Week 3 could go a long way toward determining how teams will finish this season.
At home, the Dallas Cowboys — thrashed by the New Orleans Saints in Week 2 — will face the desperate Baltimore Ravens, who can’t afford to start 0-3. Meanwhile, the 0-2 New York Giants and 0-2 Los Angeles Rams appear to be at a season’s crossroads already, too.
Ahead of Week 3, Yardbarker NFL writers offer a prediction for every NFC team.
NFC East
DALLAS COWBOYS (1-1) | Dak Prescott will throw multiple TD passes | Prescott has two touchdowns in two games but should do much better at home against a Ravens team allowing a league-worst 257 passing yards per game. Offensively, Baltimore is averaging a league-best 417.5 yards per game, and in a game projected for the second-highest point total (49.5) of the week, Dallas’ $240M quarterback will need more than one touchdown pass to beat a desperate 0-2 team such as Lamar Jackson’s Ravens.
NEW YORK GIANTS (0-2) | Daniel Jones hits the century mark | Devin Singletary ran for 95 yards and a touchdown in Week 2, but it wasn’t enough to beat a Commanders team that couldn’t score a touchdown. Jones hasn’t rushed for 100 yards in a game since 2022, but he could be scrambling all over on broken plays on the road against a Cleveland defense that sacked Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence four times and limited him to 14 completions in Week 2.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (1-1) | Devin White plays his first game of 2024 | Philadelphia didn’t give the 26-year-old linebacker, a healthy scratch in Week 2, a $4M deal to sit on the bench. The Eagles defense has allowed the third-most yards per game (399.5), and in a 22-21 Week 2 loss against Atlanta, QB Kirk Cousins had all day to throw. White won’t start over Nakobe Dean, who had seven tackles (five solo) against the Falcons, but without better options, the Eagles need to see if the former Pro Bowler has anything left on the road against New Orleans’ league-leading offense.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (1-1) | Defense allows a perfect game | One week after Arizona’s Kyler Murray posted a perfect quarterback rating (158.3), Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow will do the same at home against a Washington defense allowing the fourth-most points per game (27.5). Highly motivated by a rare loss at Arrowhead Stadium and Cincinnati’s 0-2 record, Burrow could even top the 400-yard mark for the first time since Week 7 of 2022. — Bruce Ewing
NFC West
ARIZONA CARDINALS (1-1) | Budda Baker finally gets an interception | Baker is Arizona’s best defensive player, but he will enter Sunday’s home game against the Detroit Lions riding a 23-game interception drought dating to the 2022 season. He will end that drought and help the Cardinals pull off a stunning upset against the Lions.
LOS ANGELES RAMS (0-2) | Kyren Williams sets career-high in touches | The offense is in trouble with top wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp sidelined because of injuries. That should set the stage for dual-threat running back Williams to get plenty of work at home against the 49ers. Expect him to break his previous career high of 32 touches in a game.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (1-1) | Jordan Mason makes it 3-for-3 in 100-yard games | With Deebo Samuel sidelined for multiple weeks because of a calf injury, the running game will take center stage again, especially on the road against a Rams defense that is allowing 197 yards per game rushing. Given Mason’s production (247 yards rushing) with Christian McCaffrey out in Weeks 1 and 2, he will rush for 100-plus yards for the third straight game.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (2-0) | They do not allow a touchdown | Keeping a fully healthy Miami Dolphins team out of the end zone would normally be a nearly impossible task. But with QB Skylar Thompson getting the start for the Dolphins over sidelined Tua Tagovailoa, and with Miami making the longest road trip in the NFL, the improved Seahawks defense will have one of its best days of the season on Sunday. — Adam Gretz
NFC North
CHICAGO BEARS (1-1) | RB D’Andre Swift hits 150 yards rushing | The Bears travel to Indianapolis on Sunday, and fortunately for them, the Colts have the worst rushing defense in the NFL (237 yards allowed per game). Part of why rookie QB Caleb Williams has struggled through his first two games is because he hasn’t had much help from his run game. That changes this week.
DETROIT LIONS (1-1) | QB Jared Goff has a three-TD passing game | The passing offense hasn’t looked right the first two weeks, but it’s tough to imagine the Lions struggling for three weeks in a row. The Cardinals secondary isn’t particularly bad; it just has the unfortunate luck of playing at home against a reeling Lions team coming off a bad loss to the Bucs. Detroit’s trio of offensive stars (Goff, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, TE Sam LaPorta) are highly motivated to put up big numbers.
GREEN BAY PACKERS (1-1) | QB Malik Willis has a career-worst day in return to Tennessee | Once the Titans drafted Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 draft, Willis — who has a middling 58 completion percentage in the NFL — was all but on his way out the door. The third-round pick never developed into the starting QB the Titans hoped he’d be, and his performance Sunday at Tennessee will show why the Titans made the right call.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (2-0) | Danielle Hunter has a three-sack game against his former team | The Texans and Vikings essentially swapped pass-rushers this offseason, as Hunter joined the Texans and Jonathan Greenard signed with the Vikings. While Greenard is no slouch, Hunter is more accomplished, and unfortunately for Vikings QB Sam Darnold, he’s going to be highly motivated on the road to make his former team regret letting him walk in free agency. — Michael Gallagher
NFC South
ATLANTA FALCONS (1-1) | Running back Bijan Robinson held under 100 yards | Count on Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to have a game plan on the road to contain Atlanta’s best offensive weapon. Per Pro Football Reference, Kansas City (2-0) has allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to running backs through two games, with backs rushing 30 times for 114 yards (57 yards per game).
CAROLINA PANTHERS (0-2) | Panthers “explode” for two offensive touchdowns | After mustering one touchdown in its first two games, Carolina will explode for two TDs with Andy Dalton at quarterback on the road against the Raiders (1-1). Unfortunately for Carolina, just as the Panthers offense gets hot, owner David Tepper will spill his drink on it, causing it to short-circuit.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (2-0) | WR Rashid Shaheed scores another long touchdown | Since bursting on the season with two touchdowns on his first two offensive touches in 2022, Shaheed has become the NFL’s best deep threat not named Tyreek Hill. Seven of his 11 career touchdowns have gone for more than 40 yards (he also had a 39-yard touchdown), including 59- and 70-yarders in 2024. Shaheed will add an eighth at home against the Eagles (1-1).
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (2-0) | Bucs score more points than the cost of some game tickets | Fans at Sunday’s home game against the Broncos (0-2) will get their money’s worth. Per Vivid Seats as of Wednesday, tickets for the Week 3 intraconference game are going for as low as $29, a figure Tampa Bay will eclipse on the scoreboard. — Eric Smithling
