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Mark Craig's Week 3 NFL picks: Who will be 3-0, and will the Vikings be 0-3?

Can the Vikings avoid the seventh 0-3 start in franchise history? Will the Packers thwart the surprising Saints?

By Mark Craig

September 22, 2023 at 10:44PM

It was a weird week for Bears quarterback Justin Fields. (Chris O'Meara, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Week 3 of the NFL season features one game between 2-0 teams and one game between 0-2 teams, which happens to be at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Here are five Week 3 games to watch.

Week 3 schedule and game previews

WHO GOES 0-3?

Chargers (+ ½) at Vikings: Home-field advantage and Austin Ekeler in street clothes spare Kevin O'Connell from posting the Purple's seventh 0-3 start. Vikings 27, Chargers 21

AROUND THE NFC NORTH

Saints (+1 ½) at Packers: Are the Derek Carr-led Saints (2-0) for real? Not in Green Bay in their last game without Alvin Kamara. Packers 24, Saints 21

LOCK OF THE WEEK

Bears (+12 ½) at Chiefs: Justin Fields should have stuck with his first answer. His problem is coaching. Chiefs 41, Bears 12

UPSET SPECIAL

Rams (+2 ½) at Bengals: The '23 Bengals (0-2) are impostors, and Puka Nacua is a spot-on Cooper Kupp impersonator. Rams 31, Bengals 23

GAME OF THE WEEK

Eagles (-5 ½) at Buccaneers: Two NFL-big-boy defensive lines that a Vikings general manager might want to study closely clash on Monday night between two 2-0 teams. Eagles 23, Buccaneers 20

SEASON RESULTS

Season record straight up/against the spread: 7-7; 7-7.

Upset special: 1-1.

Lock of the Week: 2-0.

Vikings: 1-1.

about the writer

Mark Craig

Sports reporter

Mark Craig has covered the NFL nearly every year since Brett Favre was a rookie back in 1991. A sports writer since 1987, he is covering his 30th NFL season out of 37 years with the Canton (Ohio) Repository (1987-99) and the Star Tribune (1999-present).