NFL Week 3 Preview
It’s the last week of division play, and the League of Leagues teams are realizing whether they are contenders or whether it’s time to start focusing on long-term team-building or look towards the other sports. CRUCIALLY, this is the last week of the NFL before the NBA League of Leagues start-up draft. What happens this weekend might dictate whether the team managers will allocate their NBA draft assets to go after young talent in or win-now players. Older vets that can win this year will always
But back to football!
Week 3 Game Lines
Nolo’s Division
Sporty Strauss (2) [2-0] +3 against DTC Porkchop Express (8) [0-2]
Ornery Otters (4) [1-1] +6 against Win’s Up Doc (9) [1-1]
Fhima’s Division
Las Cabras (3) [2-0] +3 against Cooper Troopers (5) [2-0]
MN Moose Knuckles (11) [0-2] +6 against Wait ’Til Next Year (12) [0-2]
Shepherd Goods Division
The BamOs (1) [1-1] +13 vs $traight Cash Homie(7) [1-1]
Shepherd Goods Choppers (6) [2-0] -5 over The Pullies (10) [0-2]
Injuries are starting to play a factor, particularly at RB . With Dalvin Cook (Moose Knuckles), Christian McCaffrey (Choppers), Darrell Henderson ($traight Cash) and a few others hurt this week or unlikely to suit up, teams are scrambling to find some backs to throw into their lineups. We’re seeing some awful players in starting lineups already.
We also have a slugfest between the bottom-2 ranked teams. Neither team has enough talent to inch themselves into contention, but that was also the expectation last week with Win’s Up Doc who got a win, made a trade for a short-term QB option, and is favored to beat a top-4 team this week. Sometimes, all it takes is a week to pull you up from your bootstraps, especially this early in the season.
Another weird quirk this week: almost every team ranked higher in the power rankings is favored to lose. The lone exception is Jordan, who is boosted by high defensive scoring that will change next week. So he shouldn’t be favored. Expect some upsets here. Expect a bit of craziness.
Week 3 Matchup of the Week
Cooper Troopers (5) -3 over Las Cabras (3)
QB1 – Dak Prescott (PHI - MNF) vs Kyler Murray (@JAC)
QB2 – Derek Carr (MIA) vs Josh Allen (WAS)
RB1 – D’Andre Swift (BAL) vs David Montgomery (@CLE)
RB2 – Myles Gaskin (@LV) vs Javonte Williams (NYJ)
WR1 – Cooper Kupp (TB) vs Chase Claypool (CIN)
WR2 – Amari Cooper (PHI - MNF) vs Deebo Samuel (GB - SNF)
TE – Travis Kelce (LAC) vs Noah Fant (NYJ)
FLEX1 – Trey Sermon (GB - SNF) vs Marquise Brown (@DET)
FLEX2 – Marvin Jones (ARI) vs Mike Williams (@KC)
D/ST – Raiders (MIA) vs Broncos (NYJ)
Cooper Troopers: Advantage at 4/10 positions
Las Cabras: Advantage at 6/10 positions
We have a 2-0 showdown between division-mates in week 3. It doesn’t get better than this! Cooper had a solid draft, and has surprised this season. Las Cabras has gotten excellent play out of Kyler Murray, but needs a big game from Josh Allen one of these days. Their team is built on it.
Coop is getting such excellent play from his pass-catchers, but so is Las Cabras from far less certain players than anyone with a “Cooper” in their name. Neither team has great running backs. Neither team has many bad matchups this week.
This could be a barn-burner. With 4 players between the two teams on SNF and MNF, this could be the first heartbreaking loss or soul-saving win in League of Leagues history. We haven’t had many games go down to the wire this season, and Coop will be bringing a feared Dak-Amari stack into Monday Night. Even if Las Cabras are up by 50 or 60 points, Coop might have a shot. If it’s less than that, all eyes will be on the Cooper Troopers to defeat the team that plays the dirtiest and send Las Cabras out into the cold air.