NN Week 3 Prediction Contest: 49ers face the Giants on a short week

The San Francisco 49ers have proved to be one of the best teams in the NFL through the first two weeks of the season. Relatively healthy after a pair of comfortable victories, the Niners will have a quick turnaround before facing the New York Giants on Thursday. The Giants have already had a pair of disappointing performances, losing a blowout to the Cowboys before nearly losing to the tanking Arizona Cardinals last week.

Due to our sponsorship with Tallysight, we have to pick every game. But, as usual, we’ll narrow it down to six for you at the bottom. Odds for all the games are available on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Marc’s picks record last year:
Regular season: 154-116-2
Postseason: 12-1

This season:
Week 1: 7-9
Week 2: 8-8

Here are Marc’s picks for this week’s slate of games:

49ers over Giants: The 49ers have had some big letdowns throughout Kyle Shanahan’s tenure, but the team seems locked in early this season. The Giants also just don’t seem very good.

Ravens over Colts: The Colts are likely going to be without rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson. Backup Gardner Minshew may be a less volatile option, but Indy probably needs high variance to pull this upset.

Jets over Patriots: The Patriots have been tormenting Zach Wilson since he came into the league, but the Jets have a more talented team and are underdogs at home.

Titans over Browns: The Titans took care of business at home against the Chargers last week, and Cleveland fell apart against the Steelers.

Lions over Falcons: The Lions were not able to double up on their Week 1 win over Kansas City last week, falling short against the Seahawks, but the Falcons will easily be their worst opponent of the season.

Packers over Saints: It’s early, but Jordan Love is looking like a solid starting quarterback. With a solid infrastructure already in Green Bay, the Packers could find themselves in the thick of the NFC North race.

Bills over Commanders: Josh Allen was fantastic last week after his abysmal Week 1. Washington will need the worst version of Allen to show up if they are going to come out on top.

Chargers over Vikings: One day I’ll stop believing the Chargers are better than they are.

Seahawks over Panthers: It looks like there was a Week 1 overreaction dooming the Seahawks. They took care of business against the Lions and should keep rolling against Carolina.

Kansas City over Bears: I mean... easiest pick of the week, right?

Cowboys over Cardinals: The Cardinals came close to making my upset pick over the Giants look prescient last weekend, but it’s far harder to see that in the cards this week.

Steelers over Raiders: The Steelers have plenty of flaws, and I still don’t know what to make of Kenny Pickett, but it’s always hard for me to pick against an underdog Mike Tomlin-coached team when their opponent is mediocre.

Eagles over Bucs: I know Tampa Bay has gotten off to a surprising 2-0 start, but they’ve beaten the Vikings and Bears by a combined 10 points. They won’t be on the list of undefeated teams by this time next week.

Jaguars over Texans: I keep wanting to bet on DeMeco Ryans getting his first win as a head coach, but after falling short at home against the Colts, I don’t see it happening on the road against the Jags.

Dolphins over Broncos: Russell Wilson is actually showing signs of life again, but everything else in Denver still seems in disarray.

Rams over Bengals: The Rams have looked like they are back among the NFC elite, while the Bengals have been underwhelming early in the season. Cincy could turn things around this week, but I’m leaning toward a Rams bounceback.

Here are the six games to pick with a bonus seventh since the Niners are playing on Thursday Night Football (reminder to only pick the bonus game if you are not picking the 49ers matchup):

Giants @ 49ers, 5:15 PM (Thursday)

Chargers @ Vikings, 10:00 AM

Saints @ Packers, 10:00 AM

Patriots @ Jets, 10:00 AM

Titans @ Browns, 10:00 AM

Steelers @ Raiders, 5:20 PM

Bonus game: Falcons @ Lions, 10:00 AM