Welcome back to the third installment of Hart’s Picks for the 2026 NFL regular season. For Week 1, I was 11-5 with my predictions. Unfortunately, my Week 2 predictions were worse at 9-7. Let’s see if I can get back on track with my Week 3 picks.
Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers — Thursday Night Football
Michael Penix Jr. will lead the Falcons on the gridiron against the Packers on Thursday Night Football. While I’m not thrilled with how the Packers have looked defensively, the Falcons only have 16 points on offense in two contests thus far. Green Bay should
take care of business at home.
Winner: Packers
Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts — Sunday (Early Game)
Both the Texans and Colts enter Week 3 winless. Neither defense is playing at a high level, and each have their own issues on the offensive side of the ball. With Alec Pierce out, Indianapolis will have to rely on Jonathan Taylor to dominate on the ground. And the Texans need to figure out something with their ground game after last week’s performance.
Winner: Texans
New England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars — Sunday (Early Game)
The Patriots rebounded in Week 2, whilst the Jaguars ended up cratering in the second half versus the Broncos. New England has played well defensively thus far, but they still have some kinks to work out on offense. Overall, I think the Jaguars bounce back after their loss to the Broncos and find a way to defeat the Patriots at home.
Winner: Jaguars
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers — Sunday (Early Game)
The Bengals enter this AFC North matchup at 2-0 with the chance to start to pull away from several division competitors with a win on Sunday. They have looked a lot better on defense compared to last season. The Steelers are struggling to get anything going offensively with just 23 points in two outings thus far. I like Cincinnati in this one as road victors.
Winner: Bengals
Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills — Sunday (Early Game)
Quite simply, nothing is going right for the Chargers to begin the season. They’re 0-2 with a defense that has experienced a big dropoff and a Mike McDaniel offense that continues to have growing pains. Even worse, they just lost tight ends David Njoku and Charlie Kollar and starting left guard Kayode Awosika to injury. I can’t see any reasonable way they topple Josh Allen and the Bills on the road. I’m taking Buffalo at home.
Winner: Bills
Carolina Panthers at Cleveland Browns — Sunday (Early Game)
After Week 1 losses, both of these teams secured much-needed victories in Week 2. Both defenses are still struggling, but the Panthers offense led by Bryce Young is scoring a lot of points. I think that will be the key difference in this matchup. I’ll take Carolina on the road.
Winner: Panthers
New York Jets at Detroit Lions — Sunday (Early Game)
Speaking of bad defense play, the Lions have been absolutely atrocious to start the season. If they can’t find a way to get that side of the ball fixed, they could be in for a long and disappointing season. That being said, I’m not sure the Jets will be able to do enough to limit Detroit’s offense in a road game, so I’ll be picking the Lions in this one.
Winner: Lions
Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders — Sunday (Early Game)
It’s hard to envision a Commanders team without Jayden Daniels being able to topple the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. Seattle’s defense has been playing extremely well and Drew Lock is doing enough as their starting quarterback to help win games. I think they move to 3-0 on the season and beat Washington at home.
Winner: Seahawks
Kansas City Chiefs at Miami Dolphins — Sunday (Early Game)
The Chiefs were able to topple the Colts in overtime in Week 2, while the Dolphins dropped to 0-2 on the season. As I wrote during Week 1, I think Miami could wind up having to top pick in this year’s draft. They are not a good football team. That’s why I expect the Chiefs to get the road victory and go to 3-0 on the season.
Winner: Chiefs
Tennessee Titans at New York Giants — Sunday (Early Game)
After an impressive win to start the season, the Giants were blown out by the Rams on Monday night. Jaxson Dart was injured and their running game struggled. Truth be told, the Titans are 0-2 and have a lot of issues. Perhaps there is an opening here to get their first win because of the Giants not having Dart. I’ll roll the dice on Tennessee here, but that’s operating under the big assumption they can stop the run and Cam Ward plays better than he has the first two weeks.
Winner: Titans
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers — Sunday (Afternoon Game)
The 49ers are 2-0 and the Cardinals are 1-1. All things considered, the 49ers are performing well on offense and have a very staunch defense to match. With a great coaching staff, that’s a recipe to win a lot of football games. I expect them to do just that on Sunday against the Cardinals.
Winners: 49ers
Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Sunday (Afternoon Game)
The Vikings defense, led by Brian Flores, continues to impress. However, their offense will remain to be a work in progress until their quarterback situation stabilizes. It appears Kyler Murray will return this week. Maybe that can be the spark they need. As for Tampa Bay, they are 0-2 and facing a must-win matchup in this one. I can’t think of many teams in recent memory that have started off 0-3 and wound up making the playoffs. Will that be enough motivation to get Baker Mayfield and company a win? I’m not so sure about that. I’ll be taking the Vikings on the road.
Winner: Vikings
Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys — Sunday (Afternoon Game)
This may be one of the most interesting matchups of the week. It’ll be played in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Both of these teams are 1-1 and have similar production on offense and defense. I think whatever team does the best with their rushing attack will end up finding a way to win. The Ravens should just feed Derrick Henry. That usually winds up working for them. I’ll take Baltimore in this international affair.
Winner: Ravens
Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints — Sunday (Afternoon Game)
Surprise! The Raiders are 2-0 to start the season. How many folks predicted that? On the other hand, the Saints are 1-1. Tyler Shough has shown some promise in his second season with New Orleans. They need more effectiveness from Travis Etienne, who was their big free agent signing at running back. I’ll take the Saints at home.
Winner: Saints
Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos — Sunday Night Football
This is one of the best matchups of the weekend. Matthew Stafford was the NFL MVP last season and is coming off a really good performance and a rebound victory. The same goes for the Broncos, who found a way to embark on an impressive comeback against the Jaguars. I think this is going to be a very close game. I’m picking Denver here.
Winner: Broncos
Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears — Monday Night Football
With Caleb Williams being out and the Bears likely having to start Case Keenum at quarterback, this game became a lot easier for me to predict. I’ll be taking the Eagles on the road on MNF. I just can’t envision Keenum being able to best a Vic Fangio defense in primetime.
Winner: Eagles
