NFL Week 3 Capsules

TENNESSEE (0-2) AT NEW YORK JETS (2-0)

TIME: 10 a.m. LINE: Jets -2½ Total: 37
TV: CBS (8)
• WEATHER: Temperatures in high 60s, 70 percent chance of rain
• FACTS: Last year, the Titans were 10-0 entering their game against the Jets before losing 34-13. It’s the most lopsided loss in history for a team 9-0 or better. ... Tennessee already has allowed three receivers to reach 100 yards in a game. That’s as many as all of last season under then defensive boss Jim Schwartz, now head coach at Detroit. ... The Jets are the only team not to allow an offensive TD this year.
• ANALYSIS: The Titans, coming off a year in which they had the AFC’s best mark, aren’t going to allow their season to go into a death spiral against a Jets team that might be overconfident. Tennessee RB Chris Johnson is too fast for New York — even in the rain.
• FORECAST: Titans 24, Jets 21

JACKSONVILLE (0-2) AT HOUSTON (1-1)

TIME: 10 a.m. LINE: Texans -4 Total: 47
• WEATHER: High 80s, 10 percent chance of rain
• FACTS: Even when the Texans have been heavy underdogs to Jacksonville, they’ve had success, winning on the road when the Jaguars were 7-, 10- and 11-point favorites since 2002. ... Houston’s comeback from a 14-point deficit in Tennessee last week is the greatest for anyone this season. ... The heart of Jacksonville’s offense, RB Maurice Jones-Drew (163 yards rushing, one TD), was a late addition to the injury report (probable, knee).
• ANALYSIS: With the Jaguars having one sack through two weeks, they are making life miserable for their defensive backs, who have been gouged by Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner. Now it’s Matt Schaub’s turn. He had four touchdown throws last week.
• FORECAST: Texans 27, Jaguars 17

KANSAS CITY (0-2) AT PHILADELPHIA (1-1)

TIME: 10 a.m. LINE: Eagles -9 Total: 40
• WEATHER: Mid-70s, 70 percent chance of rain
• FACTS: The Chiefs lost at home last week to Oakland 13-10 despite holding the Raiders to 166 yards. It was the lowest ouput in a victory since Washington beat Arizona 21-19 in 2007 with 160 yards. Back in 1966, Philadelphia beat Dallas 24-23 despite having only 80 yards of offense. ... It looks as if Eagles QB Kevin Kolb will make his second straight start in place of Donovan McNabb (rib). Kansas City is leaning toward Matt Cassel.
• ANALYSIS: The Eagles have a bye coming up and seem more concerned with getting rest for McNabb, wide receiver DeSean Jackson and running back Brian Westbrook (all injured). The Chiefs, behind feisty rookie coach Todd Haley, hang tough.
• FORECAST: Eagles 27, Chiefs 21

CLEVELAND (0-2) AT BALTIMORE (2-0)

TIME: 10 a.m. LINE: Ravens -13½ Total: 39
• WEATHER: Mid-70s, 30 percent chance of rain
• FACTS: Although Cleveland has just one offensive touchdown in its past eight games, that’s not a futility mark. In 1925, the Dayton Triangles scored one field goal in an eight-game schedule. ... Baltimore had a 38-28 edge in average starting field position at San Diego last week. Teams with at least a 10-yard advantage are 9-0 this year. ... Cleveland’s offense is last in the league with a 234-yard average. But that’s an enormous improvement over 2008, when it failed to reach 200 in any of its final five games.
• ANALYSIS: Baltimore’s defense is far from invincible, except maybe when it comes to its goal-line unit. Cleveland should put up little resistance.
• FORECAST: Ravens 28, Browns 9

NEW YORK GIANTS (2-0) AT TAMPA BAY (0-2)

TIME: 10 a.m. LINE: Giants -6½ Total: 44
• WEATHER: High 80s, 40 percent chance of rain
• FACTS: Two seasons ago, the Super Bowl-bound Giants were 3-point underdogs when they beat the Buccaneers 24-14 at Tampa Bay in the wild-card round. ... The Bucs have yielded 30-plus points their past four games, including 34 and 33 to Dallas and Buffalo this year under new coach Raheem Morris. No Tampa Bay team has ever yielded that many points five games in a row.
• ANALYSIS: The Giants, who barely won last week despite a plus-4 turnover edge, are banged up on defense (Kenny Phillips and Justin Tuck) and settling too often for field goals. Tampa Bay has shown running muscle.
• FORECAST: Buccaneers 20, Giants 17

WASHINGTON (1-1) AT DETROIT (0-2)

