NFL Week 3 expert picks against the spread – Del’s picks

There’s really no way to sugarcoat it — the first two weeks of the NFL season have not gone well for Del. It has been an ice cold start, but there can be no panicking this early in the season. The more we get a feel for things and watch teams play, the better the picks should be.

If you’ve been betting Del’s “locks,” you’re in red figures right now. But don’t worry, the goal is to be above the 50-percent mark by the end of the season. We still have more than enough time to get there, and Week 3 is a good time to start going in the right direction.

Here are Del’s Week 3 NFL Picks, with analysis of the top three after the chart. Check back later in the week for Doc Brown’s picks.

Are the Chargers already underrated or what? This is a team that should be 2-0 if not for a fluke meltdown in a hostile road environment against the Cardinals in primetime. San Diego looked incredibly convincing against the defending champion Seahawks on Sunday. Philip Rivers is playing at an extremely high level and seems very comfortable under offensive coordinator Frank Reich. Heck, the Chargers even managed to move the ball against Richard Sherman. I’m not sold on the Bills yet, as a regression has to be coming from EJ Manuel. The Chargers aren’t bad enough to be a 1-2 team and the Bills aren’t good enough to be a 3-0 team. Expect the expected in this game. Chargers should win outright.

There probably isn’t a more desperate team in the NFL this week than the Saints. They had a couple of ugly losses to the Falcons and Browns to start the season, but we all know Sean Payton’s team is a different animal when playing in their dome at home. Rob Ryan’s defense has to start forcing some turnovers, and the Vikings showed last week against New England that they’re capable of giving up plenty of them. I expect the Saints to come out firing on offense and their defense to come up with a few takeaways. This one could easily be a blowout.

And finally, I can’t believe I’m saying this — I somehow feel great about the Giants this week. Sure, the Texans are coming an impressive win. They demolished the Raiders on the road, but in this case I think the fact that it was a road game is going to hurt them. The Texans had to travel from Houston to Oakland and back and will now go to the complete opposite side of the country to play the Giants. That’s a lot of traveling. If the Giants can’t capitalize on that to avoid starting 0-3, there won’t be an ounce of hope left for Tom Coughlin’s team.