If you thought picking games in Week 1 was hard ... well, then you're probably ready to pack up and quit after an upset-filled Week 2 that proved Any Given Sunday isn't just an outstanding Oliver Stone movie.
Per the final lines at OddShark.com, a whopping eight underdogs won their matchups straight up last week, making it probably one of the weirdest weeks of football in the last few decades. Our experts couldn't avoid the carnage, either. None of our seven guys (nor the OddsShark computer) finished with a winning record in Week 2, and only the esteemed Matt Ufford managed to break even. As a wise coach in New England once said, "We're on to Week 3 ..."
Although we don't want to overreact to a tiny sample of two games, it's hard to ignore the numbers for teams that get off to slow starts in the NFL. Since the current playoff format began in 1990, only 12 percent of teams that lost their first two games went on to make the postseason. There are nine 0-2 teams this year -- Giants, Eagles, Bears, Lions, Saints, Seahawks, Texans, Colts, Ravens -- and the odds say only one of them will be playing in January.
There is still a lot of football to be played, and Week 3 shouldn't be make or break, but somehow it already is for a few clubs. You simply can't start 0-3 and think you have a decent shot to make the playoffs. Over the past 25 seasons, only three teams lost their first three games and managed to qualify for the postseason: the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Lions and 1998 Bills.
Keep in mind, a few of those teams are feeling immense pressure. Entering the season, the Seahawks, Colts, Eagles and Ravens each were among the nine biggest Vegas favorites to reach the Super Bowl, so you have to think those teams are under the gun this week to win. The Ravens (vs. 2-0 Bengals) and Eagles (vs. 2-0 Jets) have the toughest matchups on paper, while our experts agree that the Colts (vs. 1-1 Titans) and Seahawks (vs. 0-2 Bears) are locks to avoid the dreaded 0-3 start.
Except that's what we said about a few games last week. Good luck, everyone.
(And a friendly reminder that these are picks to win the game, not against the spread.)
| Week 3 | Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | Matt Ufford | PFT Commenter | OddsShark |
| WAS vs NYG | WAS | NYG | NYG | NYG | NYG | NYG | NYG | NYG |
| ATL vs DAL | ATL | ATL | ATL | ATL | ATL | ATL | ATL | DAL |
| IND vs TEN | IND | IND | IND | IND | IND | IND | IND | IND |
| OAK vs CLE | OAK | CLE | CLE | CLE | CLE | CLE | OAK | CLE |
| CIN vs BAL | BAL | BAL | BAL | CIN | BAL | BAL | BAL | BAL |
| JAX vs NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | JAX | NE |
| NO vs CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR |
| PHI vs NYJ | NYJ | NYJ | PHI | NYJ | NYJ | NYJ | PHI | NYJ |
| TB vs HOU | HOU | HOU | HOU | HOU | HOU | HOU | HOU | HOU |
| SD vs MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN |
| PIT vs STL | PIT | PIT | PIT | PIT | PIT | STL | STL | STL |
| SF vs ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | SF | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ |
| BUF vs MIA | BUF | BUF | MIA | MIA | BUF | BUF | BUF | MIA |
| CHI vs SEA | SEA | SEA | SEA | SEA | SEA | SEA | SEA | SEA |
| DEN vs DET | DET | DET | DEN | DET | DEN | DEN | DET | DET |
| KC vs GB | GB | KC | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB |
Our panel consists of: David Fucillo, SB Nation's fantasy guru; Danny Kelly, SB Nation NFL contributor; PFT Commenter, SB Nation's hot takes expert; Joel Thorman, SB Nation NFL blogs manager; Matt Ufford, editorial producer; Ryan Van Bibber, SB Nation's NFL editor; and Stephen White, retired NFL defensive end and SB Nation NFL contributor.
Our panel's record last week and for the season:
| Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | Matt Ufford | PFT Commenter | OddsShark | |
| Last week | 5-11 | 6-10 | 6-10 | 7-9 | 2-14 | 8-8 | 7-9 | 6-10 |
| To date | 13-19 | 16-16 | 16-16 | 18-14 | 14-18 | 16-16 | 15-17 | 17-15 |
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SB Nation presents: NFL power rankings entering Week 3