TIME: 10 a.m. LINE: Redskins -6½ Total: 38½
• FACTS: Although the Redskins are 22-2 against the Lions since 1968, the teams are 2-2 in Detroit the past 10 seasons. ... At least Washington’s hard-to-watch 9-7 victory over St. Louis last week didn’t take long. The time of 2 hours, 49 minutes was the shortest game of the week. ... Lions QB Matthew Stafford has a league-low passer rating of 40.5. By comparison, if Wayne Newton went out and threw 20 straight passes into the ground, his rating would be 39.6.
• ANALYSIS: Nothing would be more humiliating than for Jim Zorn’s team to lose at Detroit a week after staggering to a victory over St. Louis. Zorn’s defense should bail him out.
• FORECAST: Redskins 17, Lions 16

GREEN BAY (1-1) AT ST. LOUIS (0-2)

TIME: 10 a.m. LINE: Packers -6½ Total: 41
• FACTS: The last time a team had more punts than points in a season was the 1944 Brooklyn Tigers. The present-day Rams are on an early pace to match that, with seven points and 12 punts through two games. ... Green Bay lost last week to Cincinnati 31-24 as a 9-point pick, making the Packers 2-4 straight up at home since late 2007 when favored by seven points or more. ... New St. Louis coach Steve Spagnuolo makes his home debut against the team he helped beat for the NFC title two seasons ago while defensive boss with the Giants, who also started 0-2.
• ANALYSIS: Packers coach Mike McCarthy has needed an airsick bag when he has watched film of his team try to pass-block this year. Green Bay has yielded a league-high 10 sacks. It won’t be easier playing in a dome this week.
• FORECAST: Packers 21, Rams 20

SAN FRANCISCO (2-0) AT MINNESOTA (2-0)

TIME: 10 a.m. LINE: Vikings -7 Total: 39½
• FACTS: Brett Favre will be wearing the home purple for the first time in his career, after going 4-12 at the Metrodome as a Packer. If he doesn’t throw an interception, that will make it three straight weeks, tying his personal record. ... 49ers RB Frank Gore had 79- and 80-yard TD runs against Seattle in Week 2. In Week 1, his longest run against Arizona was 6 yards. ... In 2007, the 49ers held Vikings RB Adrian Peterson (probable, back) to 3 yards on 14 carries. His sidekick, Chester Taylor, ran for 101 yards on eight carries.
• ANALYSIS: Who’s the real Frank Gore? Against Minnesota’s dynamite front wall, it’s not likely to be the man who ran free through Seattle’s arm-waving defenders.
• FORECAST: Vikings 24, 49ers 14

ATLANTA (2-0) AT NEW ENGLAND (1-1)

TIME: 10 a.m. LINE: Patriots -4½ Total: 46½
TV: Fox (5) Radio: KWWN-AM (1100)
• WEATHER: Mid-60s, 90 percent chance of rain
• FACTS: New England didn’t have a snap in Jets territory in the second half last week, 24 fewer than they had in the first half en route to three field goals. ... Atlanta has had at least an 11-yard edge in average starting field position in its home victories against Miami and Carolina. ... The Patriots were penalized 89 yards last week, including back-to-back delay calls, their highest total since getting 146 in a victory against the Colts two years ago.
• ANALYSIS: Too many things have gone right for Atlanta, which is on the road for the first time and probably will be playing in sloppy conditions. Catching the Patriots coming off a showdown loss to the Jets is a bad thing.
• FORECAST: Patriots 28, Falcons 17

CHICAGO (1-1) AT SEATTLE (1-1)

TIME: 1:05 p.m. LINE: Bears -2 Total: 37
• WEATHER: Low 70s, 10 percent chance of rain
• FACTS: If Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (doubtful, rib) can’t play, Seneca Wallace is to get the call. He had 11 touchdown throws and three interceptions last year. ... Chicago second-year running back Matt Forte has been held to 2.2 yards a carry in each of the first two weeks. He never had a day that bad last year. The Seahawks, meanwhile, have allowed 7.1 a carry this year, skewed by Frank Gore’s long runs last week.
• ANALYSIS: If it’s a choice between a healthy Wallace and a battered Hasselbeck, Wallace will be the right call against a Bears team that was fortunate the Steelers blew two field-goal tries last week.
• FORECAST: Seahawks 26, Bears 21

NEW ORLEANS (2-0) AT BUFFALO (1-1)

TIME: 1:05 p.m. LINE: Saints -6 Total: 52½
• WEATHER: High 60s, 40 percent chance of rain
• FACTS: For the first time this year, the Saints won’t be facing a quarterback making his first start (Detroit’s Matthew Stafford, Philadelphia’s Kevin Kolb). ... Buffalo — led by quarterback Trent Edwards, who is the league’s fifth-rated passer, and the pounding running of Fred Jackson — has had 19 consecutive drives with at least one first down, the longest current streak in the league. ... Since Reggie Bush’s 88-yard touchdown reception in the 2006 NFC title game against Chicago, he hasn’t had a run or reception even half as long.
• ANALYSIS: New Orleans might need to scale back the throws of Drew Brees (probable, shoulder) but should otherwise have more than enough to punch out the Bills.
• FORECAST: Saints 28, Bills 19

