SuperContest Picks: Week 3 Locks Include Saints, Chargers, Patriots

First and second impressions are out of the way, and it’s time to really start figuring out what we’ve got in the NFL this season.

It was a wild Week 2 in which bettors took a beating at the window with underdogs going 11-5 against the spread, making it clear no one really knows what they’re talking about yet.

That’s not going to stop the NESN.com duo of Mike Cole and Ricky Doyle from trying to prove otherwise in the Westgate Las Vegas Supercontest, the premier football handicapping contest in the country. Mike and Ricky remained painfully average with a 2-3 record in Week 2, putting them at 5-5 for the season.

That .500 mark leaves them right in the middle of the pack among the Team OddsShark SuperContest standings.

Here are the Week 3 picks for Team NESN.

New Orleans Saints (+3) vs. Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. ET
Mercedes-Benz Dome, Atlanta
It’s hard to say how good the Falcons really are, so we’ll grab the points. The Saints obviously haven’t looked good, but slow starts are nothing new for them. We think Atlanta’s injuries on defense will help New Orleans get right with a big day from Alvin Kamara catching passes out of the backfield.

Green Bay Packers (-2.5) at Washington Redskins, 1 p.m.
FedEx Field, Landover, Md.
Laying the points with a road team coming off an overtime divisional game might seem questionable, but the Packers’ run defense remains really good. If they take away Washington’s rushing attack, will Alex Smith be able to pick up big third-down conversions? And even though he’s hobbled, Aaron Rodgers probably will enjoy seeing a defense that’s not the Bears or Vikings.

Los Angeles Chargers (+7) at Los Angeles Rams, 4:05 p.m.
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Philip Rivers and the Chargers have found plenty of crushing ways to lose football games in recent seasons, but at least they keep it close. Rivers is 13-5 against the spread as an underdog of 6.5 points or more, and he’s 24-10 ATS as a road dog of 3.5 or more. And they’re far and away the toughest test the Rams have faced this season.

Seattle Seahawks (-2) vs. Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m.
CenturyLink Field, Seattle
The Seahawks haven’t looked good this season, but they also haven’t yet enjoyed the comforts of home. That changes this week against a one-dimensional Cowboys team that might see its running game stifled by white-collar criminal Mychal Kendricks and the Seattle defense.

New England Patriots (-7) vs. Detroit Lions, 8:15 p.m.
Ford Field, Detroit
Doesn’t this feel like a game where you try to find reasons to go against the Patriots only for them to win by 13? The Patriots are 21-6 ATS since 2000 following a double-digit loss, and Bill Belichick has a pretty good run of success against his former coordinators.