more than four points and won 27-23. In Week 2 against the Vikings, Green Bay led in the first quarter 7-0 but then fell behind, never leading again before losing 17-14.Sure, the Lions loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 2, which is not an encouraging fact in their case. But divisional games are always difficult to predict, and the Lions have surprised the Packers before. They ruined their Thanksgiving Day in 2013.Detroit's loss in Week 2 came about mostly due to an ill-timed Matthew Stafford interception, but the offense has looked good overall this year. Stafford has plenty of weapons in Marvin Jones, Golden Tate, Anquan Boldin, Eric Ebron and Theo Riddick.Lions coach Jim Caldwell acknowledged that his team has had problems to start the year, but he knows as well as anyone that defeating the Packers at Lambeau Field would be a statement win. And the NFC North suddenly looks wide open.Caldwell said, per Kyle Meinke of MLive.com: "It's twoballgames. (We're) 1-1, we're not 1-15. So we got to look at it that way and make certain that we continue to improve. But we've also got to address our issues. And we've got some issues, now. Let's not kid ourselves."But the Packers have issues too. And if they can't fix them in time, there's no way they're beating Detroit by more than eight points when the Jaguars kept them within four. Dolphins (-7) Can Cover vs. BrownsThe Miami Dolphins might be the safest pick this week for chalk bettors who are looking for a sure thing.Of course, there's no such thing as a sure thing in sports, least of all in the NFL. But the Dolphins have a strong case for beating the Cleveland Browns by at least a touchdown.To start, there's the issue with the Browns' quarterback situation, which is a sentence that seems to get uttered nearly every week about this team.Josh McCown has a shoulder injury, and as NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano pointed out, Cleveland is looking at starting its fifth quarterback in as many regular-season games:Yikes.Meanwhile, the Dolphins are a talented team in their own right. Sure, they fell to the Patriots in Week 2, but you saw how New England has been playing this season.In the second half of that game, quarterback Ryan Tannehill impressed, going 22-of-27 for 273 yards with two touchdowns."He was awesome," said tight end Jordan Cameron, per Alain Poupart of Dolphins.com. "He definitely had control in the huddle, he was making plays and we were moving fast and got the ball rolling. You got to see what we are capable of doing in the second half."The Dolphins are hoping to continue that higher level of play against Cleveland.Like Underdogs' Take the RaidersThe Tennessee Titans (-1) are favored against the Oakland Raiders by only one point. That's a no-brainer for those who are hoping to bet on the Raiders this season.The league's hottest young team on the rise, Oakland has split its first two games of the year and opened its season with an impressive 35-34 win over the New Orleans Saints.The Raiders are also No. 1 in the NFL in total offense but No. 32 in defense.That latter ranking almost threatened to derail their efforts against the Saints and ultimately did them in against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2.Still, a good offense can hide many other flaws, and the Raiders certainly have that. Oaklandhas scored 63 points in two games.Tennessee's defense is allowing 338 yards per game, which is about middle of the pack in the NFL. If the Raiders can exploit that unit, they're an easy pick this week.Odds are courtesy ofOdds Sharkand updated as of Wednesday. Expert picks are from CBSSports.com,ESPN.comandFiveThirtyEight.
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