NFL Picks against the spread, week 3: Divisional games on the menu

Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints (-10.5): The Saints are pretty good on offense, but their defense has been largely useless so far. A 10.5 point spread is quite a lot, though they are at home. I'm going with the Vikings even without Adrian Peterson.

Washington at Philadelphia Eagles (-6.5): Washington was surprisingly good last week, while the Eagles have struggled on offense. 6.5 points is quite a lot in a divisional game, so I'm going with Washington.

Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars (+7.5): Divisional game, in Jacksonville, while the Jaguars have intermittently played well, while the Colts still lack talent across the board. Jaguars.

Houston Texans at New York Giants (+2.5): The Texans don't suck, I guess? But the Giants aren't that bad, Eli Manning looked good in the second half last week and it's in New Jersey. Giants.

San Diego Chargers at Buffalo Bills (-2.5): The Bills aren't that good. This has to be Chargers, who beat the Seahawks last week.

Dallas Cowboys at St. Louis Rams (-0.5): The Cowboys will win this one if Tony Romo can just calm down a little bit. I think he will. Cowboys.

Tennessee Titans at Cincinnati Bengals (-7.5): The Titans aren't world beaters, but they're not this bad -- and the Bengals aren't that good without A.J. Green. Titans.

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns (+1.5): The Browns actually came fairly close to beating the Patriots in week one. Kind of. I can see them take this away from a struggling Ravens team. Browns.

Oakland Raiders at New England Patriots (-14.5): 14.5 points is obscene, no matter how bad Oakland is. And they're bad. But still, gotta pick them with this spread. Raiders.

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions (-2.5): Boy that Packers defense is....something. At leas the Lions don't run read-option, so that helps them. Divisional game, in Detroit -- but Aaron Rodgers always seems to do well in divisional games. Packers.

San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals (+3.5): The 49ers had a weird game last week, while the Cardinals have looked great. And it's in Arizona. Cardinals.

Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks (-5.5): You won't see a repeat of the Super Bowl, but the Seahawks are still the better team by quite some distance. Seahawks.

Kansas City Chiefs at Miami Dolphins (-4.5): Not a very inspiring matchup. I really like the Dolphins offense this year, though, and the Chiefs haven't been great. 4.5 points at home shouldn't be too much for Miami. Dolphins.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Carolina Panthers (-3.5): The Steelers are a sneaky good team this year, even with an aged defense. Their offense is explosive. The Panthers have looked good, but their offense has struggled a little, as expected. I think the Steelers make this a close one, or even win it. Steelers.

Chicago Bears at New York Jets (-2.5): Jets aren't as good as all that. Bears.