MIAMI (0-2) AT SAN DIEGO (1-1)

TIME: 1:15 p.m. LINE: Chargers -6 Total: 44
TV: CBS (8) Radio: KWWN-AM (1100)
• WEATHER: High 90s
• FACTS: San Diego made a fantasy hero of place-kicker Nate Kaeding last week by going 0-for-4 in goal-to-go possessions against Baltimore. It won’t help that running back LaDainian Tomlinson (out, ankle) will miss his second game in a row. ... On Monday, Miami ran 84 plays to the Colts’ 35. That gap of 49 plays is the greatest in the NFL the past two seasons. Ten years ago, Pittsburgh had a 90-28 edge in a game at Cleveland.
• ANALYSIS: Even without LT, quarterback Philip Rivers had the Chargers’ offense zooming, with 436 pass yards. Included were five completions of 35-plus yards. Miami proved last week it is susceptible to long plays.
• FORECAST: Chargers 38, Dolphins 27

PITTSBURGH (1-1) AT CINCINNATI (1-1)

TIME: 1:15 p.m. LINE: Steelers -4 Total: 37
• WEATHER: Mid-70s, 10 percent chance of rain
• FACTS: The Steelers have won eight in a row in Cincinnati and are 16-3 since 1991 (14-5 vs. spread). ... The Bengals won last week in Green Bay despite 13 penalties against them. In 2008, the most infractions any team was able to overcome was 14. ... Bengals defensive end Antwan Odom had five sacks last week in Green Bay. In his six-year career, he’s never had more than eight in a year. ... Pittsburgh lost to Chicago last week despite holding the Bears to 43 rushing yards. The Steelers had that good of a rush defense only once during last year’s Super Bowl run.
• ANALYSIS: Running back Cedric Benson was the Bengals’ workhorse last week with 141 yards, but he’s questionable (ankle). Also ailing is wide receiver Chris Henry (probable, quadriceps). It’s hard to beat Pittsburgh while limping.
• FORECAST: Steelers 31, Bengals 16

DENVER (2-0) AT OAKLAND (1-1)

TIME: 1:15 p.m. LINE: Raiders -1½ Total: 36
• WEATHER: Mid-70s
• FACTS: Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell is a throwback to the 1930s, when completion percentages were below 40 percent. Russell has a 35.2 completion rate, including a 7-for-24 effort last week in Kansas City. ... Denver is finishing a three-game opening stretch against teams that were a cumulative 13-34-1 last season. Its next five foes were 51-29 last year.
• ANALYSIS: Denver’s Elvis Dumervil leads a pass rush that should provide Russell with enough reason to be even more off target than usual.
• FORECAST: Broncos 20, Raiders 7

INDIANAPOLIS (2-0) AT ARIZONA (1-1)

TIME: 5:15 p.m. LINE: Cardinals -2½ Total: 48
TV: NBC (3) Radio: KWWN-AM (1100)
• WEATHER: Mid-100s
• FACTS: The Colts’ defense, which was on the field for 84 plays last week, will be working on a short work week, not to mention the travel headaches involved in playing in Miami and Arizona a week apart. ... Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner shrugs off his shoulder injury, which caused him to leave last week’s victory in Jacksonville. While in the game, though, he set a league completion-percentage mark by going 24-for-26 (92.3). Last year in Week 2, he had the league’s only perfect passer rating of the year.
• ANALYSIS: Indianapolis’ defense was pushed all over the place last week, giving up at least two first downs on every Miami possession (27 total). It’ll be gassed trying to keep up with the Cardinals’ higher-octane attack.
• FORECAST: Cardinals 34, Colts 24

CAROLINA (0-2) AT DALLAS (1-1)

TIME: 5:30 p.m. Monday
LINE: Cowboys -9 Total: 47
TV: ESPN (30) Radio: KWWN-AM (1100)
• WEATHER: Mid-80s
• FACTS: Dallas had 251 rushing yards last week in its 33-31 loss to the Giants. No team had lost with that much ground production the past three years. ... Carolina’s streak of 11 games without a punt being blocked ended last week, 169 games short of the mark set by Chicago. ... Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, who has been criticized by Troy Aikman, Tony Dorsett and Michael Irvin, among others, has the distinction of having the highest passer rating this season (140.1 in Week 1) and the second worst (29.6 in Week 2).
• ANALYSIS: The Cowboys’ ground attack, even without running back Marion Barber (questionable, quadriceps), should flourish against a Panthers unit that has allowed foes to score on all six of their first-and-goal possessions this season.
• FORECAST: Cowboys 31, Panthers 10

Last week: 8-7-1 vs. spread; 8-8 straight up
Season total:•13-18-1 vs. spread; 17-15 straight up